Linda Goler Blount, MPH, is the President and CEO of Community Catalyst, a national organization dedicated to building the power of people to create a health system rooted in race equity and health justice. 

A nationally recognized leader in public health, race equity, and systems change, Linda brings more than 25 years of experience across the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. She most recently served as President and CEO of the Black Women’s Health Imperative (BWHI) — the only national organization solely focused on the health and wellness of Black women and girls. 

During her tenure at BWHI, Linda led the organization through a period of significant growth and strategic impact. Under her leadership, BWHI advanced bold policy advocacy, launched evidence-based programs, and developed partnerships that elevated Black women’s health on the national stage — including a landmark collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). That effort advanced BWHI’s mission to build the power of Black women to take control of their health and advocate for policies that support their well-being, while also shaping national standards for equitable, community-informed care. 

Prior to BWHI, Linda held senior leadership roles at the CDC, the American Cancer Society, and in the private sector, where she applied community-based research methodologies to address chronic disease prevention and health disparities at scale. She was a lead contributor to IndexUS, the first data set focused on the health of Black women using an asset-based approach — centered on studying healthy Black women rather than only illness or disease, and was named to Forbes’ 50 Over 50: Impact list for her leadership in public health. 

Throughout her career, Linda has been a steadfast advocate for solutions that center the lived experiences of those most harmed by health inequities. Her leadership is rooted in the belief that health is a right, and that people — especially those historically excluded from the health system — should be at the center of shaping the policies and practices that impact their lives. 

She holds a Master of Public Health in Epidemiology from the University of Michigan and a Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering and Operations Research from Eastern Michigan University.

Tamarah Duperval-Brownlee, MD, MPH, MBA, FAAFP, Chief Health Officer, Accenture, is responsible for creating and innovating strategies to enhance the health, safety, and well-being of our people and their families across the globe. Together with her team and expert partners, she is working to create conditions and enable resources for people to experience wellness, thereby allowing human ingenuity to flourish and deliver on Accenture’s promise.

Dr. Tam is a healthcare executive with over 20 years of experience serving in healthcare organizations, delivering holistic and equitable care that sustainably improves the health and well-being of individuals and communities. A board-certified Family Physician, her career demonstrates a strong track record of clinical and operational experience, the development and implementation of community and population health strategies, and improvement of healthcare delivery and quality.

Julie Campbell is a Partner in Mercer’s New York office and is the Consulting Leader for the MercerWELL practice. Julie focuses on developing comprehensive health and wellbeing strategies for employer clients, with an expertise in mental health, reproductive health and inclusive family planning approaches. Julie has spent the last 12 years at Mercer, working with our most demanding clients and leaders to design scalable solutions, and to solve for dynamic, uncharted, and large-scale development needs. Particular focus areas have included the evaluation of the comprehensiveness of fertility benefit coverage, and leading Mercer’s response to the overturning of Roe V. Wade by supporting client-specific actions and pushing health plans to offer comprehensive and supportive travel policies for women in need of abortions.

Prior to joining Mercer, Julie worked at the National Business Group on Health and co-wrote an employer toolkit on Stress Management Strategies & Interventions. During time at the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University, Julie focused her graduate research on organizational solutions for stress management and measurement of work-related stress outcomes. She also previously worked at a national health management vendor, helping to implement and deliver programs directly to employer and government clients.

Julie holds a master’s degree in public health from Columbia University, focused in health promotion. She received her BA from Union College.

Kristine Cecchetti is a seasoned healthcare strategist with over 20 years of experience in transforming innovative ideas into market-leading solutions. Specializing in digital product optimization and user-centric design, she excels in strategic planning, go-to-market plans, and competitive intelligence analysis. Kristine has a proven track record of driving product excellence and contribution to enterprise growth through client-focused initiatives. Kristine currently serves as Senior Product Manager for Women’s Health Strategy at Evernorth, where she’s leading a 5 year strategy integrating new and existing product solutions designed to make women’s health accessible, affordable, and attainable. When not reading about the latest in women’s health, Kristine enjoys running, teaching fitness classes and swimming with her two young kiddos.

Jennifer Coppola is currently the US Medical Affairs Women’s Health Franchise and Established Brands Lead, her women’s health focus is on Menopause, Uterine Fibroids and Endometriosis.

She is truly passionate about Medical Affairs. An open-minded and agile executive medical leader who instills and values a positive working environment, close collaboration with countries/affiliates and real partnership within cross-functional teams. In depth knowledge and integral role at shaping our medical strategy and creating a patient centric and focused women's health alliance. She worked to unite advocacy and the women’s health community in a focused conversation about women's health to empower women through education, support shared decision making, and drive equitable access to appropriate treatment.

Jenn began her career as a Dietitian, has a Master’s in Public Health and PhD in Cognition and Human Behavior (Neuroscience). Prior to transitioning into the pharmaceutical industry 18 years ago, she provided treatment and education to patients. Since entering the pharmaceutical industry, she has held multiple positions with increased responsibilities varying from a team leader with direct reports to leading matrix teams.

Jenn is passionate about Women’s Health and is proud when women become their own advocates. “When we have patients telling their stories, and we’re listening to them, we know we’re doing our job well, addressing women’s health issues that are stigmatized, misunderstood and historically underdiagnosed.”

Lena Davydov joined the Hilton HR Benefits team with over 20 years of health and welfare consulting experience. In her role at Hilton, she oversees US health benefits, 401(k) plan, and looks after the overall wellbeing efforts for Hilton Team Members. Prior to Hilton, Lena worked on a variety of large-scale client engagements, focusing on benefits strategy, program design evaluation, pricing, and total reward integration. She has expertise on a broad array of HR and financial issues, including the development and execution of strategic benefit objectives, governance, financial management of employee benefit plans, competitive market assessments, and mergers and acquisitions benefit integration. Lena earned a Bachelor of Science finance degree, with a minor in mathematics, from Arizona State University.

Alayna Effron, Ed.D, MSc., C.H.E.S. serves as Senior Director of Partnerships and Development for HealthyWomen, a leading nonprofit, health information source for women. With nearly two decades of experience in women’s health, Dr. Effron is committed to advancing public health initiatives that foster education and heighten awareness about the myriad of health issues facing women today and the generations of tomorrow. Dr. Effron has leveraged her expertise in research, health education and program design to address gaps in health disparities among women nationally and internationally, at community and state levels, and across diverse health care systems. Through the engagement with stakeholders and cultivation of new partnerships, Dr. Effron strategically grows and diversifies HealthyWomen’s program portfolio to promote accessible health information and health equity for all individuals. Dr. Effron holds a Doctorate in Health Education from Columbia University, a M.Sc and B.S. in Public Health and Health Promotion from Indiana University, Bloomington and is a Certified Health Education Specialist with the National Commission for Health Education Credentialing.

As a seasoned executive with over 25 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry, I excel in driving business growth, forging strategic partnerships, and delivering impactful results. My extensive background encompasses leadership roles in sales, marketing, and global brand management, where I've consistently demonstrated a commitment to innovation and excellence. With a passion for driving positive change in healthcare, I am dedicated to advancing therapies and improving patient outcomes on a global scale.

Madeleine is a healthcare business development and go-to-market strategist. Her career has included strategic roles at women’s health startups, ranging from fertility and maternal care to health challenges that differently and disproportionately impact women+. She is the Head of Business Development at Thirty Madison, a virtual-first specialty care delivery organization serving 1MM+ patients across the U.S. She also has a portfolio of advisory work where she supports early stage companies focused on addressing the gender health gap and advancing the treatment landscape for reproductive and gynecological care. Madeleine is a member of various organizations dedicated to advancing public policies that support the health of women, including a joint NIH and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Initiative - the Innovation Equity Forum, the Springboard Enterprises Women’s Health Advisory Council, and the Coalition for the Health of Women. Madeleine is also an experienced board leader and volunteer with a decade of experience working with community maternal and pediatric health organizations in addition to hospitals. She currently serves on the board of LSA Family Health Services and the Reproductive and Maternal Health Compass.

Tricia Easley Martines has been at Google for over 16 years and has managed a portfolio of healthcare benefits for 5 years on the U.S. Healthcare team. Prior to that, she was on the recruiting and employee referral teams. Before joining Google, Tricia was a senior consultant at Deloitte and an analyst at JPMorgan.

Over the course of her career, Mary has taken a creative approach to work that embraces a simple but powerful idea: we must listen to, understand, and truly engage the communities we serve. As the VP of Patient Advocacy and Stakeholder Management at Otsuka, she leads a team that engages communities in mental health, Alzheimer’s disease, kidney disease, and digital medicine. In her work, Mary engages with people with lived experience, care partners, key opinion leaders, healthcare providers, advocates, technologists, and more. Her fundamental priority is to connect, collaborate, and create with the communities being served in order to drive new collaboration, spark innovation, and generate new solutions for people who need them.

Mary’s vision is to change how healthcare companies and the pharmaceutical industry both understand and meet the needs of the people they serve. Her dedication has been recognized across the industry, receiving MM+M’s Pinnacle Award, being named an MM+M Woman of Distinction, and the recipient of the 2022 Pioneer Award from Dementia Action Alliance. In 2023 Mary was appointed to the Veterans’ Family, Caregiver and Survivor Advisory Committee. This honor speaks not only to Mary’s dedication but also her personal history as a family caregiver which is a driving force behind her passion.

Prior to joining Otsuka, Mary served as Executive Director at Pfizer, Inc. where she developed and executed Global Opinion Leader business strategies and plans which resulted in expanded accountability and visibility for leadership. During the first 13 years of her career, Mary held various roles in sales and marketing at Bristol-Myers Squibb, where she led innovative Advocacy and Opinion Leader related engagements.

Claire is a trained medical doctor. She worked as a pediatrician in London before specializing in clinical genetics. She earned degrees in pathology and medicine from the University of Bristol, and a PhD in neuroscience from the University of Cambridge. 

Claire oversees all things medical at Ada including medical product, medical affairs, regulatory affairs and clinical studies. She plays a leading role in ensuring we always put the needs of our users first and that as Ada grows we continue to be known and trusted for our deep commitment to clinical excellence in all that we do.

Dr. Charlotte Owens is a seasoned physician-executive with more than two decades of leadership spanning clinical practice, biopharmaceutical R&D, global medical affairs, and healthtech innovation. Board-certified in obstetrics and gynecology and active in clinical practice, she brings a distinct, real-world perspective to enterprise strategy—shaping outcomes across the biopharmaceutical, medical device, consumer health, and health sciences consulting sectors. She has successfully led organizations through complex product launches, lifecycle transformations, and evidence-driven market expansion across over 140 countries. Her therapeutic experience includes women’s health, immunology, chronic disease, biosimilars, and other high-impact areas, and she is known for aligning clinical, scientific, and commercial priorities to deliver measurable value.

As SVP and Head of Global Medical Affairs & Outcomes Research at Organon, Dr. Owens led the medical strategy for nearly 70 products across 140+ markets, overseeing a $100M+ budget and a global cross-functional team. Her leadership drove integrated evidence generation, scientific engagement, and real-world data strategies across multiple therapeutic areas—including women’s health, immunology, cardiovascular, respiratory, dermatology, and biosimilars—ensuring market relevance, stakeholder trust, and commercial growth in key global markets.

Previously, as VP and Head of the Center for Patient Affairs at Takeda, she launched and scaled enterprise initiatives to embed the patient perspective into global R&D, medical affairs, and access planning. Earlier roles at AbbVie, Johnson & Johnson, and Kimberly-Clark included oversight of clinical trial design, global launch readiness, scientific communications, and lifecycle strategy across complex portfolios.

Dr. Owens has maintained dual engagement in executive leadership and clinical care throughout her career. Since 2014, she has served as an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Clinical Gynecology and Obstetrics at Morehouse School of Medicine, where she continues to teach and care for patients. This rare blend of operational leadership and frontline insight has made her a trusted voice in shaping scalable, patient-centered innovation.

She currently serves as Consulting Chief Medical Officer at DeepLook Medical, where she guides the company’s medical strategy to advance AI-enabled imaging for early cancer detection. She is also a Senior Executive Board Member at PrezentAI, a generative AI platform transforming enterprise communication. In both roles, she applies her expertise at the intersection of healthcare delivery, strategic evidence generation, and emerging technologies.

Dr. Owens holds a B.S. in Physiology from UC Davis and earned her M.D. from the University of Michigan Medical School on a full merit scholarship. She completed her residency in obstetrics and gynecology at Henry Ford Health System.

Dr. Owens remains driven by a singular goal: transforming healthcare systems through scalable, patient-centered innovation grounded in science and powered by technology.

Orriel is an Executive Director, External Affairs for Morgan Health, JPMorgan Chase where she is a senior leader and Head of Health Equity and Policy.

Previously, Orriel was health counsel for the Committee on Ways and Means, U.S. House of Representatives where she created and led the Rural and Underserved Communities Health Equity Task Force and Racial Equity Initiative. Prior to the Hill, Orriel led the legal and program integrity team at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Innovation Center and served in the Office of General Counsel for District of Columbia Medicaid.

Orriel is an alumna of Howard University, Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, and The George Washington University Law School. She also holds graduate certificates in International Human Rights Law and Sustainable Finance from the University of Oxford and Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership, respectively. She is also a Professorial Lecturer at The George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health.

Orriel serves as a Trustee for Levine Music, Washington, DC and a member of National Advisory Boards for The Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing and the Meharry School of Global Health.

Carissa Rocheleau, Ph.D., is a research epidemiologist and team lead at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. She has authored over 40 peer-reviewed research studies on occupational exposures affecting women’s health, and over 50 government documents and plain-language communication products. As a subject matter expert for CDC in workplace hazards that can impact pregnancy and breastfeeding, Dr. Rocheleau has also consulted with hundreds of employers, workers, and healthcare providers who are navigating complex situations for which few, if any, formal guidelines exist. She firmly believes that with compassion, good science communication, and a strong dose of pragmatism, implementable solutions are usually in reach.

Sheila Shah is a Managing Director & Partner in L.E.K. Consulting’s Chicago office and serves as leader of the firm’s Digital Healthcare practice. Sheila’s experience covers a range of areas, with a particular focus on healthcare technology, due diligence, commercial strategy, healthcare supply chain, growth opportunity assessment and organizational design.

Prior to joining L.E.K., Sheila interned in Janssen’s Healthcare Innovation Group at Johnson & Johnson and worked in Strategic Sourcing at New York Presbyterian Hospital and in EY’s Healthcare Advisory practice. She holds a B.A. degree in Economics and Political Science from Barnard College of Columbia University and an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.

A lifelong restaurateur, Dan Simons has become known for his ability to lead teams and communicate effectively while developing systems that deliver profitability. His tenacity for good management and desire to get the work done efficiently and creatively is balanced with a belief that providing reliable mentorship, sophisticated staff development, and supporting mental wellness is critical to any company’s sustained success. He and his partner, Michael Vucurevich, are Co-Owners of the innovative, mission-driven Founding Farmers Restaurant Group in partnership with the North Dakota Farmers Union, working to generate profits for American family farmers, earn farmers a larger share of the food dollar, and influence the sourcing decisions of suppliers and others in the hospitality industry. They currently operate seven sustainably run restaurants (in DC, MD, VA, and PA) with a new restaurant in Alexandria coming in March 2025. They also run a DC-based distillery and a full-service catering and events company. In 2018, Simons founded Our Last Straw, a business coalition turned non-profit working to eliminate plastic straws and other single-use plastics. Simons is also a teacher at the George Washington University and on the DC Advisory Board of Conscious Capitalism. He regularly blogs at www.DanSimonsSays.com and can be found across most social channels @DanSimonsSays.

Dr. Sharon E. Smith is an accomplished healthcare leader with expertise in population health and workplace wellbeing strategy. With a distinguished career spanning over two decades, her journey in healthcare leadership reflects her unwavering dedication to improving health outcomes and promoting wellbeing. 

As the former Corporate Medical Director for the Estee Lauder Companies, Dr. Smith played a pivotal role in fostering a global culture of health. Her responsibilities included collaborating with multiple internal teams to address health and wellness gaps that affected employees and their families. She spearheaded the company wide wellness framework, which was used as the strategy for benefits  and wellbeing programming. Her work also extended to crisis leadership, where she partnered across multidisciplinary lines to address infectious disease and illness threats impacting employees worldwide.

Prior to her tenure at Estee Lauder, Dr. Smith served as the Chief Medical Officer for Prudential Life Insurance Company of America. In this capacity, she managed the workplace wellbeing strategy, encompassing health crisis management, leave and accommodations, and onsite clinic management. Her leadership in these roles showcased her ability to navigate complex health issues and implement effective strategies for employee health and wellness.

Dr. Smith's has practiced Internal Medicine for over 25 years in multiple diverse roles. She has held several medical leadership positions, demonstrating her versatility and commitment to advancing healthcare. Her academic credentials include a Doctor of Medicine (MD) degree from Howard University College of Medicine and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree from Columbia Business School. She is board certified in Internal Medicine and Lifestyle Medicine and is a Certified Medical Review Officer. Additionally, Dr. Smith is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians and has several professional affiliations that underscore her dedication to the field.

Beyond her professional achievements, Dr. Smith is deeply committed to community service. She is an active member of several organizations, including the North Manhattan Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., where she serves as Chair of the Physical and Mental Health and Wellbeing committee. She is also Chair of the Good Health Wins committee of her local section of the National Council of Negro Women. Additionally, Dr. Smith sits on the Governing board of The Alliance of Families for Justice, a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering formerly incarcerated persons and their families.

Dr. Smith's passion for population health is evident in her belief that supporting employee health and wellness in the workplace contributes to the overall wellness of the community.