In July 2013, a small group of executive-level women from diverse sectors of the health care industry came together for a unique meeting to articulate their desired personal legacies, and to apply the concept of collective impact to advance those legacies in addressing complex problems in health care.

The group, which has since become known as Women of Impact, agreed on a shared goal: to realign the health care system to meet the needs of all Americans, recognizing that the people who need care come from all walks of life. They also agreed on a nonpartisan case for change that zeroed in on critical concerns prominent in the national conversation.

• Health care costs too much, and Americans aren’t getting what they pay for.
• People must have the ability to take charge of their wellness and health care and to exercise the power of choice.
• Health, not sickness, should be the focus of care.
• Innovation is vital.
• Health care should be available to everyone when they need it.

Since then, the group has grown to over 100 women executives across the United States, and Hawaii! The group understands that health for all is made better by having more women in leadership positions. Every year the group convenes for their Annual Meeting and recommits to their shared goals. The members of the group are committed championing Social and Racial Justice, re-imagining and creating structures to secure health and wellbeing, and transforming and harnessing data and metrics.

Most recently, the group recommited to their shared values around Societal Health. These leaders are commited to the below tenets. 

• We look where we don’t see, or don’t want to see, problems.
• We respect facts and evidence but also listen to and trust lived experiences.
• We respect all people, their journeys, and the obstacles and biases they have faced.
• We support women as critical change-makers and conveners.
• We own the responsibility to create the change we want to see in the world.
• We commit that our inquiry is driven by a sense of discovery and humility.
• We co-create solutions.

Women of Impact's Executive Committee

• Vinny Arora, MD, MAPP, Dean for Medical Education, UChicago Medicine
• Shari Barkin, MD, MSHS, William K Warren Endowed Chair and Professor of Pediatrics, Chief, Division General Pediatrics, Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC)
• Helen Burstin, MD, MPH, Chief Executive Officer, Council of Medical Specialty Societies
• Esther Choo, MD, MPH, Founding Member for TIME’S UP Healthcare, Associate Professor, Center for Policy and Research in Emergency Medicine, Oregon Health & Science University
• Carolyn Clancy, MD, Assistant Under Secretary for Health, Veterans Health Administration
• Ceci Connolly, President and CEO, Alliance of Community Health Plans
• Joanne Conroy, MD, CEO, Dartmouth-Hitchcock and Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health
• Karen Feinstein, PhD, President and CEO, Jewish Healthcare Foundation
• Christine Hunter, MD, Independent Director, WPS Health Solutions
• Della Lin, MS, MD, FASA, Senior Fellow in Patient Safety and Health Systems Engineering, Estes Park Institute
• Judy Monroe, MD, President & CEO, CDC Foundation
• Karen Remley, Director for the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities (NCBDDD), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Michelle Showalter, Vice President, Federal Employee Health Benefits Program & Military Health Business Development, Kaiser Permanente
• Patricia Turner, MD, MBA, FACS, Executive Director, American College of Surgeons

Staff: Kate Dickerson, MSc. Executive Director