James R. Gavin III, MD, PhD is chairman of the Partnership for a Healthier America’s Board of Directors. He is a widely respected academic and entrepreneur in the medical community who brings a deep knowledge of childhood obesity-related illnesses and the policy and environmental influences that contribute to childhood obesity. Dr. Gavin is a clinical professor of medicine at Emory University School of Medicine and clinical professor of medicine at the Indiana University School of Medicine. He currently serves as chief executive officer and chief medical officer of Healing Our Village, Inc. Previously, he served as president and chief executive officer of MicroIslet, Inc., as well as president of the Morehouse School of Medicine, senior scientific officer at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), and director of the HHMI–National Institutes of Health Research Scholars Program. Dr. Gavin was also a professor and chief of the Diabetes Section, acting chief of the Section on Endocrinology, Metabolism, and Hypertension, and William K. Warren Professor for Diabetes Studies at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. In addition, he served as an associate professor of medicine at Washington University School of Medicine, as well as a lieutenant commander in the U.S. Public Health Service, where he continues to serve as a reserve officer. Dr. Gavin belongs to a number of organizations, including the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Diabetes Association, the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists, the Endocrine Society, the American Society of Clinical Investigation, and the American Association of Physicians. Dr. Gavin graduated from Livingstone College with a degree in chemistry, and earned his PhD in biochemistry from Emory University, as well as his MD degree from Duke University School of Medicine.
Deborah L. DeHaas leads the quality, client satisfaction, growth and human resource initiatives for Deloitte LLP, where she serves as vice chairman and Midwest regional managing partner. She also serves as lead client service partner or advisory partner on a number of the firm’s most significant clients, and is a member of the Deloitte LLP U.S. Board of Directors. Prior to assuming her current role, Ms. DeHaas was the regional managing partner of Strategic Clients for the Midwest Region, where she led the management and development of the firm’s national global strategic clients program for the seven offices throughout the region. Her community involvement and philanthropic efforts have led to her recognition by numerous local and national organizations. Most recently, she received the Gerald J. Roper Business Professional of the Year Award, the American Red Cross of Greater Chicago 2008 Heritage Award, the YWCA’s 2006 Outstanding Women’s Leaders Award for Community Leadership and Boardroom Bound 2005 Business-to-Business Ambassador Award. Ms. DeHaas was recognized by the Chicago Sun-Times as one of seven influentials in Chicago and one of the ten most powerful women in business. She was included in Crain’s Chicago Business “Who’s Who in Chicago”, “100 Most Influential Women” and “25 Women to Watch” lists. Ms. DeHaas graduated from Duke University with a BS in Management Science and Accounting. She is a certified public accountant and a member of several state and national professional societies, including the AICPA and the Illinois CPA Society.
Peter R. Dolan, MBA is chair of Child Obesity 180, a multi-sector CEO level group working to create a long-term, comprehensive and strategic approach to preventing childhood obesity. He is also lead director of Vitality Health, a for-profit health and wellness company, as well as chairman and Interim CEO of Gemin X, a venture capital-backed oncology company. Mr. Dolan has more than 25 years of operating experience, beginning his career in marketing at General Foods before moving to Bristol-Myers, where he served as president of the company’s Products Division and Mead Johnson Nutritionals. He also served as group president of Medical Devices and Nutritionals before being promoted to president, and later chairman and chief executive officer, of Bristol-Myers Squibb. Mr. Dolan is a vice-chair of the Board of Tufts University and a member of the Board of Overseers of the Tuck School at Dartmouth. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University and a member of the Business Council. He has served on the boards of the American Express Company, C-Change, and was chairman of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America. Mr. Dolan holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Tufts University and a Masters of Business Administration degree from the Amos Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth.
S. Lawrence Kocot, JD, LLM, MPA is the interim president and chief executive officer of the Partnership for a Healthier America and sits on its board of directors. He serves as a visiting fellow in the Economic Studies program and deputy director of the Engelberg Center for Health Care Reform at the Brookings Institution. Mr. Kocot is also senior counsel at Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal LLP. Previously, he was senior advisor to the Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. In this capacity, he was involved in a wide range of health care policy issues and operations related to Medicare and Medicaid. Mr. Kocot is former chairman and currently a member of Virginia's Commonwealth Health Research Board; he was appointed by Virginia Governor Mark R. Warner and reappointed by Virginia Governor Tim Kaine. Prior to his government service, he spent nearly a decade at the National Association of Chain Drug Stores, where he was senior vice president and general counsel. Mr. Kocot received his BA and MPA degrees from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. He earned his JD and LLM degrees at the Georgetown University Law Center.
Deborah Landesman has extensive experience in philanthropy and the non-profit sector, including work related to child and maternal health. She currently operates a consulting business which works with foundation and corporate clients on philanthropic strategy, program design and governance. Previously, she was the executive director of the Levi Strauss Foundation, San Francisco, and before that a senior program officer at the Kresge Foundation in Detroit. Ms. Landesman has served on a variety of non-profit boards and is presently a member of the advisory team for the Salzburg Global Seminar Initiative on Philanthropy. She graduated with a BA from Notre Dame University and an MA from the Washington University School of Engineering. Ms. Landesman also completed a three-year leadership fellowship awarded by the Kellogg Foundation.
Janet Murguía, JD is the president and chief executive officer of the National Council of La Raza (NCLR), the largest national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States. Since 2005, Ms. Murguía has sought to strengthen NCLR’s work and enhance its record of impact as a vital American institution. She has also sought to strengthen the Latino voice on issues affecting the Hispanic community including education, health care, immigration, civil rights, and the economy, and is committed to reversing the epidemic of childhood obesity. Ms. Murguía is a board member of the Independent Sector, as well as an executive committee member of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights and board member of the Hispanic Association on Corporate Responsibility and the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda. She began her career serving as legislative counsel to former Kansas Congressman Jim Slattery. She then worked at the White House as deputy assistant and deputy director of legislative affairs for President Clinton, as well as deputy campaign manager and director of constituency outreach for the Gore/Lieberman presidential campaign. In 2001, Ms. Murguía joined the University of Kansas (KU) as executive vice chancellor for university relations. She received three degrees from KU: a BS degree in journalism, a BA degree in Spanish, and a JD degree from the School of Law.
Vivian Riefberg, MBA is a director (senior partner) in McKinsey & Company’s Washington, D.C. office, where she leads the healthcare practice and has studied the economic impact of obesity. She carries experience advising and negotiating with senior leaders across all sectors and is a widely recognized thought-leader in the healthcare community. As co-leader of the Health Care Payor-Provider Practice, she has run major transformation, turnaround, performance improvement and post-merger management programs for payors, specialty providers, and pharmaceutical companies. Since joining McKinsey more than 20 years ago, Ms. Riefberg has worked to improve performance of commercial and government health plans and U.S. government health agencies, helping pharmaceutical companies on commercial, marketing, and clinical development issues; and improving the interface between health care purchasers and suppliers of products and services. She also helps lead an internal working group on obesity. Prior to joining McKinsey, Ms. Riefberg worked for American Medical International as manager of marketing communications. She also served on the NIH Clinical Center Board of Governors, and was a member of the NIH Advisory Board for Clinical Research. She has also served on the board of directors of Mentors, Inc., a program for D.C. public high school students. She graduated magna cum laudewith a degree in history from Harvard-Radcliffe College, and holds an MBA with distinction from Harvard Business School.
William L. Roper, MD, MPH is chief executive officer of the University of North Carolina (UNC) Health Care System, as well as dean of the School of Medicine and vice chancellor for Medical Affairs at UNC. He is also professor of health policy and administration in the School of Public Health, as well as professor of pediatrics and of social medicine in the School of Medicine at UNC. His experience makes him an expert in negotiating with public officials, physician groups and businesses and holding them accountable for the commitments they make. Previously, he served as dean of the School of Public Health at UNC. In addition, he served as senior vice president of Prudential HealthCare, as well as president of the Prudential Center for Health Care Research. Before coming to Prudential, Dr. Roper was director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, served on the senior White House staff, was administrator of the Health Care Financing Administration (responsible for Medicare and Medicaid), and served as a White House Fellow. Dr. Roper is a member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences. He is also a member of the board of directors of DaVita, Inc. and Medco Health Solutions, Inc., as well as a member of the Scientific Management Review Board of the NIH, and chairman of the board of directors of the National Quality Forum. He received his MD from the University of Alabama School of Medicine, and his MPH from the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Public Health. He completed his residency in pediatrics at the University of Colorado Medical Center.
Antronette K. (Toni) Yancey, MD, MPH is professor, Department of Health Services, UCLA School of Public Health, and co-director, UCLA Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Equity. She also directs her department's leadership doctoral degree program. She returned to academia full-time in 2001 after five years in public health practice, first as director of Public Health for the City of Richmond, VA, and as director of Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Los Angeles County Department of Health Services. Dr. Yancey’s primary research interests are in chronic disease prevention and adolescent health promotion, with a particular emphasis on interventions engaging underserved communities. She serves on the editorial boards of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, Preventive Medicine and the American Journal of Health Promotion. Dr. Yancey serves on the Institute of Medicine’s Standing Committee on Childhood Obesity Prevention, the National Physical Activity Plan Coordinating Committee, and the California (state) Department of Public Health Advisory Committee. Dr. Yancey is the immediate past chair of the board of directors of the Oakland, CA-based Public Health Institute, and has recently joined the board of directors of Action for Healthy Kids. She was also a member of the USDHHS Physical Activity Guidelines Advisory Committee, the IOM Local Government Actions to Prevent Childhood Obesity and Progress in Preventing Childhood Obesity Committees, and the Advisory Committee to the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Dr. Yancey completed her undergraduate studies in biochemistry and molecular biology at Northwestern University, her medical degree at Duke, and her preventive medicine residency/MPH at UCLA.