First Lady Michelle Obama
Honorary Chair
When people ask Michelle Obama to describe herself, she doesn't hesitate. First and foremost, she is Malia and Sasha's mom.But before she was a mother — or a wife, lawyer, or public servant — she was Fraser and Marian Robinson's daughter.
The Robinsons lived in a brick bungalow on the South Side of Chicago. Fraser was a pump operator for the Chicago Water Department, and despite being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis at a young age, he hardly ever missed a day of work. Marian stayed home to raise Michelle and her brother, Craig, skillfully managing a busy household filled with love, laughter, and important life lessons.
A product of Chicago public schools, Michelle studied sociology and African-American studies at Princeton University. After graduating from Harvard Law School in 1988, she joined the Chicago law firm Sidley & Austin, where she later met the man who would become the love of her life.
After a few years, Michelle decided her true calling lay in encouraging people to serve their communities and their neighbors. She served as assistant commissioner of planning and development in Chicago's City Hall before becoming the founding executive director of the Chicago chapter of Public Allies, an AmeriCorps program that prepares youth for public service.
In 1996, Michelle joined the University of Chicago with a vision of bringing campus and community together. As associate dean of student services, she developed the university's first community service program, and under her leadership as vice president of community and external affairs for the University of Chicago Medical Center, volunteerism skyrocketed.
As First Lady, Michelle Obama looks forward to continuing her work on the issues close to her heart — supporting military families, helping working women balance career and family, and encouraging national service.
Michelle and Barack Obama have two daughters: Malia, 10, and Sasha, 7. Like their mother, the girls were born on the South Side of Chicago.
The Honorable William H. Frist, MD
Honorary Vice Chair
Doctor and Senator Bill Frist is both a nationally recognized heart and lung transplant surgeon and former U.S. Senate Majority Leader. Currently Professor of Business and Medicine at Vanderbilt University, he is uniquely qualified to discuss the challenges and solutions in health care policy. Senator Frist is consistently recognized among the most influential leaders in American health care.
Senator Frist majored in health policy at Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs before graduating with honors from Harvard Medical School and completing surgical training at Massachusetts General Hospital and Stanford. As the founder and Director of the Vanderbilt Multi-Organ Transplant Center, he has performed over 150 heart and lung transplants and authored over 100 peer-reviewed medical articles and chapters and, over 400 newspaper articles, and seven books on topics such as bioterrorism, transplantation, and leadership. He is board certified in both general and heart surgery.
Dr. Frist represented Tennessee in the U.S. Senate for 12 years where he served on both committees responsible for writing health legislation (Health and Finance). His leadership was instrumental in passage of prescription drug legislation and funding to fight HIV at home and globally.
Today Senator Frist is focused on domestic health reform, K-12 education reform, the basic science of heart transplantation, global health policy, economic development in low-income countries, children’s health around the world, health care disparities, medical mission work in Sudan, the health of the mountain gorilla, and HIV/AIDS. Senator Frist’s latest book, A Heart to Serve: The Passion to Bring Health, Home, and Healing, is an inspirational treatise of channeling one’s passions to serve others through medicine, politics, and global health.
Frist currently serves on the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Commission to Build a Healthier America, which has directly linked better health to education. This along with other education research led him to create the Tennessee State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE) in 2009, which is a statewide K-12 education initiative working to improve the level of education for Tennessee students.
Dr. Frist regularly annually leads medical mission trips to Africa. He is chair of Save the Children’s "Survive to Five Campaign" and Nashville-based Hope Through Healing Hands. His current board service includes the Kaiser Family Foundation, Millennium Challenge Corporation, Africare, the U.S. Holocaust Museum’s Committee on Conscience, the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and the Harvard Medical School Board of Fellows.
Senator Frist was the 2007-2008 Frederick H. Schultz Professor of International Economic Policy at Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. He is a partner in the private equity firm of Cressey and Company. Dr. Frist is married, and has three sons, and lives in Nashville.
The Honorable Cory A. Booker
Honorary Vice Chair
Cory A. Booker, 40, is the Mayor of Newark, New Jersey. He took the oath of office as Mayor of New Jersey’s largest city on July 1, 2006 following a sweeping electoral victory.
Elected with a clear mandate for change, Mayor Booker has begun work on realizing a bold vision for the city. Newark’s mission is to set a national standard for urban transformation by marshalling its resources to achieve security, economic abundance and an environment that is nurturing and empowering for individuals and families.
Mayor Booker and his Administration have made meaningful strides towards achieving the City’s mission. As of July 1, 2008, Newark, New Jersey led the nation among large cities for reductions in shootings and murders, achieving decreases of more than 40% reductions in both categories. Radical transformation of the Newark Police Department under Mayor Booker’s leadership, together with the deployment of over 100 surveillance cameras throughout City, has led to Newark setting the nationwide pace for crime reduction.
Among other recent notable achievements under Mayor Booker’s leadership, the City of Newark has committed to a $40 million transformation of the City’s parks and playgrounds through a ground-breaking public/private partnership. The Booker Administration has also doubled affordable housing production.
Mayor Booker’s political career began in 1998, after serving as Staff Attorney for the Urban Justice Center in Newark. He rose to prominence as Newark’s Central Ward Councilman. During his four years of service from 1998-2002, then-Councilman Booker earned a reputation as a leader with innovative ideas and bold actions, from increasing security in public housing to building new playgrounds. This work was the foundation for his leadership as Mayor. For this work, he has been recognized in numerous publications, including, among others, Time, Esquire, New Jersey Monthly (naming him as one of New Jersey’s top 40 under 40), Black Enterprise (naming him to the Hot List, America’s Most Powerful Players under 40) and The New York Times Magazine.
Reflecting his commitment to education, Mayor Booker is a member of numerous boards and advisory committees including Democrats for Education Reform, Columbia University Teachers’ College Board of Trustees and the Black Alliance for Educational Options. Mayor Booker received his B. A. and M. A. from Stanford University, a B. A. in Modern History at Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar, and completed his law degree at Yale University.
S. Lawrence Kocot
Interim President and CEO
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.