Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Announces 2012–2013 Health Policy Fellows

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

Eight health professionals will bring their real-world expertise to Capitol Hill.

Princeton, N.J.—Eight exceptional health leaders with a range of experience and expertise in fields ranging from radiology to nursing have been selected as this year’s Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) Health Policy Fellows. The fellows will utilize their academic, public health, clinical, and community-based experience to provide health policy leadership on Capitol Hill.

“The RWJF Health Policy Fellowship provides firsthand training on how to use health policy to improve public health and health care,” says Marie E. Michnich, DrPH, director and alumna of the RWJF Health Policy Fellows program. “For 37 years, this program has attracted some of the most talented professionals in health and health care. Our 2012–2013 fellows continue to raise the bar.”

This year’s fellows include the following.

  • Barbara Damron, PhD, RN, FAAN, is associate professor at the University of New Mexico College of Nursing, and director of the Office of Community Partnerships and Cancer Health Disparities at the University of New Mexico Cancer Center.
  • Karen B. Domino, MD, MPH, is professor and vice chair for clinical research in the Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, and adjunct professor for neurological surgery, at the University of Washington School of Medicine.
  • Bruce Edgren, PharmD, is associate professor and chair in the Department of Pharmacy Practice and Administration at Saint Joseph College.
  • Stephen Ferrara, MD, is commander and chief of Interventional Radiology in the Department of Radiology with the U.S. Navy.
  • Andrew Gettinger, MD, is associate dean for clinical informatics and professor at Dartmouth Medical School. He is also chief medical information officer at the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center.
  • Harry J. Heiman, MD, MPH, is assistant professor in the Department of Family Medicine and director of health policy at the Morehouse School of Medicine, Satcher Health Leadership Institute.
  • Peter Sokolove, MD, is professor and vice chair for academic affairs in the Department of Emergency Medicine at the University of California, Davis Health System.
  • Hassan A. Tetteh, MD, MPA, MBA, FACS, is assistant professor of surgery in the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery at the National Naval Medical Center. He is also a Commander with the U.S. Navy Medical Corps.

“These fellows will develop unmatched leadership skills and become part of an influential professional network,” said Michael Painter, JD, MD, RWJF senior program officer and 2003–2004 Health Policy Fellow. “Once they have completed the program, they return to the field, where they put this network and their health policy leadership skills to work.”

Each year, fellows are chosen through a highly competitive selection process. They leave their academic settings and professional practices to spend a year in the nation’s capital. A three-month orientation program is followed by a nine-month assignment in which fellows work in either a congressional office or the executive branch. Work assignments are supplemented throughout the year with health policy leadership development activities and media training.

RWJF Health Policy Fellows is a national program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation with direction and technical assistance provided by the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies. More than 200 fellows from a variety of disciplines in health and health care from across the nation have participated in the program since 1973.

For more information, visit www.healthpolicyfellows.org.


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Linah Colgrove | IQ Solutions | lcolgrove@iqsolutions.com | (240) 221-4282


About the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation focuses on the pressing health and health care issues facing our country. As the nation’s largest philanthropy devoted exclusively to health and health care, the Foundation works with a diverse group of organizations and individuals to identify solutions and achieve comprehensive, measurable, and timely change. For 40 years the Foundation has brought experience, commitment, and a rigorous, balanced approach to the problems that affect the health and health care of those it serves. When it comes to helping Americans lead healthier lives and get the care they need, the Foundation expects to make a difference in your lifetime. Follow the Foundation on Twitter (www.rwjf.org/twitter) or Facebook (www.rwjf.org/facebook).