Full Name
Dr. Crispin Woolston
Job Title
Head of Science Policy
Company
Sanofi
Speaker Bio
Cris Woolston is Head of Science Policy at Sanofi, where he is responsible for formulating and coordinating Sanofi’s position on, and response to, public policy issues of strategic and operational significance to biomedical innovation, research and development. At Sanofi, Dr. Woolston has held positions of responsibility encompassing R&D strategy, research portfolio prioritization, information management, and business transformation. He is also a member of Sanofi’s Bioethics Committee. Dr. Woolston was born in Scotland and obtained his Ph.D. in molecular virology in the UK in 1983. Prior to joining Sanofi, he pursued research into viral gene structure and function in the UK academic sector.
Full Name
Dr. Joseph Betancourt
Job Title
President
Company
Commonwealth Fund
Speaker Bio
Dr. Joseph R. Betancourt, M.D., M.P.H., is the president of the Commonwealth Fund and a leading expert in health care policy, equity, and community health. Formerly the senior vice president for Equity and Community Health at Massachusetts General Hospital and founding director of the Disparities Solutions Center, he has dedicated his career to improving health care quality for diverse populations.
An associate professor at Harvard Medical School and a board-certified internist, Betancourt has advised numerous federal health agencies and served on governance boards, including Trinity Health and the Massachusetts Health and Hospitals Association. He has authored nearly 80 peer-reviewed articles and contributed to the landmark Unequal Treatment report.
A National Academy of Medicine member and Aspen Institute Health Innovators Fellow, Betancourt has received numerous accolades, including Modern Healthcare’s Top 25 Diversity Leaders and Top 50 Clinical Healthcare Executives honors. He holds an M.D. from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey and an M.P.H. from Harvard.
An associate professor at Harvard Medical School and a board-certified internist, Betancourt has advised numerous federal health agencies and served on governance boards, including Trinity Health and the Massachusetts Health and Hospitals Association. He has authored nearly 80 peer-reviewed articles and contributed to the landmark Unequal Treatment report.
A National Academy of Medicine member and Aspen Institute Health Innovators Fellow, Betancourt has received numerous accolades, including Modern Healthcare’s Top 25 Diversity Leaders and Top 50 Clinical Healthcare Executives honors. He holds an M.D. from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey and an M.P.H. from Harvard.
Full Name
Dr. Chris Pernell
Job Title
Director
Company
Center for Health Equity, NAACP
Speaker Bio
Dr. Chris T. Pernell is a dynamic physician leader and social change agent. In her practice, she focuses on health justice, community-based advocacy, and population-wide health promotion and disease prevention. A celebrated visionary and apostle of public health, Dr. Chris serves as the Director of the NAACP Center for Health Equity. The Center is charged with driving equitable health outcomes and transforming healthcare systems while valuing the whole person. Prior to joining the nation's oldest and most venerable civil rights organization, she launched The Esther Group, a public health consulting and health equity strategy firm. As founder of The Esther Group, she lives the mandate to dare a future where organizations, communities and systems can innovate for a better world and humanity.
Full Name
Dr. Chris T. Pernell
Job Title
Director
Company
Center for Health Equity, NAACP
Speaker Bio
Dr. Chris T. Pernell, M.D., M.P.H., F.A.C.P.M., is a physician leader and health justice advocate dedicated to advancing health equity and social change. As Director of the NAACP Center for Health Equity, she works to drive equitable health outcomes and transform healthcare systems. Previously, she was the first Chief Strategic Integration and Health Equity Officer at University Hospital in Newark, overseeing population health, strategic planning, and diversity initiatives.
Dr. Pernell has led workplace health strategies at 1199SEIU, founded The Esther Group, a health equity consulting firm, and served on the Essex County Civilian Task Force and New Jersey Reparations Council. A sought-after speaker and media contributor, she advises leaders on health equity, racial justice, and community well-being.
Her accolades include ROI-NJ Top 150 Business Leaders, NJBiz Best 50 Women in Business, and the American College of Preventive Medicine Ron Davis Special Recognition Award. She holds degrees from Princeton, Duke, and Columbia, completed her residency at Johns Hopkins, and is a fellow of the American College of Preventive Medicine.
Dr. Pernell has led workplace health strategies at 1199SEIU, founded The Esther Group, a health equity consulting firm, and served on the Essex County Civilian Task Force and New Jersey Reparations Council. A sought-after speaker and media contributor, she advises leaders on health equity, racial justice, and community well-being.
Her accolades include ROI-NJ Top 150 Business Leaders, NJBiz Best 50 Women in Business, and the American College of Preventive Medicine Ron Davis Special Recognition Award. She holds degrees from Princeton, Duke, and Columbia, completed her residency at Johns Hopkins, and is a fellow of the American College of Preventive Medicine.
Full Name
Dr. Janeana White
Job Title
Interim Chief of Medical Services
Company
Houston Health Department
Speaker Bio
Dr. Janeana White serves as the Interim Chief of Medical Services for the Houston Health Department. Dr. White promotes public health practices, value-added hazard analysis and risk assessments to ensure that the health and social well-being of the community is fulfilled. She is an active clinician, teacher, mentor and patient advocate who finds fulfillment in caring for communities and values informed care with shared decision-making.
Dr. White received her pre-med and medical training at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan before completing her internship and residency in Internal Medicine and Pediatrics at the University of Texas Health Science Center (UTHSC) in Houston. At UTHSC, she served as a Pediatric Chief Resident and completed a primary care fellowship that focused on public health practices in pediatrics.
Dr. White serves on several boards, committees and professional organizations. She is a Milbank Memorial Fund's Emerging Leader, promoting a health equity lens to improve population health to legislative and executive branch government officials, and a Homeland Security Executive Leadership Program graduate from the Naval Postgraduate School.
Dr. White received her pre-med and medical training at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan before completing her internship and residency in Internal Medicine and Pediatrics at the University of Texas Health Science Center (UTHSC) in Houston. At UTHSC, she served as a Pediatric Chief Resident and completed a primary care fellowship that focused on public health practices in pediatrics.
Dr. White serves on several boards, committees and professional organizations. She is a Milbank Memorial Fund's Emerging Leader, promoting a health equity lens to improve population health to legislative and executive branch government officials, and a Homeland Security Executive Leadership Program graduate from the Naval Postgraduate School.
