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
April Ryan
Job Title
White House Correspondent, MSNBC Political Analyst, D.C. Bureau Chief for TheGrio
Company
TheGrio
Speaker Bio
White House Correspondent April Ryan has a unique vantage point as the only Black female reporter covering urban issues from the White House - a position she has held for over 26 years, since the Clinton era. She is now the longest-serving Black woman in the press corps. Her position as a White House Correspondent has afforded her unusual insight into the racial sensitivities, issues, and attendant political struggles of our nation's past presidents.
April is the Washington D.C. Bureau Chief for TheGrio. She has been featured in Essence, Vogue, Cosmopolitan, and Elle Magazines to name a few. April Ryan has served on the board of the prestigious White House Correspondents Association. She is one of only four African Americans in the Association's over 100-year history to serve on its board. She is also an esteemed member of the National Press Club and the Gridiron Club. In 2015, Ms. Ryan was nominated for an NAACP Image Award (Outstanding Literary Work-Debut Author) for her first book. 2016 National Council of Negro Women, Mary McCloud Bethune Trailblazer. In 2017 April was the Journalist of the Year for the National Association of Black Journalists.
In 2019 April Ryan became an honorary member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated, and was recognized as the 2019 Freedom of the Press Award Winner by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. April was nominated in 2021 for the NAACP Image Award for Social Justice Impact. April is a Baltimore native and Morgan State University graduate, and she gives back to this community by serving as a mentor to aspiring journalists and assisting with developing "up and coming" broadcasters. April considers her greatest life's work raising her two daughters, Ryan and Grace- who are phenomenal young women.
April Ryan is the author of the award-winning book, The Presidency in Black and White, and At Mama's Knee: Mothers and Race in Black and White (December 2016), where she looks at race relations through the lessons and wisdom that mothers have given their children. April is also the author of Under Fire: Reporting from the Front Lines of the Trump White House. Her latest book, Black Women Will Save the World, celebrates Black women's resilience and unheralded strength, reflects on "The Year That Changed Everything" — 2020 — and discusses African-American women's unprecedented role in upholding democracy.
April is the Washington D.C. Bureau Chief for TheGrio. She has been featured in Essence, Vogue, Cosmopolitan, and Elle Magazines to name a few. April Ryan has served on the board of the prestigious White House Correspondents Association. She is one of only four African Americans in the Association's over 100-year history to serve on its board. She is also an esteemed member of the National Press Club and the Gridiron Club. In 2015, Ms. Ryan was nominated for an NAACP Image Award (Outstanding Literary Work-Debut Author) for her first book. 2016 National Council of Negro Women, Mary McCloud Bethune Trailblazer. In 2017 April was the Journalist of the Year for the National Association of Black Journalists.
In 2019 April Ryan became an honorary member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated, and was recognized as the 2019 Freedom of the Press Award Winner by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. April was nominated in 2021 for the NAACP Image Award for Social Justice Impact. April is a Baltimore native and Morgan State University graduate, and she gives back to this community by serving as a mentor to aspiring journalists and assisting with developing "up and coming" broadcasters. April considers her greatest life's work raising her two daughters, Ryan and Grace- who are phenomenal young women.
April Ryan is the author of the award-winning book, The Presidency in Black and White, and At Mama's Knee: Mothers and Race in Black and White (December 2016), where she looks at race relations through the lessons and wisdom that mothers have given their children. April is also the author of Under Fire: Reporting from the Front Lines of the Trump White House. Her latest book, Black Women Will Save the World, celebrates Black women's resilience and unheralded strength, reflects on "The Year That Changed Everything" — 2020 — and discusses African-American women's unprecedented role in upholding democracy.
