Health is the first wealth and the foundation for building a better future. 

Pioneering Leader in Advancing Women's Health

Women have unique health needs, and many diseases and conditions affect women uniquely, disproportionately or differently than men. Yet in the past, their health has been neglected in the halls of public policy, the research bench, and in clinical settings. In the late 1980’s, Rear Admiral Susan Blumenthal, M.D., was a pioneer in exposing inequities in women’s health research, policy and education. In recognition of her extraordinary leadership, she was appointed in 1993 as America’s first ever Deputy Assistant Secretary for Women’s Health in the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). In this position, she significantly increased public and private sector attention to women’s health issues and sex differences in health, established numerous innovative initiatives across the Federal government including the National Centers of Excellence in Women’s Health program, Missiles to Mammograms, the National Women’s Health Resource Center, and directed a Presidential Initiative on Breast Cancer. As Director of the HHS Office on Women’s Health, Rear Admiral Blumenthal coordinated a $4 billion budget across the agencies of HHS and worked with other agencies of government including the DOD and VA as well as countries to increase attention to women’s health and sex differences in research, policy, and education. She is currently the Honorary Chair of the WHx Initiative at the MIT Media Lab focusing on innovative ways that technology can advance women’s health, a $1 trillion annual opportunity for the global economy by 2040, with multigenerational benefits.