Staff, Boards & Advisors

Amy Pisani is a distinguished expert in the field of vaccine advocacy and education, with a remarkable tenure dating back to 1996 when she joined Every Child By Two (now known as Vaccinate Your Family). As the Chief Executive Officer, she has played a pivotal role in shaping the trajectory of immunization accessibility in the United States. Amy’s tireless dedication has made her a driving force for immunization advocacy, working tirelessly to advance the health and well-being of communities across the nation. Throughout her career, Amy has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to realizing VYF’s mission, which is to safeguard individuals of all ages from vaccine-preventable diseases and bridge immunization disparities.

In alignment with VYF’s founding principles, Amy has spearheaded collaborative initiatives that unite elected officials, community leaders, and representatives from national and local organizations in the fight against vaccine-preventable diseases. She guides the team in legislative education, fosters partnerships with like-minded advocates, collaborates with the media to ensure evidence-based reporting on vaccines, and employs diverse communication channels to educate the public.

Amy has been at the helm through VYF’s remarkable growth in the organization’s social media, effectively reaching over four million individuals annually. Through platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube, VYF disseminates science-based information that underscores the importance of timely vaccinations and the safety of vaccines. In addition to this digital outreach, VYF’s website, available in both English and Spanish, attracts over one million visitors each year and has earned the prestigious Vaccine Safety Net seal of approval from the World Health Organization.

Amy’s dedication extended to the urgent need for equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines. She played a pivotal role in various vital initiatives, including the Made to Save Collaborative, the HHS COVID Community Corps, and the White House Equity Panel. VYF continues to bring together partners who united in the fight against COVID-19 through the VYF-hosted Vaccination Collaborative. This platform facilitates the exchange of invaluable insights, research, and communication strategies, shaping evidence-based programs and policy efforts to ensure universal access to all vaccines.

Amy remains at the forefront of public health advocacy by actively engaging in conferences, hosting and presenting at congressional briefings, and vigilantly monitoring and responding to regulatory and policy changes that impact immunization delivery. The campaigns developed under her guidance have educated hundreds of millions of individuals worldwide, leaving an indelible mark on the field.

In addition to her work with VYF, Amy demonstrates her commitment to public health in various capacities. She proudly serves as the President of her local Rotary Club and has been recognized as a Paul Harris Fellow for her contributions. From 2011 to 2015, she served as a public member of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ National Vaccine Advisory Committee. Presently, she is a founding member of the 317 Coalition, ensuring stable congressional immunization funding, and sits on the steering committee of the Adult Vaccine Access Coalition, the HPV Roundtable, and several other coalitions that share VYF’s mission.

Amy’s rich career history extends beyond pediatrics. She gained extensive healthcare advocacy experience during her roles as the Education Program Coordinator at the Optical Society of America, Senior Staff Specialist for the American Nurses Association, and Program Director for the American Nurses Foundation. Her early career was dedicated to advancing the deaf community. Amy holds a Master’s of Science degree from Gallaudet University for the Deaf in Washington, D.C., and a Baccalaureate Degree in Psychology from the Catholic University of America, also in Washington, D.C.

amy@vaccinateyourfamily.org

www.vaccinateyourfamily.org

www.shotofprevention.com

Facebook (@Vaccinateyourfamily)

Twitter (@VaxYourFam)

Instagram (@Vaccinateyourfamily)

YouTube

As the Impact & Evaluation Director, Robyn Correll, MPH, CHWI, is responsible for designing and implementing evaluation strategies for Vaccinate Your Family. Her work leverages data to measure the progress of VYF’s various programmatic initiatives and to help the organization strengthen and communicate its impact.

Robyn brings with her over a decade of experience as a public health professional working at the intersection of data and communication. Before joining the VYF staff full time, she worked with the organization as an evaluation and communication consultant, helping VYF share scientific information in a way that was easily accessible to a wide variety of audiences. Her contributions included collaborating with VYF’s partner organizations to develop culturally and linguistically appropriate information about vaccines for Spanish speakers in the United States and developing a training program for promotores and community health workers to build their capacity to bolster vaccine confidence and connect people to vaccination services. She also worked with research teams to measure the prevalence of misinformation in traditional news outlets and design methodologies to test the effectiveness of vaccine-related messaging.

Prior to working with VYF as a consultant, Robyn held positions at The Immunization Partnership, the Houston Health Department’s Immunization Bureau, and the U.S. Peace Corps in Peru.

Robyn earned her graduate degree in public health from Tulane University’s School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine and her bachelor of journalism at the University of Missouri-Columbia. She is also a certified community health worker instructor.

Marshall Hayes joined Vaccinate Your Family as Director of Development in the fall of 2021.  In this role, Marshall is responsible for building a comprehensive fundraising program and strategies to increase philanthropic support to advance Vaccinate Your Family’s mission and vision. To help achieve VYF’s mission of protecting people of all ages from vaccine-preventable diseases, Marshall will lead the organization in securing the financial support of individuals, foundations, and corporations whose interest in a safe and healthy society aligns with our mission.

Marshall has spent his entire career in the not-for-profit sector working to support community-based organizations that seek to create a healthy and equitable space for all members of the community. He started his career in the field of Aging as Executive Director of Elder Care Services, working to provide elderly clients the support they needed to remain safe, independent, and living at home. It was in that role that he received the prestigious Community Peace Prize for his work in the field of Elder Abuse Prevention. Eventually his career path led him to field of fund development where he worked for many years as the director of a higher education foundation, helping to provide scholarships to deserving students in need. Most recently Marshall worked for American Dental Association Foundation where he secured funding in support of free dental care for underserved children and people with disabilities.

Marshall obtained his Masters of Arts degree in Communications from Illinois State University and his Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from Eureka College in Eureka Illinois.

Dana Howe is Vaccinate Your Family’s Communication Director. She utilizes her extensive background in brand positioning and digital media to increase the reach of VYF’s vaccination messages and to facilitate the organization’s public health education and communications initiatives. Dana’s experience will ensure that VYF remains at the forefront of social media and communication platforms.

Dana is driven by the goal of making health information and science accessible. In the past, Dana has worked as a communications specialist with major hospitals, as well as nonprofits on topics ranging from diabetes and cancer to pediatric device innovation. Prior to Joining VYF, Dana served as the Director of Brand Communications at the nonprofit Beyond Type 1, where she helped grow the largest digital footprint of any diabetes organization during her five years there.

Dana earned a dual BS in Biology and Community Health and also holds an MS in Health Communication from Tufts University and the Tufts University School of Medicine, respectively.

As the Government Affairs Director, Lecia Imbery is responsible for developing and implementing effective policy and government affairs strategies and campaigns in support of Vaccinate Your Family’s strategic goals, mission, and vision.

Lecia brings with her more than 20 years of experience in advocacy, policy, program management, volunteer management, and fundraising in the nonprofit sector. Prior to joining VYF, Lecia served as the deputy executive director and senior policy writer at the Coalition on Human Needs, an alliance of national nonprofits working together to promote public policies addressing the needs of people with low incomes. Prior to that, Lecia managed federal and state grassroots advocacy campaigns at the American Diabetes Association and the American Association of University Women.

Before moving to Washington, DC, Lecia worked for nonprofits and engineering firms in San Francisco and Chicago. Lecia has BS and MS degrees in Civil Engineering from the University of Illinois.

As Advocacy & Education Director at Vaccinate Your Family, Serese is responsible for cultivating, empowering, mobilizing, and supporting a diverse network of patient advocates who’ve been personally impacted by vaccine-preventable diseases, and overseeing the development of educational programming. Through engagement with advocates, key stakeholders, and strategic partners, Serese works to raise awareness about the seriousness of vaccine-preventable diseases across the lifespan and increase vaccine confidence. She oversees the development of educational programs aimed at increasing public awareness at local, state, and national levels, develops curricula, and provides opportunities for post-secondary learning. Serese also serves as the Vaccinate Your Family staff influenza (flu) subject matter expert and represents the organization on the Executive Committee for the Coalition to Stop Flu and the National Adult and Influenza Immunization Summit.

Her passion for advocacy emanates from her personal experience of losing her healthy five-year-old son, Joseph, to influenza during the 2009 H1N1 pandemic. Since then, she has made it her mission to help support other individuals and families that have been personally impacted by vaccine-preventable diseases and increase public awareness about the life-saving value of vaccines.

Serese comes to the role with years of experience in science, public health, and advocacy. Most recently, she served as the chief operating officer for Families Fighting Flu, a national non-profit organization focused solely on influenza. In her role there, she managed the day-to-day operations of the organization, including strategic planning and development, public relations, communications and marketing, educational programs and campaigns, strategic partnerships, advocacy and membership, and fundraising. In her capacity, she also served on the Executive Committee of the Coalition to Stop Flu and the American Thoracic Society’s Public Advisory Roundtable, as well as other stakeholder positions.

Prior to joining the public health world, Serese spent over 16 years as a senior environmental scientist at a global consulting firm managing complex, multi-pathway quantitative and qualitative human health and ecological risk assessments for hazardous waste sites across the U.S. She graduated magna cum laude from the State University of New York, College of Environmental Science and Forestry with a Bachelor of Science in environmental and forest biology.

Damaris Lara is Vaccinate Your Family’s Communication Lead, where she is responsible for developing and executing VYF’s comprehensive social media campaigns and community relations. As a multilingual person, Damaris leads VYF’s public health education and communications initiatives in Spanish-speaking communities, ensuring communities of all socioeconomic backgrounds can access accurate vaccination data and information.

Prior to joining VYF, Damaris was a Public Relations representative for various unions and legislative campaigns, such as the Los Angeles Families Fighting Flavored Tobacco movement, the United Food and Commercial Workers Union and the Service Employee International Union. In this past role, Damaris led grassroots organizing and media relations efforts to ensure safe working conditions amid the COVID-19 pandemic and end the sale of flavored tobacco in California. Additionally, Damaris has extensive Public Relations experience representing health technology companies and launching thought leadership strategies, providing counsel across campaigns for companies tackling critical industry issues such as clinician burnout and health inequity.

Damaris earned a dual BA in International Relations and Spanish from the University of Southern California.

Grisel Cisneros is Vaccinate Your Family’s Education Coordinator and ensures VYF’s educational programs promote equitable, evidence-based practices.  

Grisel is proudly Hispanic, bilingual, and bicultural. She is passionate about prevention through education. With a broad range of experience in public health, she has contributed to protocol design for community-based research, development, and adaptation of curricula for health promotion and education with underserved populations as well as community assessment and improvement planning. Grisel has also worked extensively with Promotoras/Community Health Workers (P/CHWs) as key players in health improvement initiatives. 

Prior to joining VYF, Grisel held positions with several nonprofits and university systems. She received her Master of Public Health (MPH) from the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston School of Public Health. 

Love-Vensna Fontilien is Vaccinate Your Family’s Health Promotion Coordinator. She is dedicated to impacting the health and lives of those in underserved communities. She has used her knowledge of public health practices, healthcare management, consulting, data analysis, and communication to serve initiatives and organizations within the U.S. and abroad. 

Love-Vensna has served as the Women’s Health Empowerment Volunteer for the Integrated Youth Empowerment Center (IYEC) in Limbe, Cameroon. In this role, she organized community outreach events and evaluated program effectiveness through participant surveys. She also served as a researcher on a joint global health collaboration team between Florida State University’s College of Medicine, and The Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University’s College of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences, Institute of Public Health. In this research role, Love-Vensna served on the Women’s Health Team project and the Violence Against Women Team Project, which focused on evaluating women’s health disparities in the Gracias a Dios, Honduras community. 

Love-Vensna received her Bachelor of Science in Family and Child Sciences with a concentration in Psychology from Florida State University, and her Master of Public Health with a concentration in Policy and Health Management from The Florida Agricultural & Mechanical University. 

Marlen Ramirez serves as Vaccinate Your Family’s Program Coordinator supporting VYF’s advocacy and education work. Marlen is an experienced Community Health Worker (CHW) and Community Health Worker Instructor (CHWI). She was drawn to become a CHW/CHWI in the State of Texas because she comes from a culture that usually does not promote health education.

Marlen is a passionate advocate for health promotion and health equity, evidenced by her work with CHWs and the development of community health programs in border cities along southwest Texas. As a CHW, Marlen has served as a navigator, connecting individuals to public health resources and helping them make informed medical decisions. As a CHWI, she has significantly improved health education in the communities she serves. She currently serves on the Community Health Worker or Promotor(a) Training and Certification Program Committee with the Texas Department of State Health Services and has served as Co-President for the Hope-K Trinational Health Council in Eagle Pass, Texas, and in the Del Rio, Texas – Ciudad Acuña, Coahuila, Mexico Trinational Health Cotrina. Marlen has been recognized for her work in adolescent health by the Texas Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancies, receiving the David C. Willey Award in 2018. She has also been awarded the Women of Del Rio Award for her work in creating health education programs that address health disparities.

Through her work, Marlen aims to improve the health and well-being of children and families, with a particular focus on vulnerable populations. In 2016, she launched Better Futures Forever as a youth group in which teens served as ambassadors to help promote a teen pregnancy prevention program to help reduce teen pregnancy in southwest Texas. The youth group made such an impact that it led to the creation of a tri-national, student-parent conference called Save the Teens. By 2019, under the leadership of Marlen and support from her family, Better Futures Forever became a training center that provides health education services. By 2022, Better Futures Forever become a certified training center for CHWs in Texas, providing training for certification and continuing education hours. Better Futures Forever became one of the only training centers to provide certification to high schools in southwest Texas in 2023. Currently, Marlen continues to serve as a CHW, a CHWI, a project administrator, and a community outreach specialist. Better Futures Forever continues to be part of her family’s legacy as it is fully family-operated and continues to make an impact in community health education.

In addition to her CHW and CHWI certifications, Marlen also holds a bachelor’s degree in social sciences from Sul Ross State University.

Zachary Bradley serves as Vaccinate Your Family’s Operations Coordinator facilitating the overall functions of the organization and our staff. He assists with the financial and logistical work of the organization, with particular attention to VYF’s financial and operational capabilities as well as the development and adherence to the annual budget. Zach contributes to the development of external communications and provides administrative support to the CEO, the Director of Government Affairs, the Board of Directors and advisory committees.

Prior to joining VYF in his current capacity, Zachary served as a Legislative Analysis Intern for VYF’s Government Affairs department supporting a wide variety of policy initiatives. He subsequently interned at the Connecticut House of Representatives, for the Connecticut Democratic Party, and most recently served as an immigration analyst at Seyfarth Shaw LLP.

Zachary obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree from Trinity College, where he majored in Public Policy and Law. His senior thesis focused on public health restrictions and the First Amendment.

Katrina Fernandez is Vaccinate Your Family’s Advocacy and Education Intern. Her dedication lies in maternal vaccinations, expanding access to reproductive healthcare, and fostering lactation education and support.

In her experience as a Public Health Intern at Fertility Within Reach, Katrina provided comprehensive, accessible, and up-to-date information on fertility preservation for adolescent oncology and transgender patients. Moreover, she has cultivated strategic partnerships to negotiate preferential pricing for fertility preservation and infertility treatments. Presently, they are seeking certification as an International Board-Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC), reflecting her ongoing commitment to advancing maternal, infant, and reproductive health.

She is pursuing her master’s in public health with a concentration in Maternal, Child, and Family Health. Prior to attending the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, she attended the University of Central Florida to obtain a Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Sciences.

Allison Howells is Vaccinate Your Family’s Communications Intern. She is committed to making health information engaging and approachable to better inform and empower patients.

Previously, Allison worked as a Community Engagement Intern with the nonprofit Dysautonomia International. In this role, she served as a support group leader and Facebook moderator where she communicated health information to patients with autonomic nervous system disorders. At Dysautonomia International, Allison also served as an Events and Fundraising Intern, where she helped organize awareness events and initiated a communication outreach strategy to support fundraisers for dysautonomia research.

Allison received her Bachelor of Arts in English from The University of Texas at Austin, with a Certificate in Health Communications. Her academic interests focused on narrative medicine and storytelling within medical contexts.

Amy Pisani is a distinguished expert in the field of vaccine advocacy and education, with a remarkable tenure dating back to 1996 when she joined Every Child By Two (now known as Vaccinate Your Family). As the Chief Executive Officer, she has played a pivotal role in shaping the trajectory of immunization accessibility in the United States. Amy’s tireless dedication has made her a driving force for immunization advocacy, working tirelessly to advance the health and well-being of communities across the nation. Throughout her career, Amy has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to realizing VYF’s mission, which is to safeguard individuals of all ages from vaccine-preventable diseases and bridge immunization disparities.

In alignment with VYF’s founding principles, Amy has spearheaded collaborative initiatives that unite elected officials, community leaders, and representatives from national and local organizations in the fight against vaccine-preventable diseases. She guides the team in legislative education, fosters partnerships with like-minded advocates, collaborates with the media to ensure evidence-based reporting on vaccines, and employs diverse communication channels to educate the public.

Amy has been at the helm through VYF’s remarkable growth in the organization’s social media, effectively reaching over four million individuals annually. Through platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube, VYF disseminates science-based information that underscores the importance of timely vaccinations and the safety of vaccines. In addition to this digital outreach, VYF’s website, available in both English and Spanish, attracts over one million visitors each year and has earned the prestigious Vaccine Safety Net seal of approval from the World Health Organization.

Amy’s dedication extended to the urgent need for equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines. She played a pivotal role in various vital initiatives, including the Made to Save Collaborative, the HHS COVID Community Corps, and the White House Equity Panel. VYF continues to bring together partners who united in the fight against COVID-19 through the VYF-hosted Vaccination Collaborative. This platform facilitates the exchange of invaluable insights, research, and communication strategies, shaping evidence-based programs and policy efforts to ensure universal access to all vaccines.

Amy remains at the forefront of public health advocacy by actively engaging in conferences, hosting and presenting at congressional briefings, and vigilantly monitoring and responding to regulatory and policy changes that impact immunization delivery. The campaigns developed under her guidance have educated hundreds of millions of individuals worldwide, leaving an indelible mark on the field.

In addition to her work with VYF, Amy demonstrates her commitment to public health in various capacities. She proudly serves as the President of her local Rotary Club and has been recognized as a Paul Harris Fellow for her contributions. From 2011 to 2015, she served as a public member of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ National Vaccine Advisory Committee. Presently, she is a founding member of the 317 Coalition, ensuring stable congressional immunization funding, and sits on the steering committee of the Adult Vaccine Access Coalition, the HPV Roundtable, and several other coalitions that share VYF’s mission.

Amy’s rich career history extends beyond pediatrics. She gained extensive healthcare advocacy experience during her roles as the Education Program Coordinator at the Optical Society of America, Senior Staff Specialist for the American Nurses Association, and Program Director for the American Nurses Foundation. Her early career was dedicated to advancing the deaf community. Amy holds a Master’s of Science degree from Gallaudet University for the Deaf in Washington, D.C., and a Baccalaureate Degree in Psychology from the Catholic University of America, also in Washington, D.C.

amy@vaccinateyourfamily.org

www.vaccinateyourfamily.org

www.shotofprevention.com

Facebook (@Vaccinateyourfamily)

Twitter (@VaxYourFam)

Instagram (@Vaccinateyourfamily)

YouTube

Danielle Laraque-Arena, MD, FAAP joined The New York Academy of Medicine (NYAM) as a Senior Scholar-in-Residence in 2019. She is President and Professor Emerita of SUNY Upstate Medical University (UMU), Adjunct Professor of Epidemiology at the Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University and Associate Director of the Injury Free Coalition for Kids, a national program modelled after the Nova award winning program, the Harlem Hospital Injury Prevention program.  Dr. Danielle Laraque-Arena, a board-certified pediatrician and child abuse subspecialist, has advanced maternal-child health in underserved and disenfranchised communities, holding multiple leadership positions regionally and nationally.  Her current portfolio includes child rights, health disparities and health equity.

Dr. Laraque-Arena earned a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry at the University of California at Los Angeles where she also completed her medical studies with academic support as the Roy Markus Scholar (1977-1981). Her internship and residency were completed at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania where she was also a Robert Wood Johnson Fellow in General Academic Pediatrics (1984-86). Her fellowship research focused on lead poisoning and calcium status in black pre-schoolers. Driven to address the health needs of disadvantaged communities, she accepted her first academic position at the College of Physicians & Surgeons, Columbia University and Harlem Hospital Center where she rose to the rank of Associate Professor (1986-2000). She then accepted a position as Chief of the Division of General Pediatrics at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine. During that period (2000-2010) she was promoted to the position of tenured Professor of Pediatrics and received the endowed chair as the Debra & Leon Black Professor of Pediatrics and became Vice-Chair for Public Policy and Advocacy. Subsequently, she accepted the position of Chair and Vice President of the Maimonides Children’s Hospital of Brooklyn—the first woman and first African-American to hold that position in the 100 year history of the hospital, and was Professor of Pediatrics (Investigator Track, 2010-2015) at Yeshiva University, Bronx, NY. She was appointed the seventh President of SUNY Upstate Medical University on September 10, 2015 and began her tenure in January 2016 and held the positions of tenured Professor of Pediatrics with additional appointments in Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences and Public Health & Preventive Medicine.  She completed her tenure at the university in 2019.  She was the first woman and first African-American to hold the position of President at SUNY, UMU.

Over the past 3 decades, Dr. Laraque-Arena’s scholarly work has focused on adolescent health behaviors, injury prevention, especially related to penetrating trauma, mental health integration in primary care settings, global child health, and medical education resulting in over 100 peer-reviewed manuscripts, multiple chapters and media resource and educational materials. She was continuously funded for 30 years through foundation, state and federal grants.  Most recently she has edited the book Principles of Global Child Health: Education and Research (2019) and is senior editor of the book, Leadership, Gender & Race in Healthcare and Medicine: A Case Study Approach (2021).  She has mentored hundreds of students and faculty and trained dozens of fellows in general academic pediatrics and child abuse pediatrics.  She is the Past President of Academic Pediatric Association (2009-2010), former member of the American Academy of Pediatrics Board of Directors (2012-2016).  She was elected as a Fellow of NYAM (2000) and the American Pediatric Society (2005), served on the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies Committee on Integrating Primary Care and Public Health (2011) and Co-Chaired the NYS Governor’s Task Force on Maternal Mortality and Disparate Racial Outcomes (2018-2019).  She currently serves on the board of Directors of Prevent Child Abuse America and the Women in Medicine Legacy Foundation.

Debbie has served as Director for The Arizona Partnership for Immunization, better known as TAPI, since February 1996. She developed her knowledge of the community and her skills in coalition development as an active community member and as an elected official serving in the Arizona Legislature. First elected at the age of 27 in 1978 Debbie served a total of 30 years, (with an 8 year break) in both the House of Representatives and the Arizona State Senate.

She served in legislative leadership as Minority Whip and worked as a member Governor’s Working Group to establish the framework for the Arizona Department of Child Safety. Her key areas of interest were education, health, insurance and consumer issues.

In her local community Debbie worked with many organizations and served on multiple task forces to improve the health status of women and children in Arizona.  Her reputation for being a knowledgeable advocate for maternal and child health issues has allowed her to build critical relationships with key partners on these issues. In 2012 she was recognized for her advocacy by the Children’s Action Alliance in Phoenix and Every Child By Two (now VYF)  in Washington DC.

She volunteers her time as a member of the planning committee of the National Conference on Immunization and Health Coalitions and has partnered with Vaccinate Your Family for nearly 30 years.

Debbie is married to Glenn Davis, a retired Superior Court Judge. They have a blended family of five adult children and three grandchildren. Both love to travel and learn about history, art and culture around the world.

Debbie holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Sociology from Arizona State University, 1975.

Dr. Mary Koslap-Petraco is a clinical assistant professor at Stony Brook University School of Nursing in Stony Brook, NY, and a primary care provider in her own private practice after working for Suffolk County Department of Health Services for 30 years where she used her experience as a public health nurse to make system level changes. While on staff at SCDHS, Dr. Koslap-Petraco managed and led the immunization programs. She provided education to staff and the public on various communicable diseases and assisted in the management of communicable diseases.

She is a member of the ad hoc advisory board of the New York State Get Smart safe use of antibiotics campaign, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Ad Hoc Nurse advisory group, a nurse consultant for Immunize.org, and chair of the scientific advisory board of Vaccinate Your Family. Dr. Koslap-Petraco speaks on immunizations and infectious diseases nationally and internationally and has authored numerous articles and written chapters in seven textbooks. She is a Fellow of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners.

Craig Kennedy serves as the CEO of Medicaid Health Plans of America, a position he began in December of 2019 after more than two decades in non-profit association management and in leadership positions on Capitol Hill. He has management responsibility for all aspects of the Association and reports to the MHPA Board of Directors. MHPA represents the interests of the Medicaid managed care industry through advocacy and research to support innovative policy solutions that enhance the delivery of comprehensive, cost-effective, and quality health care for Medicaid enrollees.

Prior to joining MHPA, Craig was the Executive Director for the Association of Clinicians for the Underserved (ACU). He led ACU to record growth over his six-year tenure and helped secure new federal grant funding for the organization. He also helped establish their advocacy infrastructure, which grew to include thousands of active participants across the country. Craig previously served as the top lobbyist for the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC) for more than a decade, which included negotiating the 2008 reauthorization of the Health Centers and National Health Service Corps programs, the 2009 Stimulus package, and the 2010 Affordable Care Act. He began his tenure at NACHC working to double the Health Centers program (the REACH Initiative) and subsequently drafted the ACCESS for All America plan for the organization. During his thirteen-year tenure at NACHC, the Health Centers program grew from $875 million in annual funding to over $5 billion.

Craig has also worked on Capitol Hill and in the Oregon State Legislature. His work on Capitol Hill included a stint in the Senate Finance Committee, which has jurisdiction over all health, tax and trade issues. He also served as the Senior Legislative Assistant for a member of the House Appropriations Committee, and later as the Legislative Director for a member of the House Rules Committee.

He received his Masters in Public Health from the George Washington University School of Public Health in Washington, DC, and has a Bachelor’s of Science from Willamette University in Salem, Oregon.

Craig currently serves on the Board of Directors for First Focus Campaign for Children and as a member of the National Advisory Committee for the Primary Care Leadership program.

Claire Wardle is considered one of the world’s leading experts on misinformation. She is a Professor at the School of Public Health at Brown University. She also leads First Draft, a non-profit she co-founded in 2015. In 2009 she left her academic position at Cardiff University to develop an organization wide training program for the BBC on social media, verification and misinformation and has been obsessed with the topic ever since. In 2017 she co-authored the foundational report, Information Disorder: An interdisciplinary Framework for Research and Policy for the Council of Europe. Over the past decade she has been a Fellow at TED, the Shorenstein Center for Media, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard’s Kennedy School, the Research Director at the Tow Center for Digital Journalism at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism and head of social media for the United Nations Refugee Agency. She holds a Ph.D. in Communication from the University of Pennsylvania.

Karen is a Partner at Isaacson, Miller. She has made her mark as a senior leader in fundraising, securing extraordinary gifts and grants at the national level for some of the most prominent organizations in the country. She served as Senior Director at the PBS Foundation, and Director of Foundation Relations of the Smithsonian Institution. Prior to that, she served as an Assistant Dean, Senior Admissions Officer and Assistant Dean of Freshmen at Harvard College.

Long active in the not-for-profit organization community, Karen has served on numerous boards including ACT for Alexandria–A Community Foundation Board of Directors (current Vice Chairperson), Wolf Trap Associates Board of Directors, Harvard Club of Washington, DC, and the Smithsonian Early Enrichment Center Board of Directors (former Chairperson). Her many professional affiliations include the Council on Foundations, Grantmakers for Education Arts Impact Group, and the Smithsonian Leadership Development Program. She was also a contributing author for Real Women, Real Leaders

Linn Bumpers, granddaughter of Vaccinate Your Family Co-Founder BettyBumpers, practices environmental law at Baker Botts in the firm’s Washington, D.C. Environmental, Safety and Incident Response group. Her experience includes addressing air quality, water quality, enforcement, and emerging contaminates – including per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).

Linn graduated from the Georgetown University Law Center, where she was a Senior Editor for the Georgetown Environmental Law Review and served as Vice President of the Environmental Law Society. She earned her B.A. in Environmental Studies at University of California, Santa Barbara, where she graduated with distinction. During law school, Linn clerked for the Maryland Office of the Attorney General in the Maryland Department of the Environment.

Dr. Amelia Burke-Garcia is an award-winning digital expert, health and behavior change communicator and researcher, author, and keynote speaker. With nearly 20 years of experience creating innovative and impactful interventions that move people to action, she is a leader in the digital communication and behavior change sector. She has worked with renowned organizations like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the CDCFoundation, the Bill &Melinda Gates Foundation, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Pfizer, Inc., Merck & Co., Inc., Cadbury Confections, GEICO Insurance, Danone North America, The Institute of Technology at Carlow (Ireland), The Australian Market & Social Research Society, and The University of Aalborg(Denmark). With both domestic and international work experience, Dr. Burke-Garcia is an influencer amongst public health professionals, communication experts, business leaders, and entrepreneurs globally. She offers keen insight into the areas of health communication, behavior change and persuasion, digital and social media, and measuring impact.

Over the course of her career, Dr. Burke-Garcia has spearheaded some of the most innovative digital communication initiatives on a variety of topics. Examples include investigating perspectives and motivations of non-vaccinating online influencers, designing a targeted social media intervention with mommy bloggers to help social media users lower their risk for breast cancer, leveragingMeetUpgroups and the Waze mobile application to support flu vaccination and HIV testing, respectively, and running GEICO’s first-ever brand awareness campaign working with YouTube influencers. Currently, Dr. Burke-Garcia is a program area director at NORC at the University of Chicago where she has been working under CDC’s COVID-19 response to build and direct the award-winning How RightNow/QueHacerAhoracampaign, which is aimed at increasing people’s ability to cope and be resilient amidst the pandemic. Earlier roles have included acting as director for CDC’s National Influenza Vaccination campaign and co-Principal Investigator on a study that aimed to understand messages and motivations of vaccine-hesitant or refusing social media influencers. Dr. Burke-Garcia is based in the United States and has international experience working with partners in Europe, the UK, Australia, and South America.

Dr. Tamera Coyne-Beasley is the Derrol Dawkins, MD Endowed Chair in Adolescent Medicine, Division Director for Adolescent Medicine, Vice Chair of Pediatrics for Community Engagement, and Professor of Pediatrics and Internal Medicine at the University of Alabama Birmingham and Children’s of Alabama. Her areas of expertise and training include adolescent medicine, preventive medicine, health services research, epidemiology, and public health. Her research, academic, community engagement, and policy and program development focus on adolescent health and well-being, sexual and reproductive health, risk behaviors and resiliency, immunizations, global health, and health inequities.

Dr. Coyne-Beasley has been the Principal Investigator on several projects on adolescent sexual health with a focus on HIV and HPV prevention. As a vaccine expert, Dr. Coyne-Beasley was appointed by the Secretary of Health and Human Services to the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). She continues to contribute toward the review of scientific immunization evidence and the development of ACIP vaccine recommendations as a member of multiple workgroups. She is on the Board of Directors of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases. Dr. Coyne-Beasley is also a Past President of the Society of Adolescent Health and Medicine.

Jeffrey Ekoma serves as the Senior Director of Government Affairs at the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials. In this role, he advocates for the interests of public health agencies across the United States, U.S. territories, freely associated states, and the District of Columbia. With a deep commitment to public health, Jeffrey collaborates with more than 100,000 public health professionals employed by these agencies.

His expertise lies in providing strategic guidance on legislative matters pertaining to various aspects of public health. These include health equity, data modernization, environmental health, food safety, tobacco control, substance abuse, obesity, physical activity, social determinants of health, opioids, improving vaccination rates, and suicide prevention. Through his efforts, Jeffrey actively contributes to advancing the overall well-being of the public.

Jeffrey’s academic accomplishments include a master’s degree in business administration with a concentration in health care management from Johns Hopkins Carey Business School. He also holds a master’s degree in health science with a focus on community health from Towson University. At the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, he achieved a bachelor’s degree in biology with honors.

With his extensive education and multifaceted experience, Jeffrey continues to be an engaged advocate in shaping policies and initiatives that have a positive impact on public health and the well-being of communities across the nation.

Dr. J. Nadine Gracia is the President and CEO of Trust for America’s Health (TFAH), a nonprofit, nonpartisan public health policy, research and advocacy organization in Washington, DC that promotes optimal health for every person and community and that envisions a nation where prevention and health equity are foundational to policymaking at all levels of society.  Dr. Gracia is a national health equity leader with extensive leadership and management experience in federal government, the nonprofit sector, academia, and professional associations.  Before being appointed President and CEO, she served as TFAH’s Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer.

Prior to joining TFAH, Dr. Gracia served in the Obama Administration as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Minority Health and Director of the Office of Minority Health at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).  In that capacity, she directed departmental policies and programs to end health disparities and advance health equity, and provided executive leadership on administration priorities including the Affordable Care Act and My Brother’s Keeper.  Previously, she served as Chief Medical Officer in the HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health, where her portfolio included adolescent health, emergency preparedness, environmental health and climate change, global health, and the White House Council on Women and Girls.  Prior to that role, she was appointed as a White House Fellow at HHS and worked in the Office of the First Lady on the development of the Let’s Move! initiative to solve childhood obesity.

A first-generation Haitian-American, Dr. Gracia is active in many civic, professional, and academic organizations.  She serves as a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network, the National Academy of Medicine Culture of Health Program Advisory Committee, the Dean’s Council at the University of Maryland School of Public Health, the Board of Advisors of the Center for Climate, Health, and the Global Environment (C-CHANGE) at the Harvard T.H Chan School of Public Health, Women of Impact, and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated.

Claire is the Executive Director of the Association of Immunization Managers (AIM).  AIM is a nonprofit, membership association whose members serve as directors in each of the 64 federally-funded state, territorial, and local public health immunization programs.  (50 states, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, Palau, Guam, American Samoa, Federated States of Micronesia, Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands, Marshall Islands, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, New York City, Chicago, Houston and San Antonio)

Claire has served as Executive Director of AIM since 2004. Claire has over 18 years of experience in children’s health and immunization. After working on Capitol Hill for 5 years, Claire spent 3 years lobbying for children’s health issues. In 1997, she became the Director of Immunization Policy for the Association of State & Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO), where she worked with state health officials, the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) and other partners to improve and enhance immunization policies and practices. She joined the Association of Immunization Managers as its first Executive Director in 2004. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Wagner College in Staten Island, NY and a Masters degree in Public Health from Johns Hopkins University.

Emily is a government affairs executive specializing in policy and communications strategies that catalyze legislative and appropriations victories for public health and research sectors. She has a proven ability to elevate brand profiles, activate stakeholders, and forge coalitions to maximize advocacy capacity and amplify impact.

In 2019, Emily began leading the American Heart Association’s Federal Advocacy team in advancing legislative and regulatory policy priorities in the areas of access to care, food and nutrition policy, public health and prevention, medical research funding, tobacco control and active transportation policy, among others.

For 10 years, Emily served as a Senior Vice President at CRD Associates, LLC, a DC-based government relations firm. While there clients, she represented the Coalition for Health Funding as its Executive Director, managing up to four staff in operations, finance, communications, and government relations for a 95-organization member base, which included Vaccinate Your Family.

Previously, Emily served as Director, Government Relations at AcademyHealth, which supports the production and use of evidence to inform health care policy and practice, and as Senior Health Policy Analyst and Special Assistant to the Managing Director at the U.S. Government Accountability Office. She is also a lecturer in health policy and management at The George Washington University in Washington, D.C.

Emily is a recognized spokesperson and thought leader, having appeared on global media outlets including CNN, MSNBC, The New York Times, NPR, The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post. She has authored more than 20 publications and is a frequent presenter before Members of Congress, public health and health care leaders, advocates and students.

Dr. Maldonado is a pediatric infectious diseases epidemiologist and current acting chair of the Department of Medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine. She attended Stanford University School of Medicine, completed pediatric residency and pediatric infectious diseases fellowships at Johns Hopkins University, and was an Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention before joining the faculty at Stanford University.

She has led a number of NIH, CDC, Gates Foundation and WHO funded domestic and international pediatric infectious diseases studies, focused on pediatric HIV and pediatric vaccine preventable diseases. More recently, she has focused on health disparities and infectious diseases outcomes, including COVID-19 in pediatric and adult populations. She is recent past chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Infectious Diseases and a liaison to the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.

She has over 250 peer reviewed publications and is co-editor of the textbook “Infectious Diseases of the Fetus and Newborn Infant” and the American Academy of Pediatrics “Red Book”. She is an elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the National Academy of Medicine.

Robert is the Founder and President of Reservoir Communications Group. Immediately prior to founding Reservoir Robert was the Chief Advocacy and Alliance Development Officer for WellPoint, Inc. (now Anthem, Inc.), one of the nation’s leading health benefits companies. Prior to joining WellPoint, Robert was President, Americas for APCO Worldwide, a global public affairs and strategic communications firm.

During Robert’s two decades of experience in communications and advocacy he has become known for his work helping clients rethink previously intractable problems, taking innovative approaches to advancing policy goals, and helping organizations build strong and enduring brands that can help advance their business and policy objectives.

Jessica Malaty Rivera is an infectious disease epidemiologist and science communicator. She earned her MS in Emerging Infectious Diseases from the Georgetown School of Medicine and has dedicated the last 15 years of her career to disease surveillance research, public health policy, and vaccine advocacy. Her specialty is in translating complex scientific concepts into impactful, judgment-free, and accessible information for a diverse audience. She is currently the Science Communication Lead for The COVID Tracking Project at The Atlantic, a researcher with the COVID-19 Dispersed Volunteer Research Network, a research affiliate at Boston Children’s Hospital Innovation & Digital Health Accelerator, and an expert contributor for NBC Bay Area and CNN. Jessica  was recently named one of the World’s 50 Greatest Leaders by Fortune Magazine for her work on COVID-19 research and data communication. Between her day jobs and being a full-time mother to two little kids, she also dedicates several hours a week to promoting science literacy and debunking misinformation on social media.

Dr. Maurine Neiman is a professor in Biology and in Gender, Women’s, and Sexuality Studies at the University of Iowa. She also serves the University of Iowa as a Provost Faculty Fellow for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. She uses genomics as well as experiments in natural populations to study the evolution of sexual reproduction, invasive species, and host-parasite interactions. On a personal level, Maurine tragically lost her healthy, two-year-old son, JJ, to influenza in February 2020. Since that time, she has become an avid parent advocate in the immunization space, helping to educate others about the disease burden of flu and the importance of annual vaccination. Maurine is particularly interested in how genetic factors may predispose some otherwise healthy children to severe flu-related outcomes.

Read JJ’s story here.

John currently serves as the Secretary of the Board of Directors. As the founder of O-L-I Interactive, Inc. in Cleveland, OH, John brings 35 years in advertising, design, graphics and marketing experience to the board. John has been a member of the board of since it’s founding in 1991 and has been instrumental in the development of outreach materials for the public, legislators and their spouses, including one of our earliest campaigns with the Gerber baby food line. Considered by many as “Uncle John”, he has a wonderful family filled with nieces, nephews and his beloved dog, Molly.

Dr. Heather Findletar Hines has a joint appointment as an Assistant Clinical Professor in both the School of Nursing and the department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at SUNY Stony Brook. She earned her Master’s Degree in Midwifery in 2001 and went on to obtain her DNP in 2009 from Stony Brook’s School of Nursing.

In 2016, with the impending launch of the school’s iPad innovative, she became certified as an Apple Teacher. In 2017, she was selected as an Apple Distinguished Educator and became the SUNY Stony Brook Midwifery Program Director. Her passion is helping midwifery students in the clinical setting with the development of their “midwifery” peripheral brain. She continues to interweave technology into basic and lifesaving midwifery skills.

Jessica Malaty Rivera is an infectious disease epidemiologist and science communicator. She earned her MS in Emerging Infectious Diseases from the Georgetown School of Medicine and has dedicated the last 15 years of her career to disease surveillance research, public health policy, and vaccine advocacy. Her specialty is in translating complex scientific concepts into impactful, judgment-free, and accessible information for a diverse audience. She is currently the Science Communication Lead for The COVID Tracking Project at The Atlantic, a researcher with the COVID-19 Dispersed Volunteer Research Network, a research affiliate at Boston Children’s Hospital Innovation & Digital Health Accelerator, and an expert contributor for NBC Bay Area and CNN. Jessica  was recently named one of the World’s 50 Greatest Leaders by Fortune Magazine for her work on COVID-19 research and data communication. Between her day jobs and being a full-time mother to two little kids, she also dedicates several hours a week to promoting science literacy and debunking misinformation on social media.

Paul A. Offit, MD is the Director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. In addition, Dr. Offit is the Maurice R. Hilleman Professor of Vaccinology and a Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. He is a recipient of many awards including the J. Edmund Bradley Prize for Excellence in Pediatrics from the University of Maryland Medical School, the Young Investigator Award in Vaccine Development from the Infectious Disease Society of America, and a Research Career Development Award from the National Institutes of Health.

Dr. Offit has published more than 160 papers in medical and scientific journals in the areas of rotavirus-specific immune responses and vaccine safety. He is also the co-inventor of the rotavirus vaccine, RotaTeq, recommended for universal use in infants by the CDC. For this achievement Dr. Offit received the Luigi Mastroianni and William Osler Awards from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, the Charles Mérieux Award from the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases; and was honored by Bill and Melinda Gates during the launch of their Foundation’s Living Proof Project for global health.

In 2009, Dr. Offit received the President’s Certificate for Outstanding Service from the American Academy of Pediatrics. In 2011, Dr. Offit received the Humanitarian of the Year Award from the Biologics Industry Organization (BIO), the Distinguished Medical Achievement Award from the College of Physicians of Philadelphia, the David E. Rogers Award from the American Association of Medical Colleges, the Odyssey Award from the Center for Medicine in the Public Interest, and was elected to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences. In 2012, Dr. Offit received the Distinguished Medical Achievement Award from the College of Physicians of Philadelphia and the Drexel Medicine Prize in Translational Medicine fro the Drexel University College of Medicine. In 2013, Dr. Offit received the Maxwell Finland award for Outstanding Scientific Achievement from the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases, the Distinguished Alumnus award from the University of Maryland School of Medicine, and the Innovators in Health Award from the Group Health Foundation. In 2015, Dr. Offit won the Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching from the University of Pennsylvania and was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In 2016, Dr. Offit won the Franklin Founder Award from the city of Philadelphia, The Porter Prize from the University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health, the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Philadelphia Business Journal, and the Jonathan E. Rhoads Medal for Distinguished Service to Medicine from the American Philosophical Society.

Dr. Offit was a member of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and is a founding advisory board member of the Autism Science Foundation and the Foundation for Vaccine Research. He is also the author of eight medical narratives: The Cutter Incident: How America’s First Polio Vaccine Led to Today’s Growing Vaccine Crisis (Yale University Press, 2005), Vaccinated: One Man’s Quest to Defeat the World’s Deadliest Diseases (HarperCollins, 2007), for which he won an award from the American Medical Writers Association, Autism’s False Prophets: Bad Science, Risky Medicine, and the Search for a Cure (Columbia University Press, 2008), Deadly Choices: How the Anti-Vaccine Movement Threatens Us All (Basic Books, 2011), which was selected by Kirkus Reviews and Booklist as one of the best non-fiction books of the year, Do You Believe in Magic?: The Sense and Nonsense of Alternative Medicine (HarperCollins, 2013), which won the Robert P. Balles Prize in Critical Thinking from the Center for Skeptical Inquiry and was selected by National Public Radio as one of the best books of 2013, Bad Faith: When Religious Belief Undermines Modern Medicine (Basic Books, 2015), which was selected by the New York Times Book Review as an “Editor’s Choice” book in April 2015, Pandora’s Lab: Seven Stories of Science Gone Wrong (National Geographic Press/Random House, April 2017), which was nominated for Best Science and Technology book of 2017 by Goodreads, and Bad Advice: Or Why Celebrities, Politicians, and Activists Aren’t Your Best Source of Health Information (Columbia University Press, June 2018).

Walter A. Orenstein, MD, is a Professor of Medicine, Epidemiology, Global Health, and Pediatrics, as well as Associate Director of the Emory Vaccine Center and Director of the Emory Program on Vaccine Policy and Development having returned to Emory University in October 2011.  From 2008 through 2011, Dr. Orenstein was Deputy Director for Immunization Programs in the Vaccine Delivery department of the Global Health Program at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. His primary focus at the foundation had been on polio eradication, measles control, and improving routine immunization programs.   Between 2004 and 2008, he held the same positions as his current Emory appointments as well as other responsibilities.  Prior to 2004, Dr. Orenstein worked for 26 years in the Immunization Program at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  From 1988-2004, he was the Director of the United States Immunization Program.  He is a former Assistant Surgeon General of the USPHS. Dr. Orenstein successfully developed, promoted, facilitated and expanded new vaccination strategies to enhance disease prevention.

Dr. Orenstein has authored and co-authored numerous books, journals and reviews. Along with Stanley Plotkin, MD, Paul Offit, MD, and Kathryn Edwards, MD, Dr. Orenstein co-edited Plotkin’s Vaccines, 7th edition in 2018 – the leading textbook in the field. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Infectious Diseases Society of America and the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society. In 2006, he was elected to the Institute of Medicine (as of July 1, 2016, now called the National Academy of Medicine).  He is a past Chair of the WHO’s Poliomyelitis Technical Consultative Group.  He served as the Chair of the National Vaccine Advisory Committee (NVAC) under the National Vaccine Program Office (NVPO) in the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) from 2011 to 2016.  He is also currently a member of the World Health Organization’s Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) on Immunization Polio Working Group as well as Measles and Rubella Working Group. On July 1, 2016, Dr. Orenstein became the President of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID) for two years.  In February 2018, he will be inducted as a Fellow in the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

Dr. Orenstein received his Bachelor of Science at The City College of New York in 1968, and his degree in Medicine from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in 1972. He completed an internship and residency in pediatrics at the University of California, San Francisco and the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles, followed by a fellowship in infectious diseases at the University of Southern California Medical School. Dr. Orenstein also completed a residency in preventive medicine at the CDC.  In 2006, he received an honorary Doctor of Science Degree from Wake Forest University.

Dr. Maurine Neiman is a professor in Biology and in Gender, Women’s, and Sexuality Studies at the University of Iowa. She also serves the University of Iowa as a Provost Faculty Fellow for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. She uses genomics as well as experiments in natural populations to study the evolution of sexual reproduction, invasive species, and host-parasite interactions. On a personal level, Maurine tragically lost her healthy, two-year-old son, JJ, to influenza in February 2020. Since that time, she has become an avid parent advocate in the immunization space, helping to educate others about the disease burden of flu and the importance of annual vaccination. Maurine is particularly interested in how genetic factors may predispose some otherwise healthy children to severe flu-related outcomes.

Read JJ’s story here.

Read Madison’s story here.

Read Brent’s story here.

Read Callie’s story here.

Read Braden’s story here.

Read Maria’s story here.

Read Francesca’s story here.

Former First Lady Rosalynn Carter, who passed away in 2023, was a cofounder of the organization. She worked for more than three decades to improve the quality of life for people around the world.

A mother of four, she maintained a lifelong dedication to issues affecting women and children. In 1991, she founded Every Child By Two (now Vaccinate Your Family) with Betty Bumpers, wife of Senator Dale Bumpers.  Rosalynn served as the President of the organization through 2021. Together, these two pioneers worked to advance a national focus on protecting all people in the United States from vaccine-preventable diseases. Their work began in the 1970s as First Ladies of Georgia and Arkansas, respectively, and continued during the Carter Administration, resulting in increased federal support for vaccine programs nationwide and the passage of state laws requiring evidence of vaccinations for school entry.

In 1991, in response to a U.S. measles epidemic, which sickened more than 55,000 people, hospitalized over 11,000 and killed more than 120, many of whom were young children, Mrs. Carter reached out to Mrs. Bumpers and subsequently founded Every Child by Two (ECBT).  Within two years of the establishment of ECBT, Carter and Bumpers traveled to more than a dozen states and ultimately to all 50 states to foster vaccination efforts and build immunization coalitions, consisting of local policymakers, service organizations and concerned citizens. Today, these coalitions continue to work along with state and local immunization programs across the U.S.  During the Bush, Clinton and Obama Administrations, ECBT successfully secured support to make vaccinations a national priority, institutionalized immunization screening for the seven million women and children served annually by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program and helped to facilitate the Vaccines For Children program (VFC), which provides free vaccines to eligible families.  Rosalynn is revered by public health advocates throughout the nation for her lifelong dedication to immunizations.

Rosalynn was an advocate for mental health, caregiving, early childhood immunization, human rights, and conflict resolution through her work at The Carter Center in Atlanta, Ga. The Center is a private, nonprofit institution founded by former President and Mrs. Jimmy Carter in 1982. A full partner with the president in all the Center’s activities, the former first lady was a member of the Carter Center board of trustees. She created and chaired the Carter Center’s Mental Health Task Force, an advisory body of experts, consumers, and advocates promoting positive change in the mental health field. Each year, she hosted the Rosalynn Carter Symposium on Mental Health Policy, bringing together leaders of the nation’s mental health organizations to address critical issues. Mrs. Carter emerged as a driving force for mental health when, during the Carter administration, she became active honorary chair of the President’s Commission on Mental Health, which resulted in passage of the Mental Health Systems Act of 1980.

She also worked with Habitat for Humanity, participating in the annual one-week Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Work Project that in 1984 began building homes for the needy, and Project Interconnections, a public/private nonprofit partnership to provide housing for homeless people who are mentally ill. She served as distinguished centennial lecturer at Agnes Scott College in Decatur, Ga., from 1988-1992 and was a distinguished fellow at the Emory University Department of Women’s Studies in Atlanta.

She served on the Policy Advisory Board of The Atlanta Project (TAP), a program of The Carter Center addressing the social ills associated with poverty and quality of life citywide, from the program’s inception in 1991 until its transfer to Georgia State University in 1999. In 1988, she convened with three other former first ladies the “Women and the Constitution” conference at The Carter Center to assess that document’s impact on women. Outside the Center, Mrs. Carter was president of the board of directors for the Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregiving (RCI) at Georgia Southwestern State University, which was established in her honor on the campus of her alma mater in Americus, Ga. Through research, education, and training, the RCI promotes the mental health and well-being of individuals, families, and professional caregivers; delineates effective caregiving practices; builds public awareness of caregiving needs; and advances public and social policies that enhance caring communities. Since graduating from Georgia Southwestern College in 1946, Mrs. Carter has received many honors, among them the Volunteer of the Decade Award from the National Mental Health Association; the Award of Merit for Support of the Equal Rights Amendment from the National Organization for Women; the Notre Dame Award for International Service; the Eleanor Roosevelt Living World Award from Peace Links; the Kiwanis World Service Medal from Kiwanis International Foundation; the Jefferson Award from the American Institute for Public Service; the Georgia Woman of the Year Award from the Georgia Commission on Women; the Rhoda and Bernard Sarnat International Prize in Mental Health from the Institute of Medicine; the United States Surgeon General’s Medallion; and the Presidential Medal of Freedom, America’s highest civilian honor. In 2001, she was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame. She has written five books: her autobiography, “First Lady from Plains”; “Everything To Gain: Making the Most of the Rest of Your Life,” a book about life after the White House co-authored with President Carter; “Helping Yourself Help Others: A Book For Caregivers” (with Susan K. Golant); “Helping Someone with Mental Illness: A Compassionate Guide for Family, Friends, and Caregivers” (with Susan K. Golant), which was selected as the winner of the 1999 American Society of Journalists and Authors Outstanding Book Award in the service category; and “Within Our Reach: Ending the Mental Health Crisis” (with Susan K. Golant and Kathryn E. Cade).

Rosalynn continued to travel and speak throughout the world for all of her life, she was a deacon at Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains, Ga., and enjoyed fly-fishing, bird-watching, swimming, and biking in her free time.

Betty Bumpers, who passed away in 2018 is the Co-founder of organization. She was the wife of the late Senator Dale Bumpers, a mother of three children, and a former art teacher. Mrs. Bumpers received her education at Iowa State University, the University of Arkansas, and the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts.

During her husband’s tenure as Governor of Arkansas, Betty Bumpers was the leader of a successful statewide immunization program for children, which was later used by the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention as a national model for other states. During the presidency of Jimmy Carter, she worked with First Lady Rosalynn Carter to implement immunization programs state-by-state. She and Rosalynn Carter have been credited with the passage of laws mandating vaccination at school entry, which now exist in every state. As a result of these laws, the United States has a 95% plus immunization rate for school enrollees. Realizing the need to immunize our citizens and the need to increase the immunization rates for our nation’s uninsured, underinsured and undocumented, they have continued their efforts with us.

Betty Bumpers has served on the National Vaccine Advisory Committee, the National League for Nursing Board, the All Kids Count Advisory Board, and the Family Place Project Advisory Committee for Libraries for Our Future.  She has also been inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame, and the Arkansas Women’s Hall of Fame.

In commemoration of the vigilant advocacy of both Betty Bumpers and her husband, former Senator Dale Bumpers, the National Institutes of Health named their vaccine research center after the Bumpers. The Dale and Betty Bumpers Vaccine Research Center is a joint venture of the National Cancer Institute and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and incorporates a core of NIH scientists with expertise in immunology, virology and HIV research.

In addition to her vigilant efforts to eliminate preventable diseases in our children, Betty Bumpers dedicated herself to Peace Links, an international women’s peace education group that she founded in 1981. Reaching and involving mainstream, grassroots citizens in activities that reduce the threat of nuclear war, promoted alternative ways to solve conflict and encouraged dialogue and understanding between women internationally, Peace Link was a major force in ending the Nuclear Arms race. Although they officially disbanded in 2001, former Peace Links members in all fifty states continue to work towards attaining peace within our communities by taking part in discussions with women and children throughout the world who strive to create a better place for our children to live. Mrs. Bumpers was nominated by Senator Tom Harkin of Iowa and appointed by President Bill Clinton and served a 5-year term on the Board of Directors of the U.S. Institute of Peace.

Rich Greenaway joined Vaccinate Your Family (VYF) in July of 2000 as the Director of Operations and Special Programs and served in this capacity until his passing in August 2019. Rich oversaw the day-to-day operations of the organization and managed various aspects of both grant funded and general projects. He was the heart and soul of the organization and his loss left a deep hole both operationally and emotionally. Rich was an amazing, compassionate, loving person who truly lived the mission of Vaccinate Your Family. He is truly missed by many both near and far.

Rich was the VYF representative to, and Chair of ImmunizeDC, the Immunization Coalition of Washington, DC; VYF representative to the DC Department of Schools Immunization Task Force; VYF representative to the DC School Nurses Task Force; VYF representative to the Adult Vaccine Access Coalition (AVAC) and represented VYF on Capitol Hill for both the 317 Coalition and AVAC. Rich served as the chair of the Advisory Panel that created the Bringing Immunity to Every Community Continuing Education offering for Nurses and other health professionals, a cooperative effort with the American Nurses Association. He was main point person to the Faith Based Working Group on Immunizations initiative, which was a collaborative effort with The Ecumenical Child Care Network. Rich served as VYF representative to the 2010 Vaccine Safety Writing Group under the Vaccine Safety Working Group of the National Vaccine Advisory Committee (NVAC).

Rich obtained his Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from West Virginia University in Morgantown, West Virginia. Prior to joining the VYF staff Rich worked as the Immunization Grant Manager for the Immunization Cooperative Agreement between the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Nurses Foundation (ANF) while concurrently acting as Continuing Education Liaison between the ANF and the American Nurses Association’s (ANA) Department of Continuing Education. Rich transferred to the ANF from the ANA where he worked as the Continuing Education Associate reporting directly to the ANA Director of Continuing Education.

Many of the staff continue to report dreaming of Rich – which shows the major impact he had on all of us. We loved him dearly and miss him daily.