Speaker Bios
Speakers
Speaker Biographies
Beverly Malone, PhD, RN, FAAN
President and CEO, National League for Nursing
Under Dr. Beverly Malone’s leadership, the National League for Nursing (NLN) has advanced the science of nursing education through enhancing stakeholder collaboration, increasing diversity in nursing scholarship, and championing evidence-based practice. Dr. Malone’s distinguished career has blended policy, education, administration, and clinical practice, including as Federal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health under President Bill Clinton.
As a reviewer, she contributed to the groundbreaking IOM report, “The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health,” and served on the Minority Health Federal Advisory Committee. Dr. Malone has been awarded more than 20 honorary doctorates. Presently, Dr. Malone serves as vice chair at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) Board of Directors, co-leads the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) Health Professional Education and Communication Working Group, and serves on NAM’s Steering Committee. She is also a member of ecoAmerica’s Leadership Circle Executive Committee.
In 2025, the Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing (SIGMA) honored Dr. Malone with the Nell J. Watts Lifetime Achievement in Nursing Award and the National Black Nurses Association (NBNA) honored her with the NBNA Lifetime Achievement Award. Modern Healthcare, a leading publication in health care, named Dr. Malone to the 2025 ranking of the 100 Most Influential People in Healthcare and awarded the Dean’s Medal for Distinguished Service from the University of Maryland School of Nursing. The American Nurses Association (ANA) named Dr. Malone as their 2024 Hall of Fame Award recipient. The American Academy of Nursing honored Dr. Malone with their 2024 Mary Elizabeth Carnegie Leadership in Equity, Diversity, and Inclusivity (EDI) Award. The National Black Nurses Association recognized Dr. Malone as a 2024 inaugural Fellow in the Academy of Diversity Leaders in Nursing (FADLN). In a remarkable recognition of her contributions to global health care, Dr. Malone was profiled by The Lancet (2024), one of the most prestigious and influential medical journals in the world. This honor underscores the significance of her work and places her among an elite group of leaders shaping the future of health care.
The year prior, Modern Healthcare, a leading publication in the health care field, honored Dr. Malone as one of the nation’s leading health care executives by naming her to the 2023 list of the Top 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives in Healthcare. The American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) presented Dr. Malone with the prestigious 2023 HRH Princess Muna Al Hussein Award for her commitment to advancing the nursing profession and excellence in nursing professional practice across international borders. That same year, she was honored by the American Nurses Association with the prestigious President’s Award and was selected for the M. Louise Fitzpatrick Award for Transformative Leadership by Villanova University. Dr. Malone was also featured as one of 25 Outstanding Women during Women’s History Month by Diverse: Issues in Higher Education.
Modern Healthcare also has honored her with a Top 25 Women Leaders’ Luminary Award in 2021 and named her to the inaugural list of five Minority Healthcare Luminaries. She was previously honored on their list of Top 25 Women in Healthcare. The International Society of Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurses (ISPN) honored her with the Living Legend Award.
In 2020, Dr. Malone received the University of Cincinnati’s Linda Bates Parker Legend Award, named an Honorary Member of the Philippine Nurses Association of America, and presented with an Award of Distinction by the NLN Board of Governors. Also, she was bestowed the Gail L. Warden Leadership Excellence Award by the National Center for Healthcare Leadership and conferred by the American Academy of Nursing with their Highest Nursing Honor, “Living Legend.”
The Alpha Omega Chapter of Sigma Theta Tau and the College of Nursing of Adelphi University, Long Island, honored Dr. Malone with the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2019. She was presented with a citation from the American Psychological Association for her outstanding leadership in advancing excellence in health care for the nation and global community, was named one of the Top 25 Minority Executives in Healthcare by Modern Healthcare and accepted the Nursing Outlook Excellence in Research Award in 2018.
Dr. Malone was elected to two terms as president of the American Nurses Association (ANA) representing 180,000 nurses and served as the first African American general secretary of the United Kingdom (UK) Royal College of Nursing (RCN) representing 400,000 nurses. A member of the UK as well as US delegation to the World Health Assembly, she was also vice chair of the Brussels-based European Federation of Nurses Association. Furthermore, she has the distinguished honor of her
portrait being displayed at the National Portrait Gallery in London.
Michael H. Forde, DrPH, MSPH
Public Health Expert
As a Health Director for a Fortune 500 health company, Dr. Forde leads statewide programs that improve outcomes for Medicaid populations and historically marginalized communities. His work integrates evidence-based practice, policy insight, and cultural understanding to ensure that equity isn’t a specialty – it’s a standard.
A Gates Millennium Scholar and Black Health Connect 40 Under 40 Honoree, Dr. Forde’s impact extends beyond institutions. Through digital storytelling, he has built a growing community of over 300,000 followers and 5 million views across platforms – using his signature tagline, “Healing starts with knowing,” to uncover the untold stories of Black health and medicine. His content connects historical truths to modern realities, bridging scholarship and social media to make public health accessible, personal, and powerful.
Dr. Forde has been featured by Revolt TV, Black Enterprise, and Howard University TV, and has collaborated with cultural and professional organizations. His work continues to shape conversations on health justice, cultural competence, and the power of narrative in achieving systemic change.
He holds a BS in Health Science from Southern Adventist University, an MSPH from Campbell University, and a DrPH from The George Washington University. Known for his insight and authenticity, Dr. Forde has been invited to speak at national conferences and cultural events.
Plenary 1: Funding the Future in a Shifting Landscape
This panel brings together leaders from major foundations and other funders to discuss how they are supporting programs and organizations in light of pulled federal funding. Panelists will discuss the equitable use of those funds, their vision for the future, and the impact they hope to see.
Joseph Betancourt, MD, MPH
President, The Commonwealth Fund
Joseph R. Betancourt, M.D., M.P.H., is the president of the Commonwealth Fund. A national leader in health care policy, equity, quality, and community health, Betancourt formerly served as the senior vice president for Equity and Community Health at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), and as founding director of the Disparities Solutions Center. He has devoted his career to improving the quality and value of health care for diverse populations.
Betancourt has served on committees that have provided advice to all agencies within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, including the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Health Resources and Services Administration, among others. He has also provided guidance to private industry, and at the state and local level, including a term on the Boston Board of Health.
His roles in governance have included serving on the Board of Trinity Health, Neighborhood Health Plan, and the Massachusetts Health and Hospitals Association. Betancourt is an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and a board-certified internist, providing primary care to a large Spanish-speaking and minority patient panel. He earned his M.D. from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey and completed an internal medicine residency at New York Hospital–Cornell Medical Center. Following his residency, he was a member of one of the first classes in the Commonwealth Fund Fellowship in Minority Health Policy at Harvard University, where he earned an M.P.H. in health policy and management from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
An author of nearly 90 peer-reviewed articles, Betancourt has served on several Institute of Medicine committees, including the committee that produced the seminal report, Unequal Treatment: Confronting Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Health Care.
Betancourt is an Aspen Institute Health Innovators Fellow and recipient of the Sumner M. Redstone Endowed Chair in Health Equity at MGH. In 2023, he was named one of Modern Healthcare’s “Top 50 Clinical Healthcare Executives in the United States” and in 2024 named one of the “Top 100 Most Influential People in Health Care.” He is a member of the National Academy of Medicine.
Sam Gill
President and CEO, Doris Duke Foundation
Sam Gill is the president and CEO of the Doris Duke Foundation (DDF), a private foundation based in New York, New Jersey and Hawai’i, which seeks to build a more creative, equitable and sustainable future through work across three areas: Arts & Culture, Nature, and Health & Well-being. He previously served as senior vice president and chief program officer at the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and as a vice president at Freedman Consulting, LLC.
Louis Muglia, MD, PhD
President and CEO, Burroughs Wellcome Fund
Claire Pomeroy, MD, MBA
President, Albert and Mary Lasker Foundation
Plenary 2: The Great Retrenchment: Resisting the Rollback of Equity
Bryan Cook, PhD
Director of Higher Education Policy, Urban Institute
Dr. Bryan J. Cook is a nationally recognized expert in higher education policy with more than two decades of experience shaping the field. He currently serves as Urban Institute’s Director of Higher Education Policy in the Division of Work, Education, and Labor where he oversees a team of scholars advancing analysis, tools, and evidence to inform federal and state higher education policy. Since joining Urban in 2021, he has secured and led a substantial portfolio of funded projects, organized national convenings on major federal policy issues, and authored numerous influential publications on admissions, accountability, and equity.
Prior to his role at Urban, Dr. Cook held senior leadership positions at the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities, the American Dental Education Association, and the American Council on Education. Across these roles, he led major policy research initiatives, directed data infrastructure reforms, and advised policymakers on issues ranging from federal student aid and accountability to the educational experiences of military veterans.
Dr. Cook’s career began in academic advising and student affairs before moving into research and policy analysis, giving him a broad perspective on the intersection of student experience, institutional practice, and policymaking. His research has appeared in peer-reviewed journals, association reports, and policy briefs and been cited by numerous media outlets including the Washington Post, Politico, CNBC, CNN, and NPR.
Dr. Cook earned his doctorate and master’s degrees in higher education from the University of Michigan and his bachelor’s degree in urban and regional planning from Miami University.
Charlene Green, Psy.D
Assistant Dean of Admissions, Outreach and Diversity, UC Davis School of Medicine
Charlene Green, PsyD serves as Assistant Dean of Admissions, Outreach, and Medical Pathways at UC Davis School of Medicine, overseeing respective aspects of programmatic and administrative matters related to admissions, pathway programs, and student/resident equity initiatives. She leads the Community of Practice efforts for UC Davis’s national Center for a Diverse Healthcare Workforce, facilitating forums and ensuring that stakeholders and community partners achieve success in creating and implementing institutional action plans toward an inclusive learning environment. Dr. Green is the principal investigator (PI) for grants supporting the AvenueM-California Medicine Scholars Program, the California Postbaccalaureate Consortium, and the Huwighurruk (Hue-way-go-duck) Tribal Health Postbaccalaureate Program.
Kathryn Phillips, MPH
Associate Director, Improving Access, California Health Care Foundation
Alejandro Quiñones Baltazar
Medical Student, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA
Alejandro Quiñones Baltazar is a fourth year medical student in the PRIME Leadership and Advocacy program at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and is dual enrolled in the UCLA Master of Science in Clinical Research program. His work focuses on advancing health equity through community based participatory research and student led community health initiatives that partner with local organizations to expand access to care in underserved communities. He also participates in pipeline mentorship programs that support learners underrepresented in medicine. He intends to pursue internal medicine and a career centered on advancing health equity through research and advocacy.