Cristine Russell, an award-winning journalist and educator who has written about science, health, and the environment for more than 35 years, retired from the Commonwealth Fund’s Board of Directors in November 2017. She served for 15 years.

Throughout her career, Russell has led efforts to improve media and public communication about science, advance women in science and science writing, and support science writers in the developing world.

Russell, who chaired the Commonwealth Fund’s Governance & Nominating Committee for 14 years, “brought her journalistic skills and devotion to scientific inquiry to bear by asking questions for which there might not always be ready answers,” observed John E. Craig, Jr., who served as the Fund’s executive vice president and chief operating officer during most of her tenure. Craig also praised Russell for her commitment to identifying and recruiting highly qualified new directors, especially women and minorities.

A former Washington Post national science and health reporter, Russell is now a senior fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs and an adjunct lecturer in public policy, focusing on the media, energy, and the environment. A fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, she writes on science and the media for various outlets, including Scientific American and the Columbia Journalism Review.

Vivian S. Lee, M.D.,president of Health Platforms at Verily, began her first term on the Commonwealth Fund Board of Directors in April 2018.

Verily (formerly Google Life Sciences) develops tools and devices to collect, organize, and activate health data and creates interventions to prevent and manage disease. In her position, Lee works closely with the firm’s clinical and engineering teams to develop products and platforms that can support health system improvement and improve population health.

Previously Lee was dean, senior vice president, and CEO of University of Utah Health, an integrated health system, academic campus, and health plan. The system has been recognized for its health care innovations and was ranked first among university hospitals for quality and safety.

Lee is a graduate of Harvard-Radcliffe Colleges, Oxford University, Harvard Medical School, and New York University’s Stern School of Business. Elected to the National Academy of Medicine, she is a radiologist whose lab develops novel methods for measuring kidney function and vascular disease with magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI.

Dr. Chu is a managing director at Manatt Health. He previously served as president and CEO of Memorial Hermann Health System in Houston, Texas.

Ms. Bisognano, president emerita and senior fellow, Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI), previously served as IHI’s President and CEO for five years, after serving as Executive Vice President and COO for 15 years.

Dr. Blumenthal is president of The Commonwealth Fund. Prior to joining the Fund in 2013, he was the Samuel O. Thier Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Chief Health Information and Innovation Officer at Partners Healthcare System in Boston. From 2009 to 2011, he served as U.S. National Coordinator for Health Information Technology.

Dr. Blutt is founder and chief executive officer of the health care investment firm Consonance Capital. He is also clinical assistant professor of medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College and the Graduate School of Medical Sciences of Cornell University.

Ms. Burke is a faculty research fellow at the Malcolm Wiener Center for Social Policy and a member of the faculty at the Harvard Kennedy School.

Dr. Drake was appointed as the 15th president of The Ohio State University in 2014. Dr. Drake previously served as chancellor of the University of California, Irvine, from 2005 to 2014. He also served as Distinguished Professor of Ophthalmology (School of Medicine) and Education (School of Education).

Dr. Hamburg, an internationally recognized authority in medicine and public health, currently serves as Foreign Secretary, National Academy of Medicine. She is also President-elect of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Ms. Haslanger is the chief executive officer of JASA (Jewish Association Serving the Aging), a leading nonprofit in New York serving more than 43,000 older adults.

Dr. Lee is a senior fellow at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement and professor of radiology, and former dean, senior vice president, and CEO of University of Utah Health. She serves on the audit and compliance committee.

Ms. Quam is the chief executive officer of Pathfinder International and is on the faculty at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health.

Dr. Smith is clinical professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, and an attending physician at the Positive Health Program for AIDS care at San Francisco General Hospital.

Mr. Stevens is CEO of the National Health Service, England. He began his career as a frontline health care executive, leading hospitals and health services in Britain and internationally.

Ms. Walker is President and CEO of New York Public Radio, the largest public radio station group in the nation.

Mr. Yun is executive vice president and head of portfolio management of multi-asset solutions for Franklin Templeton.

Benjamin K. Chu, M.D., Chairman

Maureen Bisognano

David Blumenthal, M.D..

Cristine Russell

William Y. Yun

Sheila Burke

Sheila Burke, Chairman

Kathryn Haslanger

Mark Smith, M.D.

Laura Walker

William Y. Yun

William Y. Yun, Chairman

Maureen Bisognano

David Blumenthal, M.D.

Mitchell Blutt, M.D.

Benjamin K. Chu, M.D.

Lois Quam

Simon Stevens

Cristine Russell, Chairman

David Blumenthal, M.D.

Sheila Burke

Benjamin K. Chu, M.D.

Michael V. Drake, M.D.

Margaret Hamburg, M.D.