Rear Admiral Susan Blumenthal M.D., M.P.A

Roles: Special Guest

 

An internationally recognized medical expert and leader, Rear Admiral Susan Blumenthal M.D., M.P.A (ret.) has been at the forefront of efforts to address environmental and climate impacts on health. Among her many achievements, Dr. Blumenthal is especially known for her significant leadership in exposing the inequities in women’s health and developing innovative initiatives to advance women’s health in the United States and worldwide. In this position, she established a Federal Coordinating Committee that mobilized all agencies of government to focus on environmental risk factors for diseases like breast cancer. Dr. Blumenthal served for more than 20 years as a top Federal health official in the Administrations of four U.S. Presidents. She was the first ever Deputy Assistant Secretary for Women’s Health, Assistant Surgeon General of the United States, and Senior Global Health Advisor in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Dr. Blumenthal was also a Health Advisor to the White House. Currently, she is a Clinical Professor at Tufts and Georgetown University Schools of Medicine, a Senior Fellow in Health Policy at New America, a member of the Visiting Committee, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and Senior Medical Advisor at amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research. 

Among her numerous awards, Admiral Blumenthal has been decorated with the highest medals of the U.S. Public Health Service for her distinguished national leadership, dedicated public service, and landmark contributions to improving health. Admiral Blumenthal has been named by The New York Times, the National Library of Medicine, and the Medical Herald as one of the most important women in medicine and as a Rock Star of Science by the Geoffrey Beene Foundation. She is married to Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Massachusetts).