NPF NAMES NEW PRESIDENT AND CEO
Miami, Florida, March 19, 2008—The Board of Directors of the National Parkinson Foundation (NPF) announced today that Joyce A. Oberdorf has been named President and Chief Executive Officer effective April 1. Ms. Oberdorf was most recently Vice President, Policy, Planning and Communications at the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson Research.
“Ms. Oberdorf is an outstanding choice to help NPF accomplish its strategic goal of remaking the organization to build on our strengths and have an even greater impact on the lives of Parkinson’s patients,” said Paul Oreffice, Chairman of the Board.
“I look forward to working with Mr. Oreffice, Nat Slewett, Chairman Emeritus and Dr. Bernard Fogel, Dean Emeritus of the Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine at
University of Miami, the Board and team at NPF to build on NPF’s strengths, which include its proud history, reach, heightened focus on improving patient care in a holistic fashion, and a demonstrated commitment to change,” Joyce Oberdorf stated. “Together we will build on the changes already in place to create a new future, focusing on those areas where our mission is most compelling and our impact, the greatest. In addition, we hope to, by example, increase cooperation, coordination and collaboration with our peers and friends in the Parkinson community. In this way, we aim to create a model for improving the clinical microsystem that serves this and future generations of Parkinson’s patients in the U.S. and around the world.”
Dr. Fogel, who chaired the search committee said that “Ms. Oberdorf is a proven leader and manager. She has demonstrated a unique ability to develop and set forth a strategic vision. She has an excellent understanding of the complex issues surrounding Parkinson’s disease, and is highly respected in the community as an individual who truly appreciates the needs and concerns of patients. Ms. Oberdorf will bring both experience and a fresh perspective to NPF and we look forward to working with her to create and sustain NPF’s future as a best-in-breed nonprofit dedicated to serving Parkinson’s disease patients.”
At the Michael J Fox Foundation, Ms. Oberdorf worked with the Board and the senior management team to lead strategic task forces on research directions, fundraising and board governance issues. In addition, she was responsible for developing public policy positions, serving as liaison to the Parkinson’s community, and overseeing marketing and communications for the Foundation.
Before joining the Michael J. Fox Foundation, Ms. Oberdorf was Vice President, Corporate Public Relations at Aetna Inc. Among her accomplishments at Aetna was helping develop a strategic model of consumer-centric health care for the future. Before that, she held a variety of positions in banking and financial services for Lehman Brothers, Chemical Bank and Merrill Lynch and in financial public relations for Burson Marsteller. Ms. Oberdorf holds an A.B. degree from Rutgers University, cum laude, and an M.A. degree from Northern Illinois University.
Founded in 1957 and headquartered in Miami, Fla., NPF has invested over $150 million in fulfillment of its mission to provide care, education, and support services for persons whose lives are affected by Parkinson’s disease. Currently, NPF’s programs include a network of 58 institutions worldwide that have achieved designation as NPF Centers of Excellence, Care Centers and Outreach Centers, and 46 affiliated Chapters. Additionally, NPF’s signature programs include the Young Onset Parkinson Network Conference, the Community Partners for Parkinson Care outreach initiative, and Allied Team Training for Parkinson (ATTP). ATTP is a unique interdisciplinary training program which has trained more than 750 health care professionals in the assessment and treatment of Parkinson disease.
Ms. Oberdorf has emphasized to the Foundation that her focus will be to build on the strengths of those programs through meaningful findings and documented results. The goal will be to create a model of integrated care for an aging population with a degenerative disease and to produce standards by which those efforts can be measured.
