HJF Announces Changes to Its Council of Directors

Wilensky Appointed Chair and Blanck Joins HJF’s Council of Directors

BETHESDA, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Honorable Gail R. Wilensky, Ph.D., has been appointed Chair of The Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine’s (HJF) Council of Directors (CoD). Dr. Wilensky, an economist and senior fellow at Project Hope, has been with HJF’s CoD since January 2020. She has more than 30 years of health sciences experience, including serving in the White House as a senior adviser on health and welfare issues to President GHW Bush. Her expertise covers strategies to reform health care, Medicare, comparative effectiveness research, and military healthcare.

“I look forward to working with Dr. Wilensky as the Chair of HJF’s Council of Directors,” said HJF President and CEO, Dr. Joseph Caravalho, Jr. “I have already witnessed her tremendous knowledge and commitment to HJF’s mission, and deeply value her advice and ideas about how to best advance military medicine efforts and results around the world.”

Additionally, Ronald R. Blanck, D.O., (Lieutenant General, U.S. Army, retired) will join the CoD as a Director. He is a partner and Chairman of the Board of Martin, Blanck & Associates. Dr. Blanck was the 39^th Surgeon General of the United States Army and Commander of the U.S. Army Medical Command from 1996 to 2000. He was also the President of the University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth and for 12 years served as Chair of the Board of Regents for the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences.

The appointment of Dr. Wilensky follows the retirement of the former Chair, the Honorable John H. Dressendorfer, who becomes a Director Emeritus on HJF’s CoD.

See the entire HJF Council of Directors membership at https://www.hjf.org/council-directors.

About HJF
The Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, Inc. (HJF) is a global nonprofit that administers more than $500 million in medical research funds annually. HJF partners with researchers and clinicians to provide bench to bedside to battlefield research support. More than 3,000 HJF teammates ensure HJF is a trusted and responsive partner by providing scientific, administrative, and program operations services to researchers in the military, academia, and private industry. For more information, visit hjf.org.