WomenHeart: The National Coalition for Women with Heart Disease Names new Board Chair and appoints new Board members

WASHINGTON, Feb. 18, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- WomenHeart: The National Coalition for Women with Heart Disease today announces Kathy Webster as the new Board Chair for the nation's first and still only national organization solely devoted to women's heart health and supporting the 42 million women living with or at risk for heart disease. Webster is a heart disease survivor and WomenHeart Champion – volunteer community educator, advocate and Support Network Coordinator trained at the prestigious WomenHeart Science & Leadership Symposium at Mayo Clinic – who has served the organization in a variety of leadership capacities since 2006.

"I am honored and proud to have been chosen to help lead this incredible organization that provides much-needed education and support to women living with and at risk of heart disease. We have an amazing team of passionate staff members, directors, volunteers and the nation's leading experts in women's heart health as advisors – all working together, we are saving lives!"

Kathy Webster
Kathy Webster is a life-long heart disease survivor, diagnosed with congenital heart disease at age 4, and undergoing open heart surgery as a teenager. After many years of treatment and a second open heart surgery, Kathy joined WomenHeart in 2006 when she attended the prestigious WomenHeart Science & Leadership Symposium at Mayo Clinic, an experience she found to be profoundly life-affirming. Kathy has been an active WomenHeart Champion volunteer since that time, serving as a community advocate, Support Network Coordinator, District Leader, and spokesperson in the Kansas City metropolitan area. Kathy was elected to the national WomenHeart Governing Board of Directors in 2011, became Treasurer in 2012, and Chair-Elect in 2014 before assuming the Board Chair position in January 2015.

Kathy earned a BA in Psychology and Sociology, MS Ed in Counseling and Guidance, and is a graduate of the Stonier Graduate School of Banking. She recently retired from the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City after a 33 year career in management. She is on the College of Arts and Sciences Alumni Board at the University of Missouri-KC, the Women's Heart Health Advisory Council at the University of Kansas Hospital, and serves on her neighborhood homes association board. She is married, has one adult son, and resides in Overland Park, KS.

WomenHeart also inducted five new Board members at its January Board meeting in Washington, DC.

Paige Bingham
Paige Bingham is the Director of LifeCourse, a grant funded project at Allina Health, creating an integrated supportive model for individuals and families affected by serious life-limiting illnesses. Prior to joining Allina Health, Paige spent more than 10 years at Medtronic in Cardiac Rhythm Management and Corporate Responsibility. She also held senior management positions at Boston Scientific, General Mills, and Deloitte. She received an MBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, and a BA in Economics from Claremont McKenna College. A long time Minneapolis resident, Paige serves on the governing boards of the YWCA of Minneapolis and Twin Cities Rise!.

In 2009, Paige attended the WomenHeart Science & Leadership Symposium at Mayo Clinic and connected deeply with the WomenHeart mission to empower women living with heart disease and to engage the community that cares for them. Through her involvement with WomenHeart, Paige has witnessed the force for good embodied by WomenHeart Champions who are managing their heart disease better because of WomenHeart.

Debra Gee
Debra serves as General Counsel and Executive Officer for the Chickasaw Nation Legal Division in Ada, Oklahoma. Debra's work focuses on a variety of legal issues including health law, criminal law, family law, tribal law and contract law. Debra serves as a member of the Section 904 Task Force for the Office on Violence against Women and participates on various committees within the American Bar Association. She is also an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation and is affiliated with the Muscogee (Creek) Nation. She is a graduate of the Arizona State University College of Law where she earned her J.D. and Smith College where she earned her B.A. Debra looks forward to serving on the WomenHeart Board and contributing her knowledge as WomenHeart seeks to enhance services to the American Indian and Alaska Native female population who are at risk or are affected by heart disease.

Richard Jacob
Richard is Chairman/CEO of Prescott, Forbes, & Associates, an operations and strategy consulting firm working exclusively with business owners and boards of directors. Formerly President/CEO of BriskHeat Corporation, he also previously directed manufactured product businesses for Rockwell International, Litton Industries, UniRoyal Plastics, and Harris Corporation. He was named an Inc. 'Entrepreneur of the Year' in 1994, was a founding member of the national 'School for Creating and Managing Change' and has served on a White House Commission formulating small business regulatory reform. He is a decorated former Air Force captain and joint recipient of the Collier trophy. Recognizing that heart disease is the leading cause of death in women has moved Richard to focus on that area. He is a heart transplant recipient and knows first-hand the value of education and support to those with heart disease.

Barbara Tombros
Barbara recently retired after more than 30 years in the pharmaceutical industry in various roles. She spent the most recent 10 years as the Director of Advocacy and Alliance Development for Novartis Pharmaceuticals with a strong focus on cardiovascular disease. In that role, Barbara worked closely with WomenHeart, and experienced first-hand the WomenHeart Science & Leadership Symposium at Mayo Clinic. This experience, like for so many attendees, was deeply impactful by meeting women heart patients and hearing their stories. Prior to joining Novartis Barbara managed a global advocacy program at Pharmacia, which engaged rheumatoid arthritis patients to train health care professionals in the proper methodology of a full body joint examination and to better understand quality of life issues for rheumatoid arthritis patients.  Both of these experiences fostered a strong desire to assist patients, and particularly woman patients, to have a voice in their healthcare and health.

Donna K. Winburn
Donna K. Winburn is a heart disease survivor and WomenHeart Champion. She is a 2006 graduate of the WomenHeart Science & Leadership Symposium at Mayo Clinic, an experience she says that started a truly life changing journey for her. She embraces the mission of WomenHeart by providing education through speaking engagements and health fairs, launching three WomenHeart Support Networks in her community, and starting the first patient-survivor led support groups in the DFW Metroplex at Texas Health Resources HEB and the HEART Hospital Baylor Plano. She looks forward to continuing her efforts as an advocate for women's health equity as a member of the Board.

To schedule an interview with Kathy Webster, Board Chair of WomenHeart, on women's heart health and WomenHeart's support and education programs for women living with and at risk for heart disease, please contact Eva Maciejewski at 202.464.8737 or [email protected].  

WomenHeart: The National Coalition for Women with Heart Disease is the nation's only patient centered organization serving the 43 million American women living with or at risk for heart disease – the leading cause of death in women. WomenHeart is solely devoted to advancing women's heart health through advocacy, community education, and the nation's only patient support network for women living with heart disease. WomenHeart is both a coalition and a community of thousands of members nationwide, including women heart patients and their families, physicians, and health advocates, all committed to helping women live longer, healthier lives. To receive a free online heart health action kit or to donate, visit www.womenheart.org 

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150218/176447 

SOURCE WomenHeart: The National Coalition for Women with Heart Disease

Related Links

http://www.womenheart.org