Newswise — Bethesda, Md — Former White House Physician and a 1981 graduate of the F. Edward Hébert School of Medicine, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU), Eleanor “Connie” Mariano, M.D., has been named as one of 14 members of the newly-formed Department of Veterans Affairs “MyVA” Advisory Committee (MVAC).
VA Secretary Robert A. McDonald established the MVAC to help reorient the Department to better meet the needs of veterans. The MVAC is made up of skilled experts from the private, non-profit and government sectors – many of them veterans – to advise the Secretary, with a focus on improving customer service, veteran outcomes and setting the course for long-term reform and excellence. Members of the Committee have extensive experience in customer service, large- scale organizational change and advocacy for Veterans.
Mariano, the founder of the Center for Executive Medicine, was the first female director of the White House Medical Unit and the first female uniformed doctor to become a White House Physician to the President, serving under Presidents George H.W. Bush, William J. Clinton and George W. Bush. After retiring from the Navy as a Rear Admiral, Mariano joined Mayo Clinic’s Executive Health Program before founding the Center for Executive Medicine.
“We are extremely pleased to see that one of our alumni has been selected by Secretary McDonald to serve on this important advisory committee. USU educates our students for national service, and Dr. Mariano personifies that tradition. Her extensive experience as a Navy physician and a leader in both the military and civilian health care communities will be invaluable to the VA and our nation’s veterans, who deserve the best care we can provide,” said Dr. Arthur Kellermann, dean of the Hébert School of Medicine at USU.
Former USU Board of Regents member Richard H. Carmona, M.D. M.P.H., FACS, was also selected for the MVAC. Carmona, who served as our nation’s 17th Surgeon General, holds several public and private leadership positions and is currently a Distinguished Professor at the University of Arizona who draws from his experiences as a combat decorated and disabled U.S. Army Special Forces Vietnam Veteran; his extensive experience in clinical sciences, healthcare management, national preparedness and public health informs his commitment to prevention as an effective means of improving public health and reducing health care costs as well as boosting the quality and quantity of life.
To ensure that MVAC achieves the goals of MyVA, MVAC will meet several times throughout the year to offer ways for the VA to its improve the overall quality of services, operational functions, processes and outputs.
Joining Mariano and Carmona on the committee are:
- Retired Maj. Gen. Josue “Joe” Robles Jr., a 28-year Army veteran, and President and CEO of the United States Automobile Association (USAA), who will serve as chair of the MyVA Committee.
- Michael Haynie, PhD, Vice Chancellor, Syracuse University, Executive Director of the University’s Institute for Veterans & Military Families, and chair of the Secretary of Labor’s Advisory Committee on Veteran Employment, Training, and Employer Outreach. He will serve as vice chair of MVAC.
- Herman Bulls, International Director, and Chairman Public Institutions, Jones Lang LaSalle
- Teresa Carlson, Vice President, Worldwide Public Sector Amazon Web Services
- Delos “Toby” M. Cosgrove, M.D., CEO and President, Cleveland Clinic
- Laura Herrera, MD, Deputy Secretary for Public Health, Maryland Department of Health & Mental Hygiene
- Chris Howard, DPhil, President, Hampden-Sydney College
- Nancy Killefer, Senior Director in the DC office of McKinsey & Company and chair of the Defense Business Board - Fred Lee, nationally recognized expert and consultant in the patient and family experience and the author of the best-selling health care leadership book, “If Disney Ran Your Hospital, 9 ½ Things You Would Do Differently.”
- Jean Reaves, President of North Carolina AMVETS Service Foundation, and Vietnam Era Veteran
- Maria “Lourdes” Tiglao, Director of Outreach and Resource Development, The District Communications Group
- Robert E. Wallace, Assistant Adjutant General and Executive Director, Veterans of Foreign Wars
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The Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU), founded by an act of Congress in 1972, is the academic heart of the Military Health System. USU students are primarily active duty uniformed officers in the Army, Navy, Air Force and Public Health Service who receive specialized education in tropical and infectious diseases, TBI and PTSD, disaster response and humanitarian assistance, global health, and acute trauma care. A large percentage of the university’s more than 5,200 physician and 790 advanced practice nursing alumni are supporting operations around the world, offering their leadership and expertise. USU also has graduate programs in biomedical sciences and public health committed to excellence in research, and in oral biology. The University's research program covers a wide range of clinical and basic science important to both the military and public health. For more information, visit www.usuhs.edu.
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