Bernadine P. Healy, Red Cross Chief and Leader in Women’s Health Research

Bernadine P. Healy led the American Red Cross when terrorists attacked the United States in 2001. She quit later that year following disputes over the charity’s response. Bernadine P. Healy led the American Red Cross when terrorists attacked the United States in 2001. She quit later that year following disputes over the charity’s response.

August 21, 2011 | Read Time: 1 minute

Age at death: 67

Major philanthropy job: Dr. Healy served as chief executive of the American Red Cross for two years and led the organization’s initial response to the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Her time in the nonprofit world: While Dr. Healy sought to improve the methods the Red Cross used to collect and process blood donations and its ability to respond to disasters, her tenure was marred by allegations that the charity had not explained clearly how it would spend September 11 donations, which eventually totaled more than $1-billion. Initially, the organization planned to use some of the money to prepare for future terrorist attacks. After the plan attracted controversy, the organization changed course and pledged that the money would go exclusively to aid victims, their families, and rescue workers. Amid tension with local Red Cross chapters and continuing concerns about the spending of the 9/11 money, Dr. Healy resigned in November 2001.

Other accomplishments: In 1991, Dr. Healy was appointed the first woman to lead the National Institutes of Health. She started the Women’s Health Initiative, a $625-million effort to study heart disease, osteoporosis, breast cancer, and colorectal cancer in middle-aged and older women.

How she will be remembered: One of the most important discoveries of the Women’s Health Initiative was that hormone-replacement therapy increased women’s risk of breast cancer, stroke, and heart attacks. Prescriptions for the hormones plummeted, and there was a 15-percent decline in breast cancer the first year, says Anne M. Dranginis, professor of biology, at St. John’s University. “What Dr. Healy did in starting the Women’s Health Initiative has literally saved millions of women from breast cancer,” she says. “This had real impact on people’s lives, a lot of people.”

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About the Author

NICOLE WALLACE

Features Editor

Nicole Wallace is features editor of the Chronicle of Philanthropy. She has written about innovation in the nonprofit world, charities’ use of data to improve their work and to boost fundraising, advanced technologies for social good, and hybrid efforts at the intersection of the nonprofit and for-profit sectors, such as social enterprise and impact investing.Nicole spearheaded the Chronicle’s coverage of Hurricane Katrina recovery efforts on the Gulf Coast and reported from India on the role of philanthropy in rebuilding after the South Asian tsunami. She started at the Chronicle in 1996 as an editorial assistant compiling The Nonprofit Handbook.Before joining the Chronicle, Nicole worked at the Association of Farmworker Opportunity Programs and served in the inaugural class of the AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps.A native of Columbia, Pa., she holds a bachelor’s degree in foreign service from Georgetown University.