Transition News

Pamela W. Barnes, president and chief executive officer of EngenderHealth, recently shared the news that she will be retiring later this year. Ms. Barnes joined EngenderHealth in 2010 and has since led the more than 70-year-old organization in expanding its program portfolio to help more women and their partners access quality sexual and reproductive health care in 20 countries. The search for the organization’s new president is currently underway.

“We are most grateful for Pam’s dynamic leadership, which has brought EngenderHealth to where it is today—in a strong position as we look ahead to find her successor,” said Robert D. Petty, Board Chair. “We wish her all the best in what we expect will be a long and happy retirement.”

Under Ms. Barnes’s leadership, EngenderHealth has made tremendous progress toward improving the health and lives of women and families around the world. During her tenure, EngenderHealth has continued to lead the largest U.S. government–funded efforts on fistula prevention and treatment (Fistula Care Plus and Fistula Care), programs that with their partners supported more than 27,000 repair surgeries across 14 countries and published vital research to improve treatment practices. EngenderHealth has expanded its presence and programs in India, the Philippines, and West Africa, where the unmet need for family planning is high, and has championed efforts to promote rights-based family planning and contraceptive choice at the global, community, and service delivery levels. EngenderHealth enhanced “data for decision making” through the RESPOND Project with innovative tools, including Reality Check, and brought global expertise in engaging men to the United States through the award-winning Gender Matters program to help prevent teen pregnancy.

Thanks to Ms. Barnes’s leadership, EngenderHealth has also made significant advances in diversifying the organization’s funding sources and in growing a new generation of supporters through expanded social media and the Where’s the Family Planning?! (WTFP?!) engagement campaign.

“I can’t think of a more rewarding and important role than the one I have had serving as president of EngenderHealth,” said Pam. “Its mission—transforming women’s lives through access to high-quality reproductive health services—is a lifelong passion. I am incredibly grateful to all of my colleagues with whom I have had the privilege of working and who have inspired me each and every day.” 

Pam’s early announcement reflects her commitment to EngenderHealth, as she will continue in her leadership role for much of this year and offer support to the Board of Directors during the executive search process.