Frequent GW Office of Integrative Medicine and Health partner Integrtive Medicine for the Underserved (IM4US) recently announced the selection of a new executivce director. beginning November 30, 2020, Heather Carrie will take over as the nonprofit's executive director (ED). Over the course of her health policy career, Heather has enthusiastically supported initiatives to increase access to integrative health services for all through community engagement and grassroots advocacy. We are excited to have her co-pilot IM4US with the IM4US Board of Directors (BOD) into the next decade.
Prior to joining IM4US, Heather served in several leadership positions. Most recently, she was the Director of Global Engagement for one of our partner organizations: Academy of Integrative Health & Medicine (AIHM). She initiated the first Minority Health Forum to be included at the 2018 AIHM annual conference and developed partnerships to create the Social Impact Clinical Scholars Program that awards full scholarships to health care practitioners working with underserved communities.
Heather also served as Director of the Center for Health Policy Leadership at Bastyr University. She led and supported policy and advocacy initiatives at the state and federal levels to increase access to integrative health care. She advocated for Graduate Medical Education (GME) reform and created a call to action for Congress to develop a diverse GME Policy Council that would include licensed primary care integrative health practitioner representation (ND, LAc, DC, PA, ARNP) to expand residency opportunities to all licensed health care practitioners trained in primary care delivery.
To increase access to integrative health care in rural areas, Heather generated meetings between Bastyr University, clinic CEOs, medical directors, and primary care association leaders, which resulted in a community healthcare system in rural Washington hiring their first naturopathic doctors. Heather was recognized by the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians as the 2018 Naturopathic Medicine Champion for her advocacy and support.
Heather is also the Founder of the Heartstone Center where she served as Executive Director for 13 years overseeing all business duties for a community-based education program teaching holistic and sustainable living skills.
Heather earned her BA in Law and Policy with a dual concentration in Health Policy and in Healthcare Leadership from the University of Washington Tacoma, and her Master of Advanced Studies (MAS) in Health Policy and Law from a joint degree program with the University of California, San Diego’s School of Medicine and the California Western School of Law. She completed mediation training with California Western School of Law and with the Dispute Resolution Center of King County in Washington State.
As an IM4US member since 2014, Heather has contributed to our annual conferences with research and oral presentations as well as year-round Policy and Advocacy Committee work. We are elated that Heather felt compelled to apply for this position.
This is an edited version of a IM4US email.
