Elizabeth A. Thompson: New CEO of National Osteoporosis Foundation

The National Osteoporosis Foundation (NOF) Board of Trustees has announced the selection of Elizabeth A. Thompson as its next Chief Executive Officer, effective January 2, 2018.

According to the NOF, “Ms. Thompson is widely regarded for her 30 years of national and global leadership experience, spanning for-profit and for-purpose organizations. Ms. Thompson has a track record of engaging diverse stakeholders to set a common agenda for impact, raising money for research, and advocating for evidence-based high quality and high value care.”

“She currently consults with a number of nonprofit organizations on organizational development, philanthropy and coaching senior staff. Ms. Thompson will be replacing Chief Executive Officer, Amy Porter, who announced her retirement from NOF in June 2017.”

Elizabeth Thompson told OTW, “I’m honored to have been chosen for this role and look forward to working with the wise and esteemed board of directors, our amazing volunteers, our generous donors and funders, and the talented staff team to continue to set a dynamic agenda for patients and families with osteoporosis.”

“First, I’m a relentless and committed advocate who is passionate about working on the issues that most need our attention but that might have been sidelined by society because they are uncomfortable to talk about, not well understood, or not well characterized.”

“Approximately 10 million Americans have osteoporosis and another 44 million have low bone density, placing them at increased risk for a fracture. Just think about that for a second, 54 million Americans, half of all adults age 50 and older, are at risk of breaking a bone and should be concerned about bone health.”

“As an advocate and policy driver, I’ve been on the front lines of shaping the value conversation in our country relative to healthcare. Osteoporosis-related bone breaks cost patients, their families and the healthcare system $19 billion annually. By 2025, experts predict that osteoporosis will be responsible for three million fractures resulting in $25.3 billion in costs.”

“When we look at the number of people who are impacted by osteoporosis and the costs to our healthcare system, we have to agree—the numbers are staggering. Yet, we aren’t having a national conversation about osteoporosis and its devastating effects on health. Is that because aging Americans and their health needs become invisible? I will be working with our outstanding board, dynamic volunteers and talented staff to address that issue and to drive change.”

“Second, my entire career has been based upon marrying evidence-based approaches with health advances and translating complicated science into real world messages and strategies for those who need to know, ‘What does this mean for me?’ We’ll be pushing on investments into research for osteoporosis, looking at ways that patients can report their outcomes in trials, and continuing the great work underway to share best practices with the myriad of physicians that treat patients all along the continuum.”

“When I move into the office, I’ll begin with a national listening tour, meeting with all of our board members, our funders, our patient community, and national experts in bone health to learn about osteoporosis and the field. The listening tour will provide a baseline of data for SWOT [strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats] analysis and from there, we’ll move to develop our strategic action plan focusing on awareness and education, research, policy, and fundraising.”