Community Catalyst Builds for the Future with New Diversity and Inclusion and Chief Program Officer Positions and Leadership Promotions
(BOSTON) — Community Catalyst, a Boston-based national consumer health advocacy organization, today announced several changes to its senior leadership team with the promotions of Diane M. Felicio to chief operating officer, Reena E. Singh to chief program officer and Dara S. Taylor to director of diversity and inclusion.
“We are very fortunate we have a deep bench at Community Catalyst,” said Executive Director Rob Restuccia. “Diane, Reena and Dara have proven through their achievements in their respective areas that they are the right people for these positions. Each one of these individuals brings the talent, strategic thinking and leadership skills we need as we build the future of the organization.”
As chief operating officer, Diane Felicio will oversee the development and implementation of organizational strategy, goals and evaluation. She will manage board relations, and be responsible for ensuring that Community Catalyst advances its mission and promotes its vision. Felicio previously served as director of resource and business development, working with the organization’s senior leadership and program staff to engage local, regional and national funders, as well as individual donors, in the work of Community Catalyst and health care organizations across the country.
“I could not ask for a stronger team or more determined organization to serve at a time when health care and the lives of so many are at risk,” said Felicio. “I am grateful for this opportunity to lead and learn.”
In the newly created role of chief program officer, Reena Singh will work to ensure Community Catalyst’s programs are innovative, responsive to the political and policy environment, and aligned with the organization’s mission, goals and values. Prior to assuming this role, Singh served as Community Catalyst’s director of the state consumer health advocacy program, where she led the organization’s work to enhance the capacity of state-based consumer advocates to shape health policy in local, state and federal government.
“I’m excited to have this new opportunity at an organization I’ve called home for 10 years,” said Singh. “I look forward to collaborating with our team and with our partners across the country to think about how we do our work and help develop innovative programs that advance our mission and goals.”
As director of diversity and inclusion, Dara Taylor will work to make sure that a focus on health equity, diversity and inclusion is part of all programs and operations within Community Catalyst, and that the organization plays a leadership role in elevating the importance of health equity and eliminating disparities across the health advocacy movement. She will collaborate with organizational leadership and staff to integrate diversity best practices into hiring, retention and training opportunities to help advance diversity within Community Catalyst.
“Community Catalyst’s work is rooted in advancing health equity,” said Taylor. “In the years to come, I hope to help the organization not only to expand its work in this area, but also to collaborate with partners in communities across the country to reduce and eliminate health disparities and lift the voices of the underserved in policy decisions at the local, state and federal levels. This work is essential to Community Catalyst’s mission and vision.”
Taylor has worked at Community Catalyst for eight years. She will assume this newly created role in addition to her current position as program director of consumer assistance, leading Community Catalysts’ portfolio of work that supports outreach, education and enrollment of consumers in health care coverage. She previously served as director of Community Catalyst’s southern health partners project.
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About Community Catalyst
Community Catalyst is a national, non-profit consumer advocacy organization founded in 1998 with the belief that affordable, quality health care should be accessible to everyone. We work in partnership with national, state and local organizations, policymakers, and philanthropic foundations to ensure consumer interests are represented wherever important decisions about health and the health system are made: in communities, courtrooms, statehouses and on Capitol Hill. For more information, visit www.communitycatalyst.org. Follow us on Twitter @healthpolicyhub.