FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 
March 27, 2025 
Contact: Jack Cardinal, jcardinal@communitycatalyst.org  

Goler Blount brings bold vision and cross-sector experience to the health justice movement, further propelling Community Catalyst’s leadership in a moment of urgent defense and long-term transformation. 

Boston, MA—As a national leader in the health justice movement, Community Catalyst is proud to announce that Linda Goler Blount, MPH has been named its new President & CEO, effective mid-May. A nationally recognized public health leader and expert on race equity, health justice, and systems change, Goler Blount brings more than 25 years of experience across the public, private, and nonprofit sectors to this role. Her cross-sector leadership strengthens Community Catalyst’s ability to not only confront the status quo, but help build a health system that is rooted in race equity and health justice, and a society where health is a right for all. 

“Half-measures or faint hearts will not tame these times. We stand at a crossroads where the illusion of fairness can no longer hide a fundamental truth—our destinies rise or fall together, and our collective health is the measure of our shared humanity,” said Robert Phillips, Board Chair of Community Catalyst. “Linda Goler Blount is the leader Community Catalyst needs, someone who steps boldly into this moment with unflinching resolve, profound expertise, and a deep commitment to racial and economic equity. She brings the clarity and courage to dismantle the zero-sum myths about our health that have held us back for far too long, which I hope will ignite a vision in which every community, without exception, will flourish. I am honored to welcome her as the new President & CEO of Community Catalyst. I deeply thank Dana Clarke and Dr. Brandon G. Wilson, whose steady, values-driven guidance has kept Community Catalyst on course. Together, we will forge a future where health is not a commodity but the unassailable foundation of our collective freedom—and the truest expression of justice for all.” 

With deep, long-standing partnerships across the country, Community Catalyst is uniquely positioned to defend hard-won gains—like those in vaccine equity, the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid, and protections that reduce the burden of medical debt—while working with communities to chart the path toward deeper, long-term transformation. 

“I am honored to join Community Catalyst at such a critical moment,” said Linda Goler Blount, MPH. “For too long, we’ve accepted a profit-driven health system that prices people—especially Black women and other historically excluded communities—out of the care they want and need. I have long respected Community Catalyst’s unwavering commitment to building the power of people to transform the health system. The tools to create a more just, equitable, and people-centered approach already exist—we just have to mobilize them. We can’t afford to wait—this is our time to move from vision to action.”  

Goler Blount joins Community Catalyst after more than a decade leading the Black Women’s Health Imperative (BWHI), the only national organization focused solely on the health and wellness of Black women and girls. Under her leadership, BWHI expanded its impact through bold policy advocacy, evidence-based programs, and strategic partnerships—including a landmark collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Building on the legacy of BWHI founder and health justice pioneer Byllye Avery, Goler Blount is a steadfast voice in centering Black women’s experiences in public health and pushing systems to be more accountable, equitable, and community-driven. She was a lead contributor to IndexUS, the first data set focused on the health of Black women using an asset-based approach—centered on studying healthy Black women rather than only illness or disease, and was recognized as a Forbes 50 Over 50: Impact honoree for her leadership in public health. 

This leadership transition is not just a defining moment—it’s a continuation of a powerful movement. 

From a three-person team to a nationally respected force for health justice, Community Catalyst has spent more than 25 years working alongside communities to shape health policy and practice. With a partner network of more than 350 organizations across 45 states and D.C., Community Catalyst is known and trusted for its deep relationships, ability to move policy and practice, and track record of building power with communities most harmed by the health system. 

  • Coverage & Care: Community Catalyst played a pivotal role in shaping and implementing the Affordable Care Act and has spent the last 13 years working alongside partners to expand Medicaid in 40 states and D.C.—bringing coverage to millions of people nationwide. In 2024, the organization supported outreach efforts that contributed to over 21 million ACA Marketplace enrollments—a 33% increase over the previous year—and helped secure premium savings for more than 13 million people, contributing to the lowest uninsured rate on record. 
  • Health & Economic Justice: A national leader in the fight to eliminate medical debt, Community Catalyst addresses the root causes of financial harm through policy advocacy, narrative change, and grassroots organizing. The organization has mobilized more than 16,500 people, including those with lived experience, to advance and protect financial safeguards and has been instrumental in shaping local, state, and federal policies that curb predatory billing and collection practices. 
  • Community-first Public Health: Through strategic partnerships and community-rooted initiatives, Community Catalyst has helped advance vaccine equity and address Long COVID through partnerships with trusted messengers and community-based organizations. To date, its public health campaigns have reached over 163 million people and supported the administration of more than 232,000 vaccinations, with a focus on communities disproportionately impacted by systemic inequities. 
  • Health System Innovation: Community Catalyst is reshaping how health systems engage with the communities they serve—especially nonprofit and religious hospitals—by promoting models of accountability, transparency, and shared decision-making. Increasingly, hospital systems turn to Community Catalyst as a trusted advisor for authentic community engagement and mission-aligned reform.

As Community Catalyst enters its next chapter under Linda Goler Blount’s leadership, the organization remains committed to both defending hard-won progress and driving long-term, systemic transformation. Goler Blount will officially begin her role in mid-May.

Media interested in speaking with her about health system equity, Medicaid and ACA policy, community-first public health, medical debt, or the role of private equity in care are encouraged to reach out for interview opportunities. Goler Blount brings both lived expertise and a bold, cross-sector perspective to some of the most urgent issues facing the health system today.

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About Community Catalyst:

Community Catalyst is a national organization dedicated to building the power of people to create a health system rooted in race equity and health justice, and a society where health is a right for all. We’re an experienced, trusted partner to organizations across the country, a change agent to policymakers at the local, state, and national level, and both an adversary and a collaborator to health systems in our efforts to advance health justice. We partner with local, state and national organizations and leaders to leverage and build power so that people are at the center of important decisions about health and health care, whether they are made by health care executives, in state houses, or on Capitol Hill. Together with partners, we’re building a powerful, united movement with a shared vision of and strategy for a health system accountable to all people. Learn more at communitycatalyst.org.