December 19, 2024
Cynthia Gilman, J.D., retired as Senior Vice President of Strategic Initiatives on Dec. 18, 2024, after a productive and successful 17 years of service to HJF. Ms. Gilman spearheaded HJF’s business development efforts and the Heroes of Military Medicine Awards (HMM), held annually for 15 years in Washington, D.C., then expanded to include San Antonio for the past three years. HMM recognizes outstanding contributions by senior military leaders, medical professionals, and civilians who advance military medicine. She also led the highly regarded “The Veterans Metrics Initiative,” a longitudinal study that examined how transitioning veteran programs correlate with long-term well-being across multiple domains.
“Cynthia has been a vital leader at HJF, instrumental in many priority programs and projects focused on advancing military medicine,” said Joseph Caravalho, Jr. President and CEO. “Cynthia was a great mentor to her Strategic Initiatives team as well as the former Center for Public-Private Partnerships, where she helped foster collaborations among the Department of Defense, Department of Veterans Affairs, and civilian universities and industries to advance the long-term health and wellbeing of America's wounded, ill, and injured service members, veterans, and their families. We congratulate her in her well-deserved retirement.”
Two HJF leaders have been promoted to continue the work of Strategic Initiatives and launch a new Events Department. Sheara W. Fewell, Ph.D., previously Senior Director, Business Development, has assumed the role of Vice President, Strategic Initiatives, and Jacqueline Vandermeersch, previously Senior Director, Public-Private Partnerships, now serves as Vice President, Events.
Sheara Fewell, Ph.D., Vice President, Strategic Initiatives, a 15-year veteran of HJF, oversees HJF's business development efforts, including leading the teams who support HJF's corporate and investigator-initiated proposal submissions for research grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements. She advanced the development of tools and resources to assist principal investigators to develop competitive research proposals.
Jackie Vandermeersch, Vice President, Events, is responsible for all HJF publicly facing events, public-private collaborations, meetings, and symposia. During her 15 years with HJF, she has executed noteworthy collaborative projects, including HJF's Leadership Fora and Heroes of Military Medicine Awards dinners, and assisted with The Veteran Metrics Initiative, while overseeing the HJF Conference Facility in support of military medical conferences and events.
"These promotions recognize both Sheara and Jackie's tremendous positive impact on HJF and our core mission," said President and CEO, Joseph Caravalho. "Sheara and Jackie have consistently delivered superior results and exemplify what is the best about HJF. I am sure their experience and vision will continue to propel HJF's efforts to advance military medicine."
To learn more about Sheara Fewell and Jackie Vandermeersch, please visit HJF's leadership pages to read their full biographies.