» Felice appointed to Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Foundation board
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Felice appointed to Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Foundation board felice-cat

By Ellie Castano
UMass Medical School Communications 		July 13, 2011 
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Marianne Felice, MD 
Marianne Felice, MD, chair and professor of pediatrics and physician-in-chief of the UMass Memorial Children’s Medical Center, was appointed to the board of directors of the Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Foundation.

Since its inception 30 years ago, the Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Foundation has distributed more than $120 million in funds throughout New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Maine to support efforts to combat childhood obesity; address health disparities affecting diverse populations; and support healthy, strong communities through grant contributions and community service.

Dr. Felice was recruited to UMMS in 1998 and later served as interim CEO of UMass Memorial Health Care. She is the principal investigator on the UMMS arm of the landmark 20-year National Children’s Study, the largest study to be conducted in the United States to assess the effects of environmental and genetic factors on child and human health.

Felice has received numerous awards throughout her career, including the 1996 Governor’s Citation for Outstanding Service to the State of Maryland; the American Academy of Pediatrics’ 1996 Adele Hofman Award for Outstanding Achievement in Adolescent Health; and the YWCA’s of Central Massachusetts’ 2006 Katharine F. Erskine Award for Medicine & Science presented to women who are dedicated to making life better for their community, particularly for women and girls. Felice also served as president of the Association of Medical School Pediatric Department Chairs for two years beginning in 2005.

“I am honored to be on the Foundation board,” said Felice. “The other members of the board are as passionate as I am about doing good for the community and I am learning from them. I do notice that I am the only board member from Central or Western Massachusetts. So, I hope that I can advocate for this part of the commonwealth when it is appropriate to do so.”