Ready, Healthy & Able
HealthyWomen is the nation’s leading independent, nonprofit health information source for women. Our mission is to educate women to make informed health decisions by providing objective, research-based health information. For more than 30 years, millions of women have turned to HealthyWomen for answers to their most important healthcare questions.
Some of our work, like the Ready, Healthy & Able program, is made possible through the generous support of funders. Their support allows us to create educational content grounded in science, free of commercial bias and widely accessible to all.
Consortium Members
HealthyWomen is partnering with a consortium of experts to address the unique health needs of, and barriers to, inclusive healthcare for servicewoman and service members with female biology and to offer military medical providers relevant accredited education.
Members
Ada D. Stewart, M.D., FAAFP (co-facilitator), a family physician with Cooperative Health in Columbia, South Carolina, is board chair of the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) and recent past president. The AAFP represents 133,500 physicians and medical students nationwide. As AAFP board chair, Stewart advocates on behalf of family physicians and patients to inspire positive change in the U.S. healthcare system. Stewart has been a practicing family physician with Cooperative Health, formerly Eau Claire Cooperative Health Centers, since 2012, and currently serves as lead provider and HIV specialist. She has held many leadership positions on the local, state and national levels. She has been a staunch advocate for marginalized populations, individuals living with HIV/AIDS and those of trans experience. Stewart is also a member of the American Academy of HIV Medicine, the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine, the National Medical Association, the American Medical Women’s Association, and many others. Born and reared in an underserved urban area of Cleveland, Ohio, Stewart has committed her career to ensuring that uninsured and low-income families have access to high-quality healthcare. She began her career as a National Health Service Corps scholar, caring for underserved patients in rural South Carolina. She continues to work with underserved communities in both rural and urban settings. Stewart was recognized in 2017 for her dedicated service in hepatitis C treatment and prevention by the South Carolina HIV/AIDS Council. She was recognized in April 2018 by the South Carolina chapter of the National Coalition of 100 Black Women with the Health Award in recognition of her contributions to the health of the community in Columbia. Stewart has been named to the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS, where she continues to serve. In 2020, she was honored by the South Carolina House of Representatives and the South Carolina Senate for her contributions to the healthcare of the state of South Carolina and for her leadership on a national level. In the aftermath of Sept. 11, 2001, Stewart enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserves and has achieved the rank of colonel.
She is a preceptor for nurse practitioners, medical residents and medical students and has received numerous awards, including the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society 2012 Volunteer Clinical Faculty Award for her precepting at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine. She also conducts continuing education programs relating to HIV, health disparities, transgender care, hospice and palliative medicine, and hepatitis C. Stewart earned her Bachelor of Science in pharmacy from Ohio Northern University in Ada, Ohio. Realizing that she wanted to have a more direct impact on patients’ lives and well-being, she returned to school, completing her Doctor of Medicine at the Medical College of Ohio and her family medicine residency training at Palmetto Richland Memorial Hospital in Columbia, South Carolina. Stewart has also earned additional certification in HIV care from the American Academy of HIV Medicine and is certified as a hospice medical director by the Hospice Medical Director Certification Board. Stewart is board-certified by the American Board of Family Medicine. She has the AAFP degree of fellow, an earned degree awarded to family physicians for distinguished service and continuing medical education.
Toni Marengo, M.D., (co-facilitator) is a specialist in women’s healthcare, the chief medical officer of Planned Parenthood of the Pacific Southwest (PPPSW), and on the Executive Council for District IX for the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. She earned her undergraduate degree from Stanford University in 1996; her medical degree from Northwestern University in 2000; and completed her residency training at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in 2004, where she served as administrative chief resident in her PGY-4 year. After residency, she served in the United States Navy as a staff OB-GYNand was honorably discharged as a lieutenant commander in 2007. She has dedicated herself to clinical practice in an academic setting, serving as the associate residency program director at both the University of California Irvine (2007-2010) and at Naval Medical Center San Diego (NMCSD) (2010-2018). In addition, she was the director of family planning at NMCSD, the only physician in the military system who held that title/position. In 2018, Marengo transitioned to the role of CMO at PPPSW in order to lead clinical services for 18 health centers across a three-county region in Southern California. In this position, she continues to provide direct clinical care, advocate for the sexual and reproductive rights of all people, and teach residents and students. Marengo is married with four children. She enjoys tennis, reading and travel.
Kathryn M. Beasley, Ph.D, FACHE, CAPT, USN (Ret.), has extensive experience in both the Department of Defense and Veterans Affairs health systems health policy arenas. She has 10 years of Capitol Hill experience advocating for a variety of healthcare issues affecting active duty personnel, retirees, veterans and their families in her role as the Military Officers Association of America’s government relations director for health affairs. She retired from the Naval Service in 2009 after serving 30 years. As a career Navy Nurse Corps officer, she served in a wide variety of staff and senior leadership positions within the Navy and the Department of Defense. She has had assignments serving in military treatment facilities both stateside and abroad. Her clinical specialties have been in the surgical intensive care and surgical services, as well as the ambulatory care areas. Her operational assignments have been on the USNS Comfort, and her administrative emphasis has been in the managed care arena, TRICARE operations, and healthcare operational and contingency planning. Her leadership assignments have included chief of staff of Naval Healthcare New England; deputy commander and director of healthcare operations at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland; chief of staff for the commanding general for the National Capital Region Multi-Service Market Area at Walter Reed Army Medical Center; and the director of planning and operational support for the Navy Surgeon General. Capt. Beasley is a native of St. Louis, Missouri. She received her Bachelor of Science in nursing from the University of Tulsa, a Master of Science in nursing and a Master of Business Administration from Boston College, and a Ph.D. from the International School of Management. She is a fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives.
Sara Lorin Burger, M.D. (CAPT, MC, USN Ret), grew up in San Diego, California. She graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1991, and the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in 1996. She did her post-graduate training in family medicine at Naval Hospital Camp Pendleton (NHCP), followed later by a fellowship in primary care sports medicine at NHCP. She also received specialized training in undersea and hyperbaric medicine. During her Naval career, she served as ship’s crew on USS Emory S Land and USS BonHomme Richard. She was awarded the Undersea Medical Officer pin, and the Surface Warfare Medical Department and Submarine Medical Officer Warfare Devices. She was deployed multiple times on these ships and had a land-based deployment to Afghanistan. Shore-based tours included supporting the U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Naval Academy, Naval Special Warfare and fellowship assistant program director. Her military awards include the Bronze Star and Meritorious Service Medal. Burger retired from the Navy in 2021 and lives in San Diego with her husband and two young sons. She currently is focusing on parenthood and volunteer work.
Jennifer Dane
Maureen Farrell, M.D., FACOG, was born and raised in Michigan. She was appointed to the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, and received her undergraduate degree in systems engineering. Her first duty station was the Bureau of Naval Personnel in Washington, D.C., where she worked for the future chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, Adm. Michael Mullen. She then went on to medical school at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, and returned to active duty after completing her medical degree. She retired from the United States Navy in 2019 after over 20 years as a comprehensive obstetrician gynecologist. Her time in the Navy took her to bases around the world, where she served as a department head, chair of the executive committee of the medical staff, OB-GYN residency program director and director of surgical services aboard the hospital ship USNS Mercy. After retiring from the Navy, Farrell joined the faculty at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Biology. She was appointed to the position of medical director of gynecologic surgical services. Additionally, she was associate faculty at Ariadne Labs in association with the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health. In 2022, she graduated from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government with a master’s degree in public administration, with a focus on healthcare economics, business strategy and policy. Presently, she is a member of the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences at the University of California San Diego. Farrell is a McCain Advocacy Fellow at the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, an examiner for the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and previously served on the executive board of the Society of Specialists in General Obstetrics and Gynecology. She lives in San Diego, California, with her husband and two children.
Thomas Fromuth, M.D., FACOG, was born in Reading, PA, to a blue collar family. He spent his time cutting grass and helping his plumber father. He graduated from the local college, Albright College, with a BS in chemistry. While a senior in college, he decided late in the year to go to medical school, so he spent one year teaching chemistry and taking extra biology courses. The family had no resources to pay for medical school, so he decided to join the USAF with the HPSP program. It was during an internship in family medicine that he decided to pursue OB-GYN and moved to the University of Rochester’s Strong Memorial Hospital. After finishing his OB-GYN residency, he did his military service at Mt Home USAF base in Idaho during the first Gulf war, leaving as a Major. Following his service, Fromuth returned near home in Lancaster, PA, to be closer to family and raise three cracker jack smart daughters. The oldest daughter is currently serving as a Lt Col in Cyber Command. He became very interested in endometriosis 12 years ago, realizing how poorly he and the medical community in general were doing in the care of women with this difficult disease. After 30 years in OB-GYN Fromuth has now limited his scope of care to GYN only, with a special interest in endometriosis.
Ellen Gustafson is the co-founder of the Military Family Building Coalition, the first nonprofit military support organization to address the family-building challenges faced by active duty military members. She is a social entrepreneur, author, activist and most importantly mom and military spouse. She has done extensive work toward food system change (authoring “We the Eaters: If We Can Change Dinner, We Can Change the World,” co-founding Food Tank: the food think tank, giving four TEDx Talks on food system change, and advising food businesses like Barilla and startups like Food Stand). She is the co-founder of FEED and the FEED Foundation, an early give-back fashion brand that has helped provide over 100 million school meals to children around the world; was the co-director of the Summit Institute, which applies creative solutions to the world’s biggest challenges; and has helped create diversity, inclusion and anti-harassment programs at multiple events companies. She is on the founding board of We the Veterans, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization created by veterans and military family members united for democracy and committed to building a more perfect union. She is the mom of three miracle toddlers and they are all currently stationed with her husband in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
Tiffany Lange, Psy.D. (she/her/hers) is a licensed clinical psychologist and has served in senior leadership roles in government, nonprofit and private organizations. She earned a doctoral degree from Spalding University in Louisville, Kentucky, and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in women’s health.
Lange has more than a decade’s worth of experience working with underserved and marginalized communities and has devoted her professional career to promoting health equity and expanding access to inclusive health services. She has a proven history of scaling innovative interventions and programming, such as “PRIDE In All Who Served,” “Trans-Affirmative Narrative Exposure Therapy,” and “TRANSformative Mentoring.” Her professional efforts have resulted in national awards, invited and plenary speaker engagements, peer-reviewed publications, and media attention. Her areas of expertise and passion are in trauma reactions, substance use, military veteran populations, LGBTQ+ affirmative care, advocacy (individual and systemic levels), and bridging the practice-research gap.
LTC Melody R. Nolan, M.D., FACOG, is originally from Saxonburg, Pennsylvania. She attended the United States Military Academy for her undergraduate studies and received her Doctor of Medicine from the Uniformed Services University (USU) of Health Sciences in 2009. Nolan completed her gynecologic surgery and obstetrics residency at Madigan Army Medical Center in Fort Lewis, Washington. After completing residency, she served as the Medical Student Clinical Clerkship Site Coordinator at Madigan for the University of Washington and USU and then as the associate program director at Womack Army Medical Center. Nolan also served as a battalion and brigade surgeon at Fort Bragg. During the Covid-19 pandemic, she was deployed as the senior medical officer for a FEMA vaccine support team to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In 2021, she was selected for the 9A proficiency designator. She serves as an adviser OB-GYN for the Operational Virtual Medical Center and has participated in Grand Rounds lectures at hospitals around the country. Nolan holds a certification from the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology and is a fellow of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecologists. She lives with her husband and son and enjoys hiking, running and cooking.
Pamela Price, R.N., currently serves as the deputy director for The Balm In Gilead, managing the various health initiatives of the organization. Under her leadership, the organization provides support to faith-based and public health institutions in areas of program design, implementation and evaluation, which strengthen their capacity to deliver programs and services that contribute to the elimination of health disparities. In addition to her role as deputy director, she also serves as the director for the National Brain Health Center for African Americans. In 2016, she co-developed a six-part educational curriculum for nurses and allied healthcare professionals aimed at addressing knowledge gaps related to Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias affecting African Americans. Price has conducted numerous training sessions across the country with various nursing associations and healthcare organizations. She also co-created and facilitates an accredited training for healthcare providers aimed at increasing cultural competencies related to the screening, diagnosis and treatment of dementia in African Americans. Price holds a Bachelor of Science in public health and has more than 20 years of experience in public health, epidemiology and healthcare. As a professional nurse, she has served as a member of the U.S. Army Nurse Corps and excelled in both government and nongovernmental agencies providing leadership and guidance on program management, quality improvement and project development. Price is also an experienced consultant and serves on various boards and steering committees, frequently conducting workshops and trainings across the country at various conferences and events, in addition to providing technical assistance and capacity-building services to community-based organizations and small women- and minority-owned businesses.
Jeffrey D. Quinlan, M.D., joined the Department of Family Medicine as the chair and DEO on Sept. 8, 2020. Quinlan comes to Iowa after completing a 28-year career in the United States Navy. He earned a Bachelor of Science in biochemistry and a Bachelor of Science in chemistry from the University of Pittsburgh in 1988. He went on to earn his Doctor of Medicine from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine in 1992, and completed family medicine training at the Naval Hospital in Charleston, South Carolina, and the Naval Hospital in Camp Pendleton, California. He subsequently completed a maternity care fellowship at Florida Hospital in Orlando, Florida. His professional and research interests include women’s health, maternity care, obesity and telemedicine. His professional memberships include the Iowa Academy of Family Physicians, Society of Teachers of Family Medicine, American Academy of Family Physicians, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and Alpha Omega Alpha. He has served as an associate editor for the American Academy of Family Physicians Advanced Life Support in Obstetrics program; as a member of American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists’s Committee of Practice Bulletins – Obstetrics; and as a member of the American Academy of Family Physicians’ Commission on Health of the Public and Science.
Alexis Zornitta is a licensed clinical psychologist in Virginia. She earned her doctorate in counseling psychology in 2013 and has been working in the mental health field for more than 15 years. Her education focused on counseling and psychology, with emphasis in women’s studies, diversity and social justice.
Raised as a military dependent and from a long line of family members who have served, Zornitta is passionate about working with military veterans, particularly those who experience post-traumatic stress as a result of trauma during service. She previously held positions within the Veterans Health Administration and is now in private practice, specializing in the treatment of post-traumatic stress, non-pathologizing and trauma-informed care, and evidence-based practices. She has created and implemented training seminars for healthcare providers on PTSD, evidence-based treatment, and diversity and equity. Other clinical specialties and interests include women’s issues and complex trauma.
Our Funders
The Ready, Healthy & Able program is made possible by our funders:
AstraZeneca
BD
Bristol-Myers Squibb
EMD Serono, Inc.
Ferring Pharmaceuticals Inc.
Gynesonics
Hologic
Merck
Myovant Sciences
Organon & Co.
Pfizer Inc.
Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A.
Viatris