Fenway Health has appointed The Reverend Amy Whitcomb Slemmer, Esq. our Chief Compliance Officer, as Interim EVP of External Relations. Amy will oversee Fenway’s government and community relations, communications, and development efforts while EVP of External Relations Carl Sciortino is on leave.
Amy is an Episcopal priest in the Diocese of Massachusetts and a licensed attorney in the Commonwealth. She has extensive public policy, strategic communications, grants management, and community engagement experience, as well as a substantial professional network of health care, policy, and community leaders in Massachusetts and in Washington, DC. With over 30 years of health care policy experience, Amy began as a staff member for Senator Edward M. Kennedy, participating in the drafting and passage of the HOPE Act of 1988, which evolved into the Ryan White Care Act. In Washington DC, she was an ardent AIDS activist and volunteer with both Episcopal Caring Response to AIDS and the National Episcopal AIDS Coalition, eventually joining the National Association of People with AIDS as Legislative Counsel.
Amy has a long history of legal, advocacy and social justice work on behalf of vulnerable people focusing on health care, education, immigration, and voting rights. She was the Executive Director of DC Vote, Executive Officer for the national American Red Cross, Executive Director of Health Care for All, and prior to joining Fenway served as Counsel for the St. Stephen’s Youth Programs offering strategic guidance and legal representation for undocumented immigrants detained in Massachusetts.
We have also begun the process of integrating Fenway’s compliance function into the Quality Improvement Department. This strategic move will ensure the efficient investment of resources and will support our efforts to provide the best care and outcomes for our patients while ensuring continued adherence to our policies, practices, and regulations. This restructuring also reflects the evolution of our Culture of Compliance and our need to maintain and support our existing compliance systems.
As a result, we are eliminating the Chief Compliance Officer role and will hire a Director of Compliance in the Quality Improvement Department. Amy will be working closely with other members of Fenway leadership to ensure a smooth transition in the coming weeks.
These changes are part of our efforts to more closely align our organization’s leadership and structure with our core mission of advocating for and delivering innovative, equitable, accessible health care, supportive services, and transformative research and education for LGBTQIA+ people, BIPOC individuals, and other underserved communities.
Please join us in welcoming Amy to this new role.