On In February, Wellesley College announced the appointment of Paula Johnson, MD, MPH as its 14th President. Johnson, an internationally renowned women’s health expert, cardiologist and professor, vows to make the health and wellbeing of young women a top priority.

“How do we ensure that we create the healthiest environment possible so that when our students leave us and enter an ever-increasingly complex world, they are not only educated in the most traditional sense, but they are also leaving with a healthy body and a healthy mind,” Johnson said. “And I think when you think about all three of those, that is what launches our next generation in the most powerful way.”

As a member of the Mary Christie Foundation’s Council of Experts, Johnson helps advise Foundation leadership on health and higher education issues, particularly the health and wellness of American college students.

“Wellesley College will now benefit from the extraordinary leadership and experience of Paula Johnson, one of the world’s leading advocates for women’s health and advancement,” said John Sexton, Chair of the Mary Christie Foundation Board. “We, at the Mary Christie Foundation, support and applaud Dr. Johnson as she leads Wellesley’ effort to develop our next generation of global leaders.”

Johnson is currently the Executive Director of the Connors Center for Women’s Health and Gender Biology; the chief of the Division of Women’s Health at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital; and is a faculty member at Harvard Medical School and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Dr. Johnson was recently elected to the National Academy of Medicine, one of the highest honors in the fields of health and medicine. She begins her duties at Wellesley in July.