Fenway Health announces today that Dr. Jennifer Potter has been appointed Co-Chair of The Fenway Institute. Dr. Potter is Director of Women’s Health at Fenway as well as an Advisory Dean and Director of the William B. Castle Society at Harvard Medical School. She has directed Women’s Health Research at The Fenway Institute since 2015, and has been a member of the faculty since 2010. She is a physician at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Fenway Health.
Dr. Potter will join Dr. Kenneth H. Mayer, who has been a Co-Chair of The Fenway Institute since 2001, in leading The Fenway Institute.
“Dr. Potter is a nationally recognized scholar and clinical educator, having led Women’s Health Programs at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Fenway Health. She is a leader in clinical education at Harvard Medical School and has authored and designed curricula for health professionals focused on women’s health, sexual health, LGBT health, and care for people with disabilities,” said Dr. Kenneth H. Mayer, Co-Chair of The Fenway Institute. “Her appointment as Co-Chair of The Fenway Institute reflects our commitment to excellence in research, education, and dissemination of new findings to promote community health, locally and globally.”
The Fenway Institute was co-founded in 2001 by Mayer and Dr. Judith B. Bradford. Mayer and Bradford ran The Fenway Institute together as co-chairs until Bradford’s death this past February. Since its founding, The Fenway Institute has become one of the foremost LGBT health and HIV research, education and policy organizations in the world.
“It is an incredible honor to be named co-chair of The Fenway Institute,” said Potter. “I am excited and grateful for this new opportunity to advance research to reduce health disparities among LGBT populations, and to enhance health outcomes for members of our diverse communities. I look forward to continuing and growing The Fenway Institute’s commitment to nurturing the careers of LGBT scientists and healthcare practitioners. I am also enormously inspired by the legacy and groundbreaking contributions of my late friend and colleague Dr. Bradford.”
Dr. Potter has led numerous studies focusing on understanding health disparities and optimizing clinical care for lesbians, bisexuals, and transgender people. She is co-editor of two seminal textbooks on LGBT health, The Fenway Guide to LGBT Health, and Trauma, Resilience and Health Promotion in LGBT Patients: What Every Healthcare Provider Should Know, and frequently presents at national and international conferences focused on health and equity.
About Fenway Health
Since 1971, Fenway Health has been working to make life healthier for the people in our neighborhood, the LGBT community, people living with HIV/AIDS and the broader population. The Fenway Institute at Fenway Health is an interdisciplinary center for research, training, education and policy development focusing on national and international health issues. Fenway’s Sidney Borum Jr. Health Center cares for youth and young adults ages 12 to 29 who may not feel comfortable going anywhere else, including those who are LGBT or just figuring things out; homeless; struggling with substance use; or living with HIV/AIDS. In 2013, AIDS Action Committee of Massachusetts joined the Fenway Health family, allowing both organizations to improve delivery of care and services across the state and beyond.
[From a News Release]