Dianne Luby to Step Down as PPLM President and CEO

Luby’s progressive leadership and vision drove PPLM’s innovation for more than a decade

BOSTON- Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts (PPLM) President & CEO Dianne Luby has announced to the Board of Directors that, after thirteen years of leadership, she will step down on December 31, 2012.

According to Nonnie Burnes, PPLM’s recently elected Board Chair, “When Dianne first arrived at PPLM, she set an agenda that positioned PPLM as an essential health care provider and sought to improve access to sexual and reproductive health care in Massachusetts. She has invested heavily in health care and led innovative advancements in education that have transformed PPLM into a nationally recognized leader in the sexual health field.”
During her tenure at PPLM, Ms. Luby has been a pioneer in the field of health care delivery and advocacy, spearheading a major public awareness initiative designed to change the public conversations around sexual health. She has led the organization in a number of strategic initiatives to expand access to health care in Massachusetts, particularly for underserved communities, and to introduce a new approach to comprehensive sexuality education which has defined PPLM as a state and national leader on the critical issues of sexual health.

“Thirteen years ago, my overarching vision was to make PPLM an essential part of the mainstream healthcare community and I am so pleased about how far we’ve come,” said Ms. Luby. “I feel that this is an excellent time for me to be moving on. Not only are we successfully completing our five-year strategic plan, we have also reached our $30 million Sexual Health Matters campaign goal, which funded a broad range of health care initiatives.”
According to Dharma Cortés, PPLM’s Board Chair for the past two years, “Dianne has worked tirelessly to implement and fund the Sexual Health Matters strategic plan and spearheaded its most significant accomplishments.”
Under Dianne’s leadership, some of PPLM’s most notable accomplishments include:

• Opening five new health centers in Springfield, Fitchburg, Marlborough, Milford, and Somerville and building a new, eco-friendly facility in Worcester.

• Broadening public understanding of the full scope of PPLM’s programs and services by introducing its “Sexual Health Matters” brand.

• Developing a comprehensive sexuality education curriculum for middle schools and high schools that is now in 131 schools and reaching over 30,000 students. Wellesley Centers for Women is conducting a rigorous five-year evaluation of the middle school program’s effectiveness with very positive early results.

• Launching two new parent education programs, “Let’s Be Honest” and “Seamos Honestos,” that are designed to provide parents the tools they need to be the primary sexuality educators of their children.

• Establishing a joint family planning fellowship with Brigham and Women’s Hospital. The program, located at PPLM’s Boston health center, has achieved national recognition for its research on women’s sexual health.
• Fully implementing Electronic Health Records at all seven PPLM health centers.

• Successfully advocating, as part of a statewide coalition, for a 2002 law requiring insurance companies to cover contraceptives at the same rate as other prescriptions and, in 2011, for expedited partner therapy, which allows individuals whose partners have been diagnosed with a sexually transmitted disease access to streamlined preventive care.

“We will surely miss Dianne’s leadership but she’s leaving the organization in a very strong position,” says Ms. Burnes. “During her time with us, contributed income has grown by 45%, we now have our most successful annual fund ever, and in just the past year our supporters grew by 52%.”

The Board has formed a search committee chaired by PPLM board member Roberta Herman, COO of Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, and hopes to announce an incoming CEO before Ms. Luby’s departure at the end of the year.

Ms. Luby became CEO of PPLM in 1999. Prior to joining PPLM, Ms. Luby was the Director of Public Health for the State of New Hampshire, founding Director of Manet Community Health Center in Quincy, and held senior management positions at major health care organizations in California, Pennsylvania and Tennessee.

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Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts is the largest freestanding reproductive health care provider in the state. For over 80 years PPLM has protected and promoted sexual and reproductive health and freedom of choice through clinical services, education and advocacy. For more information, visit www.pplm.org.

Source

Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts

Contact

Alicia Johnson

Media Relations Coordinator

(617) 515-0531

Published

June 06, 2012