Years before she became nationally renowned as the CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), Risa Lavizzo-Mourey was a Penn faculty member who was directly involved in the 2000 launch of the SUMR program -- as one of its first three mentors as well as a committee member who helped select the first cohort of scholars. She is currently Chair of the SUMR 20th Anniversary Steering Committee.

"Twenty-five years ago, when you went to meetings of health services researchers you generally saw that it was mostly men and mostly white men," said Lavizzo-Mourey. "It was also a time when the question of 'health care disparities' was on the rise. The idea of a SUMR pipeline program was a concept that made sense and was consistent with my long-term interests and, so, I got involved." 

In 2017, after 14 years with RWJF, Lavizzo-Mourey returned to Penn where she is now a Professor with appointments in the Nursing School, Perelman School of Medicine and the Wharton School.