Phyllis E. Greenberger, MSW
President & CEO, Society for Women's Health Research

Phyllis E. Greenberger, M.S.W., is the President and CEO of the Society for Women’s Health Research (SWHR), The Society for Women’s Health Research (SWHR), a national non-profit organization based in Washington DC, is widely recognized as the thought leader in women’s health research. SWHR’s mission is to improve the health of all women through advocacy, education and research.

Greenberger is the first and only President and CEO of SWHR since its founding in 1990. Through her leadership, dedication and promotion of women’s health, sex differences is now widely known and recognized as a critical factor in women’s health.

As a well respected advocate, Greenberger has earned widespread media coverage. The Medical Herald selected her as one of the twenty most influential women in medicine today. In 2006, Greenberger was named one of Washingtonian’s 100 Most Powerful Women by Washingtonian Magazine. Woman’s Day magazine awarded Greenberger the 2006 “Red Dress Award” in recognition of her work in leading the way in the fight against heart disease in women, and in 2010 named her one of 50 “Women Who Are Changing the World.” She is profiled in the book Extraordinary Women: Fantasies Revealed (Stewart, Tabori and Chang, 2006), which features profiles and portraits of 58 prominent women in the United States.

Greenberger with Dr. Jennifer Wider is the editor of the book The Savvy Woman Patient: How and Why Your Sex Impacts Your Health (Capitol Books, 2006). A resource guide detailing sex differences across major health diseases, the book provides detailed information about symptoms, treatments and diagnosis creating an opportunity for women to become savvy about their medical health.

Greenberger has presented and spoken to multiple international and national audiences. Internationally, she was invited by the American Jewish Congress Commission for Women’s Empowerment to present at Tel Aviv University, as well as the International Pharmaceutical Federation and the International Council of Nurses. Nationally, Greenberger has addressed among other organizations, the Aspen Institute Health Forum (09); the Biotechnology Industry Organization about health disparities and drug development for women and minorities; the Southern Women in Public Service Conference; and Beyond Hunt Valley: Research on Women’s Health for the 21st Century, held by the Office of Research on Women’s Health. Greenberger frequently testifies before Congress advocating for additional research and funding for women’s health.

Greenberger currently serves on the Scientific Advisory Board for WomenHeart, a national coalition for women with heart disease; is a board member of the Interstitial Cystitis Association; resides on the Editorial Board for Shape magazine; serves on the Women’s Task Force for the National Hemophilia Foundation; and is a member of the International Women’s Forum and the National Association of Professional Women.  

Previously, Greenberger served as an Advisory Board member for PBS’ To the Contrary, the only national all-women’s news analysis program, and was a health advisor to the Entertainment Industries Council’s First Draft program. She also served on the Report Card Advisory Committee for Making the Grade: A National and State-by-State Report Card; the advisory board for Style & Sense magazine; was an Advisory Board member for the Association of Black Cardiologists’ Center for Women’s Health; a member of Board of Advisors for the Iris Alliance Fund that is dedicated to promoting the mental health of children and families; on the Steering Committee of the Campaign for Public Health. Additionally, Greenberger served as a member of the Research Committee of the Presidential HIV/AIDS Advisory Council and the National Institutes of Health’s National Advisory Environmental Health Sciences Council; was a board member to the National Council on Patient Information and Education and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences Lay Advisory Committee; and was a consumer representative to the Medicare Coverage Advisory Committee for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

Greenberger is the recipient of numerous awards, including: the “Award for Research Excellence” by the National Association for Women’s Health, “Journal of Women’s Health & Gender-Based Medicine’s Achievement Award,” “Champion of Women’s Health” by Ladies’ Home Journal, the “Washington Woman of Genius” by Trinity College in Washington, D.C, and received an award for public advocacy from the Clinical Research Forum.

Greenberger received a B.A. from Syracuse University and an M.S.W. from The Catholic University of America.

Recent Invited Presentations (representative sample)

“Women & Lung Disease: Raising Awareness, Addressing Disparities,” media roundtable, New York, N.Y., June 27, 2007

Second Annual “Women’s Night Out” sponsored by St. Joseph Mercy Oakland hospital, Pontiac, Mich., May 8, 2007.

4th Annual World Health Care Congress, panel on “Advances in Benefit Design - Targeting Women’s Health to Contain Costs,” Washington, D.C., May 24, 2007.

“Let’s Talk About Women’s Health,” sponsored by the Loudon (Va.) County Commission on Women, March 3, 2007.

Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, Mass., June 12, 2006.

American Jewish Congress Commission for Women’s Empowerment conference, Tel Aviv University, Israel, May 28-31, 2006.

84th Annual Conference and Meeting of the American Association of Women Dentists, Washington, D.C., July 14, 2005.