The Guttmacher Institute is proud and pleased to announce that effective November 1, 2015, Cynthia Summers, DrPH, MPH, has been promoted to the position of Executive Vice President at the Institute. In addition, she will continue to fulfill her role as Vice President for Communications and Publications (previously called Public Education).
Cynthia joined the Institute in September 2012 as Vice President for Public Education; in her three years with the organization, she has demonstrated her extraordinary abilities, skills, vision and determination in a range of endeavors. Under her leadership, the Communications & Publications division has exponentially elevated Guttmacher’s social media presence and data visualization efforts, and successfully transitioned the Institute’s three journals to an online-only presence. In addition, she and her team are in the final stages of transforming Guttmacher’s publishing model and website to be more useful and accessible to our key audiences, as well as to some of our fastest growing audiences—smart phone and tablet users and people in the developing world. She has also overseen the finalization, branding and dissemination of all the Institute’s publications, from our flagship Adding It Up report to our many fact sheets, briefs, monographs and other materials. Working with a highly capable and dedicated team, Cynthia has overseen the dramatic growth of the Institute’s social media presence, resulting in a tripling of followers on Facebook and Twitter, among other channels. In addition, she has contributed in innumerable ways to the content as well as the presentation of Guttmacher’s research and policy analysis activities, directing message development and outreach for a range of key research projects, and has been a core member of the Institute’s Management Team.
Cynthia will bring her deep managerial and strategic expertise to her new role as Executive Vice President, and will oversee the rollout of the Institute’s 2016–2020 Strategic Plan, which was approved by the Board of Directors at its October 2015 meeting. She will support the Institute’s President and CEO, Ann M. Starrs, in liaison with the Board of Directors, and expand her external representational role through engagement in events, speaking opportunities and other venues. You can see Cynthia’s full biography and details on her experience and publications here.