As the CEO of Compassion & Choices and the Compassion & Choices Action Network, Ms. Callinan has driven exceptional growth and profound social change in end-of-life choice and care.
WASHINGTON, DC, September 04, 2024 /24-7PressRelease/ — Kim Callinan has been selected for inclusion in Marquis Who’s Who. As in all Marquis Who’s Who biographical volumes, individuals profiled are selected on the basis of current reference value. Factors such as position, noteworthy accomplishments, visibility, and prominence in a field are all taken into account during the selection process.
Kim Callinan, a visionary leader and advocate, has been recognized for her transformative impact on end-of-life care and broader social change initiatives. As president and chief executive officer of Compassion & Choices, the largest national non-profit dedicated to improving and expanding end-of-life care, Kim is a sought-after thought leader and policy expert. She has testified before numerous state legislatures and spoken at hundreds of events. Her insights and advocacy work have been featured on the Dr. Phil Show, in the Amazon Prime series Take Me Out Feet First, and in major media outlets including CNN, NPR, the New York Times, Washington Post, USA Today, and SELF magazine.
As the CEO of Compassion & Choices and the Compassion & Choices Action Network, Ms. Callinan has driven exceptional growth and profound social change in end-of-life choice and care. The combined budgets have nearly doubled to $23 million, and its staff has grown from 65 to 115 employees. This expansion has enabled significant strides in advocating for medical aid in dying, addressing end-of-life inequities, and normalizing advance care planning for people with dementia. In addition to systems and policy change, Ms. Callinan has focused on empowering individuals with the tools, information, and know-how to plan for life’s end. She has prioritized reaching people from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds to ensure all people have the information and access to care that allows them to die in a manner consistent with their wishes. And she is growing the Compassion & Choices Action Network into a powerful political force.
Before this, Ms. Callinan held influential positions at various organizations, consistently delivering outstanding results to advance societal change. At IQ Solutions, she managed a public health practice with $90M in revenue and 125 employees, focusing on issues such as aging, child health, tobacco control, substance abuse, and mental health. Most notably, Ms. Callinan was a leader in rebranding the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development’s Back to Sleep initiative to Safe to Sleep in response to updated science-based findings. She also facilitated strategic planning efforts for the National Institute of Health Office of Disease Prevention, the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Diseases, the National Institute of Deafness and Communication Disorders, and the Planned Parenthood Federation of America.
At GMMB, Kim Callinan created integrated campaigns to engineer social change, including playing a leadership role in two Robert Wood Johnson Foundation initiatives, Covering Kids & Families and Covering the Uninsured. As manager of the $28 million, award-winning Covering Kids & Families enrollment campaign, she contributed to enrolling 5 million children into the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) and Medicaid, reducing the number of uninsured children by 1.8 million, and earning more than a dozen industry awards. She also served as the strategic advisor and partnership manager for Cover the Uninsured Week, which elevated the issue of the uninsured onto the national agenda through a coalition of diverse organizations and targeted advertising, paving the way for the Affordable Care Act. Additionally, Ms. Callinan developed the media and communications strategy for the Office of the Surgeon General’s report on bone health and osteoporosis, alerting millions of Americans to the importance of bone health within two weeks of launch.
For the first decade of her career, Ms. Callinan focused on creating social change by electing progressive candidates to political office. At the Feldman Group, she was the lead pollster for an upset primary victory, defeating an 18-year incumbent and electing Hilda Solis to Congress. She effectively presented polling results that helped secure key endorsements from DC labor, environmental, and women’s organizations. As Executive Director of the Maryland Democratic Party, she managed a $1.7 million budget pivotal in re-electing a vulnerable Democratic governor, electing two county executives, increasing House of Delegates seats by five, and boosting majorities in county councils by eight. At EMILY’s List, she was instrumental in developing the WOMEN VOTE! Project, a $3 million national voter contact program that became a model for future women’s outreach efforts.
Ms. Callinan’s educational background is equally impressive. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Government from Oberlin College, a Master of Public Policy from Georgetown University, and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Maryland Global Campus. Her specialized certifications include a certificate in the fundamentals of gerontology from the American Society on Aging and the University of Southern California Davis School of Gerontology, a public health certificate from the University of South Florida, and a death doula certificate from the University of Vermont. She is also certified by the EIDA Center with their DEI and Organizational Change Certification, by the Cultural Intelligence Center for their Masterclass completion and as a certified facilitator, and by Korn Ferry with their Leadership Architect Certification, further solidifying her academic qualifications and expertise. Her dedication to lifelong learning has been pivotal to her success.
Looking to the future, Ms. Callinan aims to advance the end-of-life choice and care movement even further. Her vision includes expanding medical aid in dying authorization across more states, promoting advanced care planning for individuals with dementia, and ensuring that end-of-life care information reaches historically underrepresented communities. Perhaps her greatest legacy is her unwavering commitment to transforming end-of-life planning from something feared into something treasured. In her recent book chapter, “Wisdom From the Brink: Lessons for Living a More Meaningful Life,” she challenges us to embrace our mortality, suggesting that by doing so, we can infuse our everyday lives with greater meaning and impact. This chapter appears in Hanna Olivas’ best selling book, Plan a Life You Love.
Kim Callinan’s recognition in Marquis Who’s Who underscores her unwavering commitment to social change and her profound impact on end-of-life care and choice.
About Marquis Who’s Who®:
Since 1899, when A. N. Marquis printed the First Edition of Who’s Who in America®, Marquis Who’s Who® has chronicled the lives of the most accomplished individuals and innovators from every significant field of endeavor, including politics, business, medicine, law, education, art, religion and entertainment. Who’s Who in America® remains an essential biographical source for thousands of researchers, journalists, librarians and executive search firms around the world. The suite of Marquis® publications can be viewed at the official Marquis Who’s Who® website, www.marquiswhoswho.com.
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