Curriculum vitae

EXPERIENCE

Board member

Cambia Health Solutions, Portland, OR

June 2017 – present

Provide strategic advice to the leadership of Cambia Health Solutions, which is dedicated to making health care more economically sustainable and efficient for people and their families. Member of the Audit and Compliance Committee.

Principal

Internet Geologist LLC, Washington, DC

January 2017 – present

Provide strategic advice related to research, health data, technology, and innovation. Target areas of the health care system that need to work better for patients and caregivers. Current clients include: AHIP, Archangels, Equip, and Fello. Past clients: AARP, Alladapt, BandHealth, Before Brands, California Health Care Foundation, Ciitizen, Common Sense Media, Council of Medical Specialty Societies, FasterCures, Hive Networks, Hope for Henry, Hopelab, IBM, the Light Collective, National Cancer Institute, Patient-Led Research Collaborative, PatientsLikeMe, Redesign Health, Smart Health Network, Well Being Trust.

Archangel 

Princeton, NJ

January 2019 – September 2020

Guided an active, healthy octogenarian cousin as he navigated the health care system. When terminal illness struck, we worked together to design and build a home hospice that kept his care team safe during the pandemic and honored his wishes for a peaceful death.

June – December 2017

Provided direct care for my father as he underwent immunotherapy treatment for melanoma. Helped manage a dizzying and ever-changing array of medications. Became skilled at guiding physical therapy exercises and, eventually, supporting activities of daily living. Learned to navigate end of life conversations with family members, clergy, and clinicians.

Chief Technology Officer

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS), Washington, DC

May 2015 – January 2017

• Led an innovation lab that created opportunities for entrepreneurship and impact across the Department’s 27 divisions and 80,000+ employees, including the following programs:
  • Ignite Accelerator: Provides HHS staff a startup environment to test new ideas.
  • Ventures Fund: Invests in and supports bold ideas to transform Departmental operations.
  • Entrepreneurs-in-Residence Program: Recruits outside talent to solve complex problems in health and the delivery of human services.
  • Innovators-in-Residence Program: Partners with private, non-profit organizations to explore areas of mutual interest.
  • Buyers Club: Modernizing information technology acquisition.
  • Health Data Initiative: Liberating health and social service data to serve the public.
  • Competes: Leverages incentive prize competitions to source external solutions.
• Harnessed the power of data, technology, and innovation to improve the health and welfare of the nation. Worked with leaders and frontline staff across the Department to improve operations. Translated market reality of rapid technological change into actionable opportunities and threat mitigation strategies. Represented the U.S. in domestic and international meetings, including bilateral health data discussions with foreign governments.
• Conceived of and launched the Invent Health initiative focused on user-driven innovation of medical and assistive devices.

Entrepreneur in Residence

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Princeton, NJ

September 2014 – May 2015

Catalyzed new thinking and identified opportunities for the nation’s largest philanthropy dedicated solely to health. Assessed employees’ tolerance and appetite for risk and failure. Contributed to the improvement of the Pioneer Fund application process in order to attract more out-of-the-box thinkers and unexpected ideas. Built project teams to bring patient and caregiver insights into the Foundation’s work. Represented the Foundation at national- and local-level meetings on public health, technology, and data.

Associate Director, Internet Project

Pew Research Center, Washington, DC

April 2000 – July 2014

• Helped create and define a new market at the intersection of health, social media, and patient engagement.
• Set the industry standard for research about the social impact of the internet on health. Author of 50+ reports about a wide range of topics. Cited in publications ranging from Pediatrics and the Journal of the American Medical Association to the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, as well as countless business plans and grant proposals.
• Strategic advisor to a diverse group of health care stakeholders: entrepreneurs, grant makers, patient groups, clinicians, federal health agencies, and the White House.
• Pioneered online fieldwork and participatory research methods at the Center, with a particular focus on understanding how people with rare and chronic conditions use the internet.
• Directed the Project’s digital strategy. Oversaw pewinternet.org and all social media channels.
• Recognized as a trend spotter and thought leader. Named #3 of the Top 50 Voices in Biotech on Twitter by FierceBioTech and #2 of CNN’s 5 recommended Twitter feeds for health. Popular keynote speaker at health and technology events in both the U.S. and in Europe.
• Incited and engaged in the public conversation about health and technology on Twitter and at pewresearch.org, e-patients.net, and susannahfox.com.

Editor, USNews.com

U.S. News & World Report, Washington, DC

January 1995 – March 2000

Envisioned and implemented strategy for all of the magazine’s interactive projects. Oversaw all technical, design, and editorial aspects of the website as the site grew from hundreds of users to millions. Recruited and managed programmers, designers, editors, and producers. Hired in 1995 to help launch USNews.com, promoted to managing editor of the site in 1998, then top editor in 1999.

EDUCATION

Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT

Bachelor of Arts, Anthropology

Smith College, Northampton, MA

Coursework in French literature and Anthropology

ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIPS

Member, Advisory Board, Atlas of Caregiving

Member, Founder’s Circle, Society for Participatory Medicine

AWARDS AND HONORS

Named among HealthTech Magazine’s 30 Must-Follow Health IT Influencers for 2019 and 2020.

2019 recipient of the Doc Tom e-Patient Principles Award.

Named among the “Top 19 Health Technology Influencers to Follow” by Solved magazine in 2019.

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

Fox, Susannah (2020) “How Chronic-Disease Patients Are Innovating Together Online.” Harvard Business Review. April 9, 2020.

Fox, Susannah (2018) “How Healthcare Leaders Can Fuel Care for the Next Generation.” HealthTech. September 2018.

Rideout, Victoria; Fox, Susannah (2018) “Digital Health Practices, Social Media Use, and Mental Well-Being Among Teens and Young Adults in the U.S.” Hopelab and Well Being Trust. July 2018.

Fox, Susannah; Rainie, Lee. (2014) “The Web at 25 in the U.S.” Pew Research Center. February 2014.

Fox, Susannah. (2014) “The Social Life of Health Information.” Pew Research Center. January 2014.

Fox, Susannah; Duggan, Maeve. (2013) “The Diagnosis Difference.” Pew Research Center. November 2013.

Fox, Susannah; Duggan, Maeve; Purcell, Kristen. (2013) “Family Caregivers are Wired for Health.” Pew Research Center. June 20, 2013.

Fox, Susannah. (2013) “After Dr. Google: Peer-to-Peer Health Care.” Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics (Vol. 131 No. Supplement 4 June 1, 2013; pp. S224 -S225).

Fox, Susannah; Duggan, Maeve. (2013) “Tracking for Health.” Pew Research Center. January 28, 2013.

Fox, Susannah; Duggan, Maeve. (2013) “Health Online 2013.” Pew Research Center. January 15, 2013.

Fox, Susannah; Duggan, Maeve. (2012) “Mobile Health 2012.” Pew Research Center. November 8, 2012.

Fox, Susannah; Brenner, Joanna. (2012) “Family Caregivers Online.” Pew Research Center. July 12, 2012.

Jain, Sachin H.; Goyal, Riya; Fox, Susannah; and Shrank, William H. (2012) “Bowling Alone, Healing Together: The Role of Social Capital in Delivery Reform.” The American Journal of Managed Care: Volume 18, Number 6. June 2012.

Fox, Susannah. (2011) “The Social Life of Health Information, 2011.” Pew Research Center. May 12, 2011.

Fox, Susannah. (2011) “Peer-to-peer Health Care.” Pew Research Center. February 28, 2011.

SELECTED LECTURES

“Rebel Health: The Patient-Led Revolution,” presented at the Healthier Together Community Conference sponsored by Cincinnati Children’s Hospital in Cincinnati, OH. June 13, 2024.

“Rebel Health,” presented at Solve M.E.’s annual conference, held virtually. April 19, 2024.

“Rebel Health: How Rare Disease Communities Lead the Revolution,” presented at the Global Genes RARE Advocacy Summit in San Diego, CA. September 21, 2023.

“Building the Evidence Base for Peer Health Advice, ” presented at the annual meeting of the Society of Behavioral Medicine in Washington, DC. March 7, 2019.

“Social Media as a Platform for Hope,” presented at the annual conference of the Mayo Clinic Social Media Network in Jacksonville, FL. November 15, 2018.

“Share, Connect, Engage,” presented at the  National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, MD. June 7, 2018.

“Building an Innovation Nation,” presented at the 8th annual GoldLab Symposium in Boulder, CO. May 20, 2017.

“Creating Space for Innovation at HHS,” presented at Stanford Medicine X in Palo Alto, CA. September 16, 2016.

(Additional publications and lectures available upon request.)