Last week we noted in our news clips the recent announcement of former First Lady Barbara Bush that she was stepping down from the Houston-based foundation that carries her name –The Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy. We thought we should provide a bit more copy on the story, when we also realized it afforded us an opportunity to cover not merely a sad turn of events, but to celebrate the entry of her namesake, and granddaughter, Barbara (daughter of George W.), into a different but equally unique and important sector of public service leadership.
For the elder Bush the past year has been an eventful one full of personal health issues, all of which no doubt contributed to her decision to step back from regular care of the foundation. As was recently reported on Houston Public Radio following her remarks at a national literacy event, she knows she has more days behind her then ahead of her, so she wanted to hand off the reins of regular oversight while moving into a honorary leadership role. In her place her son, Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, and daughter Doro Bush Koch, will take on the joint chairperson role.
Meanwhile, also in the stories coming across our desk last week was this one about her granddaughter’s own heightened public role surrounding the issue of health care. As part of Fortune Magazine’s Powerful Women Summit in October, the younger Barbara Bush was discussing the developments in her almost three year old public health nonprofit start-up Global Health Corps.
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This program she co-founded and modeled somewhat after Teach for America, is based on a comparable idea of engaging young college graduates in fellowships (either foreign or domestic) focused on providing better health equity and access for all.
Currently the program is small, enlisting only about 70 fellows from Boston to Botswana; however, the younger Bush’s goal is to eventually incorporate about 500 fellows per year. The fellows serve as managers, communicators, architects, supply chain analysts and other non-clinical disciplines important to building strong health systems. For example, Ameet Salvi, a GHC fellow who previously managed supply chains for the Gap, uses his skills to upgrade the drug supply chain in Tanzania as part of his fellowship.
We wish both the women well in their continued efforts. But we do wonder if there is something about the name that inspires them both, or if they have just managed to inspire each other?