Meet the Honorees
Each honoree will receive distinguished recognition from NMF for either their personal contributions or on the behalf of their organization's unwavering commitment to health excellence.
About Dr. Ajayi
Dr. Toyin Ajayi is co-founder and CEO of Cityblock, a value-based health care provider for Medicaid and
dually eligible beneficiaries in underserved communities. Cityblock’s integrated and tech-enabled care
model meets individuals where they are, delivering highly personalized medical care, behavioral health
care, and social services to members in neighborhoods where it’s needed most.
Prior to Cityblock, Dr. Ajayi served as Chief Medical Officer of Commonwealth Care Alliance, a nationally
renowned integrated health plan and care delivery system for individuals eligible for both Medicare and
Medicaid. In this role, she led clinical operations, spearheaded care delivery innovations, and oversaw
multi-disciplinary teams of clinicians, community health workers and administrators.
In 2023, Dr. Ajayi was named to Modern Healthcare’s Top Women Leaders in Healthcare list, STAT’s
STATUS List, and the Aspen Institute’s newest class of Henry Crown Fellows. Dr. Ajayi also serves on
the Board of Directors of Evolent Health (NYSE: EVH), is a member of the Congressional Budget Office’s
Health Panel of Health Advisers, and is a co-founder of Coalition Partners, where she invests in and
mentors early-stage entrepreneurs. Additionally, she has published and spoken extensively about her
work in caring for populations with complex needs, including at TEDMED, NCQA, Oliver Wyman Health
Innovation Summit, Techcrunch Disrupt and in the New England Journal of Medicine and the Journal of
the American Medical Association.
Dr. Ajayi received her undergraduate degree from Stanford University, an MPhil from the University of
Cambridge and her medical degree, with Distinction in Clinical Practice, from King’s College London
School of Medicine. Board certified in Family Medicine, Dr. Ajayi completed her residency training at
Boston Medical Center and continues to practice primary care with a focus on patients with chronic,
complex and end-of-life needs.
Toyin Ajayi, MD, MPhil
Co-founder & CEO,
Cityblock
About Dr. Besser
Richard E. Besser, MD, (he/him) is President and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), a position he assumed in April 2017 following a long career at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and at ABC News.
At the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Dr. Besser leads the largest private foundation in the country devoted solely to improving the nation’s health. In partnership with others, RWJF is committed to taking bold leaps to transform health in our lifetime and paving the way together to a future where health is no longer a privilege but a right.
In his role, Dr. Besser is a leading voice on the importance of healthy and equitable community conditions, the need for economic inclusion for the wellbeing of families, accountable public health and health care systems, and advocating for racial justice. Dr. Besser leads Foundation colleagues in these efforts, and was an influential advocate throughout the COVID-19 pandemic for prioritizing health equity in COVID-19 response as well as in planning for future public health emergencies.
Dr. Besser is an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine and serves on the Board of Trustees of Howard University and the Independent Sector Board of Directors. He co-chairs the President’s Council on Disability Inclusion in Philanthropy.
Before joining the Foundation, Dr. Besser served for eight years as Chief Health and Medical Editor for ABC News, and as a leader at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, where he worked for 13 years. He served as Acting Director of the CDC during the initial response to the H1N1 influenza pandemic.
Dr. Besser served as the pediatric residency director at the University of California, San Diego, and conducted research to reduce the spread of tuberculosis to children. He returned to the CDC in 1998 as an infectious disease epidemiologist working on pneumonia, antibiotic resistance, and the control of antibiotic overuse.
The author or co-author of hundreds of presentations, abstracts, chapters, editorials and publications, Dr. Besser has earned many awards for his work in public health and his volunteer service. He received the Surgeon General's Medallion for his leadership during the H1N1 response, and in 2011, the Dean's Medal for his contributions to public health from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. His book, “Tell Me the Truth, Doctor: Easy-to-Understand Answers to Your Most Confusing and Critical Health Questions,” written with his wife, Jeanne, was published by Hyperion in 2013.
Dr. Besser received his Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from Williams College and medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania. He completed a residency and chief residency in pediatrics at Johns Hopkins University Hospital in Baltimore.
He practiced as a volunteer pediatrician at several community clinics across the nation for more than 30 years, most recently volunteering at the Henry J. Austin Health Center in Trenton, N.J. He and his wife Jeanne, a food writer, have two adult sons, Alex and Jack.
Richard E. Besser, MD
President and CEO,
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
About Dr. Betancourt
Joseph R. Betancourt, MD, MPH, is the president of the Commonwealth Fund. A national leader in health care policy, equity, quality, and community health, Dr. Betancourt formerly served as the senior vice president for Equity and Community Health at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), and as founding director of the Disparities Solutions Center. He has devoted his career to improving the quality and value of health care for diverse populations.
Dr. Betancourt has served on committees that have provided advice to all agencies within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, including the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Health Resources and Services Administration, among others. He has also provided guidance to private industry, and at the state and local level, including a term on the Boston Board of Health.
His roles in governance have included serving on the Board of Trinity Health, Neighborhood Health Plan, and the Massachusetts Health and Hospitals Association. Dr. Betancourt is an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and a board-certified internist, providing primary care to a large Spanish-speaking and minority patient panel. He earned his M.D. from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey and completed an internal medicine residency at New York Hospital–Cornell Medical Center. Following his residency, he was a member of one of the first classes in the Commonwealth Fund Fellowship in Minority Health Policy at Harvard University, where he earned an M.P.H. in health policy and management from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
An author of nearly 90 peer-reviewed articles, Dr. Betancourt has served on several Institute of Medicine committees, including the committee that produced the seminal report, Unequal Treatment: Confronting Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Health Care.
Dr. Betancourt is an Aspen Institute Health Innovators Fellow and recipient of the Sumner M. Redstone Endowed Chair in Health Equity at MGH. In 2023, he was named one of Modern Healthcare’s “Top 50 Clinical Healthcare Executives in the United States” and in 2024 named one of the “Top 100 Most Influential People in Health Care.” He is a member of the National Academy of Medicine.
Joseph R. Betancourt, MD, MPH
President,
Commonwealth Fund
About Ms. Gadsby
Linda Gadsby is the Senior Vice President, General Counsel, and Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer at NBME - National Board of Medical Examiners in Philadelphia, PA. In her role, Linda oversees the organization’s legal affairs, advises senior management and the Board of Directors, and serves as General Counsel of the United States Medical Licensing Examination. She leads the Office of the General Counsel and Organizational Affairs division, which includes Legal Services, Disability Services, Volunteer and Governance Services, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, and Community Collaborations and Contributions.
With a career spanning over three decades, Linda has made significant contributions to the legal and corporate sectors. Prior to joining NBME, she spent 22 years as Vice President and Deputy General Counsel at Scholastic Inc. in New York City. Her professional journey also includes roles as a labor and employment attorney for AlliedSignal (now Honeywell) and Kaye Scholer LLP (now Arnold & Porter). Linda holds a B.S. from Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations and a J.D. from New York University School of Law.
Giving back to her community, especially in support of initiatives focused on youth, education and women, is extremely important to Linda and she’s a mentor to several youth and young professionals. Linda recently concluded 8 years of service on Cornell University’s Board of Trustees, serving as a member of the Executive Committee and Chair of the Student Life Committee. She was elected an Emerita Trustee and Presidential Councillor in May 2025. She is also a member of the Dean’s Advisory Council for Cornell’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations, Cornell Mosaic (an umbrella diversity organization), an Emerita member of the President’s Council of Cornell Women (which she previously Co-Chaired) and a lifetime member of the Cornell Black Alumni Association (which she previously Chaired).
At NYU School of Law, Linda was a long-serving member of the Board of NYU’s Law Alumni Association and remains an Advisory Board Member of the Law Alumni of Color Association. She was also a Founding Member of the Stuyvesant High School Black Alumni Diversity Initiative. Linda is active in several civic organizations, including the North Manhattan Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated, the Essex County (NJ) Chapter of The Links, Incorporated, the Metropolitan New York Chapter of The Doll League, Inc. She is also a Lifetime Associate Member of Jack and Jill of America, Incorporated.
Linda's professional and community achievements have been widely recognized. She was honored with the 2025 Alpern Alumni Award by Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations. Other accolades include being named one of the Top 50 Corporate Counsel by OnCon in 2024 and 2022, one of the Top 100 Most Influential African American Leaders in Business by the National Diversity Council, and one of the Top 100 Women in Business by the National Women’s Conference in 2022. She has also been recognized as one of the Nation’s Best Lawyers of Color in 2019, one of the Most Influential Black Lawyers in 2015 and 2018 by Savoy Magazine; a Distinguished Alumni by NYU School of Law, and an Outstanding Leader in the field of Education by The Consulate General of Barbados at New York.
Linda Gadsby
SVP, General Counsel, and Chief DEI Officer, National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME)
About Ms. McFarling
Usha Lee McFarling is the director of the Knight Science Journalism Program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and a Pulitzer prize-winning science and health correspondent who has covered health disparities and the intersection of race with science and medicine.
She has worked for STAT, the Los Angeles Times, the Boston Globe, the Knight Ridder Washington Bureau, and the San Antonio Light.
Her coverage of health disparities has earned the Victor Cohn prize for excellence in medical science reporting, the Bernard Lo, MD award in bioethics, two Edward R. Murrow awards, and awards from the Association of Health Care Journalists and the Asian American Journalists Association.
Usha Lee McFarling
Director, Knight Science Journalism Program
About Dr. Tomlinson
Imamu Tomlinson, MD, MBA, is a visionary health care leader and the Chief Executive Officer of Vituity, a physician-owned and -led multispecialty partnership. Dr. Tomlinson has driven Vituity’s mission to transform health care delivery and improve lives through innovation, integrated care models, and a relentless focus on patient-centered outcomes. His leadership spans emergency medicine, acute care, telemedicine, consumer medicine, and more. He also founded and is President of the Vituity Cares Foundation, leading efforts to advance health care equity and empower underserved communities. Under his guidance, the foundation supports initiatives such as scholarships, mentorship programs, and community outreach to inspire future leaders and improve access to care.
In addition to his leadership at Vituity, in 2025, Dr. Tomlinson launched a new podcast series, "Less Than One Percent," exploring topics of leadership, disruption, and success beyond societal limitations. He is also the author of Less Than One Percent, published in January 2025 by Forbes, which shares his perspectives and insights on breaking boundaries, embracing adversity, and achieving greatness. Through both platforms, he aims to inspire the next generation of leaders.
Imamu Tomlinson, MD, MBA
Chief Executive Officer, Vituity
About Mr. Vereen
Ben Vereen recently received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Chita Rivera Awards. On Broadway, he won a Tony and Drama Desk Award for Pippin, and starred in such musicals as Jesus Christ Superstar (Tony nomination), Fosse, Hair, Jelly’s Last Jam, Chicago, Wicked, and I’m Not Rappaport, to name a few.
Mr. Vereen's latest project is the limited series The Gray House, which premiered at the Monte Carlo Television Festival last year. His other television credits include B Positive (CBS), multiple episodes of The Good Fight (CBS), Magnum P.I. (CBS), Bull (CBS), Star (Fox), Tales (BET), and Bryan Cranston's Sneaky Pete (Amazon). Mr. Vereen also co-starred with Richard Gere in Time Out of Mind and Chris Rock in Top Five. He is remembered for films like ‘Sweet Charity,’ ‘All That Jazz,’ and the iconic role of Chicken George in the acclaimed ‘Roots,' the most-watched miniseries of all time.
For his humanitarian contributions, Mr. Vereen has received a number of awards, including Israel's Cultural and Humanitarian Awards, three NAACP Image Awards, an Eleanor Roosevelt Humanitarian Award, and a Victory Award. He has received honorary doctorates from the University of Arizona, Emerson College, and Columbia College in Chicago. Mr. Vereen received an Achievement in Excellence Award from his alma mater, the High School of the Performing Arts. He has also been inducted into The Theatre Hall of Fame, the Dance Hall of Fame, and has received various Emmy and Golden Globe nominations.
Mr. Vereen continues to thrill audiences with his roles on stage and screen, high-energy concerts around the country, master classes that fulfill his passion for arts education, and his moving and powerful motivational lectures.
Ben Vereen
Award-winning Actor and Philanthropist