Rebecca Onie
Encyclopedia
Rebecca Onie is co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Health Leads
.
In 1996, during her sophomore year at Harvard College
, Rebecca Onie founded Health Leads (formerly Project HEALTH) with Dr. Barry Zuckerman, Chair of Pediatrics at Boston Medical Center
. As Executive Director of Health Leads, Rebecca oversaw the organization's growth to Providence
and New York City
.
After attending Harvard Law School
, where she served as an editor of the Harvard Law Review
and research assistant for Professors Laurence Tribe
and Lani Guinier
, Rebecca clerked for the Honorable Diane P. Wood of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. She was also an associate at Miner, Barnhill & Galland P.C., a boutique law firm in Chicago, where she represented civil rights plaintiffs, health centers, affordable housing developers, and nonprofits.
During this time, Rebecca served as founding Co-Chair of Health Leads' Board of Directors. She returned to Health Leads as CEO in February 2006.
In 2009, she was honored to receive a MacArthur Fellowship, for “individuals who have shown extraordinary originality and dedication in their creative pursuits and a marked capacity for self-direction.” Most recently, O! Magazine named her to its 2010 Power List of twenty women who are “changing the world for the better.”
Rebecca is a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader and a U.S. Ashoka Fellow. She received the John F. Kennedy New Frontier Award in 2009, honoring Americans under the age of 40 whose commitment to service is changing their communities and the country; the Jane Rainie Opel ’50 Young Alumna Award in 2008, for outstanding contributions to the advancement of women; and the Do Something Brick Award for Community Leadership in 1999, for dynamic young people under the age of thirty with the passion and drive to improve their communities.
Health Leads
Health Leads is a national nonprofit organization that connects low-income patients with the basic resources they need to be healthy. Doctors in participating clinics “prescribe” food, fuel assistance, housing or other resources for their patients the same way they might prescribe medication...
.
In 1996, during her sophomore year at Harvard College
Harvard College
Harvard College, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is one of two schools within Harvard University granting undergraduate degrees...
, Rebecca Onie founded Health Leads (formerly Project HEALTH) with Dr. Barry Zuckerman, Chair of Pediatrics at Boston Medical Center
Boston Medical Center
Boston Medical Center is a non-profit 639 licensed-bed medical center in Boston, Massachusetts. It was created by the formal merger of Boston City Hospital which was the first municipal hospital in the United States and Boston University Medical Center Hospital in July 1996 which was sponsored...
. As Executive Director of Health Leads, Rebecca oversaw the organization's growth to Providence
Providence, Rhode Island
Providence is the capital and most populous city of Rhode Island and was one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the third largest city in the New England region...
and New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
After attending Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...
, where she served as an editor of the Harvard Law Review
Harvard Law Review
The Harvard Law Review is a journal of legal scholarship published by an independent student group at Harvard Law School.-Overview:According to the 2008 Journal Citation Reports, the Review is the most cited law review and has the second-highest impact factor in the category "law" after the...
and research assistant for Professors Laurence Tribe
Laurence Tribe
Laurence Henry Tribe is a professor of constitutional law at Harvard Law School and the Carl M. Loeb University Professor at Harvard University. He also works with the firm Massey & Gail LLP on a variety of matters....
and Lani Guinier
Lani Guinier
Lani Guinier is an American lawyer, scholar and civil rights activist. The first African-American woman tenured professor at Harvard Law School, Guinier's work includes professional responsibilities of public lawyers, the relationship between democracy and the law, the role of race and gender in...
, Rebecca clerked for the Honorable Diane P. Wood of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. She was also an associate at Miner, Barnhill & Galland P.C., a boutique law firm in Chicago, where she represented civil rights plaintiffs, health centers, affordable housing developers, and nonprofits.
During this time, Rebecca served as founding Co-Chair of Health Leads' Board of Directors. She returned to Health Leads as CEO in February 2006.
In 2009, she was honored to receive a MacArthur Fellowship, for “individuals who have shown extraordinary originality and dedication in their creative pursuits and a marked capacity for self-direction.” Most recently, O! Magazine named her to its 2010 Power List of twenty women who are “changing the world for the better.”
Rebecca is a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader and a U.S. Ashoka Fellow. She received the John F. Kennedy New Frontier Award in 2009, honoring Americans under the age of 40 whose commitment to service is changing their communities and the country; the Jane Rainie Opel ’50 Young Alumna Award in 2008, for outstanding contributions to the advancement of women; and the Do Something Brick Award for Community Leadership in 1999, for dynamic young people under the age of thirty with the passion and drive to improve their communities.
Awards
- 2011 Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship
- 2010 Elfenworks "In Harmony with Hope" Award
- 2010 "25 Visionaries Who Are Changing Your World", Utne ReaderUtne ReaderUtne Reader is an American bimonthly magazine. The magazine collects and reprints articles on politics, culture, and the environment from generally alternative media sources, including journals, newsletters, weeklies, zines, music and DVDs...
- 2009 MacArthur Fellows ProgramMacArthur Fellows ProgramThe MacArthur Fellows Program or MacArthur Fellowship is an award given by the John D. and Catherine T...
- John F. Kennedy New Frontier Award
- 2008 U.S. Ashoka Fellow
- 1999 Do Something Brick Award for Community Leadership
External links
- "Rebecca Onie: Doing Something about the Situation of Medical Care", The Situationist, Jon Hanson, October 7, 2009
- "Social Enterprise + Preventative Healthcare + Service = Project HEALTH", Fast Company, Alice Korngold, Aug 21, 2009
- "Health Leads' Wikipedia page"Health LeadsHealth Leads is a national nonprofit organization that connects low-income patients with the basic resources they need to be healthy. Doctors in participating clinics “prescribe” food, fuel assistance, housing or other resources for their patients the same way they might prescribe medication...