Our Vision: To ensure that 90% of adolescents and young adults are vaccinated with nationally recommended vaccines.
Our Mission: Provide action-oriented leadership, innovation, and education on preventive health and immunization for adolescents and young adults.
establish
Establish immunization as a central component of preventive health and as an investment in lifelong health
develop
Develop healthcare providers as advocates that make strong recommendations for all nationally recommended vaccines
engage
Engage parents, adolescents, and young adults to embrace the value of immunization
ensure
Ensure easy access to and timely delivery of all recommended vaccines
Our History
Since 2014, UNITY has successfully contributed to the efforts to raise adolescent and young adult vaccination rates.
UNITY was formed with the notion that it was possible to strengthen the impact of different organizations - academia, public and private sectors, industry and advocacy groups - by uniting to work together to overcome barriers to adolescent and young adult vaccination. UNITY launched as a first of its kind organization to drive initiatives that directly help to achieve our goal.
Since its formation the group’s focus has been on developing and disseminating important tools and information are through social media, conferences, presentations and speaking engagements. UNITY's approach identifies, focuses and leverages our unique make-up of individuals and organizations to deliver on the most difficult barriers to adolescent and young adult vaccination.
We’ve joined together a diverse group of experts to:
Our Members and Liaisons
This Consortium is the first of its kind to unite public and private organizations to share data and research and collaborate on initiatives aligned with our mission.
AdirA
American Immunization Registry Association (AIRA)
American Pharmacists Association (APhA)
Association of Immunization Managers (AIM)
CareDox
CVS Health
Geisinger Health System
GlaxoSmithKline
Immunization Action Coalition
Indiana U
Journal Adolescent Health
Merck
National Alliance to Advance Adolescent Health
National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID)
Pfizer
Real Talk with Dr. Offutt
Sanford Health
Sanofi Pasteur
School Based Health Alliance
Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine (SAHM)
University of Alabama Birmingham Medical School
Univision
Young Invincibles
Verizon
Walgreens
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), Vaccine Education Center
Philadelphia Department of Public Health
US Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)
US Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Infectious Disease and HIV/AIDS Policy
Members
- AdirA
- American Immunization Registry Association (AIRA)
- American Pharmacists Association (APhA)
- Association of Immunization Managers (AIM)
- CareDox
- CVS
- Geisinger Health System
- GlaxoSmithKline
- Immunization Action Coalition (IAC)
- Indiana University
- Journal of Adolescent Health
- Merck
- National Alliance to Advance Adolescent Health
- National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID)
- Pfizer
- Real Talk with Dr. Offutt
- Sanford Health
- Sanofi Pasteur
- School Based Health Alliance
- Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine (SAHM)
- University of Alabama Birmingham Medical School
- Univision
- Young Invincibles
- Verizon
- Walgreens
Liaisons
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
- Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), Vaccine Education Center
- Philadelphia Department of Public Health
- US Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)
- US Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Infectious Disease and HIV/AIDS Policy
UNITY Leadership
Board of Directors
Kristen Feemster
Gregory Zimet
Dr. Zimet is Professor of Pediatrics and Clinical Psychology in the Division of Adolescent Medicine, Department of Pediatrics at Indiana University School of Medicine. In addition, he is Co-Director with Dr. Rachel Katzenellenbogen of the Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) Center for HPV Research. Dr. Zimet started investigating attitudes about vaccines for adolescents in the mid-1990s. Much of his research has involved the study of vaccine acceptance and refusal, with a primary focus over the past 20 years on attitudes about HPV vaccine as well as the behavioral and social determinants of HPV vaccination. His studies have focused on adolescents and young adults, parents of adolescents, and health care providers and include evaluations of vaccine communication intervention strategies.
L.J. Tan
Dr. Tan joined the Immunization Action Coalition in 2013. Prior to that, Dr. Tan was the Director of Medicine and Public Health at the American Medical Association for 15 years. Dr. Tan also serves as Co-Chair of the National Adult and Influenza Immunization Summit, together with the CDC and the National Vaccine Program Office. Dr. Tan recently served on the National Quality Forum’s Adult Immunizations Expert Committee and currently serves on the Pharmacy Quality Alliance’s Adult Immunization Working Group as well as the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases Vaccine Study Group.
Mitchel Rothholz
Mitchel C. Rothholz is a pharmacist currently serving as Chief Strategy Officer for the American Pharmacists Association (APhA). He has served in numerous roles as an APhA staff member since 1994. He also serves as Secretary for the Joint Commission of Pharmacy Practitioners, a collaborative forum of 13 national pharmacist organizations. He is a 1984 graduate of the University of Florida, College of Pharmacy, and earned a Masters in Business Administration, Healthcare Management, from Regis University in 2005. He is an internationally recognized expert on Pharmacy-Based Immunization Delivery. He was a voting member of the HHS National Vaccine Advisory Committee (NVAC) and currently serves on the Leadership Steering Committee of the National Adult and Influenza Immunization Summit (NAIIS), and Board of the Unity Consortium (Adolescent Health). He is and has been involved in numerous immunization committees, grants and cooperative agreements.
Patricia Novy
Dr. Patricia Novy has been with GSK since 2015, when she joined following the acquisition of Novartis Vaccines where she had worked since 2012. Following receipt of a BS in Biological Sciences from University of California at Davis, Trisha earned her PhD degree in Immunology from Duke University for studies focusing on adaptive immunity and vaccine design. She completed her postdoctoral fellowship with research supporting immuno-oncology research, including solid and lymphoid tumor vaccine therapies, within the Duke Cancer Center. She has held increasing roles within the vaccine industry, first as a Medical Science Liaison in the Northeast, supporting the Novartis Vaccines portfolio. She served as the Scientific Director supporting meningococcal vaccines, and now is the US Medical Affairs Lead for the GSK meningococcal vaccine portfolio. In her spare time, Trisha loves to create things and can be found in a jewelry-making, pottery, or knitting workshop.
Ardi Kazarian
Ardi is a strategic product management and marketing consultant with a successful 20+ year track record in the technology sector working with both start-ups and established growth-oriented companies as well as strategic partnerships. She also has a 10+ year background in healthcare technology. Her passion is innovation and disrupting markets.
Claire Hannan
Claire Hannan has served as the Executive Director of AIM since 2004. She has over 18 years of experience working in children’s health and immunization issues. After working on Capitol Hill for 5 years, Ms. Hannan spent three years lobbying for children’s health issues. In 1997, she became the Director of Immunization Policy for the Association of State & Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO), where she worked with state health officials, the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) and other partners to improve and enhance immunization policies and practices. She joined the Association of Immunization Managers as its first Executive Director in 2004. Ms. Hannan holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Wagner College in Staten Island, NY and a Master’s degree in Public Health from Johns Hopkins University.
Paul Offit
Officers
Judy Klein
Judy is President and Founder of Unity Consortium and a healthcare and vaccine industry veteran. Judy focuses her entrepreneurial spirit on ventures that seek to maintain or improve peoples’ health. Judy started inKlein, a boutique firm partnering with healthcare organizations, with that goal in mind. Judy has held leadership positions in the healthcare industry and the non-profit community serving on Boards of Directors. Judy was honored to be awarded the 2018 Enterprising Women of the Year. Judy has degrees in Economics from The Wharton School and Mathematics from the College at the University of Pennsylvania.
Jane Quinn
Jane Quinn is a business professional with extensive experience in the vaccine market segment. She has held many diverse roles in building brand and customer marketing strategies including executive leadership positions for GlaxoSmithKline covering their Pediatric, Adolescent and Adult vaccine portfolios, numerous product launches, and responsibility for all public sector customers. Jane’s interest in preventive health and immunization began in Merck’s Vaccine Division and was preceded by analytical roles at an academic research chair endowed by Campbell Soup Company and directing client service and data operations at Scott-Levin Associates. Jane’s hometown is Philadelphia and she received degrees in Marketing and an MBA from Saint Joseph’s University.
Interns
- Anna Pogrebivsky, Georgetown University, College of Arts and Science '22
- Sanjana Batabyal, SMPH candidate, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health
Advisors
2019-2020 UNITY Teen Advisory Council
- Lead: Laura A. Offutt, MD, FACP
- Lexi Hoare – Abington Senior High School (PA)
- Sadie Swayze – Barrington High School (RI)
- Noemi Ukaegbu – Long Reach High School (MD)
- Alexandra Gayer – Durham School of the Arts (NC)
- Demetrius Daniels – Chamblee Charter High School (GA)
- Misbah Lakhani – DeBakey High School for Health Professions (TX)
- Jacob Helzner – BASIS Independent Brooklyn (NY)
- Ainsley Hutchison – Fairview High School (CO)
- Student – Edina High School (MN)
Senior Youth Advisors
- Abby Parsons – University of Mississippi (MS)
- Max Bailey – Amundsen High School (IL)
2019-2020 UNITY Mom Advisory Council
- Co-Lead: Greg Zimet, PhD
- Co-Lead: Sarah Vivo
- Jill Lauer – Indiana
- Dilnaz Z Mory – Florida
- Rebecca Sager – Washington, DC
- Jackie Somers – New Jersey
- Alice Struble – New Jersey
- Jessica Daitch - North Carolina
- Marien Beers - New Jersey
- Amy Turnquist - Pennsylvania
- Farrah Barrow - Pennsylvania
- Beth Schurman - Pennsylvania
Our Initiatives
While education is key, it is only half the battle: engagement and action are necessary to strive for change. In coordination with dedicated healthcare providers, parents, and adolescents, UNITY Consortium facilitates programs and studies with actionable results to increase visibility in the community.
