FHA Honors Leaders at
5th Annual Lifetime of Caring Gala
Dr. Dorothy I. Height and Karen Katen Saluted
The AGS Foundation for Health in Aging honored famed nonagenarian civil rights leader Dr. Dorothy I. Height and Pfizer Global Pharmaceuticals President Karen Katen at its fifth annual Lifetime of Caring Gala on October 26.
Ms. Katen, also Executive Vice President of Pfizer Inc. and a member of the Pfizer Leadership Team, received the Discovery Award. The award recognizes trailblazers who demonstrate a commitment to converting research into improvements in the lives of older adults. AGS President and Chair of the Board of Directors for FHA, Meghan Gerety, MD, introduced Katen, praising Pfizer’s involvement in hundreds of projects across 18 disease areas as well as its longtime participation in the AGS Corporate Roundtable on Aging. Katen stressed the importance of preserving health in older adults in addition to striving for a benchmark of progress against disease. “We need to address the distinction between lifespan and healthspan so our later years are vibrant and vital.”
Katen paid tribute to Dr. Height, recipient of the Lifetime of Caring Award, praising the “ripples of caring that [she] set in motion for all of us.” Dr. Height spent decades at the forefront of civil rights activism, serving as the president of the National Council of Negro Women for more than 40 years. She has received many of the nation's highest honors, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal. Ilyasah Shabazz, the daughter of Malcolm X and author of the memoir Growing Up X, was the evening’s emcee.
Janet Vergis, Gala Chair and President of Janssen Psychiatry, spoke eloquently about the role of the pharmaceutical industry in putting patients first and focusing on “education and common understanding.” She announced that the Gala raised over $480,000 for the FHA’s public education efforts.
The evening ended with a musical tribute to Dr. Height written and presented by Joe Coleman, lead singer of The Platters.
