Suzanne Mintz is an honored social entrepreneur. In 1993, she co-founded the National Family Caregivers Association (NFCA) and over the years built it into the nation's premier organization in support of family caregivers. Mintz is known as a forward-thinking leader who has transformed the way the nation views family caregivers and family caregiving.

She made the connection between family caregiving and the delivery of chronic illness care at a time when the focus of caregiving concerns was solely on the provision of social services. Today, she emphasizes that good patient- and family-centered care needs to be holistic. Specifically, the community's well being ought to be an integral part of healthcare.

Over the years, she has empowered hundreds of thousands of family caregivers to advocate for themselves and their loved ones. She has created educational content and programming that provide pragmatic how-to information and techniques for family caregivers. Additionally, Mintz has helped her audiences understand that their caregiving practices and concerns ought not to be at the sole mercy of Congress and Statehouses, but rather, in their own hands as active citizens.

Mintz serves on a number of boards and committees including the Governing Board of National Patient Safety Foundation, the Advisory Council of the National Transitions of Care Coalition, the Board of Directors of URAC, and the advisory board of the Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease. She was honored for her work in 2006 as one of the first 15 winners of the Purpose Prize.

She has written several books, the latest of which is A Family Caregiver Speaks Up: It Doesn't Have to Be This Hard, and she has published numerous articles on and for family caregivers. Mintz is often quoted by the media and asked to advise policymakers.

Drawing from her experiences as a family caregiver for her husband who has multiple sclerosis, Mintz has put a face on family caregiving and provided family caregivers with an authentic advocate who can speak passionately on their behalf.

She has a BA in English from Queens College City University of New York, and an MS in human ecology from the University of Maryland.

Health, Caregiving,