Lynette Sappe-Watkins joined the PA Foundation as Executive Director in 2015 after the Board of Trustees approved a new strategic plan. Under her leadership the Foundation has expanded its programming and engagement with PAs as donors, volunteers, and community health ambassadors through programs like the Mental Health and Nutrition Outreach Fellowships. Recognizing the needs that have come about as a result of the nation’s opioid crisis, she has also worked to develop funding opportunities and partnerships that empower PAs to take a more active role in the prevention and treatment of substance use disorder.
With a passion for population health, Sappe-Watkins has led efforts to build programming and resource development for PAs and PA students. In partnership with the board of trustees, she has worked to grow the education and outreach assets of the organization which include the Vital Minds podcast series, videos and resources on prevention of opioid misuse and healthcare provider stigma, and nutrition tools for PAs, their patients, and the communities in which they practice.
Sappe-Watkins has worked in nonprofit health and safety for almost two decades, first with the American Red Cross and the Home Safety Council (later merged with Safe Kids Worldwide), and then in the association world with the American Pharmacists Association Foundation.
She served as president of the Association Foundation Group in 2016-2017, and maintains her Certified Fundraising Executive (CFE) designation.
Sappe-Watkins is a graduate of the University of Georgia Henry W. Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication.