When Hims & Hers first reached out to me to interview for the Board of Directors, I hesitated. I’d seen the Hims & Hers commercials on TV, and I wasn’t entirely sure what to make of the company. But, I was also intrigued about the potential opportunity to address healthcare challenges from a different angle.
My doubts turned out to be misperceptions. I found Hims & Hers CEO and Founder, Andrew Dudum, and all of the Board members and executives I met to be thoughtful, earnest, open-minded, and deeply committed to improving the health care system. Now, as a member of the Board for the past year, I’ve come to know Hims & Hers well as an industry disruptor that is passionate about improving care for all, while maintaining a steadfast commitment to safety, quality, and clinical excellence.
The company is not a bull in a china shop. It’s an organization driven by a belief that the system can be better. We bring the courage and intensity that’s needed to challenge what is broken and the heart and the discipline to seek change thoughtfully. We know we will face opposition and need to navigate some storms, but we believe that is the right thing to do.
Like all of us, I am a consumer of healthcare, a patient. I know that experience can be vastly improved, as do five out of six Americans who say they don’t have enough control over their health decisions. Our health care system is fragmented, reactive, and incredibly difficult to access and navigate. At the same time, breakthroughs in artificial intelligence, robotics, and at-home diagnostics are transforming what is possible – what can be diagnosed and treated at home, and the level of care that can be given.
The time has come to envision a different future, and one that does more than incrementally change the status quo. Hims & Hers is building an intelligent ecosystem that can learn from every interaction, support clinicians, and deliver faster, high-quality, hyper-personalized access to care. The company combines a commitment to clinical rigor and excellence in quality with cutting-edge technology, providing access to care designed for how people actually live. I believe this is why ninety-four percent of customers say their care through Hims & Hers is as good as or better than their prior in-person healthcare experiences.
I have served many different roles in the regulatory ecosystem, including enforcer, policymaker, industry member, legal counselor, and technical advisor. I deeply respect the role of regulation. It is key for protecting patients and promoting public health. I also know that sometimes the regulatory system holds back progress or trains its sights on the wrong place, to the detriment of patients. I’ve seen it many times. So, I feel that I am well-positioned to ask the tough questions about what really matters for patients and how we can rethink our assumptions about how things have to be.
To me, the pivotal challenge is how we harness the extraordinary pace of innovation to redefine healthcare in service of the individual. Imagine a world where understanding your body is as intuitive as checking the weather, where early detection happens seamlessly at home, and where every person, whether in a city center or a rural community, has immediate, personalized access to trusted, high-quality care. That future is within reach if we expand access to telehealth, empower consumers to be active partners in their health decisions, and ensure that innovation strengthens rather than replaces the trusted bond between patients and providers. As we build this future, we will of course need to ensure that every prescription, product, and interaction meets the highest standards of quality, safety, and integrity.
I know this will be difficult. Real transformation requires hard work, and it rarely happens without friction. Meaningful disruption prompts skepticism. But instead of mechanically resisting change, we have an opportunity to reimagine and rebuild healthcare together — consumers, telehealth platforms, providers, advocacy groups, medical associations, pharmaceutical companies, medtech innovators, policymakers, and regulators alike. My goal as Chief Policy Officer of Hims & Hers is to help bridge innovation and regulation, ensuring we move forward boldly and responsibly. Together, we can create a system that combines the best of personalized care with the power of technology to deliver a healthier future.
