July 29, 2015, Redwood City, CA — Hopelab, the pioneering health-focused R&D organization of The Omidyar Group, today announced Margaret Laws as its new president and chief executive officer. For more than 25 years, Laws has distinguished herself as a catalytic leader in health care, with a broad range of experience in public policy, philanthropy, business and impact investing. She joins Hopelab as Pat Christen, previous president and CEO, assumes a new position as a managing director of The Omidyar Group.
“As the healthcare marketplace evolves, Hopelab has an important role to play in advancing our understanding of how technology can improve health and well-being, particularly for kids and young adults,” said Laws. “I’m excited to work with the Hopelab staff and board to further our philanthropic work in ground-breaking scientific research and product development.”
Laws brings her passion for forging cross-sector partnerships that drive positive social impact to her role at Hopelab. Prior to joining Hopelab, she spent 17 years at the California HealthCare Foundation in a number of roles, including Director of Public Financing and Policy and Director of the Innovations for the Underserved program. She also founded the CHCF Health Innovation Fund, a mission-focused fund investing in healthcare technology and service companies that improve access to and lower costs of healthcare.
“Having Margaret lead the Hopelab team is a great next step in the evolution of our organization,” said Pam Omidyar, founder and board chair of Hopelab. “I’m very proud of Hopelab’s work and its evidence-based approach to technology development. Margaret’s experience and passion for creating impactful partnerships will help us deliver on our mission in inspiring new ways.”
At Hopelab Margaret leads a multidisciplinary team that combines behavioral science, user-centered design, rigorous research, and partnerships with innovators to create technologies that promote human resilience by motivating positive behavior change. Hopelab products include the Re-Mission® and Re-Mission 2® games for young cancer patients and Zamzee®, a wearable activity meter and motivational website designed to boost physical activity in kids and families, as well as a portfolio of projects in its Resilience Technology Initiative. Hopelab is the recipient of the 2014 Drucker Award for Nonprofit Innovation for its pioneering work in creating products that help people respond to life’s adversity in healthy ways. Hopelab also has been named a Social Enterprise of the Year by Fast Company magazine and was recognized by President Obama and the White House Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation for innovating new approaches to improving the health of young people.
