Cynthia (Cindy) Pearson

Cynthia (Cindy) Pearson retired after a distinguished career as a women’s health activist. Her activism began at a feminist health center in California, continued as an abortion rights organizer in Colorado, and culminated in Washington, DC where she served as the Executive Director of the National Women’s Health Network for twenty-five years.

Pearson led the Network’s efforts to expand access to health care, improve research on women’s health, and ensure that medical treatments were both effective and safe. Founded in 1975, the Network was the first feminist health group to utilize a national membership in support of DC-based health activism. The Network directed many advocacy efforts at the Food and Drug Administration, resulting in unsafe products being removed from the market, and the lifting of unnecessary barriers to contraception and abortion.

Pearson played a leading role in many important victories for women’s health, including government funding of the Women’s Health Initiative, and the passage of the Affordable Care Act. She believes strongly in the power of grassroots activism to make change and devoted herself to efforts that built power by bringing together like-minded individuals and groups. In that spirit, Pearson was a co-founder of Raising Women’s Voices for the Health Care We Need, a national initiative that worked to make sure women’s concerns were addressed in health care reform.

Pearson received the FDA Commissioner’s Special Citation in 1995 for sustained advocacy in deepening the Agency’s understanding of women’s health concerns and advancing regulatory policies. In recognition of the NWHN’s leading role in advocating for the creation of the NIH Office of Research on Women’s Health and providing guidance thereafter, Pearson was presented with the Keystone Award for Advocacy for Women’s Health Research on the 20th anniversary of the Office.

In 2024, Pearson was selected to serve as a Consumer Representative for the FDA’s Obstetrics and Gynecology Devices Panel, which provides expert advice to the agency. In 2024, Cindy was named to the FDA Advisory Committee on the Obstetrics and Gynecology Devices Panel as a Consumer Representative.