Aequitas Health Seats a Six-Member Volunteer Board of Directors
September 2, 2026
Aequitas Health, the national medical honor society, has seated a six-member volunteer board of directors. Four new directors joined effective August 26, 2026, and the board met for the first time as a full body on September 2.
The board brings health policy, law and governance, philanthropy, and life sciences to an organization built by medical students. Every director serves without compensation, as does everyone else at Aequitas Health, which has no paid staff.
“We recognize students who build what doesn’t exist for the communities that need it most. This board is here so that work outlasts any one of us.”
- Benson Hsu, MD, founder and president
The Board
Benson Hsu, MD, MBA, FAAP, FCCM, founder, president and chair - Professor of Pediatrics at the University of South Dakota Sanford School of Medicine and a pediatric critical care physician at Avera Children’s Hospital.
Jean C. Accius, PhD - President and CEO of CHC: Creating Healthier Communities, previously a senior leader at AARP and at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
Kirsten Axelsen - biopharmaceutical advisor and Senior Advisor to Charles River Associates and DLA Piper, previously a leader at Pfizer’s global innovative pharmaceutical business.
Michele Frix - Executive Vice President of Seattle Foundation, where she oversees legal, risk, operations, people and culture, and governance.
Wroe Jackson, JD - Executive Vice President and General Counsel of the Texas Association of Manufacturers, previously general counsel to three Texas Secretaries of State.
Stephen Patrick, MD, MPH, MS - Chair of the Department of Health Policy and Management at Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health and a practicing neonatologist.
Benson Hsu and Kirsten Axelsen are the continuing directors. The other four were elected by Action by Unanimous Written Consent under Bylaws §1.14, effective August 26, 2026.
Full biographies are published at aequitashealth.org/leadership.
About Aequitas Health
Aequitas Health is the national medical honor society built on a simple idea: action, not just achievement, is the highest honor in medicine. Founded in 2021, Aequitas Health spans 14 chartered chapters across 14 states with 375+ fellows inducted. It is a 501(c)(3) public charity, EIN 86-1852003, with no paid staff and a board that serves without compensation. Learn more at aequitashealth.org.
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