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Laurel Pickering, 39
Executive Director
New York Business Group on Health
After getting her master's degree in public health from Emory University, Laurel Pickering worked two part-time jobs to make ends meet.
In the mornings, she interviewed minority women who were addicted to heroin and at risk for HIV for a Columbia University research project.
In the afternoons, she would practically change on the subway into the professional garb required for her shift at the New York Business Group on Health, where she was writing a policy paper on the Clinton administration's health care reform plan.
Impressed with her powers of persuasion, the group soon offered Ms. Pickering a full-time job. When its executive director quit suddenly in 1996, she got the top spot.
"Her youth was against her at the time," recalls Joe Martingale, an employee benefits consultant who helped found the organization. "Not only did Laurel pull it off, but the group is more robust than it has ever been."
NYBGH harnesses the collective financial clout of members like Bank of New York to drive improvements in health care quality and delivery. Ms. Pickering cajoles health providers to go beyond paying lip service to quality by backing their claims with shared data.
"Whatever gets measured gets improved. What gets publicly reported gets improved faster," she says.
The group's annual budget, which includes HealthPass--a subsidiary that offers health plans to small businesses--has increased to nearly $3 million; the staff has grown to 22.
Raised by music teachers in Orange County, Ms. Pickering, who played the flute in high school, says she chose health care because, like most public health professionals, she "wanted to save the world and help those less fortunate."