Honoring Gail Wilensky

When I met Gail Wilensky (1943-2024) in September 2018 through the Gail Wilensky endowed professorship lecture and dinner, it was clear that she loved three things: her family, health economics, and the University of Michigan.

There was something truly remarkable about having a living benefactor who had navigated such a successful career as a female health economist a generation before I entered the field.  Gail supported me in many ways.  She gave a guest lecture to my undergraduate students, she talked with me about my research, and she introduced me to others with related interests.  Gail also inspired me in the way that she managed to be warm and professional at the same time. 

Her expertise in health policy and her disciplined exercise regimen allowed her to remain very active, even at the end of her career.  One fall, she flew from Washington, DC to Ann Arbor almost every week to teach a course on health policy and attend football games.  At the same time, she continued to serve on corporate boards and spend time with her grandchildren. 

I am deeply grateful for the support that Gail and her family have given me through her endowed professorship.  I am also fortunate to have had the opportunity to learn directly from Gail.  Her legacy lives on through her service in the health policy sphere and in her community.