Jennifer Olsen to Leave Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregivers
After Six Transformative Years
Paurvi Bhatt, current President and Chief Impact Officer, will serve as Interim CEO
AMERICUS, GA – The Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregivers (RCI) today announced that Dr. Jennifer Olsen will be stepping down from her role as Chief Executive Officer after six years. Olsen’s tenure has been marked by significant achievements and an unwavering commitment to the organization’s mission of promoting the health, strength, and resilience of family caregivers nationwide.
Dr. Olsen will remain in her role until December 2024 to ensure a smooth transition to Paurvi Bhatt, MPH, who will serve as Interim CEO while the Board of Directors conducts a search for a long-term replacement. Ms. Bhatt is a healthcare executive, caregiver advocate and longtime RCI supporter who has served on RCI’s Board as Vice Chair for several years and joined RCI’s executive leadership team as President and Chief Impact Officer earlier this year.
“It is never easy to be the first chief executive after an organization’s founder steps back, especially when the founder is a former First Lady,” said COL (R) George Fredrick, chair of the RCI Board of Directors. “But Mrs. Carter and Jennifer made this transition seamlessly. Jennifer was instrumental in advancing our mission and improving the lives of people caring for friends and family across the country. Her ability to navigate challenges, innovate, and advocate for those who need it most is truly remarkable. Jennifer’s tenure helped ensure that RCI will continue to be a powerful force for years to come, in driving fundamental change and transforming systems to better support family caregivers. We are thrilled that Paurvi Bhatt will come in and ensure a seamless transition as RCI goes from strength to strength.”
Since Olsen began to lead RCI in 2018, the organization has targeted systems that impact the daily lives of family caregivers, seeding and scaling ideas that create change for all who provide care. As the center point in the family caregiving ecosystem, RCI leads caregiver advocacy and support by:
Centering family caregivers, by placing the family caregiver at the center of its work, including calling for a robust public health strategy to support these individuals.
Making the unseen seen, by shedding light on the issues and challenges faced by family caregivers. Under Dr. Olsen’s leadership, RCI has continued to advance solutions shaped by family caregivers that directly address the hurdles they face and captures key opportunities to ease the journey of care.
Promoting RCI nationwide and partnering with The Carter Center to build a presence in Washington, D.C., to advocate for federal policies that prioritize caregiving and mental health. Advocacy continues for the proposed Office of Caregiver Health to improve the ability to identify caregivers, assess their needs, clarify inclusion considerations, and reduce the adverse health effects of providing care.
“When Mrs. Carter and I initially discussed my leading the RCI, our objective was to position family caregivers as a population in need of our attention and support, building upon her recognition that ‘There are only four kinds of people in the world––those who have been caregivers, those who are currently caregivers, those who will be caregivers, and those who will need caregivers’,” said Dr. Olsen. “After six years, I am proud that our team convened with cross-sector partners and spurred national conversations to achieve this objective. Carrying on Mrs. Carter’s work and the growing the institute that bears her name has been the privilege of a lifetime.”
While there is greater recognition of burdens facing caregivers and the need to provide support, there is more work to do. Throughout her tenure, Dr. Olsen often noted that caregiver health should be approached with the same sense of urgency and preventive strategies as other critical issues of public health.
“Under Jennifer’s leadership, RCI’s work continued to be deeply rooted in the vision of my grandmother, Rosalynn Carter, who was truly ahead of her time in recognizing the need to improve the lives of all Americans who care for their loved ones,” said Carter’s grandson Josh Carter. “RCI continues to tirelessly advocate for those who are often too physically, mentally, financially, and emotionally overwhelmed to speak for themselves. On behalf of our family, I extend our deep gratitude to Jennifer for strengthening my grandmother’s legacy.”