On March 20, 2024 First Lady Jill Biden delivered remarks at the AWS IMAGINE: Nonprofit Conference at Amazon Web Services, Inc. (AWS) in Arlington, Virginia. The annual event brings together leaders from nonprofit, technology, and healthcare organizations from across the country to discuss how technology can accelerate mission outcomes. Dr. Biden highlighted efforts to advance women’s health research and innovation, including through her work leading the White House Initiative on Women’s Health Research, which aims to fundamentally change how the United States approaches and funds women’s health research.
“In November, Joe and I launched the first-ever White House Initiative on Women’s Health Research, with a clear goal: to fundamentally change how our nation approaches and funds research on women’s health,” said First Lady Jill Biden. “When our nonprofits come together with universities, entrepreneurs, investors, and city and state leaders to drive innovation you’ve proven there’s nothing that’s beyond our capacity. I encourage you to harness that same spirit of discovery and ambition to take on the next great health care challenge of our time—finding innovative solutions in women’s health.”
“It was an honor to welcome the First Lady to HQ2. Dr. Biden outlined an inspirational vision for how technology is transforming healthcare and health research,” said Dave Levy, VP, AWS worldwide public sector. “AWS is committed to helping advance that vision by enabling innovation that helps our government, nonprofits, and other public sector customers improve healthcare delivery in the United States and around the world.”
AWS helps nonprofits unlock the full potential of the AWS Cloud and leverage cutting-edge technologies such as generative AI, analytics, and edge computing to drive innovation and deliver positive impact in areas ranging from preserving the health of our planet to finding cures for rare diseases. Through the course of the event, nonprofit leaders shared inspiring stories of how AWS technology is helping organizations accomplish their unique missions faster. There were examples of nonprofits using generative AI to provide support to organizations addressing mental health and humanitarian crises; leveraging high performance computing to analyze massive amounts of data to forecast risks and interventions that protect the planet; and using machine learning to democratize access to health research and speed up research into cancer and infectious diseases.
Michael Hund, CEO of EB Research Partnership, a nonprofit dedicated to finding a cure for a rare disease impacting children, reflected on Dr. Biden’s message, saying, “As a nonprofit leader, hearing the First Lady address the nonprofit sector directly and communicate her passion for reducing structural and systemic inequities in health, and specifically women’s health, provided powerful inspiration for all of us pursuing ambitious goals, like finding cures, protecting the planet, and scaling vital services to so many around the world.”
AWS also announced that new funding will be available through the AWS IMAGINE Grant for nonprofit and nonprofit health organizations using generative AI in their pursuit of large-scale projects. The AWS IMAGINE Grant Pathfinder – Generative AI award may provide up to $200,000 in financial support and up to $100,000 in AWS Promotional Credit, alongside an engagement with the AWS Generative AI Innovation Center, to leverage this technology for meaningful impact.
In addition to Dr. Biden, the keynote stage featured Allyson Fryhoff, managing director of the AWS Global Healthcare and Nonprofit team; Bourhan Yassin, CEO of Rainforest Connection; Chris Anderson, curator of TED; and Michael Hund, CEO of EB Research Partnership. From delivering scaled solutions that protect our natural world to setting audacious goals and timelines to find cures for rare diseases, these leaders highlighted the importance of leveraging technology to accelerate important nonprofit missions. The event included a number of educational sessions on important technology applications, including how to build a strong data foundation, the purposeful use of AI in a human-centered and responsible manner, and demos and technical workshops featuring AWS generative AI services such as Amazon Bedrock and Amazon Q.
Dr. Biden discussed the White House’s commitment to advancing women’s health and research. AWS shares this commitment, including by prioritizing cloud-based solutions aimed at increasing access to care for women's health. In January 2024, AWS increased its total commitment to the AWS Health Equity Initiative to $60 million to enable the missions of customers such as Jacaranda Health, which is leveraging AWS AI and machine learning tools to empower women to seek timely, appropriate maternal healthcare across Sub-Saharan Africa through two-way SMS text exchanges.
AWS remains dedicated to collaborating with nonprofit and health organizations globally to identify and implement the right technology solutions for their causes and communities. Review more information on AWS IMAGINE: Nonprofit conference and watch the First Lady's keynote speech.
