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Westat has announced changes to its Board of Directors. Renee F. Slobasky, MS, Senior Vice President and Board member, has been appointed by the Board to serve as Chair, and Patricia Shifflett, MS, Senior Vice President and Sector Lead, Health, has been voted in as a new member by Westat shareholders. The changes were announced at the May 2023 Stockholders’ Meeting.
Slobasky, who has been a Board member since 2006, takes over as Chair for James E. Smith, PhD, who retired after serving Westat since 1985 in project and corporate leadership roles, including head of IT, Board member, President and CEO, and, most recently, Board Chair.
Slobasky has served the company over her more than 40-year career at Westat, initially in leading national data collection projects, where she developed the company’s large-scale and complex survey capabilities and, for many years, as the Director of Survey Operations. She was elected to the Board in 2006 and provides leadership in long-term planning for continued innovation and growth.
Shifflett joined Westat in 2018 as the Public Health and Epidemiology Practice Director bringing expertise in multisite clinical research coordination, development of clinical and community guidelines, surveys, and data analytics and evaluation. In recognition of her dynamic and impactful leadership in these areas, she was promoted in 2022 to serve as Health Sector Lead, overseeing the overall strategic development of Westat’s wide-ranging health portfolio.
In commenting on these important changes to the company’s board, Scott Royal, PhD, Westat’s President and CEO, said, “We welcome Pat Shifflett and look forward to her invaluable contributions. We know that Renee Slobasky brings deep knowledge and steady guidance to her new role. Our board is stronger than ever in its recognition of the value of employee ownership and its support for our efforts to make Westat a company second to none in the client services we provide.”