Penny Ballem has made major contributions across a remarkable array of fronts including transfusion medicine, platelet immunology, complications of obstetrics, women’s health research, and health policy. After a successful career in hematology research, she turned to women’s health by founding and leading the BC Centre for Excellence in Women’s Health. In 2001, she joined the BC government as Deputy Minister of Health. As one of the longest serving and respected Deputy Ministers in Canada, she oversaw major reforms of the health care system and pioneered a number of innovations that brought evidence-based policy making to health in BC.