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John Gremer
John Gremer is a passionate advocate for communities with a focus on access to healthy living. John holds an M.S. in Industrial Relations from Loyola University in Chicago and B.A. in Psychology from Wabash College in Indiana.
As the former Senior Director of Community Affairs at Walgreens, John dedicated nearly two decades of his career to advocating for communities. His tenure at Walgreens was marked by his passion for making a positive impact and his commitment to serving the needs of communities. His responsibilities included leading community engagement, grant-making, employee volunteerism and disaster relief, and during his tenure created several impactful and award-winning programs.
A member of Walgreens COVID task force, devised strategy and implemented programs to address issues related to vaccine hesitancy, education, and accessibility for COVID-19 immunizations. Walgreens
delivered 40 million vaccinations in vulnerable communities and conducted 1,500 off-site vaccination events.
Created the Expressions Challenge, a national art, literature and spoken word competition that encourages teens to use creative expression as a means for coping with mental health issues and challenging situations.
Co-founded the First Ladies Health Initiative, a faith-based health outreach of African American churches in greater Chicago and Los Angeles areas to provide access to health screenings, immunizations, and education to over 400,00 individuals.
Partnered with National Urban League to create the nationwide co-branded “Way to Well Tour” health our providing testing and education access in medically underserved communities. Received NUL corporate leadership award in 2013.
Collaborated with United Nations Foundation to create Give-a-Shot program. To date, 82 million individuals worldwide have received lifesaving vaccinations through the program. Received United Nations Foundation global leadership award in 2016.
Conceptualized and implemented partnership with Vitamin Angels that provided free prenatal vitamins to America’s most vulnerable communities. Since 2022, the program has provided free prenatal vitamins to 1,500+ families in Chicago and is currently being implemented in other markets.
Prior to Walgreens, John served as the Director of Admissions, instructor, and coach at St. Rita High School and is a proud alumnus. He lives in Willow Springs, IL with his wife and two daughters.