At the Intersection of Art and Care

For decades, Angela Babin has balanced science and compassion. Before leading the Phyllis Newman Women’s Health Initiative, she built a career in occupational safety, pediatric oncology and industrial hygiene — fields that demand precision, empathy and resilience.

Her path might seem far removed from the arts, but Babin’s life has always moved to a creative rhythm. Raised by a pianist-composer father and a ballerina mother, she understands the beauty and fragility of a performer’s life. That mix of artistry and expertise now proves essential.

“I’ve always been drawn to work that connects people to care,” she said. “Now I get to do that in a world that feels like home. … My work intertwines the people I know and love with topical matters I care about and have spent my life studying in research and health care settings.”

That connection defines the initiative she now leads. The Phyllis Newman Women’s Health Initiative at the Entertainment Community Fund was established in 1996 with seed funding from Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. The program provides direct assistance, health guidance and emotional support to women and nonbinary members of the performing arts community navigating serious illness, mental health challenges and caregiving responsibilities.

Over nearly three decades, the initiative has grown from a single caseworker serving a handful of artists into a cornerstone of the Fund’s care programs, helping hundreds each year. Broadway Cares continues to sustain that vital work through annual grants, ensuring the program’s reach extends wherever artists need help. 

This year, thanks to Broadway Cares supporters, $800,000 was shared with the initiative, part of $8.38 million sent to the Entertainment Community Fund. 

Since Broadway Cares first expanded its support beyond the HIV/AIDS Initiative to the Phyllis Newman Women’s Health Initiative, the organization has championed a safety net of services, including The Friedman Health Center for the Performing Arts, Artists Health Insurance Resource Center (AHIRC), Addiction and Recovery Services, The Dancers’ Resource and the Broadway Flu Shot Initiative.

Babin understands the aspects of an artist’s life that make accessing traditional care difficult. Performers often lack stable health insurance, work unpredictable schedules and face the unique pressure of staying “on” even when unwell. A diagnosis or family emergency can jeopardize both health and livelihood. The initiative steps in to bridge those gaps — covering rent or medical bills, offering counseling and connecting clients with trusted specialists who understand the demands of a creative life.

“We are needed so much right now,” Babin said. “Our community went through COVID and its shutdown, the writers’ strike and wildfires. Now, in the United States, there are challenges affecting health care and health insurance coverage. People can’t afford treatments.”

Artists are resilient, she said, but they shouldn’t have to go it alone.

Babin’s caseload reflects the scope of need: artists managing endometriosis, thyroid cancer, long COVID or recovery after gender-affirming surgery. Others seek mental health support or relief from the exhaustion of caregiving. Each story is unique, but the goal is the same — to restore health, hope and stability.

Voice artist and writer Charity James knows that firsthand. Facing a glaucoma diagnosis, her mother’s strokes and the threat of eviction, she turned to the Entertainment Community Fund. Babin personally visited her home, helping her navigate the initiative’s resources.

“I didn’t have any other resources at that time, and I didn’t have any way of helping myself at that point,” James said. “People may think, ‘why are you bothering with your career when your mom’s in the hospital?’ And I say, ‘I have to. I can’t allow myself to get swallowed up by this situation. I have to continue to move forward in my own career, in my own life. The Fund helps me do that.”

Her story mirrors countless others whose lives are steadied by the initiative’s support. 

“It’s valuable to champion these efforts because life happens,” James said. “You can think of yourself as strong, capable, financially set, but life happens and the Fund is an amazing, amazing, amazing resource that I didn’t know existed.”

For Babin, the impact isn’t measured in numbers alone but in renewed confidence. 

“When someone knows their rent is covered, their energy can turn back toward healing,” she said. “They get better — and then they tell someone else. There’s a ripple effect.”

Sometimes, that ripple looks as simple as self-kindness. Babin recalled a client from a meditation group who had recently recovered from illness. Mid-session, the woman excused herself to answer the door and returned with a bouquet she’d sent to herself. That small act of care became a moment of inspiration for everyone on the call.

To Babin, those moments embody what the initiative represents. 

“We remind people that they matter,” she said. “Even when they’re scared or struggling, they’re still part of a community that won’t let them face it alone.”

Support for the Entertainment Community Fund by Fiscal Year