Chief human resources officers and chief people officers are instrumental in shaping the workforce strategies that power hospitals and health systems.
With responsibilities spanning recruitment, retention, compensation, benefits and professional development, these leaders ensure their organizations attract, support and retain top talent.
As key architects of workplace culture, they align human capital strategies with organizational values and long-term goals, cultivating engaged teams and high-performing work environments.
Note: This list is not exhaustive and is not an endorsement of included leaders, organizations or healthcare providers. Leaders cannot pay for inclusion on this list. Leaders are presented in alphabetical order. We extend a special thank you to Rhoda Weiss for her contributions to this list.
We accepted nominations for this list. Contact Anna Falvey at afalvey@beckershealthcare.com with questions or comments.
Lisa Abbott. Executive Vice President and CHRO at Boston Children’s Hospital. In her role as executive vice president and CHRO at Boston Children’s, Ms. Abbott leads human capital strategy and human resources operations for more than 17,500 employees. Over the past year, she has been preparing the rollout of a best-in-class leadership capability model to strengthen effectiveness and succession planning across the organization. She is positioning Boston Children’s for a major business technology transformation, aligning workforce strategy, governance and change leadership to support enterprise readiness. Ms. Abbott’s talent acquisition team recently supported the successful opening of Boston Children’s new ambulatory care hospital in Needham, Mass., ensuring workforce planning and leadership support for this significant expansion of care delivery. Her team supports a robust community of employee-led groups, open to every colleague, to support and celebrate the entire workforce. These groups strengthen the organization’s commitment to an inclusive, respectful and kind work environment for all employees, and recognize the meaningful impact that a diverse workforce has on teamwork, innovation, employee engagement and patient care. Some recent awards honoring the workforce environment include being named “Best Place to Work for Disability Inclusion” in the 2015 Disability Index and 2025 “Top 10 Enterprise-Wide ERGs and Councils.” Ms. Abbott joined Boston Children’s in 2023 and previously served as senior vice president of human resources and community affairs at Providence, R.I.-based Lifespan, now named Brown University Health.
Michelle Adamolekun. Executive Vice President, Chief People and Culture Officer for Cone Health (Greensboro, N.C.). Ms. Adamolekun is the executive vice president and chief people and culture officer at Cone Health, where she has been instrumental in improving employee recruitment, retention and leadership development since joining in 2021. She led the organization’s successful efforts in earning the Great Place to Work-certified designation by focusing on culture and innovation. Ms. Adamolekun has developed partnerships with local colleges, community colleges and high schools to create talent pipelines, ensuring the organization’s future workforce needs are met. She also serves on various boards and is the founder of the Jamaica Reggae Girlz Foundation, which fosters opportunities for the global Jamaican diaspora. Recognized for her leadership, Ms. Adamolekun has also been named a “Top 15 Champion for Diversity” by Diversity Global Magazine.
Peter Adebi. Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer for Cincinnati Children’s. Mr. Adebi has made a significant organizational impact at Cincinnati Children’s since joining in 2024 as senior vice president and chief human resources officer. He quickly redefined the human resources strategy around five key priorities, including leadership development, talent activation and creating an inclusive workplace culture. Under his leadership, the organization launched global workforce playbooks and successfully transitioned to a new retirement plan and an enterprisewide Workday system. He also spearheaded the development of a foundational AI training course, which received such positive feedback that it’s being considered for external use. With more than 20 years of experience, Mr. Adebi brings a strong background in healthcare and strategic human resources leadership.
Ramona Agrela. Senior Vice President of UCI Health and Vice Chancellor of Human Resources for UC Irvine (Orange, Calif.). Ms. Agrela serves as the senior human resources leader for UC Irvine and UCI Health, overseeing all human resources administration and operations and leading a team of 180-plus professionals supporting more than 21,000 staff co-workers. As a member of the chancellor’s cabinet and the president’s cabinet for UCI Health, she champions people-centric decision-making while protecting and elevating the organizations’ employer brand during rapid growth and change. Over the past two years, she spearheaded strategic workforce planning and a broadened talent acquisition model as UCI Health expanded from one hospital to six, enabling hundreds of clinical and administrative hires amid a highly competitive market. In mid-2025, Ms. Agrela directed the onboarding and integration of more than 200 employees following UC Irvine’s acquisition of the Orange County Museum of Art, completing the transition with minimal disruption to operations or employee experience. An early adopter of AI in human resources, she has accelerated responsible experimentation and governance, including hosting the 2025 “ZotBot Challenge,” where 16 human resources teams built AI bots in a single day to address pain points, with solutions now being vetted for secure deployment as part of an expanding toolkit. She also serves on the Gartner CHRO Executive Council and holds leadership roles with national higher education human resources organizations.
Calvin U. Allen. Executive Vice President and CHRO for Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Leading a team of 200 human resource professionals, Mr. Allen is responsible for Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia’s people strategy plan. His goal is to create a desirable employee experience from recruitment through retirement for a workforce of 31,000. Mr. Allen has spearheaded various initiatives and programs, including early adoption of automation to create efficiency and cost savings, and enhancing the comprehensive employee benefits program. These benefits include high-impact options such as tuition reimbursement, student loan forgiveness resources, transportation assistance, and employee health and wellbeing programs. Under Mr. Allen’s leadership, CHOP’s employee engagement scores have consistently improved over the past five years, and its turnover rate is a fraction of the industry standard and represents the lowest in five years. CHOP has received numerous accolades from nationally recognized publications and organizations, including being named a “best place to work” by Forbes, Newsweek, and ComputerWorld, reflecting its deliberate efforts to invest in programs that enrich the employee experience. Mr. Allen is a noted presenter on topics such as corporate culture and strategy, leadership and employee wellbeing. He participated in the release of the U.S. Surgeon General’s framework on workforce mental health and wellbeing.
Janel Allen. Executive Vice President and Chief People Officer at Children’s Nebraska (Omaha). Ms. Allen leads enterprisewide workforce strategy, culture and people operations for Children’s Nebraska, overseeing human resources, talent acquisition, total rewards, organizational development, workforce planning and employee engagement, along with marketing and communications. She serves as a strategic advisor to the CEO, executive team and board, aligning workforce priorities with goals related to quality, safety, patient experience and financial sustainability. Ms. Allen spearheaded the organization’s employee value proposition, the “People First Promise,” embedding it across the full employee lifecycle and into leadership competencies and governance practices. Since 2021, Children’s Nebraska has reduced turnover by 35% while growing its workforce by more than 40%, increased employee engagement by nearly 37 points, improved culture of safety scores by 36% and achieved year-over-year gains in patient experience. During this period, the organization more than doubled in scale from approximately $500 million to more than $1 billion in annual operations. Ms. Allen now leads the “Workforce of the Future” strategy, preparing teams for technology- and AI-enabled care models while advancing data-driven workforce planning to sustain long-term organizational resilience.
Beth Alpers, BSN, RN. CHRO at University of Missouri Health Care (Columbia). Ms. Alpers is a registered nurse with extensive leadership experience in designing, developing, and delivering strategic solutions that add value to communities and health systems. She is highly skilled in leadership, talent acquisition, organizational development and strategic communications. She has served as CHRO of the health system since 2020.
Julie Ann Alvarado-Dubek. Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative and People Officer at Banner Health (Phoenix). Ms. Alvarado-Dubek oversees the experience of over 55,000 team members, leading the workforce with many people-focused initiatives. Banner recently achieved its fourth year of improved retention with 13.9% voluntary turnover. The “Here for Everyone” culture strategy drives high resource group participation and commitment to inclusion. Investments reinforce succession planning and pipelines with targeted programs. The “Rising Top Talent” program, in its fifth year, has graduated over 250 leaders. Executive coaching supports 75 senior leaders and enhances the capabilities of the coaches. Over 84% of Banner leaders completed a “Core Leadership” workshop. Career pathways and apprenticeship programs offer fully funded education and placement in critical roles, with over 100 team members moving into high-demand positions. Community partnerships brought over 3,500 high school students into “Banner Camp Scrubs and Career Exploration” events, building tomorrow’s workforce. Team member listening had over 41,000 team members participating in an engagement survey, with 85% expressing a sense of belonging and 89% stating their leader values their input and perspective. In a recent survey, Banner reported improvements across all externally measured categories, including an 8% increase in team members who feel Banner is a great place to work. These efforts result in consecutive years of Great Place to Work certification and listing on the Fortune “Best Workplaces in Health Care” list. Ms. Alvarado-Dubek is also a board member of the Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.
Lilicia Bailey, PhD. Senior Executive Vice President and Chief People Officer at CommonSpirit Health (Chicago). Dr. Bailey has more than 20 years of human capital leadership experience. She develops effective, sustainable and transformative human capital strategies to enable growth and invigorate efforts to solidify the ministry’s culture of engagement, innovation and accountability. Before joining the system in 2023, she served as chief people officer for Emory Healthcare in Atlanta. She has also held human resources leadership positions at Winston-Salem, N.C.-basedWake Forest Baptist Health, Belk and Cox Enterprises.
Scott Ballard. Chief People Officer for MaineHealth (Portland). Mr. Ballard joined MaineHealth in 2021 as its chief people officer. He oversees human resources functions for the system’s approximately 24,000 employees, so that they can best care for the 1.1 million Maine and New Hampshire residents the system serves. Prior to transitioning to healthcare, Mr. Ballard served in various HR roles for Shell Oil Company.
Ian Barrett, EdD. Executive Vice President and Chief People Officer for Kaleida Health (Buffalo, N.Y.). Dr. Barrett serves as executive vice president and chief people at Kaleida Health, leading people strategy for Western New York’s largest healthcare provider. He took on the role in 2026, after first joining the system as CHRO in 2022. With 31 years of human resources leadership experience, he is responsible for overseeing culture, talent management, labor relations and systemwide operations. In his previous role, Dr. Barrett led the hiring of team members, created a three-year leadership development roadmap, strengthened partnerships that enhance medical and prescriptions plans, and much more. He spearheaded major infrastructure improvements, including the launch of Infor CloudSuite and compensation reforms, while advancing benefits, multi-state employment support and new leave policies. Dr. Barrett was named a “Power 100 Leader of Color” by Buffalo Business First in both 2023 and 2024.
Jennifer Berres. Senior Vice President and CHRO for HCA Healthcare (Nashville, Tenn.). Ms. Berres is responsible for delivering value to patients, physicians and communities through innovative human resources strategies. She leads a team of over 1,600 human resources professionals and is responsible for talent acquisition, leadership, organizational development, compensation and benefits, labor and employee engagement, employee relations, and diversity and inclusion. She first joined HCA in 1993 and has served in many different leadership roles, including vice president of HR business and president of talent management.
Heather Brace. Chief People Officer at Intermountain Health (Salt Lake City). Ms. Brace is responsible for engagement culture at Intermountain Health. She has strategic oversight for talent management and development, recruitment, human resources service delivery, total rewards, culture enhancement, learning and development, and diversity and inclusion. She first joined the system in 2000 and assumed the chief people officer role in 2018. She has overseen large-scale reorganizations of departments and service lines, benefit additions and transformations, and employee experience enhancement. Under her leadership, Intermountain has increased the minimum wage, expanded employee education opportunities, expanded benefits like parental leave and infertility coverage, developed a remote work strategy, strengthened partnerships with local businesses, and created programs like the “Intermountain Food Box” program, paid time off donation and a caregiver assistance fund to help employees in need.
Rhonda Brandon. Senior Vice President and CHRO at Duke Health (Durham, N.C.). Ms. Brandon is Duke University Health System’s senior vice president and CHRO. Immediately prior to assuming the role, she was senior vice president and CHRO for St. Louis-based BJC Healthcare. In her current position, she launches programs that enhance performance, cultivate a positive work environment, and position the system to meet its strategic goals. She also acts as an advisor to senior staff and an advocate for all system employees. The system will be investing significantly in their talent force this year, with the minimum wage rising to $20 beginning in July 2026 as part of a fiscal year 2027 compensation plan.
Alen Brcic. Senior Vice President and CHRO at Methodist Health System (Dallas). Mr. Brcic is the senior vice president and CHRO at Methodist Health System, bringing nearly two decades of healthcare human resources leadership. Before joining in 2024, he held key roles at Nashville, Tenn.-based Vanderbilt Health and Winston-Salem, N.C.-based Novant Health, most recently serving as chief people officer at Rockford, Ill.-based Mercyhealth, where he oversaw human resources strategy across seven hospitals, a large medical group and an insurance division. His expertise extends beyond healthcare, having founded, operated and successfully sold a technology-driven professional services company. Mr. Brcic brings to his current role a strong blend of healthcare, technology and business acumen, as well as a passion for workforce innovation and organizational excellence.
Michael Brown. Senior Vice President and CHRO at Houston Methodist. Mr. Brown is a human resources executive and attorney with diverse industry experience across several Fortune 250 companies. In his current role, he is responsible for leading the health system’s human resources functions, which impacts nearly 35,500 employees and 5,500 affiliated physicians. Mr. Brown previously led the human resources department at Oakland, Calif.-based Kaiser Permanente.
Dennis Burns. Assistant Vice Chancellor and CHRO for University of North Texas Health Science Center (Fort Worth). Mr. Burns is the assistant vice chancellor and CHRO at UNT Health Science Center. In this role, he is responsible for shaping and executing the enterprise’s human resources strategy, playing a critical role in optimizing people-centered activities like hiring, training and performance management and ensuring these functions align with the university’s growth and strategic goals. Mr. Burns has established human resources as a strategic partner within the organization, spearheading workforce planning strategies and refining talent acquisition processes, including the hiring of the executive team.
DJ Campbell. Vice President and CHRO at Sanford Health Bismark (N.D.). Mr. Campbell serves as the chief human resources leader for Sanford Health’s Bismarck market, supporting nearly 4,000 team members and aligning workforce strategy with operational performance, quality outcomes and employee experience. As part of the executive team, he also contributes to enterprise initiatives impacting nearly 60,000 employees systemwide. He has driven year-over-year improvements in engagement and helped establish a board-level employee experience committee to keep engagement a strategic priority. Mr. Campbell has advanced leadership development through an annual talent summit and a senior leadership rotation program, while launching a grassroots health equity and experience initiative to strengthen inclusion and belonging. He has built organic talent pipelines by deepening partnerships with K-12 schools and higher education institutions, expanding early-career exploration and workforce readiness while reducing reliance on contract staff. Mr. Campbell has also led international recruitment efforts to address critical staffing needs and support long-term workforce sustainability. Beyond the organization, he holds prominent statewide workforce leadership roles, serving as vice chair of the North Dakota State Board of Higher Education and chair of the North Dakota Workforce Development Council, and participates on boards including Make-A-Wish North Dakota and the University of North Dakota Medical School advisory board.
Maxine Carrington. Senior Vice President and Chief People Officer at Northwell Health (New Hyde Park, N.Y.). Ms. Carrington leads the people strategy for the 86,000 team member Northwell Health, with a focus on maximizing organizational effectiveness and performance. She has been with Northwell since 2008 and has served in progressively responsible leadership roles. Prior to joining Northwell, she was a manager and attorney with the New York City Mayor’s Office of Labor Relations. She is also an instructor with the Center for Learning & Innovation, Northwell’s corporate university, and serves as a co-sponsor of the organization’s business employee resource groups.
Aimee M. Claiborne, DA. CHRO for Dartmouth Health (Lebanon, N.H.). Dr. Claiborne serves as Dartmouth Health’s CHRO, leading people strategies for the six-hospital, 14,000-employee system. Most recently, she was tasked with remodeling talent retention and recruitment strategies to modernize the processes and address the impact of the pandemic and the national workforce shortage. Dr. Claiborne has been with Dartmouth Health since 2010, and serves as a strategic advisor for enterprise talent management, organizational change, leadership development, employee engagement and inclusion, executive compensation and community development.
Betsy Clough. Vice President and CHRO at UW Health (Madison, Wis.). Ms. Clough oversees workforce operations, staffing, total rewards, employee relations, health and wellbeing, organizational improvement, career pathways and talent development for UW Health, an integrated system serving more than 860,000 patients annually. Since April 2020, she has co-led the enterprise imperative “Design Our Future Work and Workforce,” aligning talent strategies to evolving system needs and guiding workforce strategy through the Covid-19 pandemic to protect continuity and staff wellbeing. She has expanded structured career pathways through the creation and growth of registered apprenticeship programs and broader workforce development infrastructure, while directing recruitment and workforce planning to support major expansions and achieving near-100% recruitment success. Ms. Clough has strengthened leadership development, succession planning and performance management to build internal pipelines, and advanced engagement and retention initiatives credited with reducing turnover to industry-leading levels. She has also partnered with senior operational leaders to align human resources strategy with system goals to improve cross-functional performance. UW Health has earned broad recognition under this talent strategy, including multiple Newsweek/Statista distinctions, Forbes “Best-in-State Employer” rankings, and continued U.S. News & World Report recognition of University of Wisconsin Hospitals as No. 1 in state.
Catherine Codispoti. Executive Vice President and Chief People Officer at Mercy (St. Louis). Ms. Codispoti joined Mercy in 2023 and is focused on hiring, recruiting and retaining team members for the health system’s multi-state region. She has oversight of the system’s 50,000 employees. She most recently served as chief people officer at Children’s National Hospital in Washington, D.C. She has also held a variety of financial and organizational roles at Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston.
Natalie Cook. Vice President and CHRO for Sturdy Health (Attleboro, Mass.). Since joining Sturdy Health in 2022 as CHRO, Ms. Cook has reimagined the human resources function into a strategic driver of organizational success. She led a comprehensive department restructure, establishing four focused service areas and launching an embedded human resources business partner model that fosters real-time communication and issue resolution. Her initiatives in talent acquisition have saved millions by reducing contract labor costs and halving open requisitions, all while maintaining a below-state-average nurse vacancy rate. Ms. Cook also led critical upgrades to information and payroll systems, improving efficiency and compliance while reducing the medical and pharmacy benefits budget. She introduced competitive, employee-centric benefits like an employer-seeded health savings account and expanded wellness resources through a new committee and annual fair. She also reinvigorated service awards, rolled out stay interviews and helped overhaul organizational policies. Ms. Cook contributes to systemwide progress through roles on key committees and serves as a board member of the Connecticut Health Care Coalition.
Anna Cramer. Chief Legal and Compliance Officer and Chief People Officer for Nebraska Medicine (Omaha). Ms. Cramer serves as chief legal and compliance officer and chief people officer for Nebraska Medicine, overseeing legal, government affairs, risk management, privacy and human resources functions. Since joining Nebraska Medicine, she has played a pivotal role in shaping compliance and workforce strategies, initially serving as interim general counsel before her appointment as chief legal and compliance officer in 2018. Before transitioning to healthcare, she provided legal and regulatory counsel across industries including pharmacy, health insurance, real estate and franchising. An active leader in the community, Ms. Cramer serves on the board of Saving Grace Perishable Food Rescue and is a member of professional organizations such as the American Health Lawyers Association and the Nebraska Bar Association.
Gina M. Cronin. Executive Vice President and Chief People Officer for Children’s National Hospital (Washington, D.C.). As chief people officer at Children’s National Hospital, Ms. Cronin leads the organization’s comprehensive people strategy, including employee experience, wellbeing, human resources technology transformation and leadership development. With a strong clinical operations background, she brings an operator’s mindset to her role, integrating business, strategy and physician alignment into agile workforce solutions. Under her leadership, Children’s National has launched a systemwide wellbeing initiative, introduced data-driven mental health programs and revamped recruiting efforts to significantly reduce nursing vacancies. She also serves as executive sponsor of the hospital’s first-ever administrative fellowship program, launched in July 2025, aimed at cultivating future healthcare leaders. Previously, Ms. Cronin served as chief talent officer at Cleveland Clinic, where she led the talent management strategy for 80,000 caregivers and played a pivotal role in the system’s early expansion. She is also a fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives.
Kathryn “Katie” Cullinan. CHRO for Nuvance Health (Danbury, Conn.). Ms. Cullinan was appointed CHRO at Nuvance Health in 2022, leading human resources strategy for the seven-hospital system with employees across western Connecticut and eastern New York. Since stepping into the role, she has driven significant workforce improvements, reducing recruitment overhead and temporary labor costs while filling positions and lowering the vacancy rate. She also implemented evidence-based employee engagement strategies, cutting first-year turnover. A key advisor to the CEO and senior leadership team, she has played a pivotal role in crisis management, including resolving payroll challenges during the Kronos outage. With over 25 years of human resources experience across healthcare, financial services, hospitality and manufacturing, Ms. Cullinan leverages deep expertise in talent strategy, workforce optimization and organizational integration.
Hallie Custer. Vice President of Human Resources for Parkview Health (Fort Wayne, Ind.). Ms. Custer is Parkview Health’s vice president of human resources, leading strategy for a workforce of over 17,500 employees across Indiana and Ohio. Reporting directly to the chief administrative officer and the system board, she oversees total rewards, human resources operations, talent acquisition, talent development and strategic educational partnerships. Ms. Custer has championed several innovative programs since 2023, including the widely utilized “lifestyle benefit” stipend, the volunteer time off program, a therapy dog initiative, and a program that provides co-workers with essential financial and mental health support. Her initiatives have significantly enhanced employee engagement and wellness, earning high participation rates and driving positive cultural change. Beyond Parkview, she is deeply involved in community leadership through board roles with organizations such as the Community Foundation of Greater Fort Wayne, Latinos Count and Easterseals Arc of Northeast Indiana. She is recognized as a regional voice on workforce development, frequently representing Parkview in local media as the region’s largest employer.
Nikki Daily. Chief Team Resources Officer at BayCare Health System (Clearwater, Fla.). Ms. Daily leads enterprise people strategy for BayCare’s 34,000 team members, overseeing total rewards, benefits, employee communications, culture strategy, workforce development and occupational health readiness to advance the system’s mission and its goal of being the best place to work, receive and provide care. She has championed enhancements including paid parental leave, increased tuition assistance and market-based pay adjustments, while strengthening financial recognition through the team award program. Ms. Daily has also led the system’s investment in more than 30 career pathways supported by academic partnerships, tuition assistance, certifications and “earn while you learn” opportunities that expand internal mobility and align talent growth with community needs. During periods of community hardship, she has mobilized rapid support for team members facing challenges such as food insecurity or disrupted public benefits. These efforts have contributed to BayCare’s recent workplace recognition, including ranking No. 22 nationally on Fortune’s “Best Workplaces in Health Care” in 2025, No. 17 on People‘s “Companies that Care” list and No. 30 on USA Today’s “Top Workplaces” list, alongside 17 Press Ganey “Human Experience Awards.” Ms. Daily serves on the board of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Tampa Bay and as BayCare’s representative on the Hillsborough County Tax Collector community advisor board. She is also an executive sponsor for BayCare’s emergency assistance program.
Ed Daech. Executive Vice President and CHRO for UF Health (Gainesville, Fla.). Mr. Daech became the first executive vice president and CHRO of the University of Florida Health clinical enterprise in October 2024, after serving as CHRO for UF Health Shands since January 2023. In this expanded role, he leads systemwide human resources operations, including employment, performance management, compensation and benefits, employee relations, and occupational health and wellness. Mr. Daech drives next-generation workforce strategies, talent management, and leadership development to attract and retain a high-performing workforce in a competitive healthcare environment. His leadership is instrumental in fostering a workplace culture that prioritizes employee engagement, wellbeing and professional growth. Before UF Health, he served as CHRO at New Brunswick, N.J.-based Saint Peter’s Healthcare System and held multiple human resources leadership roles at St. Louis-based Ascension Health. He has a diverse background spanning healthcare, food service and manufacturing.
Carla Dawson. Chief People Officer at Texas Health Resources (Arlington). Ms. Dawson is chief people officer for Texas Health Resources. Having celebrated 20 years with the system in 2025, she is passionate about developing an inclusive culture that attracts, retains and inspires team members. Under her leadership, Texas Health has been transformed, with elevated consumer experience and optimized HR functions. Her accomplishments include designing and managing benefits offerings, modernizing HR technology solutions, spearheading business acquisitions, and leading diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. Her contributions have led to the system’s inclusion on lists like Fortune’s “100 Best Companies to Work For,” “Best Workplaces in Texas” and “Best Workplaces in Health Care.” The system was also awarded with the 2024 “HR Team of the Year” award by HRO Today magazine and was on The Dallas Morning News’ “Top DFW Employers” list.
Arti Dhuper. CHRO at Prime Healthcare (Ontario, Calif.). Ms. Dhuper has been with Prime Healthcare for nearly 20 years. In her current role, she oversees its human resources departments and corporate offices across the health system, which encompasses more than 45,000 employees. During her tenure, she has led HR transitions for more than 42 hospital acquisitions.
Scott Doak. CHRO at UNC Health (Chapel Hill, N.C.). Mr. Doak has been with UNC Health since September 2019. He led an organizational transformation that shifted several transactional and disparate human resources organizations, functions and platforms into one high functioning human resources shared services organization. He also modernized and enhanced the system compensation program, developed and deployed a leadership architecture that supports UNC Health’s new operating model, launched a human resources service center, deployed a business partner model, and strengthened and enhanced systemwide wellness and diversity, equity and inclusion programs. Previously, Mr. Doak was the system’s senior vice president of human resources from May 2017 to September 2019. He came to UNC Health from the Cleveland Clinic, where he served for a total of five years, his last two as executive leader of human resources shared services.
Errol Douglas, PhD. CHRO at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center (Buffalo, N.Y.). In his 11 years as the top human resources executive for Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, Dr. Douglas has led major initiatives in support of significant employee engagement, leading to staff growth each of the past 10 years and a staff retention rate five points higher than the national healthcare average. New programs initiated under his leadership include Roswell Park’s first formal corporate social responsibility program, an organizational development unit, additional resources for staff engagement and the multiyear collaborative effort to onboard a new resource management system. Dr. Douglas leads payroll and benefits, employee and labor relations, human resources information systems, human resources transformation and quality, classification and compensation, organizational development, recruitment, and retention work at the 127-year-old cancer center. He also helped cement Roswell Park as one of the top employers in the state of New York, as reflected in numerous surveys conducted by outside groups. After 28 years as an executive leader in human resources management, Dr. Douglas has driven human resources engagement and staff accountability that enable high levels of achievement across an organization’s core mission areas. Under his leadership, the institution has experienced success in strengthening the relationships with unions and community partners. Human resources has also supported Roswell Park in earning the highest possible rating of “exceptional” from the National Cancer Institute in 2024, and in early 2025 the center achieved Magnet status for nursing excellence.
Deanna Dudley. CHRO for El Camino Health (Mountain View, Calif.). Ms. Dudley is CHRO for El Camino Health, where she is a strategic partner to executive leadership and leads comprehensive workforce management initiatives across the Silicon Valley-based health system. Her portfolio spans employee and labor relations, DEI and belonging, talent acquisition and development, human resources operations, total rewards, employee health and workforce wellbeing. Under her leadership, El Camino Health implemented resilience and mental health programs, strengthened succession planning and enhanced operational efficiency, most notably achieving $2.3 million in first-year cost savings through a transformative talent acquisition strategy. She introduced automation to reduce hiring time by over 50% and led negotiations that improved hospital operations while maintaining financial sustainability. She also drove the launch of a shared service center for a more consistent employee experience and oversaw benefits initiatives projected to save $2 million annually.
Jimmy Duncan. CHRO of OU Health (Oklahoma City). Mr. Duncan leads human resources strategy for more than 12,000 employees at Oklahoma’s flagship academic health system. Since 2023, he has orchestrated a cultural transformation that achieved recognition milestones 24 months ahead of plan, positioning OU Health among the top 1% of improvement movers in the Press Ganey employee engagement database. Retention results improved by 17% over the past year. His vision encompasses a comprehensive people focused roadmap delivered through the pillars of people, culture and operational excellence. Key achievements include a systemwide leadership development framework, school-to-career workforce pipeline model, education system to support career growth, and belonging networks aligned with organizational values. His redesign of the human resources business partner structure established the unified “OneHR” model, strengthening enterprisewide consistency and customer experience. Under his leadership, OU Health introduced an employee incentive program, distributing $22 million in performance-based bonuses. He enhanced the total rewards package with benefits including 6% 401(k) matching, paid family leave and infertility support. The strategic human resources roadmap earned numerous prestigious human resources awards in 2025, including Training‘s “Training APEX MVP Award,” Brandon Hall Group’s “Gold Awards” and Oklahoma Magazine‘s “Great Companies to Work For” recognition.
Kimberly Egan. Senior Vice President and CHRO at CentraCare (St. Cloud, Minn.). Ms. Egan has served as CentraCare’s chief human resources leader since 2024, overseeing the enterprisewide people strategy for more than 11,000 team members and providers across hospitals and clinics in central Minnesota. Under her leadership, CentraCare has reduced voluntary turnover for registered nurses by 37%, decreasing from 14.9% to 9.4% through targeted retention strategies, enhanced engagement efforts and the launch of a preceptor program designed to strengthen the new-hire experience. Her work has also contributed to stabilizing the broader workforce, improving overall voluntary turnover from 28% in 2023 to 18% in 2026 through balanced retention initiatives and more effective workforce planning. To support ongoing cultural and organizational performance, Ms. Egan championed bi‑monthly town halls to increase transparency and senior leadership visibility, and launched a systemwide culture refresh to further team member engagement. She previously held senior roles with HealthPartners, Fairview Health Services in Minneapolis and Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.
Kimberlee Eskierka. CHRO for UC San Diego Health. Ms. Eskierka serves as CHRO for UC San Diego Health, leading human resources strategy for more than 20,000 employees across the health system and the health sciences divisions. She oversees talent acquisition, organizational development, labor relations and human capital planning, ensuring alignment with UC San Diego Health’s strategic priorities. With over two decades of human resources leadership experience in both public and private sectors, she has driven transformative initiatives in workforce recruitment, retention, leadership development and process optimization. Previously, she played a key role at UC Davis (Calif.), earning the prestigious 2024 “Friend of Nursing” award for her collaboration with nursing teams. She also held multiple leadership roles at UC San Diego with systemwide influence. An expert in employee relations and workplace culture, she also serves on the personnel advisory board for the Port of San Diego and has published articles on burnout and human capital management.
Terri Feely. Chief People Officer for Inova (Falls Church, Va.). Ms. Feely is chief people officer for Inova, directing and managing human resources systemwide. She has fostered her skills in human resources throughout her 30-year career, ultimately joining Inova in 2018 to create an environment of respect, engagement and achievement. Before joining the system, Ms. Feely was running her own human resources consulting firm. She also served as a coach and mentor for human resource professionals across industries. She was named the “Human Resources Leader of the Year” by the Human Resources Leadership Association of Greater Washington in 2011.
Stacy Feltz. Chief Administrative Officer at Hillsdale (Mich.) Hospital. Ms. Feltz leads human resources and administrative operations at Hillsdale Hospital, overseeing recruitment, benefits, compensation, employee relations, education and development, employee satisfaction, strategic planning and policy administration for an organization of more than 500 employees. In a rural hospital environment, she is closely involved across the full employee lifecycle, from hiring and onboarding through performance improvement and retirement. She also strengthens frontline readiness by teaching regular preceptor and leadership classes. Her leadership approach emphasizes accessibility, communication and trust, providing consistent support to employees across departments while balancing workplace standards with empathy during challenging moments. Under her people-centered operating model, Hillsdale Hospital has earned multiple workplace and quality recognitions, including USA Today “Top Workplace” honors in 2025 and 2026, Detroit Free Press recognition as a top workplace in 2024 and 2025, and a Chartis “Performance Leadership Award” in 2025.
Christopher Ford. Senior Vice President of Human Resources for St. Tammany Health System (Covington, La.). Mr. Ford serves as the senior vice president of human resources at St. Tammany Health System, playing a pivotal role in driving key human resources strategies that support the organization’s growth and continuity. His responsibilities include spearheading succession planning initiatives, overseeing total compensation programs, and fostering a dynamic, diverse workforce through robust talent pipelines. Mr. Ford is also instrumental in managing academic partnerships to enhance talent acquisition and development. With a background in labor and employment law and human resources, he offers strategic guidance to executive leadership, ensuring alignment with organizational goals. His leadership has been recognized through St. Tammany’s receipt of the Press Ganey “Guardian of Excellence” and “Pinnacle of Excellence” awards. Prior to his current role, Mr. Ford held human resources leadership positions at Ascension DePaul Services in San Antonio, Texas and at Lexington, Ky.-based Appalachian Regional Healthcare.
Karen Frenier, RN. Senior Vice President of Human Resources and Chief Nurse Executive at Orlando (Fla.) Health. Ms. Frenier leads human resources and nursing operations at Orlando Health, overseeing recruitment, compensation and benefits, education and training, organizational development, and nursing and patient-care services. With a background in nursing and executive leadership, she brings a unique perspective to workforce strategy, improving RN turnover and achieving engagement scores in the top quintile. Under her leadership, frontline nurse leaders have completed developmental programs, contributing to higher nursing retention and engagement. She also drives strategic workforce initiatives, including a weekly huddle with leaders to enhance communication and best practice sharing. Ms. Frenier champions development through the preferred education program, which enables employees to access higher education. Her commitment to workforce development includes medical assistant apprenticeships and surgical tech training programs, reinforcing her philosophy to hire for culture and train for skills, ensuring Orlando Health remains a best place to work.
Kimberly Fulcher. Senior Vice President of Human Resources and Marketing, CHRO and Executive Director for Volusia Health Network at Halifax Health (Daytona Beach, Fla.). Ms. Fulcher holds multiple concurrent roles, serving as senior vice president of human resources and marketing, CHRO and executive director of Volusia Health Network at Halifax Health. She leads comprehensive human resources strategies for workforce engagement, talent acquisition, organizational development and employee wellbeing. Since joining Halifax Health in 2005, she has modernized and streamlined human resources functions, resulting in increased retention, improved satisfaction and a culture of professional growth. In addition to overseeing the Halifax Health Auxiliary and managing work-life benefits, she advances regional healthcare through her leadership of Volusia Health Network. Nationally recognized for her contributions, Ms. Fulcher is chair of the Vizient human resources executive committee and serves on the Daytona State College Foundation board. In her role, Ms. Fulcher leverages over 30 years of experience across multiple industries.
Joe Gage. Chief Administrative Officer for Bon Secours Mercy Health (Cincinnati). Mr. Gage serves as chief administrative officer for Bon Secours Mercy Health, one of the largest U.S. health systems and the largest private, nonprofit health system in Ireland, supporting nearly 60,000 associates. He oversees human resources, IT, global services and three academic institutions, prioritizing associate engagement, talent development and operational excellence. Under his leadership, the system has seen record RN hiring, low RN turnover and improved internal mobility. Mr. Gage has championed numerous transformative human resources initiatives, including the implementation of Workday and the expansion of associate benefits like paid parental leave, Guild education benefits, flexible scheduling options and innovative compensation strategies. He has led the adoption of robust DEI programming, employee resource groups and employee wellness efforts.
Sebastien Girard. Chief People and Belonging Officer for Novant Health (Charlotte, N.C.). Mr. Girard, chief people and belonging officer at Novant Health, is an experienced operations and talent management executive with over 20 years of experience in the staffing and healthcare industries. Before joining Novant Health in April 2024, he served as senior vice president and chief people officer at Chicago-based CommonSpirit Health, where he led workforce strategies for the large health system. His expertise spans talent acquisition, human resources, sales leadership, and profit and loss management, with a track record of adapting recruitment strategies to evolving market demands. Known for his servant leadership approach, he fosters collaboration and employee engagement while successfully guiding organizations through growth, mergers and economic challenges. Mr. Girard is also a sought-after speaker at national human resources and CHRO conferences.
Lauren Gordon. Senior Vice President and CHRO at Temple University Health System (Philadelphia). Ms. Gordon leads Temple Health’s people strategy across a distributed network of hospitals, clinics and offices, focusing on analytics- and AI-enabled tools to improve workforce planning, reduce time-to-hire and align staffing with clinical demand. Since joining the system, she has restructured human resources to strengthen clarity, accountability and campus-level partnership, embedding HR leadership at each campus to create consistent points of contact and shift HR engagement from reactive transactions to proactive workforce support. She is separating employee relations and labor relations to sharpen functional focus and increase proactive manager support, while refocusing leadership and organizational development on manager training and curriculum, including plans for a comprehensive program with mandatory and elective coursework. Ms. Gordon also led a reassessment of Temple Health’s HR technology stack and processes, balancing near-term improvements with a modernization roadmap. Early wins include a centralized candidate portal that consolidates offer letters, benefits information and onboarding tasks, replacing fragmented manual workflows, and the introduction of virtual recruiting assistants to ensure timely outreach and initial screening across approximately 4,000 monthly applications. She is prioritizing automation in compensation and pay practices to reduce administrative burden. She’s also using automation to improve accuracy across complex pay rules and collective bargaining agreements, strengthening scalability and operational readiness across the health system.
Myra Gregorian. Chief People and Transformation Officer for Seattle Children’s. Ms. Gregorian leads a team of professionals at Seattle Children’s, all focused on delivering exceptional experiences for patients, families and a growing workforce across four states. Since joining in 2017, she has transformed the human resources function by embedding values-based leadership, advancing health equity, overhauling employee benefits, and implementing strategic workforce development and planning. In 2024, her role expanded to include leading the strategic plan transformation office, where she now drives organizationwide change to accelerate innovation, expand partnerships and promote financial excellence. Under her leadership, Seattle Children’s has realized significant operational efficiencies and tens of millions in cost savings, all while growing the workforce. Her initiatives have included launching a People and Culture Resource Center, upgrading enterprise systems, and rolling out a recognition platform to strengthen employee engagement. Ms. Gregorian brings prior experience in various hospital and health system settings, including serving as CHRO at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.
John Hammond. Senior Vice President and CHRO of Norton Healthcare and Norton Children’s (Louisville, Ky.). Mr. Hammond is Norton Healthcare and Norton Children’s senior vice president and CHRO. He has been with the system for over a decade and was promoted from system director to senior vice president and CHRO in January 2023. His main priorities in this role are employee retention, talent acquisition, employee engagement, workforce development and core human resources services. He is adamant about the system’s commitment to a “grow your own” workforce, in which the system partners with middle schools, high schools and colleges to build a sustainable pipeline into the healthcare system.
K. Kelly Hancock, DNP, RN. Executive Vice President, Chief Caregiver Officer and Chief Administrative Officer at Cleveland Clinic. Dr. Hancock leads strategy and operations for more than 80,000 Cleveland Clinic caregivers globally and, since 2020, has overseen enterprise human resources, including workforce strategy, talent acquisition, total rewards, learning and development and nursing administration. In 2025, she assumed the additional role of chief administrative officer, aligning administrative and operational services, including corporate communications and public relations, across Cleveland Clinic’s global locations. She established one of the first strategic workforce planning teams in healthcare to anticipate talent needs and address shortages proactively, and expanded workforce development through apprenticeships and student career pathways. During a period of national labor volatility, Dr. Hancock helped stabilize workforce performance, reducing open positions by 50% over two years and driving turnover and vacancy rates well below industry benchmarks. She also led the creation of the system’s Center for Workplace Violence Prevention and Caregiver Well-Being in 2025. Additionally, she has advanced development and recognition practices, contributing to 78% of caregivers reporting opportunities to learn and grow. Dr. Hancock has reinforced community impact through Cleveland Clinic’s community service time off program, generating nearly 30,000 volunteer hours since 2022, while also helping implement a simplified operating model designed to support future growth worldwide.
Colleen Harper. Vice President of Human Resources at Orlando (Fla.) Health. Ms. Harper serves as vice president of human resources at Orlando Health, where she leads systemwide recruitment, engagement and retention strategies to align people initiatives with business growth and organizational performance. During a period of unprecedented expansion, where the system grew from approximately 20,000 to more than 40,000 team members, she played a key role in integrating seven hospitals while maintaining a strong, inclusive and mission-driven culture. She implemented the system’s team member voice strategy, achieving current engagement scores of 83%, placing the organization in the top decile nationally, with participation rising to 73% and newly acquired regions improving into the top 25% of performers. Guided by feedback, she expanded benefits to include four weeks of paid parental leave and increased fertility assistance to a $25,000 lifetime maximum, providing more than $2.1 million in support, while also tripling adoption assistance to $15,000 annually. She launched the Orlando Health School of Health Sciences to address hard-to-fill roles, including Florida’s only hospital-based echo sonography program, a surgical tech in training program with 81 graduates, and paid medical assistant apprenticeship and certification pathways that reinforce a hire-for-culture, train-for-skill model. In prior leadership roles at Orlando Health, she improved 90-day and one-year turnover by 10% and reduced overall staff turnover by 28% through a multiyear retention strategy, helping the organization earn consistent national workplace recognition from Fortune, Glassdoor and other reputable organizations.
Sue Harris. Executive Vice President and CHRO at Beth Israel Lahey Health (Cambridge, Mass.). Ms. Harris directs the system’s overall human resources strategy with a focus on building and advancing talent, culture, and diversity and inclusion initiatives. She also oversees employee relations, labor relations, health and wellness programs, total rewards, performance management and workforce planning. She has more than 20 years of experience in human resources and is dedicated to supporting the health system’s workforce and advancing the next generation of talent.
Matt Hayes. Executive Vice President and CHRO at Community Health Systems (Franklin, Tenn.). Mr. Hayes was appointed to his current position at Community Health Systems in 2021 and is responsible for overseeing the health system’s human capital and services. Having joined CHS in an operations capacity, he is credited with using his hospital leadership experience to strengthen employee engagement and professional development, drive registered nurse retention and improve employee satisfaction. He designed and implements the organization’s “Pathways” program to provide student loan refinancing and debt repayment, tuition assistance for career advancement, and coverage for job-related certifications. He also spearheads the employee-driven “CHS Cares” fund, created to provide team members in need with financial assistance resulting from unexpected hardships such as natural disasters or serious illness. To date, the fund has provided more than $8 million in employee grants.
Katie Heeter. System CHRO at Penn Medicine (Philadelphia). Ms. Heeter leads all aspects of human resources for the University of Pennsylvania Health System, the clinical enterprise of Penn Medicine, encompassing more than 50,000 employees and seven acute-care hospitals plus hundreds of outpatient sites. Her scope includes strategic workforce planning, talent acquisition, compensation and benefits, employee and labor relations, learning and leadership development, change management, human resources operations and data-driven decision-making in a highly regulated academic medical environment. She has led the development of a systemwide HR strategic roadmap to strengthen consistency and align workforce practices with long-term clinical and operational priorities across hospitals and business units. Her engagement-first leadership approach has driven exceptional participation in enterprise assessment work, including a 99% completion rate among invited leaders and staff in a recent HR assessment. Ms. Heeter has also advanced efforts to harmonize pay practices and retirement programs across the system, improving transparency, internal equity and scalability while strengthening the system’s ability to compete for talent. She initiated a broader HR transformation focused on governance, service delivery, technology and decision-making to build a more agile and responsive HR organization. A fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives, Ms. Heeter brings prior enterprise HR transformation experience from Dallas-based Baylor Scott & White Health and other large health systems.
Tony Hernandez. CHRO for Encompass Health (Birmingham, Ala.). Mr. Hernandez, CHRO at Encompass Health, oversees human resources functions and recruitment initiatives for the organization’s employees. An experienced executive leader, he has successfully managed teams in complex, multi-stakeholder and fast-paced environments, delivering measurable business results across financial services, healthcare and manufacturing. His expertise spans organizational development, change management, talent management, and business acquisitions and integration. Prior to Encompass Health, he served as executive vice president of human resources at Regions Financial Corporation and held leadership roles at PharMerica and Citigroup. Employing a collaborative and results-oriented approach, Mr. Hernandez excels in driving workforce strategies that enhance business operations, value creation and people development.
Edmund Hodge. Executive Vice President and CHRO at Trinity Health (Livonia, Mich.). Mr. Hodge is responsible for leading the national strategy to engage and serve Trinity Health team members. He joined the system in 2017 from Orlando-based AdventHealth. For six years, he served as senior executive officer and chief people officer for most of AdventHealth’s organizations in the Central Florida Division. He spent more than a decade as executive vice president and chief administrative officer for Adventist HealthCare in Rockville, Md., where he provided executive leadership for a number of business units, as well as corporate administrative and shared services. He also served in several leadership roles for Huguley Memorial Medical Center (now Texas Health Huguley) in Fort Worth, Texas.
Greg Holmes. Executive Vice President and CHRO at Kaiser Permanente (Oakland, Calif.). Mr. Holmes drives national human resource strategy and operations at Kaiser. He was promoted to executive vice president and CHRO in January 2024, expanding his scope of responsibilities to address the organization’s growing portfolio. He leads talent acquisition, organizational capability expansion, DEI initiatives, labor relations, total rewards and performance, and career pathing and development. He reports directly to Kaiser Permanente’s chair and CEO and is a member of the CEO Executive Committee and the National Executive Team. He first joined the system in 1998 as director of executive compensation and returned in 2017 as vice president of total rewards. Most recently, Mr. Holmes led the overall strategy, development and implementation of Kaiser Foundation Health Plan and Hospitals’ compensation and benefits programs. He partnered closely with labor relations on national bargaining and other union negotiations for compensation and benefits matters. Prior to joining Kaiser, he spent 17 years in corporate human resources.
Alex Horvath. Senior Vice President and CHRO at TMC Health (Tucson, Ariz.). Mr. Horvath aligns people strategy with enterprise growth and operational performance across TMC Health’s integrated system of four hospitals and 40 clinics, serving 6,500 employees and more than 300 physicians. He led the organization’s transformation from a single hospital into a regional system, scaling workforce infrastructure, leadership capability and culture to support rapid expansion. In 2025, he directed the seamless integration of the TMC Health Cancer Center, incorporating more than 260 employees, 65 physicians and 20,000 patients without disruption to care delivery. Mr. Horvath emphasizes psychological safety, accountability and values-driven leadership, coaching senior executives and shaping policy to strengthen engagement and trust across a geographically dispersed system. He extends his workforce impact statewide through service on the Governor’s Workforce Arizona Council executive committee and the Pima County workforce investment board. Under his leadership, TMC Health has earned recognition from U.S. News & World Report as a “Best Place to Work” and received the Joy in Medicine designation from the American Medical Association.
Dallis Howard-Crow. CHRO at UCHealth (Aurora, Colo.). Ms. Howard-Crow leads all human resources functions for UCHealth, a nonprofit health system with 15 hospitals and hundreds of clinics across Colorado, including the Rocky Mountain region’s only adult academic medical center. Her portfolio spans organizational development and learning, engagement and recognition, benefits, compensation, talent acquisition, wellness, shared services, employment law and compliance, internal communications, onboarding and service performance. She has driven culture and workforce transformation through enterprise programs such as “Values in Action” and systemwide “Upstander Training,” achieving a 97% voluntary completion rate. To strengthen career mobility and workforce development, Ms. Howard-Crow launched career ladders and the UCHealth “Ascend” career program, enrolling more than 6,600 employees since its 2022 introduction. She also led a benefits modernization initiative that replaced a one-size-fits-all approach with more customized offerings, including a shift from fiscal-year to calendar-year benefits coverage, retirement plan and investment updates, and expanded family planning coverage. These integrated culture, development and total rewards initiatives contributed to a 20% reduction in staff turnover over three years.
Tanya Isaacs. Senior Vice President and CHRO for The New Jewish Home (New York City). As senior vice president and CHRO at The New Jewish Home, Ms. Isaacs heads labor relations, workforce development and employee retention. A recognized negotiator, she has successfully led union discussions with New York State Nurses Association, 1199SEIU, United Federation of Teachers and more. She’s also the driving force behind “SkillSpring,” The New Jewish Home’s workforce development initiative, which helps underserved youth launch healthcare careers or pursue higher education. Under her leadership, the organization boasts a certified nursing assistant retention rate that far surpasses the national average. Ms. Isaacs introduced a follow-up orientation program that has strengthened engagement and long-term satisfaction among new hires. A champion of professional development, she also shares her expertise as an adjunct instructor and mentor, empowering future human resources leaders.
Melonie Jackson. Chief People Officer at Baystate Health (Springfield, Mass.). Ms. Jackson leads Baystate Health’s people strategy, overseeing leadership development, recruitment and retention, employee engagement, workforce wellness and labor strategy to support the integrated system’s mission and strategic priorities. She partners with executive and operational leaders to build talent pipelines, strengthen leadership capability and design programs that support caregivers throughout their careers while fostering inclusion, accountability and continuous improvement. A core focus of her work is modernizing workforce decision-making through predictive analytics to anticipate staffing needs, identify retention risk early and align talent to critical roles. In 2026, the system reinvested $8.9 million in employee benefits to shield team members from rising costs, reinforcing workforce stability and positioning the system as an employer of choice in western Massachusetts. Prior to joining Baystate Health, Ms. Jackson led HR strategy at scale as vice president of human resources at UPMC in Pittsburgh, overseeing workforce strategy for nine hospitals across Pennsylvania and New York.
Cheryl James. Vice President and Regional CHRO for Loyola Medicine (Maywood, Ill.). Ms. James, vice president and regional CHRO at Loyola Medicine, provides strategic direction to integrate human resources strategies across the system. She is known for her transformational leadership style, placing a strong emphasis on talent development, diversity and inclusion, which have driven business growth and organizational performance. Her work has resulted in improved colleague retention and a collaborative workplace culture. Ms. James’ leadership has significantly impacted human resources strategies, focusing on creating inclusive environments and advancing business success. She has previously served as the CHRO at Adtalem Global Education and Hillrom, where her vision facilitated organizational transformations and improved employee engagement.
Jeff Jarreau. CHRO at North Oaks Health System (Hammond, La.). Mr. Jarreau oversees recruitment, employee relations, compensation, benefits, wellness and professional development for more than 3,000 employees and nearly 100 clinical affiliations and educational partnerships. A nurse by training with more than 30 years at the system, he brings clinical insight to workforce strategy and talent pipeline development. Under his leadership, the system achieved a record-high employee engagement score on the 2024 Press Ganey employee satisfaction survey, exceeding the national healthcare average. Mr. Jarreau has advanced innovative workforce pathways in partnership with Northshore Technical Community College, including medical assistant-to-licensed practical nurse bridge programs that graduated 23 participants in 2023 and 17 in 2025, with additional accelerated pathways in development to strengthen regional nursing capacity. The system has earned recognition including multiple Forbes employer distinctions and the 2023 “Curt Eysink Excellence in Workforce Development Impact Award” from the Northshore Technical Community College.
Kim Jensen. CHRO for Avera Health (Sioux Falls, S.D.). Ms. Jensen has served as CHRO at Avera Health since 2018, leading systemwide human resources strategy and workforce initiatives. With more than 20 years of experience at Avera, she has played a pivotal role in centralizing human resources operations and implementing key programs to strengthen workforce development. Prior, as vice president of talent management, she launched workforce career services that focused on career planning and educational outreach, building a strong talent pipeline. Ms. Jensen has also enhanced workforce alignment and satisfaction via standardized employment practices, systemwide online performance reviews and employee engagement surveys. Before her systemwide leadership role, she spent 15 years in human resources leadership at Avera Sacred Heart Hospital in Yankton, S.D. and over a decade in administration and human resources for the South Dakota Human Services Center.
Shelli Johnson. Executive Vice President and Chief People Officer at AdventHealth (Altamonte Springs, Fla.). Ms. Johnson serves as executive vice president and chief people officer at AdventHealth, where she leads people strategy and workforce initiatives supporting more than 100,000 team members across the organization. With more than 15 years of experience at AdventHealth, she previously served as chief people officer for the multi-State and primary health divisions, where she aligned human resources systems and strategies to strengthen workforce outcomes and organizational performance. She played a key role in building the organization’s HR operating model and led organizational readiness for the implementation of AdventHealth’s enterprise resource planning system. Earlier in her career, she worked as an organizational design and transformation consultant, helping advance large-scale operational and cultural initiatives. Ms. Johnson began her career at AdventHealth as an intern and has since grown into a senior executive leader guiding enterprise workforce strategy. In her current role, she focuses on strengthening culture, engagement and leadership development as AdventHealth advances its vision to be an employer of choice and deliver whole-person care across the communities it serves.
Adele Johnson-Kebe. Vice President and CHRO for Dayton (Ohio) Children’s Hospital. Ms. Johnson-Kebe serves as vice president and CHRO at Dayton Children’s Hospital, where she has made a significant impact since joining in 2021. As the organization’s first CHRO, she has driven initiatives across leadership development, compensation, talent strategy and employee relations. Under her leadership, the “Rise Program”, which originally focused on diversifying the nursing workforce, has evolved into the “Rise Academy,” addressing critical roles and internal mobility through a DEI-informed, financially inclusive model. She has championed person-first performance management, launching initiatives such as quarterly one-on-one check-ins and a behavior- and outcomes-based review process. She also prioritizes employee wellbeing, helping Dayton Children’s earn the 2025 platinum level “Healthy Work Culture” recognition from the American Heart Association and the 2024 silver level “Joy in Medicine” award. Beyond the traditional human resources function, she serves as executive sponsor of the Asian American and Pacific Islander employee resource group and leads the wellbeing task force.
Susan Johnston. CHRO at East Alabama Health (Opelika). Ms. Johnston provides strategic oversight of human resources, workforce development, education and labor management for East Alabama Health’s more than 4,000 employees, aligning people strategy with the system’s mission and long-term workforce sustainability. She leads enterprise human capital initiatives that strengthen recruitment, retention and organizational culture while proactively forecasting workforce needs in an increasingly competitive labor market. A core focus of Ms. Johnston’s work is expanding workforce pipelines through partnerships with local academic institutions, aligning education programs with regional demand, and increasing access through scholarships and organization-sponsored seats in high-need programs, including nursing. Her people-first, performance-driven approach has supported East Alabama Health’s positioning as an employer of choice in the region, reinforced by the system’s recognition on Forbes’ 2023 “America’s Best-in-State Employers for Alabama” and Newsweek’s 2025 “Best-In-State Hospitals” list.
David A. Jones. Executive Vice President and Chief People Officer at Wellstar Health System (Marietta, Ga.). Mr. Jones is executive vice president and chief people officer for Wellstar. In this role, he has overall systemwide responsibility for establishing, enabling and maintaining organizational effectiveness and a positive employee relations environment. He is responsible for providing senior executive leadership and oversight for the delivery of HR solutions to the business, including human capital strategy, culture design and change management, team effectiveness, workforce planning, performance management planning, succession management, diversity and inclusion, and employee relations. Previously, he served as CHRO at Stanford University and Oakland, Calif.-based Kaiser Permanente’s senior vice president of national human resources. Mr. Jones’ nearly 30-year career in human resources has spanned across the healthcare, academic and corporate sectors.
Rhonda Jordan. Executive Vice President and CHRO at Virtua Health (Marlton, N.J.). Ms. Jordan sets the vision and strategy for talent acquisition and management, culture, wellness, change and development, and total rewards for Virtua Health’s more than 16,000 colleagues. Since 2019, she has led the “Culture of WE” and expanded belonging and engagement work supported by colleague communities that promote mentorship, education and respect across the organization, including groups for Black and African American colleagues, women, Asian colleagues, LGBTQ+ colleagues, veterans, young professionals, Hispanic and Latin colleagues, and neurodivergent/differently abled colleagues and allies. In 2025, Ms. Jordan introduced a refreshed set of four guiding principles encouraging team members to care compassionately, communicate thoughtfully, invite belonging and deliver excellence, paired with experience-based training for all colleagues to reinforce the link between culture, quality, safety and experience. She expanded workforce support by implementing Lyra Health as the employee assistance program to improve access to mental health services, formalized a cohort-based internship program, and redesigned the annual review process to enable greater differentiation and recognition. The system exceeded participation goals on the 2025 colleague culture survey with 84% participation and a statistically significant improvement in the engagement indicator versus 2023. She also established the “WE Thrive” wellbeing program, which earned NJBIZ’s “Healthcare Heroes” award for workplace wellness in 2024, and the system continues to be recognized as an employer of choice through honors including Forbes’ “Best-in-State Employers.”
Leeann Kaminsky. Senior Vice President and CHRO at WVU Medicine (Morgantown. W. Va.). As CHRO, Ms. Kaminsky manages human resources functions across 25 hospitals for more than 35,000 employees. She led the health system’s integration of HR services, including standardizing and integrating all benefit plans, compensation, administration and procedures. She has served in her current role for nearly a decade.
Shawn Kang. CHRO at UCLA Health (Los Angeles). Dr. Kang serves as CHRO at UCLA Health, where he leads enterprisewide human resources strategy across talent acquisition, workforce planning, compensation, employee and labor relations, and organizational development. He was appointed to the role in July 2025. He is responsible for aligning people strategy with the organization’s mission to advance patient care, research and education across one of the nation’s leading academic medical centers. Dr. Kang joined UCLA Health more than eight years ago and most recently served as senior director of human resources, where he led major organizational change initiatives to strengthen operational effectiveness. He implemented the HR business partner model, guided post-integration strategy for West Valley Hospital in West Hills, Calif. and oversaw compensation strategy to support equitable and competitive pay structures.
Tammy Kenber. CHRO for UC Davis and UC Davis Health (Sacramento, Calif.). Ms. Kenber has served as CHRO for UC Davis and UC Davis Health since December 2022. She aims to improve every stage of the employee lifecycle, from the time an individual applies to the time they retire. She handles benefits, recruitment, compensation, human resources policies and more. Prior to joining UC Davis, she was associate vice chancellor for human resources at the California State University, Office of the Chancellor.
Gloria Kenny. Senior Vice President and CHRO at Montefiore Einstein (New York City). Ms. Kenny took on her current role in 2021, overseeing the people function for more than 40,000 associates. With over three decades of experience, she is leading a next-generation transformation of HR by integrating digital innovation, process optimization and associate engagement evolution to enhance organizational agility and people-first outcomes. She is focused on advancing Montefiore Einstein’s organizational goals by aligning human capital planning with business objectives, optimizing labor management practices, and strengthening workforce strategy to drive engagement and long-term sustainability. Ms. Kenny has built a highly skilled leadership team within a multi-entity academic health system focused on helping the organization adapt, grow and thrive.
Bill Kilmer. CHRO at Adventist Health (Roseville, Calif.). Mr. Kilmer oversees labor management, human resources technologies, benefits administration, payroll operations and an internal contact center for Adventist Health, leading a diverse team of corporate and local HR professionals across a multistate system. His current focus is retention and reducing turnover by strengthening employee engagement, wellbeing and supportive work environments. In his prior role as a human resources executive overseeing market-based HR teams and labor management, he delivered a 4% reduction in turnover in 2023 and designed and launched a program that reduced underworked hours by 15,000 per pay period. Under his leadership, Adventist Health’s voluntary turnover remained below the industry benchmark through October 2025. He also led HR integration for the acquisition of four acute care facilities, aligning workforce practices with organizational goals. To improve hiring and onboarding efficiency, Mr. Kilmer spearheaded a virtual employee health experience using an in-house virtual nurse practitioner to streamline pre-employment steps, and by October 2025, Adventist Health’s time-to-start improved to within one day of the national benchmark.
Kristin King. CHRO for VCU Health System (Richmond, Va.). Ms. King is CHRO for VCU Health System, beginning her role in September 2024. With over 20 years of human resources leadership experience, she is responsible for developing and executing equitable workforce strategies that align with VCU Health’s business and strategic goals. Previously, as senior vice president and CHRO at Lynchburg, Va.-based Centra Health, she led initiatives in diversity, equity and inclusion, revamped talent acquisition strategies and transformed compensation structures to align with industry best practices. Before Centra, she spent nearly two decades in human resources leadership at Carbondale-based Southern Illinois Healthcare. Additionally, Ms. King brings a strong background in corporate training, workforce development and process improvement.
Qualenta Kivett. Executive Vice President and Chief People and Talent Officer at Tampa (Fla.) General Hospital. Ms. Kivett leads Tampa General Hospital’s people and talent division with an evidence-based strategy centered on the voice of team members and sustained engagement improvement across the academic health system’s nearly 15,000 team members and providers. Under her leadership, Tampa General achieved a 92nd percentile engagement index in 2025, placing it in the top 8% of academic health systems nationally, according to Press Ganey, while maintaining low turnover and consistently outperforming industry benchmarks. She helped operationalize the systemwide “AKTiVe” leadership model, emphasizing authenticity, kindness, transparency and vulnerability, and advancing psychological safety and trust through leader training and reinforcement. Ms. Kivett strengthened bidirectional communication through forums, surveys and executive listening sessions, translating feedback into program expansion, including no-cost virtual mental health support for team members and eligible family members and partnership providing 10 free back-up care sessions annually. She also evolved the team member assistance fund into the McNichols Team Member Assistance Program, which has provided more than $2.5 million in financial assistance and resources for team members facing unexpected hardship. Ms. Kivett serves on the University of Arkansas at Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law alumni board and on boards for Fe league Tampa and the Hillsborough Community College Foundation.
Elisabeth Klar. Senior Vice President and CHRO for Memorial Health (Springfield, Ill.). Dr. Klar, senior vice president and CHRO at Memorial Health, has led transformative human resources strategies that directly impact talent acquisition, workforce development and cost efficiency. Under her leadership, the system launched a new career website, boosting user traffic and engagement, and implemented a direct hire program that cut time-to-hire by 24 days. She oversaw the streamlining of compensation structures, reducing pay structures from 29 disparate structures to six and pay ranges from 1,500 to just 95. Dr. Klar also helped reduce contract labor costs by $15 million and partnered on a pay premium dashboard that saved $1.5 million year-over-year. Her team developed specialized clinical courses for new graduate nurses and expanded childcare facilities to support staff. Dr. Klar brings over two decades of human resources experience, including time spent at Pittsburgh-based Highmark Health and Cleveland Clinic.
Michelle Kligman, PsyD. Executive Vice President and CHRO for Jackson Health System (Miami). Dr. Kligman serves as executive vice president and CHRO for Jackson Health System, overseeing human resources strategy for the academic health system. Since joining the system in 2013, she has led major initiatives to enhance employee engagement, redesign compensation and benefits, and implement enterprisewide labor management and leadership development functions. She has successfully negotiated six labor union contracts and driven human resources process improvements that have strengthened performance management, just culture and patient safety. Dr. Kligman leverages over 15 years of leadership experience in human resources, including a senior role with the City of Miami and consulting across multiple industries.
Lori Knowles. Senior Vice President and CHRO at Memorial Hermann Health System (Houston). Ms. Knowles serves as Memorial Hermann’s top human resources executive and a strategic thought partner to the executive leadership team as the system advances a value-focused care delivery model. She designed and leads the “Well Together Human Capital Strategy,” differentiating Memorial Hermann through culture and employee experience, structured talent pathways, educational partnerships and skills-based career tracks, while also serving as executive liaison to the board’s compensation committee. Her recent results include reducing contract labor reliance by 95% from fiscal year 2022 to fiscal year 2026 and decreasing total turnover by 37% over fiscal year 2021 to fiscal year 2026, including a 43% reduction in first-year turnover. Ms. Knowles increased internal mobility to 37%, with approximately 30% of moves being promotions and 64% of executive hires filled internally, while strengthening pipeline readiness to offset leadership continuity risk as 26% of leaders are over the age of 55. She oversees benefits supporting more than 49,000 covered lives and $400 million-plus in health plan spend, including health plan optimization that reduced unnecessary utilization and delivered approximately $9 million in annual GLP-1-related savings. She also launched a system maternity experience program in October 2025, with 65% of enrolled employees engaging a nurse navigator and 92% using the associated app. Her leadership has been recognized with HRO Today’s 2025 “CHRO of the Year” award for the North American nonprofit category.
Crystal Kohanke. Executive Vice President and Chief People Officer for Arkansas Children’s (Little Rock). Ms. Kohanke is Arkansas Children’s executive vice president and chief people officer, bringing more than 30 years of human resources leadership across healthcare, education, finance and marketing sectors. Known for aligning day-to-day work with high-level organizational goals, Ms. Kohanke has fostered a mission-driven, people-centered culture focused on achieving unprecedented child health. She spearheaded the launch of Arkansas Children’s first peer-to-peer recognition platform, Celebrate, which strengthens employee engagement by linking recognition to the organization’s core values of safety, teamwork, compassion and excellence. Under her leadership, the platform has expanded to celebrate personal milestones and integrate inclusive tools like Workhuman’s Inclusion Advisor, ensuring a bias-conscious and welcoming environment. She has earned the “Women Leadership Award” in the corporate executive category from the San Antonio Business Journal.
Michelle H. Kohler, PhD. Executive Vice President of Human Resources and CHRO at Ascension (St. Louis). Dr. Kohler serves as executive vice president of human resources and CHRO at Ascension, where she leads efforts to create a meaningful associate experience in alignment with Ascension’s mission and enhance organizational effectiveness. She oversees strategic human resources initiatives that drive leadership, cultural and organizational development, talent acquisition, associate engagement, compensation and benefits, labor and associate relations and internal communications. From 2021 to 2024, Dr. Kohler was senior vice president of human resources, delivering forward-thinking, operationally aligned solutions that strengthened Ascension’s culture, leadership and workforce capabilities. She also led executive recruiting, internal communications and strategy optimization across the system office and ancillary teams. Before that, she provided human resources leadership for the Florida and Texas ministry markets, the strategy and innovation team, and The Resource Group, a subsidiary of Ascension.
Brion Lieberman. CHRO at Geisinger (Danville, Pa.). Mr. Lieberman has strengthened Geisinger’s position as an employer of choice by leading workforce strategies that delivered 5,530 hires in 2025, a 5% increase from 2024, with growth in critical roles including registered nurses, advanced practice providers and physicians. He expanded Geisinger’s talent pipeline by converting learners into employees through innovative, tuition-free programs such as the “Nursing and Health Sciences Scholars Program” and “Abigail Geisinger Scholars Program,” helping address national shortages in hard-to-fill roles. Under his leadership, Geisinger achieved top-decile retention for three consecutive years, with 2025 turnover at just 11.5%. He implemented a sustainable medical benefit plan design that kept employee co-premiums flat for 2026 and advanced HR operational efficiency through automations, generating 4,000 labor-hour savings. Mr. Lieberman also leads workplace culture initiatives, driving year-over-year engagement score gains since 2022. In 2025, he launched Geisinger’s first all-in-one employee experience survey, consolidating multiple organizational surveys into a single, streamlined approach that increased participation by 18% over 2024.
Amy Linsin. Executive Vice President and CHRO for Prisma Health (Greenville, S.C.). Ms. Linsin serves as executive vice president and CHRO for Prisma Health. She joined the system in 2018 to lead human resources functions and was promoted to CHRO in 2019. Her goals at the system include trust-building, fostering proactive change management, and equipping leaders to confidently handle disruption. Prior, she served as senior regional director of human resources at Franklin, Tenn.-based Community Health Systems.
Nakesha Lopez. Executive Vice President, Chief People and Culture Officer at Advocate Health (Charlotte, N.C.). Ms. Lopez is a seasoned human resources leader with over 20 years of experience transforming human resources functions across healthcare and other industries. As the former CHRO at Dallas-based Baylor Scott & White, she led strategic initiatives in human capital planning, talent management, total rewards and DEI, shaping the organization’s culture and workforce strategy. Before transitioning to the healthcare sector, she served as vice president of human resources at Barclays Capital, providing her with a deep understanding of corporate talent management that she now leverages in her leadership approach. Her commitment to community service is reflected in her current role on the board of the Texas Prader-Willi Association.
Michelle Mahaffey. Executive Vice President and CHRO for Community Health Network (Indianapolis). Ms. Mahaffey has served as executive vice president and CHRO at Community Health Network since May 2020, playing a key role in shaping workforce strategy and human resources operations across the system. As a member of the network’s executive committee, she helps design and implement strategic initiatives that drive organizational effectiveness and employee engagement. She oversees all aspects of human resources, including talent acquisition, development, DEI, compensation, benefits, payroll and employee wellbeing. With over 25 years of experience, she previously served as CHRO at Simon Property Group and held human resources leadership roles at Cummins and Dell. Committed to community engagement, Ms. Mahaffey also actively serves on multiple nonprofit boards.
Kaleigh A. Maio. Vice President of Human Resources at Heywood Healthcare (Gardner, Mass.). Ms. Maio, vice president of human resources at Heywood Healthcare, has played a critical role during a period marked by post-pandemic recovery and financial restructuring under Chapter 11. Rising through the ranks since joining as an human resources generalist in 2014, she now oversees strategic workforce planning, labor relations, talent management, employee engagement and operational efficiency. Under her guidance, employee engagement scores have risen and survey participation has increased. She has implemented impactful programs such as an in-house employee assistance program, a leadership development program, and an employee wellness initiative that includes on-site life centers, a giving tree and a clothes closet. Her innovative employee concierge service improves access to care for staff and their families, while her immigration initiative and community partnerships have bolstered workforce diversity.
Angie Mannino. Chief Human Resources, Marketing and Communications Officer for Baptist Health (Louisville, Ky.). Ms. Mannino is chief human resources, marketing and communications officer for Baptist Health as of January 2025. She first joined Baptist Health as its chief people and culture officer in 2014. Prior, she was senior vice president for human resources at Falls Church, Va.-based Inova Health System. She brings over 33 years of business leadership and human resources experience to her current role, where she handles all system human resources efforts, including recruiting, development, compensation, employee experience and more.
Kara Marante. Senior Vice President and Chief People Officer at Nicklaus Children’s Health System (Miami). Ms. Marante leads human resources, talent acquisition, organizational development, total rewards, learning and employee engagement, aligning workforce strategy with the health system’s pediatric mission. She partners closely with executive leadership to strengthen clinician wellbeing, workforce resilience and inclusive talent practices across a large and diverse workforce. Ms. Marante has modernized HR systems and advanced leadership development initiatives to reinforce a strong internal pipeline and support operational performance in a competitive labor market. Known for a data-informed and people-centered leadership style, she emphasizes collaboration, transparency and trust to foster engagement and retention. Her work has helped position the organization as a destination employer while sustaining a culture centered on compassion, accountability and high-quality care delivery.
Lynda Markoe. Executive Vice President and Chief People Officer for RWJBarnabas Health (West Orange, N.J.). Ms. Markoe was appointed chief people officer at RWJBarnabas Health in February 2024, leading the human resources function for New Jersey’s largest academic health system. She was recruited to spearhead the “One HR” transformation initiative, which entailed working closely with executive leadership to align people processes with the system’s evolving organizational model. With over 30 years of experience in talent management and human resources leadership, she brings a wealth of expertise in navigating complex, multi-location enterprises through periods of change. Before joining RWJBarnabas Health, she served as chief people and culture officer at Bed, Bath & Beyond, where she guided workforce strategy during a time of rapid transformation. Her previous leadership roles at J.Crew and Gap further solidified her ability to drive cultural and organizational excellence. At RWJBarnabas Health, she is instrumental in fostering a culture of kindness and accountability while advancing the system’s strategic workforce goals.
Tom McCauley. CHRO for Aspen (Colo.) Valley Hospital. Mr. McCauley has served on the executive team at Aspen Valley Hospital since 2022. In his role as CHRO, he oversees programs that support employee wellbeing, including benefits, employee housing, health and wellness, staff development and culture initiatives. He also leads recruiting, onboarding, employee relations and retention efforts to ensure a strong, engaged workforce. Having spent 23 years at Accenture, including 11 in human resources, and in additional prior leadership roles in large healthcare organizations, Mr. McCauley brings extensive expertise in human resources to Aspen Valley Hospital. His passion for creating a positive employee experience directly enhances patient care in the Roaring Fork Valley.
Adriene McCoy. Senior Vice President and Chief People Officer at Baptist Health South Florida (Coral Gables). Ms. McCoy oversees workforce development, total rewards, human resources operations, talent management and acquisition, pastoral care, occupational health and wellbeing initiatives for Baptist Health South Florida, the region’s largest healthcare system. With more than 30 years of healthcare HR experience, she has shaped a people strategy focused on engagement, growth and organizational culture. Under her leadership, the system has sustained national recognition, including placement on the Fortune “100 Best Companies to Work For” list for 25 years, its “Best Workplaces in Health Care” and “Most Innovative Companies” lists for the past three years, and its “Best Workplaces for Women” for the past two years. The organization has also earned Press Ganey’s 2023 “Human Experience Guardian of Excellence” and “Pinnacle of Excellence” awards and recognition on People’s “Companies that Care” list in 2025. Ms. McCoy’s individual honors include the “Influential Women in Business Award” from the South Florida Business Journal, the “Black Woman in Excellence Award” from the Black Professionals Network, the “HR Ring of Honor” from the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce, and “Healthcare HR Executive of the Year” award from HRO Today magazine. She also serves on multiple community and academic boards, extending her impact beyond the health system.
Linda McHugh. Executive Vice President and Chief Experience and People Officer at Hackensack Meridian Health (Edison, N.J.). Ms. McHugh leads the strategic delivery of experience, hospitality and people programs across Hackensack Meridian Health, with a focus on workforce planning, productivity and workforce excellence to support a standardized “One HMH” operating model. She oversees experience and people strategy for a network of 18 hospitals and more than 500 patient care locations, supported by more than 38,000 team members and 7,000 physicians. Under her leadership, the system implemented a multiyear engagement strategy that aligns leader, hospital and network goals and invests in leader development through in-person coaching sessions. Over two years, this focus contributed to a 25% reduction in voluntary turnover and more than 1,800 internal promotions, while achieving a nurse vacancy rate reported at half the national average. Ms. McHugh also advanced enterprise wellbeing programs spanning physical, emotional and financial health, including the “WeCare” peer support program and “Circle of Compassion” financial aid, and expanded workforce development through mentoring, tuition assistance and leadership programs. The organization’s culture and workforce performance have been reinforced by broad external recognition, including multiple Fortune workplace distinctions and national awards for community impact, health equity and sustainability.
Paula Menkosky. CHRO at Mayo Clinic (Rochester, Minn). Ms. Menkosky, Mayo Clinic’s CHRO, leverages nearly 30 years of service in strategic human capital management. She oversees human resources for the system’s employees, aligning workforce initiatives with Mayo Clinic’s mission to cure, connect and transform healthcare. She played a key role in developing the organization’s “Bold. Forward.” people strategy, ensuring human resources initiatives are responsive to evolving needs. Her previous roles include chief administrative officer for Mayo Clinic in Arizona and positions on Mayo’s board of governors and trustees. She also contributes to national human resources leadership through her involvement in the Medical Center Employee Relations Association.
Natasha Milatovich. Senior Vice President and CHRO for AltaMed Health Services (Commerce, Calif.). Ms. Milatovich, senior vice president and CHRO at AltaMed Health Services, is responsible for driving workforce strategy in a complex healthcare environment. She oversees workforce planning, employee experience, compliance, human resources technology and leadership development. Ms. Milatovich has transformed AltaMed’s organizational culture, focusing on improving employee morale, retention and recruitment in a highly competitive healthcare labor market. Her accomplishments include facilitating the shift to remote and hybrid work models, championing shared governance programs and increasing employee engagement. She also introduced human resources technology to streamline processes and created a strong talent pipeline through residency programs and career ladders. Additionally, she led the integration of mental health and wellness tools, saving the organization substantial costs while improving employee wellbeing.
Tracie Morris. Executive Vice President and Chief People Officer at Corewell Health (Grand Rapids, Mich.). Ms. Morris is integral in developing inspirational and innovative people strategies that propel Corewell forward to thrive in a vibrant and inclusive culture. She champions programs related to learning, development, recruitment, retention, culture and wellbeing at the system, which formed in 2022 following the merger of Beaumont Health and Spectrum Health. She has 30 years of experience leading culture transformation, human resource automation and inclusion and talent strategies. Ms. Morris previously served as senior vice president and U.S. CHRO and chief inclusion officer for BMO Financial Group, leading a human resources team dedicated to making BMO Financial a great place to work. There, she led a culture overhaul called “Ambition 2025,” restructured compensation and benefits plans to reduce turnover and established an inclusion strategy called “Zero Barriers to Inclusion 2025.”
Evan Ochs. Senior Vice President of Human Resources for St. Luke’s University Health Network (Bethlehem, Pa.). At St. Luke’s University Health Network, Ms. Ochs serves as the senior vice president of human resources. In this capacity, she oversees the human resources function for a network consisting 16 campuses and more than 350 outpatient locations. Her areas of oversight include organizational development, compensation, talent acquisition, human resources compliance, employee relations, volunteers, and an employee resource center. Ms. Ochs’ leadership has been especially noteworthy since she took on the role at the height of the pandemic in 2020. Without a playbook, she provided clear direction during an uncertain time, building trust with the CEO and leadership team. This approach led to outstanding employee engagement results and the recognition of St. Luke’s as a top workplace by USA Today and Forbes.
Tanja Oquendo. Chief People Officer for Fairview Health Services (Minneapolis). Ms. Oquendo assumed the role of chief people officer at Fairview Health Services in August 2024, bringing extensive human resources leadership experience and a strong track record in employee engagement and workplace culture. She leads efforts to advance Fairview’s culture, diversity, equity, inclusion and organizational growth, driving initiatives that strengthen workforce development. Previously, she has held roles as chief administrative officer, CHRO and system senior vice president of transformation and integration at Chicago-based CommonSpirit Health, where she championed people-first strategies to enhance quality, safety, customer service and engagement. With Fairview employing 34,000 team members, Ms. Oquendo’s leadership plays a crucial role in navigating workforce challenges while fostering a high-performance, mission-driven culture.
Andrew Ortiz. Senior Vice President of Human Resources and CHRO at Cedars-Sinai Health System (Los Angeles). Mr. Ortiz is responsible for the strategy and implementation of systemwide HR policies and programs at Cedars-Sinai. He has served in his current role since 2016 and led an organizationwide cultural transformation, as well as diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. His areas of expertise include talent management, leadership development, succession planning and labor strategy. Mr. Ortiz is responsible for creating a talent-driven culture, with a balance of growth initiatives and operational efficiencies. He chairs the organization’s retirement committee and is a member of the executive diversity and inclusion council. He also staffs the executive personnel committee, as well as the nominating and governance committee.
Shelley Parn. CHRO at OSF HealthCare (Peoria, Ill.). Ms. Parn leads enterprisewide people strategy for more than 27,000 team members. She aligns workforce strategy with organizational goals to support patient care, operational performance and long-term sustainability. Ms. Parn oversees recruitment, retention, employee development, total rewards and culture development, and serves as a key advisor to the CEO on workforce planning, succession, and employee health and wellbeing. She also leads physician and advanced practice provider recruitment and the Provider Services Center of Expertise. Under her leadership, OSF achieved its strongest physician and APP hiring year in fiscal year 2025, recruiting 269 hospital-based and 143 ambulatory and specialty physicians and APPs. Ms. Parn advanced education and workforce development with apprenticeship programs, stipend programs, expanded tuition reimbursement and continuing education platforms, engaging more than 5,000 employees and resulting in a $3.11 return on every dollar invested in education benefits, focusing on clinical roles. OSF earned national recognition from Forbes, including “America’s Best Employers for Healthcare Professionals” for 2025 and “America’s Best-in-State Employers” for seven consecutive years. Employee engagement metrics are up over three years ago. Turnover rates have improved overall to 13.5%, and with nurses specifically, are at 10.9%. These rates are both below the state turnover benchmarks of 20% and 16%-18%, respectively.
John Petrov. CHRO at UAB Medicine (Birmingham, Ala.). Mr. Petrov leads workforce strategy for UAB Medicine, an $8 billion academic health system with more than 31,000 employees, overseeing talent acquisition, workforce planning, leadership development, total rewards, HR operations, human resources information systems, workforce analytics and change management. Since assuming the CHRO role in January 2024, he has strengthened the HR function and supported employees through major system change, including the acquisition of Ascension St. Vincent’s Health System. He has implemented feedback-driven improvements that connect recognition and engagement to retention outcomes, including launching a systemwide employee recognition platform that enables real-time peer and leader recognition and points-based awards. Of more than 28,000 employees enrolled, 54% have logged in, exceeding initial utilization expectations. Under his leadership, UAB Medicine achieved an 82% response rate on an abbreviated engagement survey, with 84% of respondents reporting pride in working at the system and more than 75% rating intent-to-stay favorably. These efforts align with improved retention performance, including an 8.14% decrease in overall turnover in fiscal year 2025. Mr. Petrov previously held CHRO leadership roles at Richmond, Va.-based VCU Health and The Guthrie Clinic in Sayre, Pa.
Nina Ramsey. Executive Vice President and Chief People Officer at Henry Ford Health (Detroit). Ms. Ramsey offers strategic leadership and direction for the system’s entire human resources team, with an eye toward Henry Ford’s long-term growth and viability. She also oversees HR shared services, talent, learning and organization development, employee and labor relations, employee health, safety and wellness, total rewards, central credentialing and security. Before coming to Henry Ford Health, she was CHRO and senior vice president for global human resources at Kelly Services.
Sandeep Randhawa. Chief People Officer at Renown Health (Reno, Nev.). Leading with a “People First” philosophy deeply embedded in the values of culture, operations, results and engagement, Mr. Randhawa fosters a culture that prioritizes the wellbeing of Renown’s 8,000-member team. He has implemented best-in-class talent management programs that focus on hiring, training, performance management and succession planning, ensuring alignment with Renown’s core values and strategic goals. Investing in predictive analytics and technology, he has worked to align workforce resources with organizational needs, decrease costs and improve productivity. Through close partnership with University of Nevada, Reno, he is helping establish academic titling and stronger institutional bonds that support faculty engagement, pipeline development, and a shared commitment to learning, teaching and professional growth. His efforts to recruit and retain core clinical staff while reducing reliance on temporary workers has positioned Renown as an employer of choice in one of the nation’s fastest growing markets. Before joining Renown, Mr. Randhawa served as system vice president for human resources transformation and integration, and as southwest division vice president, CHRO for Chicago-based CommonSpirit Health. Prior to that he served as vice president of human resources for Dignity Health in Northern California.
Michelle Rigby. CHRO for ScionHealth (Louisville, Ky.). Since January 2025, Ms. Rigby has served as CHRO of ScionHealth, a national health system. Promoted from her interim role, she leads a nationwide human resources team responsible for total rewards, benefits, talent acquisition, onboarding and employee relations. With over 25 years of experience in human resources and healthcare compliance, Ms. Rigby brings deep expertise in investigations, enterprise risk and regulatory oversight across hospitals, pharmacy benefit managers and health plans. Since joining ScionHealth in 2023, she has launched a companywide orientation program, helped develop a new benefits structure, and led the harmonization of human resources processes to enhance consistency and compliance. Ms. Rigby has also spearheaded total rewards improvements focused on employee health and wellbeing.
Nikki Romence. Chief People Officer at Chapters Health System (Tampa, Fla.).
Ms. Romence serves as chief people officer at Chapters Health System, where she oversees all aspects of people operations to support more than 3,800 employees across 30 states. A former nurse, she brings a people-first, empathetic perspective to her role, ensuring workforce strategy directly supports compassionate patient care. She redesigned and centralized human resources functions, launched AI-enhanced recruiting tools, and streamlined onboarding to improve retention and employee engagement. Under her leadership, systemwide turnover has decreased, including significant reductions in nursing and certified nursing assistant attrition. Ms. Romence also advanced systemwide DEI by certifying all people operations staff in inclusive practices and expanding career development pathways. Her leadership has helped shape a resilient, purpose-driven culture that balances organizational growth with employee wellbeing.
Dawn Rorig. Senior Vice President and CHRO at Stanford (Calif.) Medicine. Ms. Rorig joined Stanford Health Care in 2018 and has transformed the system’s approach to talent acquisition and onboarding, compensation and benefits, and employee and labor relations. In addition, she has effectively led the stabilization and streamlining of department operations, resulting in significant improvements in recruitment and employee retention. Before her tenure at Stanford Health Care, she spent nearly 20 years at Charles Schwab, where she held the position of senior vice president for human resources and managed 16,000 global employees.
Andrea Rosler. Vice President of Human Resources for Infirmary Health (Mobile, Ala.). Ms. Rosler is a seasoned human resources executive with over 30 years of leadership across multiple major Alabama health systems. She assumed her current role at Infirmary Health in March 2025. Her career has been marked by strategic human resources leadership, including the integration of over 15 hospitals and the implementation of human resources business partner models that enhance employee engagement and response times. In her prior role as CHRO at Mobile-based USA Health, she led initiatives that significantly improved vacancy rates, most notably reducing them from 19% to 9% post-pandemic. Ms. Rosler has experience in modernizing human resources operations through the adoption of new technologies, including talent management and benefits platforms, and has played a key role in developing compensation and benefits strategies that boost retention.
Mary Roxer. CHRO for Valley Health (Winchester, Va.). Ms. Roxer serves as chief human resources officer at Valley Health, where she leads human resources strategy and initiatives supporting caregivers across the health system. She joined Valley Health in 2015 and has held several leadership roles, becoming a trusted advisor to senior leaders and a champion for caregiver wellbeing. In her current role, she focuses on strengthening workforce engagement, talent development and organizational culture across the system. Her promotion followed a nationwide search. Known for her strategic insight and people-first leadership style, she works to advance HR strategies that support caregivers and strengthen the organization’s mission.
Kendrick Russell. CHRO at University Medical Center of Southern Nevada (Las Vegas). Mr. Russell oversees recruitment, retention, employee development and labor relations for 4,700 team members at Nevada’s largest public health system and only level 1 trauma center, American Burn Association-verified burn center and transplant center. Since joining the medical center in 2021, he has expanded the workforce, strengthened employee engagement and supported the launch of UMC Radiology, Anesthesia, Emergency Medicine, Hospitalists and the Orthopedic & Spine Institute, recruiting dozens of physicians to improve access to care. He implemented Lean Six Sigma training and a seven-week leadership boot camp to build internal capability and succession pathways. Under his leadership, the average tenure of a benefitted employee has reached 8.4 years, more than double the 3.5-year national median for hospital workers reported by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. In 2025, he introduced “WellHub,” expanding no-cost wellness resources for employees and families. The medical center has earned Magnet recognition in 2026 and multiple workplace and community honors, reflecting the strength of its workforce strategy and culture.
Tammy Saunaitis. Senior Vice President and CHRO at University of Maryland Medical System (Baltimore). Ms. Saunaitis oversees the full team member lifecycle across the University of Maryland Medical System, including recruiting and onboarding, total rewards, organizational learning and development, engagement and wellbeing, career growth, and the human resources systems and analytics that enable data-driven workforce decisions. In just a few years, she has strengthened the system’s competitive position by modernizing workforce management and talent acquisition strategy. Her recruitment marketing initiatives drove a 116% increase in career-site visitors during her first two years and a 40% rise in candidate engagement, while targeted nursing graduate recruitment increased hires by 10% in critical roles. She improved talent acquisition efficiency by reducing days-to-fill by seven days, and is leading the launch of a new talent acquisition platform with Phenom to further streamline hiring workflows and enhance the candidate experience. Ms. Saunaitis is also directing an organizational architecture transformation to integrate the system’s 30,000 team members into a more unified enterprise model aimed at improving patient safety, operational efficiency and financial performance. She has advanced benefits, training and performance management initiatives and is launching a new wellness program designed to expand access to resources for all team members, including frontline employees regardless of health plan enrollment. Ms. Saunaitis leads the human resources executive council and serves as a trusted advisor to the CEO on enterprise workforce reforms.
Becky Sawyer. Executive Vice President and Chief People Officer at Sentara Health (Norfolk, Va.). Ms. Sawyer is responsible for human resources strategy and execution for more than 34,000 colleagues. She is dedicated to fostering a culture that attracts, retains and engages a diverse, talented workforce for the organization. She also serves on the boards of organizations such as the Virginia Board of Workforce Development and the American College of Healthcare Executives. Under her leadership, the system has been recognized by Forbes as a “Best-in-State Employer” in America for 2024.
Tracey Schiro. Executive Vice President and Chief People and Culture Officer at Ochsner Health (New Orleans). Ms. Schiro provides leadership for the human resources division, guiding areas including talent acquisition, workforce development and employee experience for the system’s 40,000 team members. She joined the organization in 2007 and previously served as the system’s chief risk and human resources officer and chief administrative officer. Under her leadership, Ochsner Health has led in employee engagement. In 2025 and 2026, the system was named a Gallup “Exceptional Workplace Award” winner for engagement.
William “Bill” Schmiedeknecht. Senior Vice President and CHRO at Brown University Health (Providence, R.I.). Mr. Schmiedeknecht oversees systemwide human resources operations for Brown University Health, including talent development, compensation, benefits and employee experience functions. Serving as CHRO for Rhode Island’s largest employer, he has advanced leadership development programming, strengthened the organization’s engagement survey listening-and-action cycle, and led benefits enhancements aimed at improving workforce support and wellbeing. In August 2025, Mr. Schmiedeknecht implemented an immersive, in-person new employee orientation designed to build connection and belonging from day one for clinical and nonclinical hires. More than 1,300 employees have participated in the onboarding program, reinforcing consistent culture, resources and expectations across the system. His leadership supports a network of nationally recognized hospitals, including The Miriam Hospital’s standing as the top-ranked hospital in Rhode Island by U.S. News & World Report. Previously, Mr. Schmiedeknecht served as vice president of human resources, business partnerships and labor relations at Brown University Health, and held previous senior HR roles at large organizations, following early leadership experience as a non-commissioned officer in the U.S. armed forces.
Rosemary Sheehan. Executive Vice President and Chief People Officer at Hartford (Conn.) HealthCare. Ms. Sheehan is the strategic advisor to the CEO for people, performance and culture at Hartford HealthCare, leading enterprise programs spanning talent acquisition, workforce planning, engagement, compensation and benefits, human resources operations, organizational development, and the colleague and provider experience. Since joining Hartford HealthCare in March 2024 as its first chief people officer, she developed the system’s “people promise” as a framework for cultural transformation, informed by a listening strategy that included 33 focus groups and two systemwide pulse surveys. She refreshed leadership development by training more than 2,500 leaders in intentional leadership and certifying 65 trainers to deliver updated leadership behaviors shaped by workforce feedback. Ms. Sheehan established a strategic workforce function that produced a comprehensive talent map, guiding academic partnerships and new pipeline programs such as a medical assistant certification initiative, a respiratory therapy program and a neurodiagnostic program. She expanded early-career pathways by placing 72 interns, hosting 48 career exploration sessions and converting six apprenticeship students into full-time colleagues, while elevating succession planning through a talent review process that identified 109 leaders for advanced development. Her team implemented a new case management system and redesigned field HR operations, introduced a new low-deductible health plan and benefits learning series, and advanced market adjustments including a systemwide $18/hour wage initiative and advanced practice provider incentive redesign that improved hiring and reduced vacancies.
Sarah Sherer. Senior Associate Vice President and CHRO at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center (Columbus). Ms. Sherer leads human capital strategy for more than 24,000 colleagues at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, with oversight spanning talent management, employee relations, recruitment, compensation and human resources operations. Since joining in 2023, she has advanced a “workplace of choice” strategy grounded in listening, data and colleague experience. She launched the “Buckeye Experience,” a continuous listening model that integrates the annual engagement survey, leader rounding, professional development and other feedback loops to translate insights into action. Her team reimagined the new team member experience by transforming all-staff virtual orientation, reinstating in-person business-unit orientations and moving from a biweekly to a weekly hiring cycle. She also introduced the Buckeye Team Center, a one-stop pre-hire hub designed to streamline background checks, I-9 verification and health screenings into a single appointment and location. To strengthen leader decision-making, Ms. Sherer created a manager-facing dashboard providing real-time access to turnover, vacancy and hiring analytics. She rolled out a new performance management philosophy and web-based tool built around ongoing dialogue and real-time coaching notes. Ms. Sherer also expanded career pathways through English as a second language and mentorship programs, as well as K-12 partnerships that have reached more than 2,000 high school students, while supporting the recruitment of 2,000-plus team members for the medical center’s new University Hospital opening in 2026, with a large majority hired from outside Columbus.
Christian Sherwood. CHRO for University of Utah Health Hospitals and Clinics (Salt Lake City). Ms. Sherwood serves as CHRO for University of Utah Health Hospitals and Clinics, where she leads human resources strategy for a rapidly growing system of more than 27,00 employees. With a focus on compassion and employee wellbeing, she has restructured the human resources department to prioritize employee experiences, creating new divisions addressing culture and accountability, workforce support and analytics, and human resources operations and project management. Her leadership has been instrumental in supporting the health system’s expansion, growing the workforce while maintaining a people-centered culture. Ms. Sherwood oversees key functions including talent acquisition, compensation, benefits, employee relations, organizational development and wellness initiatives, representing frontline clinical staff across academic, research and community settings.
Adrienne Sims, PsyD. Senior Vice President and CHRO at IU Health (Indianapolis). Dr. Sims joined IU Health in 2022 and oversees all human resources functions including employee relations, organizational development, diversity and inclusion, shared services, talent acquisition and total rewards. She was recognized as the Indiana Chamber of Commerce 2024 “Ogletree Deakins Human Resources Professional of the Year” for driving excellence through implementation of best practices, organization design and effectiveness, and strategic direction with measurable results. Her retirement team recently won the “Pensions and Investments Excellence & Innovation Award” under her leadership. Dr. Sims has more than 25 years of human resources leadership experience across multiple industries. Before joining IU Health, she served as vice president of talent management at both OneAmerica Financial and Dick’s Sporting Goods. Previously, at Anthem (now Elevance Health), she provided strategic direction for talent management and organizational effectiveness for 50,000 associates.
Alison Smith, PhD. CHRO for Piedmont Healthcare (Atlanta). Dr. Smith serves as CHRO for Piedmont Healthcare, providing strategic leadership for the human resources function and supporting over 47,000 employees across the system. She has made a significant impact by aligning human resources strategy with organizational priorities and by addressing post-Covid challenges in recruitment, retention and fiscal stewardship. She oversees key areas including talent acquisition, total rewards, DEI, employee experience, learning and development, human resources operations and analytics, while also contributing to major organizational initiatives such as the consolidation of corporate offices. With over 20 years of experience at Publix Supermarkets, where she rose from intern to senior vice president and CHRO, Dr. Smith brings a deep understanding of culture, inclusion and employee engagement to healthcare. In addition, she serves on the board of Piedmont Henry, further extending her leadership impact across the system.
Shaun Smith. Group Senior Vice President, Chief People and Culture Officer at NewYork-Presbyterian (New York City). Mr. Smith is responsible for leading all aspects of human resources operations, including talent acquisition, training and organizational development, compensation and benefit services, employee and labor relations, and workforce health and safety services for NewYork-Presbyterian. He first joined the system in 2012 as vice president of human resources at NYP/Weill Cornell, and as NewYork-Presbyterian evolved, he took on the responsibility for providing human resources strategic direction and oversight for the system’s Regional Network Hospitals. He has over 20 years of human resources, legal and healthcare management experience, previously holding roles at New York City-based Memorial-Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital in Plattsburgh, N.Y.
Janet Smith-Hill, MSN, RN. Chief People Officer at SSM Health (St. Louis). Ms. Smith-Hill leads systemwide people strategy for SSM Health, directing market human resources partners, total rewards, talent acquisition, HR operations and technology, talent management, learning and organizational development, and employee and labor relations across the organization’s four-state network. She is focused on strengthening culture, inclusion, engagement and wellbeing to sustain SSM Health’s position as a top employer. Over a 30-year career, Ms. Smith-Hill has been recognized for values-based leadership and strategic business partnering, delivering talent solutions that support organizational health, performance management modernization and culture change. She supports leader effectiveness and workplace engagement through coaching-based development. Under her people strategy, SSM Health has earned multiple national workplace recognitions, including Newsweek’s “America’s Greatest Workplaces for Culture, Belonging & Community” for 2026, “America’s Greatest Workplaces” distinctions for women in 2024 and 2025, and for job starters in 2024. Prior to joining SSM Health, Ms. Smith-Hill served as CHRO for Winston-Salem, N.C.-based Novant Health and held nursing administration and leadership roles at several other organizations.
Tom Snowberger. Chief Administrative Officer for University Hospitals (Cleveland). As chief administrative officer for University Hospitals, Mr. Snowberger strives to build a culture that connects over 32,000 caregivers to the system’s mission and nourishes their professional and personal wellbeing. According to the system’s 2025 caregiver engagement survey, caregiver engagement reached record levels, with improvements across every survey metric and an engagement index of 84%, surpassing national benchmarks. As an employer, University Hospitals strives to provide ongoing learning opportunities and continuous support, and offers a wide range of career opportunities for employees to learn, grow and advance. Under Mr. Snowberger’s leadership, the system fosters a workplace where caregivers feel valued, supported and inspired to thrive. University Hospitals earned top recognition for the second consecutive year on Forbes’ “Dream Employers” list and was ranked No. 1 among Ohio-based healthcare organizations.
Dianna Sparacino. Chief People Officer at Endeavor Health (Naperville, Ill.). Ms. Sparacino serves as chief people officer at Endeavor Health, where she leads enterprisewide people strategy and advances a vision for a superior, innovative team member experience that supports exceptional patient care. She has played a central role in guiding the organization through a major system integration, aligning multiple distinct cultures into one cohesive, values-driven health system. Through transparent communication, inclusive leadership practices and thoughtful change management, she has ensured employees at all levels feel engaged, supported and connected during periods of transformation. Under her leadership, the system earned consecutive recognition from Mental Health America for workplace mental health, thanks to her commitment to wellbeing and psychological safety. She is also actively involved in regional workforce development, serving on the board of the nonprofit Skills for Chicagoland’s Future and participating in local education and workforce councils to expand access to career pathways for underserved populations. With more than 25 years of global human resources experience, including prior roles at a large health system and global companies, Ms. Sparacino positions Endeavor Health as an inclusive and employer of choice.
Craig R. Stambaugh. Senior Vice President and CHRO at UPMC (Pittsburgh). Mr. Stambaugh serves as senior vice president and CHRO at UPMC, where he leads the human resources strategy for one of Pennsylvania’s largest employers. He oversees a team of more than 600 HR professionals responsible for talent acquisition, workforce planning, organizational development and the HR infrastructure supporting UPMC’s continued growth. Since joining the organization in 2007, he has played a central role in expanding UPMC’s workforce and supporting system growth through mergers and acquisitions. Previously, he served as vice president of talent acquisition, where he led large-scale recruitment efforts that brought more than 30,000 new hires to the organization annually. He also served as vice president of human resources for UPMC’s health services division and Hillman Cancer Centers and earlier for the corporate services division, partnering closely with executive leadership on enterprise workforce strategy.
Inez Stewart. Senior Vice President and CHRO at Johns Hopkins Medicine (Baltimore). Ms. Stewart has more than 30 years of experience in human resources management, leading a team of human resources professionals who focus on attracting, engaging, developing and retaining a capable workforce. She works collaboratively with the leadership of Johns Hopkins Medicine to create a culture of diversity and inclusion, pathways for employee development and advancement, and programs that invest in employee health and wellness. She also works with the university’s human resource leaders and the health system’s vice presidents of human resources to further the strategic priorities of Johns Hopkins.
Sarah Stumme. Senior Vice President and CHRO for Allina Health (Minneapolis). Ms. Stumme leads Allina Health’s people strategies, ensuring a highly engaged workforce dedicated to delivering exceptional care. As head of human resources, she provides strategic vision for talent acquisition, development and retention to support organizational success. Since joining Allina Health in 2013, she has played a key role in optimizing human resources functions to align with business objectives. Her prior leadership experience spans multiple industries, including roles at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, St. Paul, Minn.-based HealthEast Care System, and BAE Systems. Additionally, Ms. Stumme serves on the board of Project for Pride in Living and is an active member of American Society for Healthcare Human Resources Administration.
Deb Sunman. CHRO at Valleywise Health (Phoenix). Ms. Sunman oversees all human resources functions for Valleywise Health’s public teaching hospital and safety-net system, supporting more than 4,000 employees across four hospitals and 11 federally qualified health centers. Since joining in 2024, she has led efforts to redesign healthcare work by redefining job descriptions, reassessing workflows, cross-training staff, and implementing new tools to improve efficiency and quality. Facing significant behavioral health workforce shortages, she advanced innovative recruitment strategies that enabled the reopening of all units within a 192-bed behavioral health hospital that had struggled to staff since the pandemic. Ms. Sunman emphasizes integrity, accountability and collaboration while guiding systemwide cultural transformation and change readiness. Valleywise Health has been recognized as an “Outstanding Public Service Organization” by the Congressman Ed Pastor Center for Politics advisory committee and named one of “Arizona’s Most Admired Companies” by AZ Business and AZRE in 2023.
Pam Teufel. Senior Vice President and CHRO for Main Line Health (Radnor, Pa.). Ms. Teufel, senior vice president and CHRO at Main Line Health, oversees all human resources functions for the system. She is spearheading a multi-year transformation of the human resources department, restructuring its framework, upgrading IT infrastructure and refining governance. Simultaneously, she is driving initiatives to enhance employee engagement across all levels of the organization. Her strategic leadership ensures human resources operations align with the system’s long-term goals while fostering a more connected and motivated workforce. Through her efforts, Main Line Health is strengthening its human resources capabilities to better support both employees and patient care.
Jovita Thomas-Williams. CHRO at Michigan Medicine (Ann Arbor). Ms. Thomas-Williams has served as CHRO for Michigan Medicine since March 2024. Before coming to the system, she was senior vice president of human resources for Massachusetts General Hospital and Massachusetts General Physicians in Boston, a role that she held for nearly five years. She has also served as vice president of human resources for Yale New Haven (Conn.) Hospital and as vice president and CHRO for The University of Toledo (Ohio) and UT Medical Center. In her current role, she leverages experience gleaned from decades of experience across various industries, including healthcare, higher education, consumer products, manufacturing, hospitality and entertainment.
Greg Till. Chief People Officer at Providence Health (Renton, Wash.). Mr. Till oversees all aspects of human resources, including predicting and shaping labor needs, workforce development, utilization and retention, caregiver experience and organizational culture for Providence. Previously, he held several human resources leadership roles at Raytheon Company, where he eventually served as chief talent officer. He also worked as a consultant at Arthur Andersen and an instructor at Purdue and Vincennes Universities.
Jackie Tischler. Executive Vice President and Chief People Officer at BJC HealthCare (St. Louis). Ms. Tischler provides strategic and operational leadership in the development and delivery of human resources initiatives across the health system. As chief people officer, she helps create a diverse and inclusive environment supportive of BJC’s mission. She previously served as senior vice president of human resource operations at Dallas-based Baylor Scott and White Health.
Joline Treanor. System CHRO at City of Hope (Duarte, Calif.). Ms. Treanor leads people, talent strategy and organizational development to build an engaged, performance-driven workplace that supports City of Hope’s mission to conquer cancer and diabetes. She stewards culture and workforce strategy for more than 13,000 team members, over 600 physicians, and 1,000 scientists and researchers, aligning compassion, inclusion, integrity and trailblazing with operational execution. In the 2025 Press Ganey engagement survey, City of Hope achieved an overall engagement score in the 88th percentile nationally and turnover of 10.5%, compared with a 15.1% national average. Ms. Treanor has also supported clinical growth and access expansion by designing talent strategies that enabled the recruitment of more than 50 clinicians to support the opening of Orange County’s only cancer specialty hospital in 2025. During periods of community disruption, including the Los Angeles wildfires, City of Hope teams sustained patient care continuity, reflecting the operational resilience and cohesion reinforced through her culture work. Previously, Ms. Treanor held senior people and culture leadership roles at PeaceHealth in Vancouver, Wash., Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System in Baton Rouge, La., and St. Joseph Health System in Irvine, Calif., and served as a director at Deloitte Consulting.
Melissa Turner. Senior Vice President and CHRO at Yale New Haven (Conn.) Health System. Ms. Turner has experience in human resources and talent acquisition across various parts of the Yale New Haven Health system. She has served in her current role since 2021, and first joined Yale New Haven Health’s Greenwich Hospital in 2007 as director of human resources. She previously served as vice president of human resources for Yale New Haven Hospital and vice president of talent acquisition for the health system.
Shibu Varghese. Executive Vice President of People, Culture and Infrastructure at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (Houston). Mr. Varghese leads people, culture and infrastructure strategy at MD Anderson and serves as a key member of the executive leadership team, advancing enterprise initiatives that strengthen engagement, leadership development and organizational culture across a workforce of 27,000 employees. Under his tenure, employee engagement has become a defining institutional strength, reflected in the 2025 engagement survey’s 91% response rate and 90% favorability rating. Mr. Varghese has championed leadership development at scale and played an integral role in expanding MD Anderson’s leadership institute course offerings for employees at all levels. Provider participation in leadership institute programming has been associated with a 2% increase in Press Ganey patient experience ratings among providers, a meaningful gain given the institution’s already high baseline performance. The leadership institute’s self-paced course also achieved a 100% annual retention rate among participating employees, reinforcing lifelong learning and a growth mindset as core cultural expectations.
Ekta Vyas, PhD. CHRO at Keck Medicine of USC (Los Angeles). Dr. Vyas leads human resources strategy across Keck Medicine of USC and serves as the executive liaison between HR and the health system’s executive management team, board of directors and university. A scholar-practitioner with advanced training in emotional intelligence, she has built enterprise capability in transformational change, engagement, talent management and workforce analytics. Under her leadership, Keck Medicine established a new HR project management office and people analytics center of excellence to strengthen workforce insights and standardize HR project delivery, and successfully completed the first phase of a systemwide HR transformation. Central to that transformation was the launch of a systemwide HR Business Center, which supported more than 10,000 employee inquiries with 55% resolved on first contact and an average response time of less than two hours. Dr. Vyas also crafted and led the workforce integration strategy for more than 1,500 employees following the acquisition of USC Arcadia (Calif.) Hospital. She launched the “Leading at Keck” leadership development framework, including a healthcare leadership academy, and strengthened internal communications recognized with “PRISm” awards, including a win for the fiscal year 2024 HR annual report. Her leadership has earned multiple individual honors in 2025, including recognition as a Marquis Who’s Who listee, a Marquis “Distinguished Professional” honor, and “HR Executive of the Year” honoree by the National Human Resources Association–Los Angeles.
Loretta Young Walker. Executive Vice President and Chief People Officer at MedStar Health (Columbia, Md.). Ms. Walker oversees all human resources activities for 34,000 associates across MedStar’s 10 hospitals, outpatient care locations and diversified operations. She implements HR strategies for the entire spectrum of the system, respecting both organizational growth and operational efficiencies. She has more than 30 years of experience, having previously worked in the HR departments of companies including W.W. Grainger and Turner Broadcasting System.
Kimberly Webb. Senior Vice President and Chief People Officer at CHRISTUS Health (Irving, Texas). In her role, Ms. Webb partners with operational leaders and other stakeholders to align, develop, communicate and execute an efficient and effective people strategy. She has been with CHRISTUS since 2013. She previously practiced law, focusing on labor and employment litigation.
Lisa Whaley. Senior Vice President and CHRO for LifeBridge Health (Baltimore). Ms. Whaley oversees team members at LifeBridge Health, a health system that includes multiple acute care hospitals and corporate support functions. Through data-driven workforce strategies, she cut first-year turnover, saving millions, and reduced human resources redundancies to achieve millions in cost savings. Her leadership in human resources information systems consolidation streamlined job classifications, improving workforce reporting accuracy. Additionally, she maintained flat health claims costs and third-party fees for multiple consecutive years while eliminating contract labor. Under her guidance, voluntary turnover dropped by 50%, strengthening retention and operational efficiency. Previously, she held executive human resources roles at Tenet Healthcare in Dallas and Vanguard Health System in Nashville, Tenn.
Tod Wiesman. CHRO for UMass Memorial Health (Worcester, Mass.). Mr. Wiesman serves as senior vice president and CHRO at UMass Memorial Health, overseeing systemwide human resources functions including workforce development, talent acquisition, compensation, labor relations and strategy. He has launched programs to improve caregiver experience and strengthen recruitment, notably implementing the award-winning “We Hire You” campaign and building a sourcing team that filled 80% of roles for a new care facility on time and within budget. Mr. Wiesman redesigned the talent acquisition process to enable 24–48 hour applicant response times and 24-hour manager evaluations, dramatically improving hiring efficiency. He also spearheaded a systemwide Workday implementation that replaced more than 40 outdated platforms, streamlining operations and enhancing service delivery. Under his leadership, UMass Memorial introduced impactful benefits like student loan repayment, while sustaining high engagement through a monthly workplace respect survey and its frontline-driven “idea system.”
Charlene Wilson, EdD. Executive Vice President and Chief People Officer at Rochester (N.Y.) Regional Health. Dr. Wilson leads enterprise people strategy, workforce development and organizational culture, overseeing talent management, succession planning, organizational development, engagement, labor relations, human resources technology and total rewards. She serves as a strategic advisor to the CEO, executive team and board of trustees, providing data-driven counsel on workforce planning, culture and transformation as the system navigates growth and operational change. Dr. Wilson is known for translating complex organizational priorities into actionable people strategies that operationalize values through workforce planning, pipeline development and leadership readiness. Her work has strengthened succession preparedness and supported resilience during systemwide transformation by aligning engagement, performance expectations and change management across diverse stakeholder groups. Rochester Regional Health has earned multiple external recognitions during this period, including Newsweek recognition for “America’s Greatest Workplaces in Healthcare” and additional honors spanning culture, belonging and community, as well as clinical excellence awards across system hospitals.
Diane M. Woolley. Senior Vice President and CHRO at White Plains (N.Y.) Hospital. Ms. Woolley oversees employee relations, labor relations, recruitment, benefits, education and organizational development at White Plains Hospital and has played a key role in staffing the organization’s rapid growth across its main campus and expanding outpatient footprint. In 2025, White Plains Hospital welcomed 230 new providers, bringing its medical staff to more than 1,660 members, supported by nearly 6,000 employees. Ms. Woolley leads a hiring approach that draws from new graduates, career changers and individuals re-entering the workforce, and she rounds regularly with teams across departments to identify real-time barriers, strengthen support and reinforce patient safety. She has advanced workforce development and mobility initiatives, including the hospital’s “Earn While You Learn” program, enabling employees to train for new roles while retaining pay and benefits. She has also partnered with local government, business organizations and nonprofits to expand training and employment pathways for immigrants, refugees and unemployed individuals, strengthening community-based pipelines. Under her leadership, White Plains Hospital achieved its third consecutive inclusion on Fortune’s “Best Workplaces in Health Care” in 2025 and its third straight appearance on its “Best Workplaces in New York,” alongside recognition from City & State as a top workplace.
Ashley Zinn. Senior Vice President and Chief People Officer at WellSpan Health (York, Pa.). Ms. Zinn serves as senior vice president and chief people officer at WellSpan Health, where she leads enterprise-wide people strategy for more than 23,000 team members. She oversees initiatives that strengthen workforce planning, talent acquisition, labor relations, employee health and safety, and strategic HR partnerships across the system. Since joining WellSpan in 2016, she has held roles of increasing responsibility, most recently serving as vice president of human resources. In that role, she helped advance key organizational priorities including position control, workforce strategy and HR support for acquisitions and divestitures. Earlier in her career, she held HR leadership roles at Austin, Texas-based St. David’s Healthcare, where she supported the organization during its “Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award” recognition and the launch of new women’s and children’s hospitals. Ms. Zinn also contributes to regional workforce development efforts as a member of the South-Central Workforce Development Board and a past president of the Hanover Area Human Resources Association.
Margie Jones Zyble. CHRO for UC Health (Cincinnati). Ms. Zyble is CHRO at UC Health, where she is leading a transformative cultural shift to advance clinical care, research and education at the system. With more than 25 years of human resources experience across diverse industries, she has brought a fresh, data-driven perspective to her role, focusing on workforce engagement, leadership enablement and operational excellence. Under her leadership, UC Health has improved recruitment, compensation and benefits strategies to remain competitive in one of the nation’s most demanding healthcare markets. Ms. Zyble has also restructured the human resources function to better support leaders and employees systemwide, fostering transparency and cultivating a culture rooted in feedback and collaboration. Working closely with the CEO, she has driven executive transformation while reinforcing UC Health’s identity as Cincinnati’s only adult academic health system. Beyond her organizational impact, she is an active community leader, serving as a representative for Mason-Deerfield Prosperity Partners and as a member of the University of Cincinnati human resources advisory board. She also speaks at key industry events.
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