THE NATIONAL CENTER FOR HEALTHCARE LEADERSHIP WELCOMES KAITLYN APODACA TO ITS BOARD OF DIRECTORS
CHICAGO – January 21, 2025 –The National Center for Healthcare Leadership (NCHL) is pleased to announce the appointment of Kaitlyn Apodaca, program manager at the Children’s Hospital Institute at Cleveland Clinic, to its board of directors, filling the at-large position as of January 1, 2025. This appointment continues NCHL’s commitment to diversifying perspectives by incorporating voices of emerging leaders, a cornerstone of our mission to develop inclusive and dynamic healthcare leadership.
This innovative board seat initiative was pioneered by Jordan Richardson, NCHL’s first, at-large, administrative fellow board member, whose service concluded this past December. Jordan’s contributions exemplify the program’s intent to elevate the voices of early careerists in healthcare leadership, and NCHL remains steadfast in advancing this impactful effort.
“We are excited to welcome Kaitlyn Apodaca to the NCHL board,” said NCHL Board Chair Jill Schwieters. “Kaitlyn’s accomplishments and fresh perspective as an emerging leader will help us strengthen our mission of developing the next generation of healthcare leaders. Her experience and drive will undoubtedly enrich the work of our board.”
Kaitlyn Apodaca is an early-career healthcare professional with growing experience in clinical operations, digital strategy, and analytics. In her current role at Cleveland Clinic, she oversees significant projects in pediatric cardiology and integrated surgical care. As an administrative fellow at Cleveland Clinic in 2022, she managed a nationwide recruitment for the fellowship program and implemented outreach campaigns connecting with over 10,000 patients. Her prior roles include conducting gap analyses for U.S. News & World Report outcomes as a graduate administrative intern and driving sales strategies and analytics deliverables at Definitive Healthcare. Kaitlyn earned her Master of Health Administration from the George Washington University and a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry from Boston College.
“I am excited to join the board at NCHL and serve such a dynamic and impactful organization,” said Kaitlyn Apodaca. “As an early careerist, I offer contemporary perspectives on the evolving dynamics of the healthcare workforce and look forward to continuing my development in board operations, strategic planning, and cross-organizational learning through my involvement with NCHL.”
NCHL is committed to fostering the voices of emerging leaders and appreciates the service of its outgoing and incoming board members as part of its mission to elevate healthcare leadership. NCHL is fortunate to have nationally recognized leaders continuing to serve on its board, including:
- Jill Schwieters, Senior Managing Director, Surgical Directions
- Jeanne Armentrout, Former EVP & CAO, Carilion Clinic
- Denise Brooks-Williams, EVP & COO, Henry Ford Health
- Maxine Carrington, JD, SVP & Chief People Officer, Northwell Health
- Bob Clarke, Chairman, Furst Group and NuBrick Partners
- Farheen Dam, North American Health Solutions Leader, Aon
- Richard “Chip” O. Davis, PhD, CEO, Rochester Regional Health
- David Ertel, CFO, Vizient, Inc.
- David Gillan, Chief Customer Officer, Sodexo
- Carrie Harris-Muller, SVP & Chief Population Health Officer, OhioHealth
- Michelle Hood, EVP & COO, American Hospital Association
- Beverly Malone, PhD, President & CEO, National League for Nursing
- Jessica Melton, Chief Transformation Officer, University of Florida Health
- Barbara Ralston, Principal, Barbara Ralston & Associates, LLC
- Jeffrey Simms, Associate Chair, Alumni and External Affairs, Department of Health Policy and Management, UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health, UNC-Chapel HilL