The Aspen Health Strategy Group (AHSG) promotes improvements in policy and practice by providing leadership on complex health issues. Its 19 influential members include CEOs and other high-level executives at major corporations, health systems, professional associations, and foundations, and innovative thinkers in academic settings. Cochairs are Kathleen Sebelius, 21st Secretary of Health and Human Services and former Governor of the State of Kansas, and William Frist, former Senator from Tennessee and former Senate Majority Leader.

Each year, the AHSG tackles a single health issue through a year-long, in-depth study. Informed by commissioned briefing papers, AHSG members convene at the Aspen Institute’s Colorado campus for two days of intensive learning and vigorous discussion and ultimately select five big ideas, accompanied by action steps, to drive meaningful change. Their findings and recommendations are packaged as an illustrated report that is widely disseminated to policymakers and other influencers. Past reports have covered data privacy, the health harms of incarceration, the US maternal mortality crisis, antimicrobial resistance, the burden of chronic disease, the nation’s opioid crisis, and end-of-life care.

Members

Co-chairs

Kathleen Sebelius, MPA, is an expert on health policy, healthcare reform, human service delivery, and executive leadership. She served as secretary of the US Department of Health and Human Services from 2009 to 2014, leading President Obama’s charge to pass and implement the Affordable Care Act. From 2003 to 2009, Sebelius served as governor of Kansas. She chairs the board of Humacyte Inc. and serves on the boards of Devoted Health Inc., Exact Sciences Inc., Included Health Inc., and the KFF, and is a senior advisor to the Dole Institute of Politics, the National Cannabis Roundtable, Out Leadership, and the Estee Lauder Foundation. During her career, Sebelius has led numerous efforts on early childhood initiatives, women’s health, tobacco control, mental health parity, HIV/AIDS, polio, prevention of chronic diseases, and global health security.

William H. Frist, MD, is chair of the Global Board of The NatureConservancy, the world’s largest conservation organization. A formerUS Senator representing Tennessee and former Senate majority leader,his leadership was instrumental in passing the 2003 MedicareModernization Act that established Medicare Advantage andthehistoric President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) legislation, which has alreadyprovided life-saving treatment to 28 million people worldwide. Frist is a nationally recognizedheart and lung transplant surgeon and founding partner of the health service investment firmFrist Cressey Ventures, and is actively engaged in the business, medical, humanitarian, andphilanthropic communities.A leading authority on healthcare, Frist publishes and speaks nationally on climate change, gunsafety, pandemic preparedness, health equity, global health, and education reform. In 2019, helaunched “A Second Opinion” podcast, which addresses today’s challenging healthcare issuesfrom three distinct vantage points: policy, medicine, and innovation.

Members

Toyin Ajayi, MD, MPhil, is co-founder and CEO of Cityblock, a value-based healthcare provider for Medicaid and dually eligible beneficiaries in underserved communities. Cityblock’s integrated and tech-enabled care model meets individuals where they are, delivering highly personalized medical care, behavioral healthcare, and social services. Prior to Cityblock, Ajayi was chief medical officer of Commonwealth Care Alliance, an integrated health plan and care delivery system for individuals eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid. In 2023, Ajayi was named to Modern Healthcare’s Top Women Leaders in Healthcare list, STAT’s STATUS List, and the Aspen Institute’s Henry Crown Fellows. She serves on the board of directors of Evolent Health, is a member of the Congressional Budget Office’s Health Panel of Health Advisers, and is co-founder of Coalition Partners, where she invests in and mentors early-stage entrepreneurs.

Richard Baron, MD, MACP, is president and CEO of the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) and the ABIM Foundation and formerly chaired ABIM and served on its board of trustees. Baron practiced general internal medicine and geriatrics for almost 30 years at Greenhouse Internists, PC, in Philadelphia, leaving the practice to serve as group director of Seamless Care Models at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Innovation Center. In that capacity he led efforts related to accountable care organizations and primary care. Until joining the federal government, Baron served on the board of the National Quality Forum and its Health Information Technology Advisory Committee and on the Standards Committee of the National Committee for Quality Assurance. Previously, he was chief medical officer of Health Partners, a not-for-profit Medicaid HMO, and architect of the Best Clinical and Administrative Practices program, funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Center for Healthcare Strategies.

Richard Besser, MD, is the President and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), America’s largest health philanthropy. Previously, he had a distinguished career at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and ABC News. RWJF is a leading national philanthropy dedicated to taking bold leaps to transform health in our lifetime. Partnering with communities, practitioners, and institutions to advance health equity through funding, advocacy, and evidence-building, RWJF envisions a future where health is no longer a privilege, but a right.

Besser, an advocate for healthy communities and economic inclusion, emphasizes the importance of accountable public health systems and racial justice. He played a significant role in prioritizing health equity during the COVID-19 pandemic. A National Academy of Medicine member, Besser serves on multiple boards, including Howard University’s Board of Trustees. He volunteered as a pediatrician for over 30 years in community clinics across the country and has been recognized with the Surgeon General’s Medallion for his public health contributions.

Raphael Bostic, PhD, is the 15th president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. He is responsible for all the Bank’s activities, including monetary policy, bank supervision and regulation, and payment services. In addition, he serves on the Federal Reserve’s chief monetary policy body, the Federal Open Market Committee. Previously, Bostic served in the Obama Administration as the assistant secretary for policy development and research at the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, leading a 150-person interdisciplinary team with broad expertise in housing, community development, and economic development. For 16 years, He was on the faculty of the University of Southern California’s Price School of Public Policy. At USC Price, Bostic served in many capacities, including as the founding director of the Casden Real Estate Economics Forecast, the chair of the Governance, Management and Policy Process Department, and chair of USC’s  Bedrosian Center on Governance.

Gail Boudreaux serves as president and CEO at Elevance Health, where she leads the company in improving lives and communities, simplifying healthcare, and building trust with customers. Her career, scaling multi-billion-dollar businesses in the healthcare industry, spans more

than 30 years, including six years as CEO of United Healthcare, a division of UnitedHealth Group, and executive roles at Healthcare Service Corporation and Aetna Inc. Today, Boudreaux oversees Elevance Health’s more than 100,000 associates and a growing portfolio of plans and subsidiaries that generated revenue of nearly $170 billion in 2023, with 115 million people served.

Boudreaux has been named as one of Fortune’s ”Most Powerful Women in Business” and featured by Forbes as one of the “100 Most Powerful Women in the World.” She has been selected by Modern Healthcare as one of the 100 Most Influential People in Healthcare and received the 2018 Billie Jean King Leadership Award and the 2022 NCAA Theodore Roosevelt Award. Boudreaux currently serves on the board of directors for Target, the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership, Inc., the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, the Business Council, the National Institute for Healthcare Management, and American Health Insurance Plans.

.

Dena Bravata, MD, MS, is a healthcare entrepreneur and executive who advises healthcare technology and services companies. She co-founded Lyra Health and served as its chief medical officer. Previously, Dr. Bravata was the founding chief medical officer and head of products at Castlight Health and an Internal Medicine attending and health services researcher at Stanford University and the Veteran’s Administration Palo Alto Health Care System. Bravata was an assistant public health officer for Santa Clara County and in 2021, received a national service award from the White House and CDC for her work on the pandemic response and Vaccines.gov.

An influential corporate executive with a reputation for strategic acumen, Roz Brewer has been repeatedly recognized by Fortune and Forbes as among their “Most Powerful Women in Business.” She recently served as president and CEO of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc., a global leader in retail pharmacy and healthcare, where she led a transformation focused on systems innovation and expanding access to essential healthcare services. Brewer was also pivotal in setting the company’s strategic direction and navigating the complexities of the healthcare landscape during the COVID-19 pandemic. She was previously COO and director of Starbucks Corporation and president and CEO of Sam’s Club.

Brewer serves on the boards of United Airlines, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, and The Black Economic Alliance. She is vice-chair of the President’s Export Council for Asia-Pacific and sits on the twelve-person Advisory Council to the African Diaspora. Her title of chair emerita on Spelman College’s Board of Trustees underscores her belief in the transformative power of educating and empowering future generations of women leaders.

Eduardo Conrado, MBA, is president of Ascension, one of the nation’s leading non-profit and Catholic health systems. Previously, he was executive vice president and chief strategy and innovation officer for Ascension. Conrado joined Ascension in 2018 as executive vice president and chief digital officer after serving on its board of directors. Recognized by Modern Healthcare as a Top 20 Innovator in Healthcare in 2021, he led Ascension’s digital and data strategy, driving the platform to enable an exceptional consumer experience as well as a better clinician experience across the enterprise. Prior to joining Ascension, Conrado was executive vice president and chief strategy and innovation officer at Motorola Solutions, where he served in a variety of leadership roles in corporate and multiple international businesses in a range of consumer and commercial segments. Conrado is a board member at the Catholic Health Association of the United States.

Toby Cosgrove, MD, was president and CEO of the Cleveland Clinic where he reorganized services, improved outcomes and patient experience, and strengthened the $8 billion organization’s financing, guiding it to a #2 hospital ranking by U.S. News & World Report. He currently serves as Executive Advisor at Cleveland Clinic, working with leadership on strategies for national and international growth. Cosgrove is also strategic advisor to Care Centrix, senior advisor of Innova Health Partners, a board member at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, American Well, Hims & Hers, and View, and is frequently asked to comment on national and international media. A member of the National Academy of Medicine and a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors, he was named a Fortune “Business person of the Year” and has been asked by three successive US presidents to consult on healthcare issues.

Deborah Di Sanzo, MBA, is an innovative leader with more than 30 years’ experience at the intersection of healthcare and technology. As president of Best Buy Health for Best Buy Co., Inc., Di Sanzo is responsible for the company’s health technology business. Best Buy Health enables care at home for everyone across the continuum of care based on Best Buy’s core competencies. Integrated technology, personalized caring centers and technical services, logistics, supply chain, and omnichannel experiences create the plumbing that enables consumers to develop meaningful connections with their caregivers, insurers, and clinicians. Her business includes Lively!, the brand of connected health and personal emergency response services for the aging population, which Best Buy acquired in 2018, as well as Current Health, a leading care-at-home technology platform, which Best Buy acquired in 2021.

Prior to Best Buy, Di Sanzo was general manager of IBM Watson Health and earlier was CEO of Philips Healthcare. She teaches AI in Health and Managing Information in Health Care at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and serves on the board of AstraZeneca.

Victor Dzau, MD, is president of the National Academy of Medicine (NAM), vice chair of the National Research Council, chancellor emeritus of Duke University, and past CEO of the Duke Health System. Previously, he was professor and chairman of medicine at both Harvard and Stanford Universities. Recognized globally as a scientist, administrator, and leader, Dzau’s seminal research in cardiovascular medicine laid the foundation for the class of lifesaving cardiac drugs known as ACE inhibitors. He pioneered gene therapy for vascular disease.

A leader in global health, Dzau launched the Duke-NUS Medical School in Singapore, founded the Division of Global Health Equity at Harvard, and chairs the International Advisory Board of McGill University’s School of Population and Global Health. He also serves on the WHO and World Bank’s Global Preparedness Monitoring Board, is co-chair of the G20 Scientific Panel on Global Health Security, and was on the board of the Coalition of Epidemic Preparedness and Innovation. He leads the World Economic Forum Regional Vaccine Manufacturing Collaborative and is co-chair of the Science and Technology Expert Panel for the Independent Pandemic Preparedness Secretariat. As part of his leadership at the NAM, Dzau launched the NAM Action Collaborative on Decarbonizing the Health Sector in 2021. The collaborative aims to convene leaders from across the health sector to co-develop and implement a shared agenda, mutual learnings, and collective actions to reduce the carbon footprint of the health sector and strengthen its resilience.

Judy Faulkner is founder and CEO of Epic, which she began in 1979 in the basement of an apartment house with $70,000 in start-up money and two half-time assistants. Epic has grown by its bootstraps, without venture capital or going public. After teaching computer science for several years she worked as a software developer, creating one of the first databases organized around the patient. She currently is a member of the National Academy of Medicine’s Leadership Roundtable and the Scottsdale Institute. Faulkner has pledged that 99% of her assets will go to philanthropy.

As chairman of Oracle Health, David Feinberg, MD, MBA, is committed to making healthcare more accessible, affordable, and equitable. His work advances thought leadership and strategy to unleash the healing power of data through an open and connected healthcare ecosystem. Feinberg had previously been president and CEO of Cerner, now Oracle Health. A pediatric psychiatrist, he also served as president and CEO of both UCLA Health and Geisinger Health. His focus on patient experience increased UCLA’s patient satisfaction scores from the28th to the 99th percentile. At Geisinger, Feinberg led a complex turnaround that made the company one of the nation’s most innovative healthcare providers, including developing a first-of-its kind clinical program that made DNA sequencing routine. In a previous role as leader of Google Health, Feinberg helped put the company at the forefront of using artificial intelligence and mobile platforms to improve healthcare and—in partnership with Ascension Health—produced Care Studio, a tool that organizes patient records for healthcare clinicians.

Harvey Fineberg, MD, PhD, is president of the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. He previously served as president of the National Academy of Medicine (then called the Institute of Medicine), provost of Harvard University, and dean of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. His academic career was devoted mostly to health policy and medical decision-making, with research focused on global health, assessing medical technology, evaluating vaccines, and disseminating medical innovations.

Fineberg is currently board chair of the Science Philanthropy Alliance, chair of the Peterson Center on Healthcare’s advisory board, and a member of the editorial board of the New England Journal of Medicine. He previously chaired the boards of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and helped found the Society for Medical Decision Making, where he served as president.

Helene D. Gayle, MD, MPH, began serving as the eleventh president of Spelman College on July 1, 2022. A pediatrician and public health physician with expertise in economic development, humanitarian, and health issues, she previously worked in leadership roles at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and was the president and CEO of the international humanitarian organization, CARE, and the Chicago Community Trust. Gayle serves on boards of public companies and nonprofit organizations, including as The Coca-Cola Company, Organon, Palo Alto Networks, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and the Brookings Institution. She is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, National Academy of Medicine, and Council on Foreign Relations, among others.

Ai-jen Poo is president of the National Domestic Workers Alliance, executive director of Caring Across Generations, and a trustee of the Ford Foundation. Poo is a next-generation labor leader, award-winning organizer, author, and leading voice in the women’s movement. She recently served as a commissioner on President Biden’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders.

A nationally recognized expert on the care economy, Poo is the author of The Age of Dignity: Preparing for the Elder Boom in a Changing America. She has been recognized among Fortune’s “World’s 50 Greatest Leaders” and TIME’s “100 Most Influential People” and received a MacArthur Fellowship. Most recently, she received the Gleitsman Citizen Activist Award from the Center for Public Leadership at Harvard’s Kennedy School. Poo has been a featured speaker at the Aspen Ideas Festival, Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, Milken Institute Global Conference, TEDWomen, and the Skoll World Forum. She has made appearances on PBS, Nightline, MSNBC, and CBS and has been a guest on popular podcasts such as “On Being with Krista Tippett,” “We Can Do Hard Things,” and “The Ezra Klein Show.”

David Skorton, MD, is president and CEO of the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), which represents the nation’s medical schools, teaching hospitals and health systems, and academic societies. At AAMC, Skorton has addressed social issues that affect health, guided the association through the pandemic, and built a multiyear strategic plan to tackle the nation’s most intractable challenges in health and healthcare, working to make academic medicine more diverse, equitable, and inclusive. Previously, he served as president of Cornell University and the University of Iowa. A pioneer of cardiac imaging and computer processing techniques, he was also co-director and co-founder of the University of Iowa Adolescent and Adult Congenital Heart Disease Clinic. Currently a distinguished professor at Georgetown University, Skorton is an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the American Philosophical Society, a lifetime member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Jeff Thompson, MD, is the former CEO of Gundersen Health System, a pediatrician, author of Lead True: Live Your Values, Build Your People, Inspire Your Community, and a retired neonatal pediatrician. As CEO of Gundersen Health System, he was responsible for improving quality, lowering costs, and rapidly advancing technology, partnering with a staff of 7,000, serving hundreds of thousands of patients, and stewarding a $1 billion budget that he considered the community’s money. Under his leadership, Gundersen developed an energy program that decreased greenhouse gas emissions by 95% and decreased hazardous pharmaceutical wastes by 98% with a strategy that also lowered the cost of care and improved the local economy.

Thompson received the Practice Green Health Visionary Leader Award, was the only US provider to speak in the Blue Zone at the Paris Climate talks, and received the White House Champions of Change award in 2013. He continues to teach, mentor, and build the next generation of leaders.

Antonia M. Villarruel, PhD, RN, FAAN, is the Margaret Bond Simon Dean of Nursing at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing and director of the school’s WHO Collaborating Center for Nursing and Midwifery Leadership. As a bilingual and bicultural researcher, Villarruel has extensive research and practice experience with Latino populations, health promotion, and health equity. She is an elected Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing and an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine and the College of Physicians of Philadelphia. She serves as chair of the National Academy of Medicine Culture of Health Program Advisory Committee, co-chair of the Strategic Advisory Council of the AARP/RWJF Future of Nursing Campaign for Action, and regent of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences.

Villarruel has received numerous honors and awards, including the 2021 Healthcare Leader Award from the American Academy of Nursing, the Sigma Theta Tau International Nurse Researcher Hall of Fame Award, the Globy Award for Educational Leadership from the Global Philadelphia Association, the prestigious Ohtli Award from the government of Mexico, and the Above and Beyond Women Award from City & State Pennsylvania Magazine, 2024.

Ex-Officio Members

Alex M. Azar II, 24th US Secretary of Health and Human Services (2018-2021)

Sylvia Mathews Burwell, President, American University, 22nd US Secretary of Health and Human Services (2014-2017)

Michael O. Leavitt, Founder and Chairman, Leavitt Partners; 20th US Secretary of Health and Human Services (2005-2009)

Tommy G. Thompson, 19th US Secretary of Health and Human Services (2001-2005), AHSG Co-chair (2015-2021)

Donna Shalala, 18th US Secretary of Health and Human Services (1993-2001)

Louis Sullivan, Chair, Sullivan Alliance to Transform American’s Health Professions, Association of Academic Health Centers; 17th US Secretary of Health and Human Services (1989-1993)

David Mathews, 11th US Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare (1975-1977)

Director

Alan Weil, JD, MPP, has held the position of editor-in-chief of Health Affairs, the nation’s leading health policy journal, since 2014.  Previously he was the executive director of the National Academy for State Health Policy (NASHP), director of the Urban Institute’s Assessing the New Federalism project, and executive director of the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing. He is an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine and has been a member of the Medicaid & CHIP Payment & Access Commission (MACPAC), a trustee of the Consumer Health Foundation (now if, a foundation for radical possibility), a member of the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid & the Uninsured, a member of the Commonwealth Fund Commission on a High Performance Health System, and a member of the Institute of Medicine’s Board on Health Care Services.