National Quality Forum Announces 2021 Leadership Consortium Roster 

Washington, DC – Today, NQF announced its 2021 Leadership Consortium roster, welcoming leading healthcare experts from 31 diverse Member organizations to shape 2022 priorities for the quality ecosystem.

The Leadership Consortium is an active forum exclusively for NQF Members to connect, collaborate, and provide thought leadership on strategies to achieve national health and healthcare quality goals. This diverse group is annually selected and includes voices from patient partners, clinicians, health plans, quality improvement experts, and others. Leadership Consortium participants are committed to influencing meaningful and lasting change on our nation’s highest priority and most complex healthcare issues across the continuum of care through strategic guidance on practical, action-oriented initiatives.

This year, NQF welcomes returning Leadership Consortium participant and 2020 Vice Chair, Amy Nguyen Howell, MD, MBA, FAAFP, as the 2021 Leadership Consortium Chair. “I look forward to leading and collaborating with this year’s NQF Leadership Consortium participants and their collective expertise to identify and inform priorities for action in this unique and challenging time,” said Dr. Nguyen, who is the Senior National Medical Director, Chief of the Office for Provider Advancement at Optum. In this pivotal role, she leads the advancement of clinical priorities around experience, physician partnership, and provider development and leadership in pursuit of the quadruple aim. She has a long history of NQF involvement and actively serves on several committees.

Peter Angood, MD, FRCS(C), FACS, MCCM, FAAPL(Hon), joins Dr. Nguyen as the 2021 NQF Leadership Consortium Vice Chair. Since 2011, Dr. Angood has been Chief Executive Officer and President of the American Association for Physician Leadership. His rich background with The Joint Commission, GE Healthcare and the World Health Organization only touches on his long-standing commitment to healthcare quality and patient safety.

The full roster of the 2021 Leadership Consortium is:

• Chair: Amy Nguyen Howell, MD, MBA, FAAFP, Optum
• Vice Chair: Peter Angood, MD, FRCS(C), FACS, MCCM, FAAPL, American Association for Physician Leadership
• Girma Alemu, MD, MPH, Health Resources and Services Administration
• Ashrith Amarnath, MD, MS-SHCD, Covered California
• Jennifer Atkins, MBA, BlueCross BlueShield Association
• Michele Bolles, MCHES, American Heart Association
• Nicole Brennan, DrPH, Battelle
• Donald Casey, MD, MPH, MBA, FACP, FAHA, DFAAPL, CPE, DFACMQ, American College of Medical Quality
• Dan Culica, MD, MA, PhD, Texas Health and Human Services Commission
• Robert Dean, DO, MBA, Vizient, Inc.
• Mary Ellen DeBardeleben, MBA, MPH, CJCP, Encompass Health Corporation
• Maushami Desoto, PhD, MHA, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
• Paul Epner, MBA, MEd, Society to Improve Diagnosis in Medicine (SIDM)
• Eileen Esposito, DNP, RN-BC, CPHQ, Nursing Alliance for Quality Care
• Shelley Fuld Nasso, MPP, National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship
• Shawn Griffin, MD, FAAFP, URAC
• Diana Jolles, PhD, CNM, American College of Nurse-Midwives
• Robert Jones, MD, Cleveland Clinic
• Jennifer Kennedy, EdD, MA, BSN, RN, CHC, National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization
• Bridget McCabe, MD, MPH, FAAP, Teladoc Health, Inc.
• Amy Minnich, MHSA, CPC, RN, Geisinger Health System
• Ravi Parikh, MD, MPP, Coalition to Transform Advanced Care
• Padmaja Patel, MD, DipABLM, American College of Lifestyle Medicine
• Kannan Ramar, M.B.B.S., MD, Mayo Clinic
• Michelle Schreiber, MD, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
• Mona Siddiqui, MD, MPH, MSE, Humana Inc.
• Jennifer Van Meter, PharmD, Novartis
• Ronald Walters, MD, MBA, MHA, MS, University of Texas-MD Anderson Cancer Center
• Kristen Welker-Hood, ScD, MSN, RN, General Dynamics Information Technology
• Lindsey Wisham, MPA, Telligen
• Mike Woodruff, MD, Intermountain Healthcare

More information about the Leadership Consortium is available on the NQF website along with the 2021 Priorities for Action identified by the 2020 body.

About National Quality Forum
The National Quality Forum (NQF) works with members of the healthcare community to drive measurable health improvements together. NQF is a not-for-profit, membership-based organization that gives all healthcare stakeholders a voice in advancing quality measures and improvement strategies that lead to better outcomes and greater value. Learn more at www.qualityforum.org.