Whitney Perkins Witt

Whitney Perkins Witt

President and CEO; Health and Healthcare

Whitney Perkins Witt, PhD, MPH, has been a prominent figure in the health sector for over thirty years, dedicating her career to advancing population health, health equity, and health innovation. With a robust background in leading complex projects and initiatives, she has effectively managed multidisciplinary teams that have significantly impacted healthcare delivery, financing, and patient outcomes. Her initiatives have consistently aimed at improving system efficiency, quality of care, and achieving tangible health benefits on a wide scale.

Her expertise and leadership have been recognized through her roles as principal investigator and program director on several federally funded projects, commanding multimillion-dollar budgets from agencies such as the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). Dr. Witt's collaborations extend to work with the Veterans Administration (VA), the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Additionally, her research has garnered support from influential foundations, including the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the American Cancer Society, which have funded her studies on various public health crises, including the socio-economic and health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Whitney Perkins Witt's leadership has been instrumental in the foundation and development of the College of Health at Lehigh University, where she served as the inaugural Dean. In this capacity, she was responsible for launching innovative educational programs that integrated health innovation with population health, setting a benchmark in health education.

Presently, Dr. Witt leads as the President and CEO of the Health Equity Consulting (HEC) Group, where her efforts are focused on devising comprehensive strategies to address health disparities. Her previous role as Vice President of Social Determinants of Health at Highmark Health saw her pioneering initiatives to address health inequities through targeted community health programs.

Earlier in her career, Dr. Witt enhanced federal research platforms as Vice President at AmeriSpeak of NORC at the University of Chicago. She led pivotal health research as Director of the Center for Maternal and Child Health Research at IBM Watson Health. Her career is marked by a commitment to innovation, evidenced by her leadership in developing healthcare solutions that leverage advanced data analytics, including artificial intelligence and machine learning.

Whitney Perkins Witt's academic achievements are equally impressive, with a Doctorate and Master's degrees from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and a postdoctoral fellowship in Pediatric Health Services Research at Harvard University School of Medicine. Her undergraduate studies were completed at Hampshire College, where she earned a Bachelor's degree in Law and Women's Studies. She has also been an active contributor to scholarly work, with over 60 peer-reviewed articles and several book chapters, cementing her status as a thought leader in her field.

Learn More: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10995-024-03969-5

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The Health Equity Consulting (HEC) Group

Health Payer Specialist‍