Jeff Sperring Elected Chair of Children's Hospital Association’s Board of Trustees

Washington, DC – Today, Jeff Sperring, M.D., CEO of Seattle Children’s Hospital, became Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Children’s Hospital Association (CHA). Sperring assumes leadership of CHA’s board as the organization advances its multi-year priorities of combatting the mental health emergency among children and adolescents; advocating for policies to expand the pediatric workforce and the capacity of children’s hospitals; and promoting greater health equity for children.

“Children today are facing a variety of unprecedented challenges exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Sperring. “As the youth mental health crisis persists, we must embrace innovation and collaboration to prevent, diagnose and treat children’s physical and behavioral health conditions. I look forward to serving as the chair of CHA’s board of trustees to continue the efforts in advocating for the health and well-being of children across the country.”

“Jeff’s dedication to improving pediatric health care is crucial during this critical moment for children and children's hospitals nationwide,” said Mark Wietecha, CEO of CHA. “Jeff will lead the board in furthering support for children’s hospitals' capacity to provide for the complex and changing needs of our nation’s children, and advance solutions to build a more resilient generation of kids.”

Sperring was appointed CEO of Seattle Children’s in 2015, where he has worked alongside his team to expand clinical access across a four-state region and advance integrative research efforts to facilitate new discoveries and treatments, with a focused commitment to health equity and reducing disparities in pediatric health care. Prior to joining Seattle Children’s, Sperring served as the president and CEO of the Riley Hospital for Children at Indiana University Health where he provided pediatric strategic and policy oversight and developed the framework to expand Riley from a children’s hospital to a statewide children’s health system. 

Sperring succeeds Paul King, president and CEO of Stanford Medicine Children’s Health, in leading the 2023 CHA Board of Trustees.

2023 CHA Board of Trustees

Officers

Jeff Sperring, M.D., Chair
CEO, Seattle Children's, Seattle, Washington

Mike Farrell, Vice-Chair
President, Advocate Children's Hospital, Oak Lawn, Illinois

Paul A. King, Immediate Past Chair
President and CEO, Stanford Medicine Children's Health, Palo Alto, California

Jena Hausmann, Secretary 
President and CEO, Children's Hospital Colorado, Aurora, Colorado

R. Lawrence Moss, M.D., Treasurer 
President and CEO, Nemours Children's Health, Wilmington, Delaware, and Orlando, Florida

Members

Matthew Cook
President, UCSF Benioff Children's Hospitals, San Francisco and Oakland, California

Marcy Doderer
President and CEO, Arkansas Children's, Little Rock, Arkansas

Deborah Feldman
President and CEO, Dayton Children's Hospital, Dayton, Ohio

Paul Kempinski
President and CEO, Children's Mercy Kansas City, Kansas City, Missouri

Timothy Robinson
CEO, Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, Ohio

Margaret G. Rush, M.D., MMHC 
President, Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, Nashville, Tennessee

Katy Welkie, RN
CEO, Intermountain Primary Children's Hospital, Salt Lake City, Utah

Mark Wietecha
CEO, Children's Hospital Association, Washington, D.C.