Kathleen D. Sanford, DBA, RN, CENP, FACHE

Kathleen Sanford (Kathy) joined CHI in November 2006 and co-leads the National Clinical Enterprise with her Dyad partner, CMO, Robert Weil, MD. Kathy serves as the organization’s executive leader for quality and patient safety; nursing, pharmacy and medical imaging services; clinical leadership development, and clinical informatics. 

Kathleen earned her stripes with over 40 years in health care, including staff nursing, management, chief nurse executive, strategy, and hospital administrator roles. She finished her Army Nurse Corps career as a colonel and chief nurse of the Washington Army National Guard.

She has lead multiple community and charitable organizations and been an adjunct faculty member for The University of Washington and Pacific Lutheran University. She is a past president of the American Organization of Nurse Executives (AONE) and served on the boards of the American Hospital Association, Washington State Hospital Association, and Nursing Organizations Alliance. A former newspaper and professional journal health care columnist for multiple publications, she has published more than 150 articles and two management books, Leading With Love, and Dyad Leadership in Healthcare: When One Plus One is Greater Than Two. She is currently the editor-in-chief of Nursing Administration Quarterly.

Kathleen’s education includes a bachelor’s degree in nursing from the University of Maryland/Walter Reed Army Institute of Nursing, a master’s degree in Human Resources Management from Pepperdine University, a master’s degree in business administration from Pacific Lutheran University, and a doctorate in business from Nova Southeastern University. She is a fellow of both the American College of Healthcare Executives and the American Academy of Nursing.