HEALTH EQUITY IMPACT PROGRAM: How Techquity Can Shape a Better Future for Healthcare

Dr. Leon D. Caldwell is the Senior Director of Health Equity Strategies and Innovation with IFDHE. Dr. Caldwell is AHA’s health equity subject matter expert and leads the work to dismantle structural barriers to advance equity in hospitals and health systems. He brings an award-winning scholar-activist framework with experience as a thought leader in diversity, equity, & inclusion, behavioral health, community health, education, research and evaluation, social innovation, and philanthropy. Dr. Caldwell earned his Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology at Penn State University; a Master’s of Education and BA in Economics at Lehigh University. He has held positions as an Associate Professor, Senior Director in Philanthropy and Senior Consultant in various public and private systems. Leon is based in AHA’s DC office.

Theresa Demeter is an entrepreneurial executive administrator with 30 years of healthcare performance and operational experience. In her role as a Managing Director at Tegria, she brings her passion for conceptualizing and implementing innovative solutions that drive quality and performance improvement to optimize patient outcomes. Theresa developed Tegria’s offering that helps healthcare organizations prioritize and operationalize their health equity strategy and mitigate the harmful effects of implicit bias through macro-simulation. Prior to joining Tegria, Theresa drove the formation and expansion of InSytu, a national leader in clinical process improvement consulting powered by macro-simulation. She also served as the Director of Women and Infants Outpatient Services at Swedish Health Services in Seattle. Theresa earned a master’s degree in healthcare administration from the University of Washington and is a certified childbirth and parenting educator and doula.