NASHP Board Launches Search for New Leader as Executive Director Trish Riley Announces Retirement Plans
January 12, 2021
Washington, DC – The National Academy for State Health Policy (NASHP) has launched a national search for a new dynamic leader following the retirement announcement of its long-serving Executive Director, Trish Riley, in early summer. The board has engaged the services of Korn Ferry to support the selection and transition process.
Board Chair Nikki Highsmith Vernick stated, “I met Trish Riley 30 years ago, not long after she launched NASHP. Ever since, NASHP has been a go-to organization for states seeking to implement effective, equitable, and innovative health policy solutions.” Over the years, Riley has been instrumental in helping state leaders work more effectively with each other and their federal counterparts to tackle critical health policy issues such as Medicaid managed care, health coverage, drug pricing and health care cost containment and, most recently, state responses to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Highsmith Vernick continued, “States are the nation’s laboratories for innovation, but reform doesn’t happen without people. Trish has helped develop and support state leaders, creating opportunities for communicating and learning across agencies, branches and levels of government, and across the country.”
Executive Director Trish Riley, added, “NASHP has never been stronger. We have an active group of state officials guiding us, a great board of directors, and supportive funders and partners, and thanks to them we are in an exceptionally stable financial position. It is the right time for a new leader to work with states, funders, and the great NASHP team to move the organization forward.”
NASHP has formed a search committee of the board and academy members that will lead the process of finding the new leader and expects to fill the position by early summer. Interested candidates can contact Divina Gamble with Korn Ferry at NASHP@kornferry.com.
In recognition of her long-standing leadership in the field and to NASHP, Riley will become president emerita upon her retirement. “Trish has made an indelible mark on the state health policy field, has had a very distinguished career, and deserves to retire. On behalf of the board and the NASHP community, we thank Trish for her tireless and dedicated service” said Highsmith Vernick. “We look forward to identifying a new leader who will build upon Trish’s amazing legacy and ensure that NASHP continues to serve the evolving needs of all its constituents.”
Read Trish Riley’s statement announcing her retirement here.
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