Denver Health Announces New CEO

The Denver Health Board of Directors has announced that Donna Lynne, DrPH, will serve as the next Chief Executive Officer (CEO) to lead Denver Health. Lynne was named sole finalist for the CEO position on June 9. Today, the board voted to extend the job offer to Lynne and she accepted. 

"We are confident that Donna's extensive operational and leadership experience, her deep connections to our Colorado communities and her passion for our mission as a safety-net hospital make her the right person for this role," said Patricia Dean, Chair of the Denver Health Board of Directors. "The Board is delighted that following our thorough national search, we have identified the right leader who shares our deep commitment to improving the health of our patients and communities and providing care for all."

Currently, Lynne serves as Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, where she leads administrative functions and strategic initiatives. She also directed the university's COVID-19 response and policies. 

Lynne brings decades of experience as a senior health care leader and public servant. She led health care policy reform and implementation as the Lieutenant Governor of Colorado from 2016-2019. Prior to that role, she served in executive leadership positions at Kaiser Foundation Health Plan and Kaiser Foundation Hospitals, including leading strategy and business plans as President of the Colorado Region from 2005-2016.

"I am honored to have been selected as the next CEO for Denver Health," said Lynne. "I look forward to returning to Colorado and continuing to build on Denver Health's deep legacy and safety-net mission in the community. Access to high-quality, local health care has never been more important, and I am looking forward to the opportunity to lead Denver Health forward during a pivotal time in health care."

Lynne has been listed among Modern Healthcare's Top 25 Women in Healthcare and has been recognized with the Distinguished Coloradan Award from the University of Colorado Denver and the Health Care Hero award from Project CURE. She sits on the Board of the Colorado Healing Fund and History Colorado, and has previously served on the Boards of Building a Better Colorado, the Colorado Education Initiative and the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce.

Denver Health's current CEO Robin Wittenstein will retire from Denver Health at the end of August 2022.