Executive Leadership
Jennifer DeCubellis, Chief Executive Officer
Jennifer DeCubellis was named CEO in February 2020. She was the Hennepin County Deputy Administrator responsible for the health and human services divisions of the county, where she was a leader in developing Hennepin Health, the nationally recognized partnership between the county and the healthcare system that integrates medical and behavioral care with social services for patients on Medicaid. DeCubellis has served as an Assistant Commissioner for the Minnesota Department of Human Services and Assistant County Administrator and Area Director for Hennepin County. She worked at the federal level as an Innovation Advisor for the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, where she created and tested system changes designed to improve quality and slow the escalation of costs. She also led Mental Health Authority Services in Harris County, Texas. DeCubellis has an M.A. from the Illinois School of Professional Psychology and a B.A. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Lisa Anderson, MBA, CPA (Inactive), Interim Chief Financial Officer
As Senior Vice President of Finance, Lisa Anderson has been involved in multiple budget planning cycles and has gained a deep understanding of financial services at Hennepin Healthcare. In addition to this experience, Lisa has more than 14 years of experience as a business unit CFO at Allina Health System. The Finance Department includes Finance, Payor Relations, Revenue Cycle, and Supply Chain Management.
Andrew Schmidt, MD, Interim Chief Medical Officer
Dr. Schmidt is the senior physician executive responsible for clinical operations and quality. He is a Professor at the University of Minnesota Medical School and a board-certified orthopaedic surgeon in the Hennepin Healthcare Department of Orthopaedics, where he has practiced since 1993. Additionally, he has served as the Chair of the Department of Orthopaedics since 2014. Dr. Schmidt has been a Fellow of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons (AAOS) since 1998 and, in 2022, was named the Chair of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Education Council. He has held numerous leadership roles with AAOS committees during his more than 20 years of volunteering for the organization, including as a member of the Board of Councilors and, most recently, chair of the Annual Meeting Committee. Dr. Schmidt is the past president of the Orthopaedic Trauma Association (2013-14) and has co-chaired the former Extremities War Injuries Symposium, of which AAOS was a founding organization. Dr. Schmidt has been active in research over his career, authoring 129 peer-reviewed papers, co-editing two textbooks, and has current research funding from the U.S. Dept. of Defense. Dr. Schmidt holds a medical degree from the University of California, San Diego, and a Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering from the University of Colorado, Boulder. He completed his residency and internship at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland.
Nneka O. Sederstrom, PhD, MPH, MA, FCCP, FCCM, Chief Health Equity Officer
Dr. Sederstrom joined Hennepin Healthcare in January, 2021 as the Chief Health Equity Officer. In this role, Dr. Sederstrom leads the work to assess, build, and execute strategies across the system to cultivate a culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion and transform how care is delivered for our community. Dr. Sederstrom has served as director of the Clinical Ethics Department at Children’s Minnesota and Director of the Center for Ethics at MedStar Washington Hospital Center in Washington, DC, where she also led the Spiritual Care Department and was the creator and Executive Director of the Journal of Hospital Ethics. Dr. Sederstrom earned a BA in Philosophy from George Washington University, MA in Philosophy and PhD in Sociology from Howard University, and a MPH in Global Health Management from George Washington University. She is a Fellow of the American College of Chest Physicians and the American College of Critical Care Medicine and an affiliate faculty member of the University of Minnesota Center for Bioethics.
Karen Strauman, DNP, MHA, MPH, NEA-BC, Chief Nursing Officer
Karen Strauman, DNP, MHA, MPH, NEA-BC, joined Hennepin Healthcare as Chief Nursing Officer in June, 2023. Before joining Hennepin Healthcare, Karen served in nurse leadership roles at MHealth Fairview-Southdale Hospital, where was Vice President/Chief Nursing Officer. Prior to that she served as the Chief Nurse Executive at Kaiser Permanente Fresno Medical Center in Fresno, California. In addition to nursing experience at multiple hospitals in the Twin Cities, she has worked in public health for the City of Minneapolis, University of Minnesota, and Hennepin County. Karen earned a Doctor of Nursing Practice from the University of San Francisco, a Master of Public Health and a Master of Health Care Administration from the University of Minnesota, and a BSN from the College of St. Scholastica. She is a Certified Nurse Executive – Advanced from the American Nurses Credentialing Center.
Wendy Stulac-Motzel, MBA, MS, RT, Chief Ambulatory and Population Health Officer
Wendy Stulac-Motzel joined Hennepin Healthcare as Chief Ambulatory and Population Health Officer in 2022 and is responsible for the core functions of ambulatory services, population health, community connections, and emergency medical services. In this role, she is overseeing the implementation of the population health program, providing strategic direction and partnering with providers to develop and implement innovative models of care delivery and executing strategies that enhance the delivery of high quality, patient-centric health and services. Prior to joining Hennepin Healthcare, Wendy served as Vice President of Ambulatory, Women’s and Clinical Services at Froedtert & Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee. Over the course of her career Wendy has served in leadership roles at the University of Minnesota Medical School/University of Minnesota Physicians, M Health Fairview, HealthEast, and North Memorial Health. She has a Master’s in Business Administration from the University of St. Thomas, Opus College of Business, a Bachelor of Science in Healthcare Management from St. Mary’s University and completed the Radiologic Technology Program at Essentia-St. Mary’s Medical Center.
Meghan Walsh, MD, MPH, Chief Academic and Research Officer
Dr. Walsh is the senior physician executive responsible for all undergraduate, graduate, and continuing medical education within Hennepin Healthcare and has served as the Designated Institutional Official for the health system since 2012. Dr. Walsh is an Associate Professor of Medicine and the Associate Dean for Affiliate Hospitals at the University of Minnesota Medical School. She is an active clinical faculty member in the Hennepin Healthcare Department of Medicine, where she has practiced for 14 years as a cardiac hospitalist. She helped to spearhead the Center for Learning Integration at Hennepin Healthcare, which aims to improve inter-professional education and learning. Dr. Walsh completed Medical School at the University of Wisconsin in 2001 and her Master’s in Public Health at Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health in 1997. She has an interest in inter-professional medical education and asynchronous learning strategies.
