A UCLA Health faculty member was honored as one of the top women leaders of 2019 on Monday.
Johnese Spisso, CEO of UCLA Hospital System and associate vice chancellor of UCLA Health Sciences, was named one of 2019’s Top 25 Women Leaders by the health care news publication Modern Healthcare. The award is given to 25 women who are leading health care professionals and who have significantly influenced policy and care models on a national scale.
Spisso has over 30 years of experience in the health care field. She also received Seattle Business’ Outstanding Health Care Executive award in 2014 and Puget Sound Business Journal’s Women of Influence award in 2006.
In addition to overseeing over 170 clinics in Southern California, UCLA’s faculty practice group, UCLA Health’s regional outreach strategy and UCLA’s four hospitals, Spisso has also published several articles on health care leadership.
Spisso began her career as a registered nurse in critical care at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Presbyterian and later worked in critical care at UC Davis Medical Center for 12 years.
Spisso was chief health system officer and vice president of medical affairs at University of Washington Medicine for 22 years before beginning her UCLA career in 2016.