Shannon Welch, MPH, is a Senior Director for the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI). Her 14 years of experience working in local public health and most recent experience in healthcare drives her passion and commitment to equity-focused work. Shannon’s current portfolio of projects includes work on equity and population health initiatives. At IHI, Shannon currently leads the IHI team working on Rise to Health: A National Coalition for Equity in Health Care that envisions a transformed health care ecosystem where all people, particularly historically marginalized people, have the power, conditions, and resources to achieve optimal health.

Shannon previously led IHI’s Merck for Mothers Better Maternal Outcomes: Redesigning Systems with Black Women project and the Pursuing Equity Learning and Action Network that aims to reduce inequities in health and health care access, treatment, and outcomes by implementing comprehensive strategies to create and sustain equitable health systems. Prior to joining IHI, Shannon worked for the Oklahoma City-County Health Department as the Division Director of Community Health. During her tenure with the agency, she had primary oversight for a large, 350-member, multi-sector coalition and a large portfolio of community health programs.