Sustainable Healthcare Leadership Institute

For our second cohort, the Sustainable Healthcare Leadership Institute is recruiting 30 healthcare professionals from across the spectrum of healthcare roles and settings who currently hold or seek sustainability leadership positions within their healthcare companies or institutions. 

Required:

• Institutional Support (see Letter of Institutional Support for supervisors)
• Commitment to attend in-person retreat in Sante Fe, New Mexico (Early March 2027)
• Commitment to attend monthly group meetings, and monthly webinars (~2 hour monthly commitment)
• Commitment to fulfill all program assignments

Ideal Candidates:

The Institute is designed for mid-career professionals working across the healthcare ecosystem, including:

Health systems and care delivery organizations: clinicians, pharmacists, quality and safety leaders, health system managers and directors, sustainability officers, facilities leaders, supply chain and procurement professionals, population health leaders.

Healthcare industry partners: professionals from MedTech, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, health technology, insurance, pharmacy, consulting, and healthcare services who are working to align products, operations, procurement, and business strategy with a lower-carbon, more sustainable healthcare future.

Ideal applicants are individuals who have institutional support, leadership potential, and a desire to implement or strengthen a sustainability initiative within their organization.

There are two main application components:

• Completed application detailing professional background and sustainability interests

• Signed Letter of Institutional Support

Timeline:

• Applications open: August 3, 2026

• Application deadline: November 1, 2026*

• Cohort selection announced: December 2026

• Program begins: February 2027

* Admissions are rolling and cohort may be filled prior to November 2026. Early Applications are highly encouraged.

There is a sliding scale participation fee that covers programming across the full year as well as meals during the retreat. Roundtrip airfare, accommodations, ground transportation and miscellaneous expenses are NOT included. A hotel room block has been reserved at a discounted rate.

Program Fees:

• Non-for profit hospitals and health systems- $2,000

• For profit hospitals and health systems - $3,000

• Industry participants - $5000

• Strategic Industry Partner — $15,000

• Premier Industry Sponsor — $40,000

Through generous support from The Commonwealth Fund, the Institute can offer scholarships to candidates working in safety-net hospitals and federally qualified health centers.

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• What are the requirements to apply?

  • To apply we ask that you are a midcareer health professional in the United States currently employed within a healthcare system, institution, or company, (e.g. hospital, clinic, healthtech startup, pharmaceutical company). The application requires a completed application, a signed letter of support from a senior member of your healthcare system, company, or institution, and your CV. Incomplete applications will not be considered.

• What kind of time commitment is involved?

  • If you are accepted into the program, you will need to be available for two 60 minute webinars before the retreat in February 2027, the entire in-person retreat in early March 2027, and approximately 2.5 hours per month of synchronous group meetings and mentorship sessions and asynchronous learning modules.

• What if I have to miss a meeting/can’t attend the retreat?

  • While we understand that last-minute schedule changes happen, program participants are expected to attend >90% of program meetings. We will work with program participants to schedule monthly meetings at times that are conducive to your schedules. However, the retreat is a mandatory and integral component of the program and cannot be missed.

• Do you accept international applicants?

  • Due to the tailored focus on domestic health policy, we are only able to accommodate applicants from the United States. We encourage you to explore our other global course offerings.

• How much does the fellowship cost?

  • The program has a sliding scale from $2000 to $5000 for participants, depending on their organization. Scholarships are available to those working in FQHCs. 

• I already know exactly the initiative I want to implement. Is this program for me?

  • Yes! The program will help you further hone your project and will equip you with the skills and knowledge to enact your initiative. The structure of the program will expose you to additional technical and advocacy tools that can expand your project in unexpected ways.

• I have no clue what sustainability initiative I want to implement. Is this program for me?

  • Yes! While we hope you will use the prompts on the application to start to brainstorm well-scoped, impactful initiatives that could be transformative for your health system or organization, we expect that many participants will need additional guidance selecting, planning, pitching, and enacting their sustainability initiative. However, ideal applicants will have experience addressing sustainability improvements within their health system.

•  I am interested in participating but I suspect my organization will not be onboard. Can I still join?

  • No. Institutional support is an essential component of the program and sponsors are expected to attend the initial orientation as well as to help foster an enabling environment for program participants. Applicants must submit a letter of support signed by a senior member of the health system staff (a supervisor, department chair, or C-suite member). If you have questions about this requirement or if your supervisor would like to speak with Dr. Cecilia Sorensen about the role and expectations of sponsors, they can reach out to the program coordinator Maggie O’Donnell at mo3040@cumc.columbia.ed

• Does this count as CME?

  • We will not be offering CME credits to participants. However, we encourage you to explore options within your health system to apply any CME funds to cover program fees.

The first cohort of fellows represented 25 health systems from across 17 states. 41% of fellows had clinical roles while the remaining fellows included professionals from pharmacy, operations, finance, and facilities management.

2025-2026 Fellow's Health Systems:

• Advocate Health
• Aliados Health
• Beth Israel Lahey Health
• Dartmouth Health
• Froedtert Health
• Grady Health System
• Harborview Medical Center
• Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, Division of Infectious Diseases
• Irving Institute for Clinical and Translational Research, Columbia University
• Levine Cancer
• Loma Linda University Health
• Maine Health
• NYC Health + Hospitals
• Rush University Medical Center
• Saint Alphonsus Medical Group
• Seattle Children's
• St. Luke's
• Trinity Health
• UChicago Medicine
• UnityPoint Health/UnityPoint Clinic
• University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus
• University of Minnesota
• University of Vermont Medical Center
• UPenn
• UVA Health