BOSTON, June 30, 2025 – The Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) today announced that Sylvia Trent-Adams, PhD, RN, FAAN, FNAP, ANEF, will become the organization’s President and CEO effective July 14, 2025. Dr. Trent-Adams is a distinguished health care leader and public health advocate who has dedicated her career to improving health and health care in the US and around the world.
“It is a true honor to accept the position of President and CEO of IHI — an organization that I view as a global powerhouse for quality improvement, patient safety, and health equity,” said Dr. Trent-Adams. “I believe we’re at an inflection point both domestically and abroad, and IHI is positioned to be a change agent and a force for good in health and health care worldwide. I look forward to working with IHI staff, leadership, and our coalition of partners to move forward in service of our mission.”
“Sylvia has held many titles during her impressive career — nurse, soldier, researcher, Rear Admiral, Acting Surgeon General, university President — and we’re thrilled that she’s adding ‘IHI President and CEO’ to that list,” said Gerald Hickson, MD, IHI Board Chair. “We’ve had the honor of working closely with Sylvia since she joined IHI’s board of directors three years ago and know her to be a person of strong character, humility and integrity, an experienced health care leader, and a passionate advocate for safety and quality improvement.”
Dr. Trent-Adams will succeed Kedar Mate, MD, who stepped down as IHI’s President and CEO in December 2024 to establish a new venture in the health care AI space. Since that time, Chief Operating Officer, Melissa Panagides-Busch, has served as both COO and Interim CEO. She will return to her full-time role as COO when Dr. Trent-Adams begins her tenure as President and CEO. The board is grateful to Ms. Panagides-Busch for her steady leadership during this time of transition.
A lifelong public servant, Dr. Trent-Adams served for more than 30 years in the US Army and US Public Health Service Commissioned Corps (USPHS). This included service as Deputy Surgeon General and Acting Surgeon General — roles in which she combined scientific rigor, trusted leadership, and a focus on equity to protect and improve the health of all Americans. As US Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health, she led numerous national and global public health initiatives, directed HHS-wide public health policies and programs, and managed national public health response efforts. Most recently, Dr. Trent-Adams served as President of the University of North Texas Health Science Center (UNTHSC). During her tenure at the university, UNTHSC was awarded a $150 million grant to research Alzheimer’s disease, the largest grant in the UNT system’s history. Dr. Trent-Adams also oversaw the launch of a new College of Nursing at UNTHSC.
Dr. Trent-Adams has significant experience on the global stage, which will be an asset to IHI staff, partners, and customers around the world. She led HIV/AIDS initiatives in Sub-Saharan Africa, and she was the first commanding officer on the ground in Monrovia, Liberia, leading the Commission Corps Ebola response. She also represented the US at the World Health Organization’s Global Nursing Forum, where she advocated for nursing and public health policies that advance equitable care worldwide.
“The board of directors has full confidence that under Sylvia’s leadership, IHI will build on its legacy of impact — advancing the science of improvement, improving systems and outcomes at scale, and shaping the future of health and health care worldwide,” concluded Hickson.
About the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI)
The Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) is a leading, globally recognized not-for-profit health care improvement organization that has been applying evidence-based quality improvement methods to meet current and future health care challenges for more than 30 years. IHI provides millions of people in health care with methods, tools, and resources to make care better, safer, and more equitable; convenes experts to enable knowledge sharing and peer-learning; and advises health systems and hospitals of all sizes in improving their systems and outcomes at scale. IHI’s mission is to innovate and lead transformational improvement in health and health care worldwide.
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