CHA Names Dawn M. Wolff as Chief Innovation and Transformation Officer

LENEXA, Kan. — The Children's Hospital Association (CHA) today announced that Dawn M. Wolff has joined the association as Chief Innovation & Transformation Officer, a newly established executive leadership role designed to advance CHA's long-term strategy, innovation agenda, and future readiness on behalf of children's hospitals nationwide.

Wolff will lead the integration of enterprise strategy, innovation, pediatric health intelligence, strategic partnerships, and transformation initiatives. Working across the association, she will develop and execute a dynamic multi-year strategy, anticipate emerging opportunities and challenges in children's health, and accelerate innovative solutions that strengthen CHA's value to member hospitals and improve outcomes for children and families.

"Dawn brings a unique combination of strategic vision, innovation expertise, and deep knowledge of children's health care," said Matthew Cook, CEO of the Children's Hospital Association. "Throughout her career, she has brought people together around bold ideas, transformed strategies into action and created meaningful value for health systems and the communities they serve. We are thrilled to welcome her to the CHA leadership team."

Wolff joins CHA after 20 years at Children's Mercy, where she most recently served as Vice President of Strategy, Innovation and Partnerships. During her tenure, she led strategy, innovation, community impact initiatives, strategic partnerships, and organizational growth efforts. Her work advanced some of the organization's most significant priorities and gave her a deep understanding of the opportunities and challenges facing children's hospitals.

Wolff has served on CHA's Chief Strategy Officer Forum since 2018 and also completed a four-year term as president of the International Society for Pediatric Innovation (iSPI). Through these roles, she developed strong relationships across the pediatric health care ecosystem and gained a deep appreciation for the diverse needs of children's hospitals. These experiences reinforced her belief that the most complex challenges in children's health are best addressed through collaboration, shared learning, and partnership.

Throughout her career, Wolff has built high-performing teams and forged coalitions across organizations and disciplines to advance complex initiatives. She established Children's Mercy's Center for Pediatric Innovation and co-created PedsMarket, an innovation marketplace connecting children's hospitals, innovators, startups, and industry partners to accelerate pediatric innovation and foster meaningful partnerships across the pediatric ecosystem. She is widely recognized for her ability to create alignment around a common purpose, foster collaborative environments where innovation can thrive, and bring strategy to life through initiatives that create lasting impact for children, families, and the organizations that serve them.

"Children's hospitals are navigating a rapidly evolving health care landscape and meeting that moment will require both innovation and collaboration," said Wolff. "Developing trusted relationships across the children's health community has been one of the greatest privileges of my career. Those experiences have given me a deep appreciation for the challenges member hospitals face and the vital role CHA plays in helping them succeed. I am honored to join CHA and excited to work alongside such an exceptional team and its member organizations as we advance our shared mission and strengthen our collective impact on children's health."

Wolff holds a Master of Public Administration from the University of Missouri–Kansas City Henry W. Bloch School of Management.