Katherine Schneider
Family Medicine / Population Health
Tell us about your work.
I am the President and CEO of Delaware Valley ACO in the Philadelphia region – one of the largest Accountable Care Organizations in the country. I am also Chairman of the Board of the National Association of ACOs. I am passionate about changing the care model underlying the health system in order to improve the health status of the communities that we serve.
What helped get you there?
I first joined AMWA in 1986 as a first year medical student (freshly graduated from a women’s college). I subsequently served two terms on the board as National Student Coordinator and through AMWA I first experienced formal leadership training (including a Meyer’s Briggs assessment that fit the CEO profile, which astounded me and made me rethink my future!). Here I am now as a CEO and a recently rejoined AMWA life member. Along the way I have been lifted up by many mentors and sponsors, and support along a non traditional career path that always included a passion for population health. The role models that I was so fortunate to have early on were core to my confidence in pursuing leadership roles all along the way — in rooms and at tables where women were (and are still) vastly underrepresented.
Have there been any interests that you have continued to pursue outside of medicine? Have you been able to combine these with your medical career?
I am a mom, stepmom, dog mom, wife, world traveler, yoga practitioner, foodie, urban dweller. Several years ago I became a Unitarian Universalist and these values shape my commitment to social justice in health (and leadership). I am trying to figure out how to weave population health into a (someday) sabbatical roadtrip across America. My superpower is ability to make a really good meal out of just about anything in 20 minutes.
What advice do you have for students?
Write your own job description! You are the best judge of how you can contribute, that may not be visible to others unless you point it out! And practice self-care because you need to “put your own oxygen mask on first” in order to care for your patients, families, teams and communities.
