Our Team
Valerie L. Ward, MD, MPH
Chief Equity and Inclusion Officer
Dr. Valerie Ward received her undergraduate degree in chemistry from Harvard University, and her medical degree from Yale School of Medicine. She completed her diagnostic radiology residency at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and then began her pediatric radiology fellowship at Boston Children’s. She also completed the Harvard-wide Pediatric Health Services Research Fellowship Program.
Dr. Ward joined Boston Children’s faculty of the Department of Radiology in 2000. She served as the department’s Physician Director for Quality Improvement from 2012 to 2017. In 2012, she was awarded Harvard Medical School's prestigious Harold Amos Faculty Diversity Award for her research in improving the inpatient hospital experience for diverse patients and their families.
Dr. Ward brings an exceptional track record of success as a physician, researcher, teacher, and mentor. She was named Medical Director of Boston Children’s Office of Health Equity and Inclusion in 2017. In 2020, she was named Boston Children’s first Chief Equity and Inclusion Officer. In this role, Dr. Ward leads the essential work to make Boston Children’s a leader in health equity and inclusivity for all — our patients, our families, and our staff.
Dr. Ward collaborates closely with other Boston Children’s chiefs and senior leaders on a number of initiatives, including:
- creating an innovative coaching and academic advancement program for early career underrepresented faculty
- developing initiatives aimed to improve the recruitment, retention, and development of our diverse workforce
- evaluating existing and developing new health equity quality metrics that inform how we deliver care to all children
- improving processes for the delivery of culturally effective pediatric care
- collaborating on multidisciplinary research studies to improve child health outcomes
Externally, Dr. Ward represents Boston Children’s and its commitment to health equity on the Solutions for Patient Safety (SPS) Health Equity Leadership Workgroup and the newly created SPS Ambulatory Foundations Workgroup.
Nikki Tennermann, LICSW
Administrative Director
Geeranan Chuersanga, MS
Program Coordinator
Patrice Melvin, MPH
Senior Data Analyst
Lois Lee, MD, MPH
Senior Faculty Advisor
Sabra Katz-Wise, PhD
Senior Faculty Advisor
