Ms. Sheehan is the strategic advisor to the CEO for people, performance and culture at Hartford HealthCare, leading enterprise programs spanning talent acquisition, workforce planning, engagement, compensation and benefits, human resources operations, organizational development, and the colleague and provider experience. Since joining Hartford HealthCare in March 2024 as its first chief people officer, she developed the system’s “people promise” as a framework for cultural transformation, informed by a listening strategy that included 33 focus groups and two systemwide pulse surveys. She refreshed leadership development by training more than 2,500 leaders in intentional leadership and certifying 65 trainers to deliver updated leadership behaviors shaped by workforce feedback. Ms. Sheehan established a strategic workforce function that produced a comprehensive talent map, guiding academic partnerships and new pipeline programs such as a medical assistant certification initiative, a respiratory therapy program and a neurodiagnostic program. She expanded early-career pathways by placing 72 interns, hosting 48 career exploration sessions and converting six apprenticeship students into full-time colleagues, while elevating succession planning through a talent review process that identified 109 leaders for advanced development. Her team implemented a new case management system and redesigned field HR operations, introduced a new low-deductible health plan and benefits learning series, and advanced market adjustments including a systemwide $18/hour wage initiative and advanced practice provider incentive redesign that improved hiring and reduced vacancies.
