The 20 hospitals on U.S. News and World Report’s 2026-27 Best Hospitals Honor Roll collectively employ hundreds of thousands of workers across some of the most competitive healthcare labor markets in the country.
The HR and administrative leaders overseeing those workforces include longtime executives and leaders who stepped into their roles within the past two years.
U.S. News evaluated nearly 4,500 hospitals across 14 adult specialties and 23 procedures and conditions, and only 16% of evaluated hospitals earned a Best Hospitals designation.
Here are the HR executives of each organization recognized on the honor roll (hospitals are listed in alphabetical order):
Brigham and Women’s Hospital; Massachusetts General Hospital (Boston): Mary Ellen Schopp has served as CHRO of Somerville, Mass.-based Mass General Brigham since July 2024. She has served in the role on an interim basis since fall 2023.
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center (Los Angeles): Andrew Ortiz has served as senior vice president and CHRO of Cedars-Sinai since 2016.
Cleveland Clinic: Kelly Hancock, DNP, RN, executive vice president, chief caregiver officer and chief administrative officer, has overseen enterprise human resources since 2020.
Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia): Katie Heeter was named CHRO of Penn Medicine in August 2024.
Houston Methodist Hospital: Michael Brown was appointed senior vice president and CHRO of Houston Methodist in April 2023.
Johns Hopkins Hospital (Baltimore): Inez Stewart has served as senior vice president of HR for Johns Hopkins Medicine since January 2017. Enbar Cohen was named vice president of HR for Johns Hopkins Hospital in March.
Mayo Clinic (Rochester, Minn.): Christina Zorn has served as chief administrative officer of Mayo Clinic, overseeing human resources, since 2021.
Mayo Clinic-Arizona (Phoenix): Roshanak Didehban has served as chief administrative officer since 2022.
Mayo Clinic-Florida (Jacksonville): Ajani Dunn was named chief administrative officer in December 2021.
Mount Sinai Hospital (New York City): Beth Yagoda was appointed executive vice president and chief administrative officer of Mount Sinai Health System, managing human resources, in July 2024.
NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital-Columbia and Cornell (New York City): Shaun Smith has served as group senior vice president and chief people and culture officer of NewYork-Presbyterian since May 2022.
Northwestern Medicine-Northwestern Memorial Hospital (Chicago): Elizabeth Quinn has served as senior vice president of administration, overseeing human resources, since March 2022.
NYU Langone Hospitals (New York City): Nancy Sanchez serves as executive vice president and vice dean for human resources at NYU Langone Health.
Rush University Medical Center (Chicago): Courtney Kammer was named senior vice president and CHRO of Rush University System for Health in January 2020.
Stanford Health Care-Stanford Hospital (Palo Alto, Calif.): Dawn Rorig was appointed senior vice president and CHRO of Stanford Medicine in April 2023.
UC San Diego Health-La Jolla, Hillcrest, and East Campus Medical Centers: Kimberlee Eskierka has served as CHRO of UC San Diego Health since October 2024.
UCLA Ronald Reagan Medical Center (Los Angeles): Shawn Kang was appointed CHRO of UCLA Health in July 2025.
UCSF Health-UCSF Medical Center (San Francisco): Laura Dannels, PhD, was named CHRO for UC San Francisco in December.
University of Michigan Health-Ann Arbor: Jovita Thomas-Williams has served as CHRO of Michigan Medicine since March 2024.
At the Becker's 11th Annual IT + Revenue Cycle Conference: The Future of AI & Digital Health, taking place September 14–17 in Chicago, healthcare executives and digital leaders from across the country will come together to explore how AI, interoperability, cybersecurity, and revenue cycle innovation are transforming care delivery, strengthening financial performance, and driving the next era of digital health. Apply for complimentary registration now.
