CHICAGO – In partnership with The Society of Information Management (SIM) Chicago Chapter and the CompTIA AITP Chicago Chapter, The Executives’ Club of Chicago is thrilled to announce Heather Nelson as the winner of the 2020 CIO of the Year Award. The CIO of the Year Award has been presented for 25 years to a Chicago-based CIO whose accomplishments and innovations have created meaningful advances in the city’s IT field.
The award is given to an individual with experience in driving business value through creative leadership, innovating through technology, and creating business partnerships and best-in-class workplaces for IT professionals.
Heather Nelson is currently in the role of Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer for the Information Technology division at UChicago Medicine. In the role of SVP/CIO, she is responsible for supporting all the information management systems (clinical & business/administrative), infrastructure, clinical engineering, IT support services, IT Project Management Office, integration, reporting, and analytics capabilities & technologies, as well as the privacy & IT security functions for UChicago Medicine. Her teams are comprised of talented IT professionals that are dedicated to supporting patient care and care teams throughout the health system and in our communities through a shared services operating model.
Nelson joined UChicago Medicine in 2014 as the Executive Director of Applications Systems with oversight of all the clinical and revenue cycle management applications, clinical engineering team, population health strategies and systems, and support of the UCM Care Network strategies and systems. She was named Interim VP/CIO in August of 2017, named the VP/CIO in April of 2018, and promoted to SVP/CIO in 2019.
Prior to joining UChicago Medicine, Nelson spent time at Baystate Health in Springfield, MA as a Senior Director of Applications and IT Operations, including an Interim CIO assignment and 10 years at Spectrum Health in Grand Rapids, MI with roles in Laboratory Services, Case Management, and increasing leadership responsibilities within the Information Technology division. Nelson holds a bachelor’s degree in Biology from Alma College in Alma, MI as well as a Master’s in Healthcare Administration from Central Michigan University. She is a Certified Healthcare CIO (CHCIO) through the CHiME organization.
“I am incredibly grateful to be chosen as the 2020 CIO of the Year,” said Nelson. “Chicago is a leader of tech innovation and excellence, and I am proud to represent the work of UChicago Medicine and our wonderful team. It is an honor to be receive this award amongst such an accomplished group of tech leaders and I look forward to continuing to make Chicago a global leader for technology and innovation.”
Find more information on the 14 other nominees for the 2020 CIO of the Year Award here. In addition to the CIO of the Year Award, Sean Katz of The Vitality Group was recognized as the CIO Innovator of the Year, which recognizes a CIO who has been especially innovative in their approach to producing business results. Jill Albin-Hill from Dominican University was honored with the CIO+ Award, which celebrates a CIO who has successfully expanded their current role into other business areas and broadened their impact on driving success for the overall business entity.
About The Executives’ Club of Chicago:
The Executives’ Club of Chicago is the city’s premier membership organization focused on senior executive networking, development and innovation. For more information on the event, click here.
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