Kate Walsh, secretary of Health and Human Services for Massachusetts and a veteran healthcare executive, will deliver the 2024 Boston University School of Public Health Convocation Address on Saturday, May 18.

As the former president and chief executive officer of Boston Medical Center health system from 2010 to 2023, Walsh is no stranger to the BU community. She stepped down from her BMC role in January 2023 when Governor Maura Healey tapped Walsh to join her administration as health secretary, succeeding Governor Charlie Baker’s HHS secretary, Marylou Sudders (CAS’76, SSW’78, Hon.’22).

As the chief health officer for the commonwealth, Walsh oversees a team of more than 21,000 staff members across 11 agencies and the MassHealth system, who provide services and programs to nearly one in every three Massachusetts residents.

Eliminating health disparities and achieving health equity are goals that Walsh has prioritized throughout her career. As head of HHS, she leads an agency that provides Bay State residents with access to medical and behavioral health care, long-term services and supports, and important nutritional and financial benefits. 

“Together, we will work to advance racial health equity, address affordability, spur innovative solutions to our health care challenges, and ensure that people live healthy lives,” she said in a Mass.gov press release last year announcing her new position.

At BMC, Walsh oversaw the 514-bed medical center that is the primary teaching affiliate of Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine and the region’s largest safety-net hospital, as well as WellSense Health Plan, a Medicaid Managed Care Organization, and Boston HealthNet, an affiliated network of 14 community health centers. She managed the system through multiple COVID-19 surges and recoveries by expanding telehealth capabilities, bolstering regional resource management, establishing a COVID Recuperation Unit, and coordinating with state and local government. During Walsh’s tenure, the hospital system won several accolades, including being named one of the 100 Great Hospitals by Becker’s Hospital Review and the 4th Most Socially Responsible Hospitals in the Nation by the Lown Group in 2022.

Before joining BMC, Walsh served as executive vice president and chief operating officer of Brigham and Women’s Hospital, chief operating officer for Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research, and in multiple position at Massachusetts General Hospital, including senior vice president of medical services and the MGH Cancer Center. 

Prior to MGH, Walsh held positions at New York City hospitals, including Montefiore, Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center, Saint Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital Center and the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation. 

Walsh received her Bachelor of Arts and Master of Public Health degrees from Yale University. She has served on several boards, including the board of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, the Boston Public Health Commission, the Massachusetts Hospital Association, the Association of American Medical Colleges, Pine Street Inn, and Yale University.   

The SPH Convocation will begin at 9:30 am on May 18 at the BU Track & Tennis Center. Those unable to attend in person can watch a live broadcast (with CART transcription), starting at 9:30 am ET via livestream here. CART (Speech to Text) is also available via personal phone/tablet during the ceremony at the following link: go.bu.edu/ttc