Kate Shaughnessy, MHA, PMP, Population Health Advisor, Hennepin Healthcare

What’s your current role?

As a Population Health Advisor at Hennepin Healthcare, I lead system-wide initiatives to improve care delivery, enhance health equity, and advance performance under value-based contracts. I co-design and implement scalable models that close care gaps, strengthen risk adjustment practices, and improve outreach and engagement with Medicaid and other high-priority populations. Working across departments, I facilitate change management, build collaborative teams, and align initiatives with the organization’s strategic goals to achieve the Quadruple Aim. I’m grateful to have worked with Hennepin Healthcare since 2017. 

When did you join the Women’s Health Leadership TRUST and what roles have you held within the TRUST?

I joined the TRUST in the spring of 2023. I was seeking a community of health care leaders who value connection, growth and purpose. As I was exploring membership, a TRUST leader said something that stuck with me: “Professional development is like a garden—neglect it, and it will wither; nurture it, and it will flourish.” That analogy resonated deeply. The TRUST offers rich ground to grow leadership skills, expand networks, and gain insight from remarkable women working to advance health care—and it’s a lot of fun, too.

I currently serve on the Associate Board and contribute to both the Forum Committee and the Sponsorship Committee.

What has been your favorite part of the TRUST?

My favorite part has been learning from inspiring, driven women and collectively supporting one another to elevate leadership and impact across health care. The shared commitment to empowerment and excellence creates a powerful sense of belonging and momentum. This past spring, I especially enjoyed collaborating with fellow TRUST Forum Committee members—thinking big, getting creative and having fun as we worked to bring the Forum to life.

What is the best career advice you’ve received?

The best advice I’ve received is: “Lead with curiosity, not certainty.” That mindset has helped me remain open, collaborative and growth-oriented—especially during complex changes. One of my most impactful mentors models how to lead with both vision and humility. She taught me that clarity and empathy are not opposing forces—they’re most powerful when used together. Her commitment to nurturing the next generation of leaders left a lasting impression on me.

Can you share a pivotal moment in your career that significantly influenced your leadership style?

A pivotal moment in my career came during the COVID-19 pandemic when I was leading cross-functional teams to implement surge planning and vaccine distribution. It was a period of urgency, ambiguity and intense emotional pressure. What emerged for me was a deeper understanding of the importance of resilience, real-time decision-making, and people-centered leadership. That experience reshaped how I view leadership—not as having all the answers, but as creating the conditions for others to contribute, adapt and thrive.

What emerging trend in health care are you most excited about?

I’m most excited about the upstream investment in population health and the continued shift toward value-based care. This evolution moves health care beyond episodic “sick care” and towards a proactive, person-centered system that delivers care in more accessible, equitable and coordinated ways. The emphasis on addressing social drivers of health, partnering with communities, and tying equity to performance metrics is reshaping how health systems define success. It’s about improving outcomes, reducing disparities and generating value through prevention and whole-person care. Seeing health systems align their financial models with actual community health impact is incredibly energizing. It’s a powerful step towards building sustainable systems and healthy communities.

What is an initiative you’ve led that you’re particularly proud of?

One initiative I’m especially proud of is leading Hennepin Healthcare’s Child and Teen Checkups Outreach Campaign for our Medicaid population. We designed and implemented a centralized outreach model to help ensure kids received their recommended well-child visits and preventive care. We’ve improved and sustained an annual outreach rate to over 95% through cross-functional collaboration, standardized workflows, and culturally responsive outreach. It was an equity-centered, data-informed, human-driven initiative that demonstrated how systems can be transformed to better serve families and communities.

How do you foster innovation and creativity within your team or organization?

I create an environment where it’s safe to experiment and fail forward. I encourage creative problem-solving, ask reflective questions, and make intentional space for open dialogue. At the heart of our innovation efforts is human-centered design. We ground our work in the lived experiences of the people we’re designing for—whether that’s patients, communities, or staff. We continually ask: Who is impacted? What do they need? How might we design with—not just for—them?

By keeping people at the center and making room for curiosity, we’re able to surface bold ideas that are not only innovative, but also meaningful and responsive.

What is something that not many people know about you?

I lived in rural Jordan for two years as a Peace Corps Volunteer and became proficient in Levantine Arabic. That experience expanded my worldview and helped me build empathy, reduce bias and understand that—at our core—most people simply want to live with dignity. While there, I also ran the Dead2Red race with a Peace Corps team—a 242 km relay from the Dead Sea to the Red Sea! Living abroad stretched my resilience, taught me how to build trust across cultures, and deepened my belief in the power of community.