Award Nominations
NCHL's 2025 Awardees, Ruth Frey and Brian Gragnolati
Nominations for the Gail L. Warden Leadership Excellence Award were accepted in April and May 2026. We announced the 2026 Awardee, Michelle Hood, in July 2026.
Nominations for the 2025 NCHL International Healthcare Leadership Award were accepted in July and August, and the Awardee will be announced in September 2026.
During each nomination period, link(s) are provided below. For questions, please contact info@nchl.org.
2026 Selection Committees:
2026 Gail L. Warden Leadership Excellence Award Selection Committee
- Jill Schwieters, NCHL Board Chair
- Marna Borgstrom, Retired CEO, Yale New Haven Health
- Richard “Chip” Davis, PhD, CEO, Rochester Regional Health; NCHL Board Member
- David Ertel, Chief Financial Officer, Vizient, Inc.; NCHL Board Member
- Melinda L. Estes, MD, Retired President & CEO, Saint Luke’s Health System, 2023 GLW Award Recipient
- Carrie Harris-Muller, Senior Vice President and Chief Population Health Officer, OhioHealth; NCHL Board Member
- Brian Gragnolati, Retired CEO, Atlantic Health, 2025 GLW Recipient
- Cathy Jacobson, Retired CEO, Froedert Health, 2024 GLW Award Recipient
- Jessica Melton, EVP & Chief Transformation Officer, University of Florida Health; NCHL Board Member
- Bob Riney, MD, President & CEO, Henry Ford Health
2026 International Healthcare Leadership Award Selection Committee
- Ali Baaj, MD, Director, Spine Technology, Innovation, and Fellowship Programs; Professor, Neurological Surgery; Vice-Chair, International Outreach, Northwestern University – The Feinberg School of Medicine/Northwestern Medicine
- Maxine Carrington, Senior Vice President & Chief People Officer, Northwell Health
- Bob Clarke, Chairman, Furst Group & NuBrick Partners
- Ruth Frey, MSN, CPNP, Executive Director, Global Collaborations, Boston Children's Hospital - Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
- Heitham Hassoun, MD, Chief Executive, International, Cedars-Sinai
- Jessica Melton, EVP & Chief Transformation Officer, UF Health
- Mick Merritt, COO, Penn Signature Services, Penn Medicine
- Nida Shekhani, Chief Strategy Officer & Deputy Operating Officer, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center
The Gail L. Warden Leadership Excellence Award
Nominations for the 2026 Gail L. Warden Leadership Excellence Award are now closed.
The Gail L. Warden Leadership Excellence Award was named in honor of Gail L. Warden, founding chairman of NCHL, president emeritus of Henry Ford Health System, and one of healthcare’s foremost leaders. This distinction recognizes his remarkable accomplishments as an innovator in healthcare delivery, community wellness, and health policy, and as a mentor and inspiration to future generations. This enduring tribute is in recognition of Mr. Warden’s leadership legacy. This award is given to an individual who has made significant and lasting leadership contributions to the health and healthcare field.
The NCHL International Healthcare Leadership Award
Nominations for the 2026 International Healthcare Leadership Award are now closed.
The NCHL International Healthcare Leadership Award honors a leader whose commitment, values, and contributions have made a significant and positive impact on the provision of healthcare across international borders.
About Gail L. Warden
Gail L. Warden, President Emeritus, Henry Ford Health System & Founding Board Member of the National Center for Healthcare Leadership (NCHL)
Gail L. Warden is President Emeritus of Henry Ford Health System in Detroit, Michigan, one of the nation’s leading vertically integrated healthcare systems.
Warden is an elected member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences. He served on its Board of Health Care Services, Committee on Quality Health Care in America and served two terms on the Governing Council. He chairs its Committee on the Future of Emergency Care in the United States Health System. He chairs the board of the National Quality Forum, and the newly created National Center for Healthcare Leadership. He is a member of The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Board of Trustees, the Institute for Healthcare Improvement Board and the RAND Health Board of Advisors. He is director emeritus and past chairman of the Board of the National Committee on Quality Assurance. In 1997 President Clinton appointed him to the Federal Advisory Commission on Consumer Protection and Quality in the Health Care Industry. In 1995 Warden served as chairman of the American Hospital Association Board of Trustees. He served as a member of the Pew Health Professions Commission, the National Commission on Civic Renewal and past chairman of the Health Research and Education Trust Board of Directors.