Rosa M. Colon-Kolacko, Ph.D., MBA, CDM, SHRM-SCP is Tufts Medicine former Senior VP, Chief Diversity and Equity and Inclusion Officer responsible for advancing diversity, health equity and inclusion setting the strategic direction and implementing and managing all aspects of this strategy. Dr. Colon-Kolacko is an entrepreneur and in 2015 founded Global Equity and Learning Partners, LLC, a consulting practice that designs and implements inclusion, racial and health equity, human capital, talent development, cultural transformation and change management, strategies to build equitable and learning organizations. In 2007 and for 10 years she worked at Christiana Care Health System in Delaware, as SVP of its Learning Institute and Chief Diversity Officer as one of the first CDO’s in healthcare.

 

She is the former NYC Health + Hospitals, SVP and Chief People Officer the largest integrated municipal healthcare delivery system in the country, responsible for 43,000 plus employees with 11 hospitals and 50+ clinics. She has over 25 years’ experience in Global Pharmaceuticals, Bioscience, Health Systems, Academia,Government and Non-Profit Boards. Earlier in her career she worked at Bristol Myers-Squibb and, SmithKline Beecham (since renamed GlaxoSmithKline), leading change, cultural transformation, supply chain, learning and talent management, lean/six sigma functions in Asia, Europe, North America, and Puerto Rico.

 

Rosa is very involved in many national and state level boards and commissions: Member of the Leadership Committee of MA Health Equity Compact, and the national (AAAED), LEAD Fund for Leadership, Equity, Access and Diversity, DE AARP Executive Council. The past President of the Board of directors of the Delaware Latin America Community Center. Former member of New York City Health and Hospitals Equity Coalition, Philadelphia Collaborative for Health Equity, AHA Institute for Diversity in Health Management now IFDHE Executive Leadership Council, the board of National Association of Latino Healthcare Executive, the DE Healthy Communities promoting health equity working with DE Secretary of Public Health community, and past Chair of the DE Governor’s Hispanic Commission Health & Social Services Committee.

 

She received her Ph.D. in Organizational Development and Change from Benedictine University, an MBA from Henley Business School, University of Reading England, a post-graduate Marketing Diploma from the Chartered Institute of Marketing, London, Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP) from the Society of Human Resources Management and a Certificate in Diversity Management (CDM) from Georgetown University and the AHA Institute for Diversity and Health Equity. She is a researcher and has held Academic positions as Professor of Professional Practice at Bowling Green State University, adjunct faculty at Georgetown University, University of Delaware. For the last four years Rosa has been Adjunct Professor at Thomas Jefferson University Institute of School of Continuous and Professional Studies and is currently formalizing her appointment at Tufts School of Medicine and the Center for Translational Research Institute. She is also an Equity Fellow of the Delaware Community Foundation.