Speaker's Profile

Laurie Zephyrin, MD, MBA, MPH, is Vice President of Advancing Health Equity at The Commonwealth Fund. Previously, she was Vice President of Delivery System Reform. Her work at the Fund has included advancing health equity in delivery systems and health policy, promoting high-quality, comprehensive primary health care, and promoting equity centered care for birthing people throughout the life-course. She combines her experience as a clinician, health policy maker, and health systems innovator to her role at The Commonwealth Fund to drive delivery system change. Dr. Zephyrin has extensive experience leading the vision, design, and delivery of innovative health care models across national health systems. She was the first National Director of the Reproductive Health Program at the Department of Veterans Affairs spearheading the strategic vision and leading systems change and policy to improve the health of women veterans nationwide; she served as Acting Assistant Deputy Under Secretary for Health for Community Care, and later, as Acting Deputy Under Secretary for Health for Community Care. While directing the VA’s Community Care program, Dr. Zephyrin spearheaded efforts to implement legislation, develop internal governance structures, and address patient outcomes through system-wide transformation of care delivery. As part of the leadership team, she also represented VA before Congress and other internal and external stakeholders. Her perspective and experience as a systems thinker and a leader provides refreshing insight on health care delivery and advancing health equity. She has written articles and has been featured in various publications, was named a White House Fellow, Young Global Leader, Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholar and Aspen Health Innovator Fellow. Dr. Zephyrin earned her M.D. from the New York University School of Medicine, M.B.A. and M.P.H. from Johns Hopkins University, and B.S. in Biomedical Sciences from the City College of New York. She is a board-certified obstetrician and gynecologist and completed her residency training at Harvard’s Integrated Residency Program at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital.