News

NICHQ Names Heidi Brooks its Chief Operating Officer

July 9, 2020

BOSTON- Heidi Brooks, MA, MBA has joined NICHQ’s executive team as Chief Operating Officer (COO) on June 29, 2020. In this role, her key responsibilities include management of the general and administrative functions of the organization, including operations, human resources, and facilities management.

She most recently served as the COO of YouthBuild USA, the support center for nearly 300 programs in the US and abroad serving 16- to 24-year-old “opportunity youth” who are not working or in school. Prior to joining YouthBuild, Brooks led finance, operations, programs, strategy and evaluation as COO of the Schott Foundation for Public Education, a charitable intermediary investing in education justice.

“This is my third COO role, so I’m excited to bring my kind of expertise and knowledge in that area to a new organization,” says Brooks. “I'm excited about working in a new sector, with public health more critical than ever and now really on the radar.”

Brooks started her career in international development, working in 15 countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America managing, designing, and auditing anti-poverty programs for the World Bank and several large NGOs. “The thread that runs through my career is helping people get out of poverty, and good health is a key element of economic mobility.” She spent the previous eight years in corporate philanthropy in two roles. First, as head of the Citizens Bank Foundation, where she worked with the CEO to set strategy for the $18 million Foundation and launched the innovative Citizens Helping Citizens employee giving campaign and more than doubled volunteer hours. Then, as Director of Community Relations at John Hancock Financial Services, she oversaw $11 million in cash and in-kind giving annually and expanded the MLK Summer Scholars program to provide a record 650 summer jobs and programming to Boston teens.

Brooks is excited to be working for a change-driven organization, finding value in NICHQ’s approach to working in partnership with communities and providers to achieve collaborative change, as well as NICHQ’s emphasis on data monitoring and evaluation techniques. “I'm particularly intrigued by NICHQ’s attention to social determinants of health and increased focus on equity and eliminating disparities.”

“Heidi’s previous leadership experience within the non-profit and philanthropic sectors will enhance the overall capabilities of our organization.” says NICHQ CEO Scott D. Berns, MD, MPH, FAAP. “We are fortunate to have Heidi join our team, as she brings her passion to address health equity and social determinants of health in order to improve the health of all children and families.”

Brooks holds a B.A. from the University of South Carolina, an M.A. from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School. She has been active with a number of nonprofits and foundations, including Economic Mobility Pathways and chairing the Governance Committee of the Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Foundation.

"In the past, I've found myself in roles where you're pulling people out of the river, and there's not always time to see why people are falling in in the first place," says Brooks. "Being the COO of NICHQ feels like an opportunity to proactively go upstream to improve health outcomes for children and families.”

Read more about all the members of NICHQ’s executive team.

For media inquiries, please contact:

Josh Licursi

NICHQ Communications Manager

[email protected] or 617-391-2757

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