Civitas Networks for Health, a national collaborative of member organizations working to use health information exchange, health data and multi-stakeholder, cross-sector approaches to improve health, recently announced the selection of Lisa Bari as CEO, effective immediately. 

The Civitas Board of Directors carefully chose Bari, who has been serving as the Interim CEO of the newly formed Civitas Networks for Health and was formerly the Interim CEO of the Strategic Health Information Exchange Collaborative (SHIEC). She led the formal affiliation work to bring SHIEC and the Network for Regional Healthcare Improvement (NRHI) together as one new organization. 

“As we emerge from the pandemic, there is renewed energy for the role of community health leaders to advance local transformation and bring together providers, purchasers, payers and patients together to meet national goals for healthcare quality, cost and equity,” Bari commented. “We believe that our regional and statewide HIE and Regional Health Improvement Collaborative members are best-suited to advance data-driven progress, support regional and national interoperability efforts and meet the post-pandemic demand to advance public health and invest in better systems and infrastructure. 

Bari is well-prepared to lead the national network of health changemakers. She has a passion for health IT, data and quality improvement and leadership. She also understands the need for data-informed, multi-stakeholder, and cross sector approaches to bring about lasting transformation in our country.  

Prior to her Interim CEO role at SHIEC, Bari was a civil servant working at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation. She led health IT and interoperability policy for the Comprehensive Primary Care Plus model and helped author the CMS Interoperability and Patient Access rule. Lisa is clear that both health IT and interoperable data exchange are critical utilities in achieving health equity. 

In the coming year, Bari will report to the Civitas Board of Directors, which is comprised of dedicated member executive leaders who bring regional insight and critical national perspectives on issues facing Civitas members and the communities they serve. The 10-person transition Board serving from 2021-2023 represents members from each of the former national networks, NRHI and SHIEC, and is committed to building a strong foundation for the organization and national network going forward.  

Melissa Kotrys, Civitas Board Chair and CEO of Contexture shared, “The Civitas board is extremely grateful and excited to have Lisa at the helm. She is the ideal candidate for the role – her combination of health care policy, health IT and value-based care knowledge, along with her previous work at the federal government and her core leadership skills were all critical factors in the Board’s decision. We are confident that she will lead Civitas forward to achieve significant success for the organization and its members.” 

Bari holds a Bachelor of Arts in Cognitive Science from the University of California, Berkeley, an MBA from Purdue University and an MPH with a concentration in health policy and public health leadership from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Bari, her husband, and their dog Sadie live in Baltimore, Md. She is actively involved in community health care access and equity efforts and has served on the Board of Directors of HealthCare Access Maryland since 2020.