Sr. Mary Haddad, RSM, a member of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas, is the tenth president and chief executive officer of the Catholic Health Association of the United States (CHA). She assumed the position in July 2019, succeeding Sr. Carol Keehan, DC, upon her retirement.
Sr. Mary leads CHA's mission to support and advance the health ministry of the Catholic Church in the United States with its network of hospitals, long-term care facilities and community health centers that represent the largest group of nonprofit health providers in the nation. She oversees CHA operations at the association's Washington, D.C., and St. Louis offices.
In conjunction with CHA's Board of Trustees, Sr. Mary leads the association's strategic planning and develops initiatives to support CHA member organizations in providing high-quality, accessible health care to people of all ages, races, faith traditions and ethnic groups from conception to natural death.
She also directs CHA's national advocacy initiatives to protect life; promote the well-being of communities; address social determinants and disparities; develop new models of health delivery; protect Medicaid, Medicare and other vital safety net programs; and create a just health system that works for everyone, particularly poor and vulnerable persons. She has overall responsibility for administration and program development in areas of advocacy, mission, sponsorship, ethics, community benefit, leadership development, ministry formation, global health and relationships with bishops and other leaders of the Catholic Church.
Prior to her selection as president and CEO, Sr. Mary served as CHA's vice president of sponsorship and mission services since 2016. In that capacity, she directed critical areas of sponsorship, mission, ethics, leadership development and ministry formation, including development of numerous educational programs, resources and collaborations with member health systems, universities, social service agencies and community groups. From 2009 to 2016, she served as senior director of sponsor services and initiated CHA's Sponsor Formation Program for Catholic Health Care to prepare members of ministerial juridic persons to carry out their canonical responsibility as stewards of the health ministry of the Catholic Church.
Her previous experience includes serving on the regional leadership team of the Sisters of Mercy, St. Louis, and working in areas of health care, social service and education, including service in Belize, Central America and Trinidad and Tobago in the West Indies.
Sr. Mary received her master's degree in business administration in health care from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota, and a master's degree in social work from Saint Louis University. She has a bachelor's degree in education from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Illinois. She is a member of Alpha Sigma Nu, the honor society of Jesuit Institutions of Higher Education.
She is a member of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, an office of the Roman Curia located in Vatican City; a member observer of the committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB); a consultant of the Subcommittee on Health Issues of the USCCB; and a board member of The University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota.