National Program Office (NPO)

Katherine Browne, M.B.A., M.H.A.

Deputy Director/Chief Operating Officer, National Program Office

Katherine Browne is the deputy director/chief operating officer of the Center for Health Care Quality in the Department of Health Policy at The George Washington University Medical Center. In that role she is responsible for the day-to-day management of Aligning Forces for Quality, a national initiative funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) that is designed to use quality improvement, public reporting of hospital and physician quality, and consumer engagement to achieve high-quality, patient-centered care in up to 20 communities across the country.

Previously, she served as managing director of the Hospital Quality Alliance. Prior roles have also included working on the Disclosure Project at the National Partnership for Women & Families, involvement with two RWJF initiatives – Networking for Rural Health and the National Health Care Purchasing Institute, and serving as director of community relations at the Visiting Nurse Association. Katherine earned dual master’s degrees in business and health administration from Washington University in St. Louis and her B.S. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Marsha Regenstein, Ph.D., M.C.P.

Associate Director, National Program Office

Marsha Regenstein serves as associate director for the Aligning Forces for Quality national program office. She has oversight for the creation, analysis and timely flow of information to support Aligning Forces for Quality, and continues to direct other technical assistance activities, building on the success of RWJF’s Speaking Together: National Language Services Network national hospital collaborative program. Regenstein also led the cardiovascular market assessment component of Expecting Success: Excellence in Cardiac Care, a RWFJ national program intended to improve the quality of health care provided to minority populations. Regenstein is an associate research professor in the Department of Health Policy at The George Washington University and director of the Department's M.S. degree in Health Policy. She was previously the director of the National Public Health, Hospital Institute, and vice president of the Economic and Social Research Institute. She received a B.A. from Brandeis University, a master of city planning from MIT, and a Ph.D. in public policy from The George Washington University.

Vickie Sears, M.S.

Assistant Director for Quality Improvement, National Program Office

Vickie Sears is the assistant director for quality improvement for the Aligning Forces for Quality national program office. She also continues to support technical assistance activities related to equitable health care building on the achievements of Expecting Success: Excellence in Cardiac Care, an RWJF national program intended to improve the quality of health care provided to minority populations in the United States. She has more than 30 years experience in the health care arena in both hospital and physician office based practices. Sears has worked as a clinical nurse specialist in both critical care and medical-surgical units. Most recently, Ms. Sears served as a member of the Washington, DC Team for the Patient Safety Improvement Corp, a collaborative jointly sponsored by AHRQ and the VA. Sears received a diploma in nursing from Henry Ford Hospital School of Nursing and a B.S.N. and an M.S. in nursing from the University of Maryland.

Bruce Siegel, M.D., M.P.H.

Director, National Program Office

Bruce Siegel serves as director for the Aligning Forces for Quality national program office. He has overall responsibility for the management and execution of program activities, and directs other technical assistance activities related to equitable health care, building on the achievements of Expecting Success: Excellence in Cardiac Care, an Robert Wood Johnson Foundation national program intended to improve the quality of health care provided to minority populations in the United States. Siegel is a research professor in the Department of Health Policy at The George Washington University Medical Center School of Public Health and Health Services. There, he also directs the RWJF national program Urgent Matters, focused on the health care safety net and emergency departments. Siegel has previously held the positions of New Jersey Commissioner of Health, president of the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation and president of Tampa General Healthcare. Siegel received an A.B. degree from Princeton University, an M.D. from Cornell University Medical College, and an M.P.H. from the Johns Hopkins University. He is board certified in preventive medicine.

Jennifer Trott, M.P.H.

Assistant Director for Communications, National Program Office

Jennifer Trott is the assistant director for communications at the Aligning Forces for Quality national program office and the Center for Health Care Quality at the George Washington University. In this role, she oversees communications activities and vehicles on behalf of the NPO, including the development and implementation of Web sites, meetings, product dissemination and branding. Ms. Trott was formerly a research associate for Speaking Together: National Language Services Network, a project funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. She has research experience in health care disparities and cultural competence in serving vulnerable populations, and led the effort to create a toolkit on hospital-based language services. She holds a B.A. in bioethics and French from Wellesley College and an M.P.H. in health policy from The George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services.

Marcia Wilson, Ph.D., M.B.A.

Assistant Director for Regional Support, National Program Office

Marcia Wilson is the assistant director for regional support for Aligning Forces for Quality. Previously, she served as the deputy director of Expecting Success: Excellence in Cardiac Care. She has more than 20 years of experience in the private sector of health care working primarily with medical groups and clinics. She also teaches health care finance as a research instructor of Health Services Management and Leadership. Wilson’s main research interests focus on health care delivery systems, the financing of health care services and the use of quality improvement methods to improve patient care processes. She received a B.A. from the University of Illinois, an M.B.A. from the University of San Diego, and a Ph.D. in health services administration from The George Washington University School of Business.