Michelle D. Hereford, MSHA, RN, FACHE

Bio

Michelle D. Hereford, MSHA, RN, FACHE joined UH in April 2021 as the System’s Chief Nursing Executive. She also holds the Ethel Morikis Endowed Chair in Nursing Leadership.

In this role, Ms. Hereford is responsible for the overall delivery and management of nursing operations, professional practice, education, professional development, research, administration, and clinical services. Additionally, she is charged with staff accountability for enhancing a clinical practice environment that is patient centered, with unsurpassed patient experience, clinical quality and patient safety while also providing significant contributions to education and research. Ms. Hereford also serves as a member of the Executive Leadership Team.

Ms. Hereford’s broad nursing and administrative leadership experience spans nearly three decades to include small and large community hospitals, major academic medical centers, proprietary organizations, health systems, and the post-acute industry. In her most recent position prior to joining UH, she served as Senior Vice President, System Chief Nursing Officer and Post-Acute Care Officer for AMITA Health – previously Illinois’ largest healthcare system comprised of 19 hospitals in the Chicago area.

Ms. Hereford also served as Chief of the Community Hospitals & Post-Acute Division at the University of Virginia Health System, an academic healthcare center associated with the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. Additionally, she served as Chief of their Transitional Care Hospital, where she led operations, fiscal and human resource management, effective resource utilization, and short- and long-range strategic planning.

In 2025, Ms. Hereford was named a Woman of Achievement by YWCA Greater Cleveland and is routinely recognized as a Black Healthcare Leader to Know and a Chief Nursing Officer to Know by Becker’s Healthcare. In 2023, she was recognized as a Women of Influence by the Cleveland Business Journal.

Ms. Hereford serves on the board of the Cuyahoga Community College Foundation and the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission. She is an active member of the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE), National Association of Health Service Executives, American Organization of Nurse Leaders, National Black Nurses Association and the American Nurses Association and previously served on numerous industry- and community-related boards, including the Virginia Board of Nursing, the National Association of Health Service Executives, and Adventist Healthcare Fort Washington Medical Center. She is also committed to service as a member of The Cleveland Chapter of the Links, Inc.

Ms. Hereford earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing and Master of Science in Healthcare Administration from Virginia Commonwealth University/Medical College of Virginia and her Diploma of Nursing from Riverside School of Professional Nursing in Newport News, Virginia. She is also a fellow in the ACHE.