Stephanie Mercado
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Stephanie Mercado, CAE, CPHQ, is the Chief Executive Officer of the National Association for Healthcare Quality® (NAHQ), the leading organization elevating the profession and advancing the discipline of healthcare quality and safety. Under her leadership, NAHQ sets the industry standard for quality workforce competencies and empowers individuals and organizations across the U.S. and globally to achieve excellence.
A high-growth healthcare CEO for more than a decade, Mercado has more than 25 years of progressive leadership experience and has transformed NAHQ into the preeminent voice for the healthcare quality workforce. This has resulted in advancement of the discipline of Quality and increased visibility and credibility for the Quality workforce.
In partnership with NAHQ’s board of directors, staff and volunteers, Mercado is leading the charge to align the industry to a common workforce competency standard for Quality. This endeavor includes the development of a comprehensive, expert-created, twice-validated NAHQ Healthcare Quality Competency Framework™ and the first healthcare Quality & Safety workforce study, offering revealing insight into workforce readiness and outlining critical development opportunities for individuals and teams.
A builder by nature, Mercado then led the development of Workforce Accelerator®, a scalable organizational solution to assess, upskill and align healthcare workforces in Quality & Safety competencies. The results of this initiative led to, for the first time, defining the ROI of investing in quality and patient safety outlined in the groundbreaking ROI-Q™ Report.
Under her direction, NAHQ has become an influential national force—shaping regulatory and accreditation priorities, expanding quality and safety curricula in academic programs, and forging strategic alliances, including a landmark collaboration with Joint Commission to strengthen healthcare quality training and standards.
Her leadership has earned significant recognition. Mercado has been named to Modern Healthcare’s “100 Most Influential People in Healthcare” in 2023, 2024, and 2025, and was selected as one of the Top 25 Women Leaders in 2023. Under her direction, NAHQ received Modern Healthcare’s “Best in Business” Award in 2024 and 2025 and numerous industry accolades for innovation, workforce solutions, and association excellence.
Mercado is widely recognized as a compelling, visionary leader with COO-level operational sensibilities. She is sought after for her ability to translate complex quality challenges into strategic, scalable solutions. To that end, Mercado is a highly sought-after speaker and author who speaks nationally about strategies to drive Quality in healthcare and improve healthcare outcomes. She is a frequent author on workforce development, quality improvement, value-based care, women’s leadership, and healthcare transformation.
Mercado serves on numerous influential committees and advisory groups, including:
- Joint Commission Resources Board, elected in 2025
- The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Technical Experts Panel (TEP)
- Committees led by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)
- The Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) National Steering Committee for Patient Safety
- The Patient Safety Movement Foundation (Advisory Member)
- Patients for Patient Safety US, supporting the WHO Global Patient Safety Action Plan
- Women Business Leaders of the US Health Care Industry Foundation (WBL)
Prior to joining NAHQ, Mercado served in an executive position with the American Academy of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation and supported the American Orthopedic Association.
Mercado holds the CPHQ credential, is a Certified Association Executive (CAE) and a Health Evolution Senior Fellow. In 2018, she was recognized by .orgCommunity with the Outstanding Nonprofit Leader Award.
