Kate Walsh ’77, ’79 MPH

Kate Walsh is the secretary of health and human services for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.  A former Yale trustee, Walsh holds an MPH degree in hospital administration from Yale School of Public Health. She oversees the state government’s largest department, which includes twelve state agencies, two soldiers’ homes, and the MassHealth program—Massachusetts’ combined Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).

Walsh previously was president and CEO of Boston Medical Center (BMC). In that role, she advocated for greater resources for behavioral health care and led a collaborative effort to create affordable housing in Dorchester, Roxbury, and Mattapan, and to train and connect Black and Latinx residents with full-time jobs in health care, technology, and biotech industries. Under her watch, BMC also established the first transgender medical program in New England.

Throughout her tenure, Walsh maintained a stable financial performance across the BMC Health System, while earning accolades as one of the 100 Great Hospitals by Becker’s Hospital Review, the 4th Most Socially Responsible Hospitals in the Nation by the Lown Group in 2022, and one of Forbes 2022 Best in State Employers. BMC has also been recognized nationally for its sustainability work and recently opened a 100 percent carbon neutral behavioral health facility in Brockton to care for patients with co-occurring behavioral health and substance use disorders.

Walsh served on Yale’s University Council and was a non-trustee member of the Yale Corporation Committee on the School of Medicine prior to being elected as an alumni fellow in 2017. In addition to her role as a Yale trustee, she has also served on the boards of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, American Hospital Association, Boston Public Health Commission, Massachusetts Health & Hospital Association, Association of American Medical Colleges, America’s Essential Hospitals, and the Pine Street Inn, a Boston-based organization that supports and advocates for unhoused people.