On May 29, Shawn Sheffield, MBA, MHSA, chief strategy officer for Keck Medicine of USC, was honored as the 2019 Woman of the Year by the Women in Health Administration of Southern California (WHA).

“I was incredibly honored to receive this award,” Sheffield said. “WHA is an amazing nonprofit organization that promotes increased visibility of women in advanced leadership positions in health care.”

Since joining Keck Medicine in 2012, Sheffield has had senior executive oversight of clinical strategic planning, including mergers and acquisitions, business development, contracting/payor relations and marketing for the health system. During her tenure, Sheffield has successfully led an enterprise-wide strategic plan, leading to unprecedented growth and furthering the university’s goal of becoming a preeminent academic medical center.

“Shawn’s impact at Keck Medicine of USC has been phenomenal,” said Tom Jackiewicz, MPH, chief executive officer for Keck Medicine. “She is one of those rare but influential professionals who make everyone in the organization better. Shawn has a remarkable drive to succeed and wants everyone to thrive — her colleagues and the enterprise as a whole. She is a special talent and truly deserving of this award.”

Since its founding in 1981, WHA’s membership has grown to more than 200 health care leaders working to support the professional growth and advancement of women in administrative health care positions.

“WHA is thrilled to have honored Shawn Sheffield as our 2019 Woman of the Year,” said Tracy Hale, Esq., president of WHA.  “Each year we solicit nominations for our Woman of the Year and Shawn’s nomination stood out from all the rest.  It was an easy decision for our Board of Directors to select her for this award.  She is the type of leader that embodies the core values WHA stands for. She is mission-driven and has demonstrated a commitment to excellence through her leadership at Keck Medicine of USC and within the healthcare community.”

Prior to joining USC, Sheffield served as the chief strategy and business officer and assistant vice chancellor of resource, strategy and planning for UC San Diego Health Sciences. She joined UC San Diego in 2006 as the vice chair for administration in the Department of Pediatrics and served at Rady Children’s Hospital in San Diego. Before that, Sheffield held academic leadership positions at the University of California, San Francisco and John Hopkins University.

“The WHA also provides valuable networking and scholarship opportunities,” Sheffield added. “It is important to celebrate the contributions women make in the workplace and on leadership teams, in particular.”

— Matthew Vasiliauskas

Shawn Sheffield, center front, was one of several women honored at the organization’s gala event on May 29. (Photo/Daniel Byun)