Jody Hereford has a passion for health and how we create it both in our individual lives and within organizations and populations.
As a nurse, Jody was aware that people and systems, all too often, were targeted on the treatment of illness when there was great opportunity to re-center to partner with the patient on health. Her nursing background focused her understanding of the pathophysiology of disease and it fueled her curiosity to study and practice the physiology of health through a graduate degree and numerous learning opportunities including a Cardiovascular Health Fellowship through the American Hospital Association’s Health Forum.
Jody has been fortunate to learn and practice her passion in a number of roles and organizations including work with people living with chronic heart and lung illness through cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation. She’s challenged an employee population to create better health at The Boeing Company. She led new national processes and policies as the President of the American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation (AACVPR) to center on health and prevention. Jody helped hospitals see and strategize on how to decrease preventable complications and death through planned and proactive systems improvement in her work in quality at HealthGrades. She has worked with Kaiser on health care improvement, innovation, and design. Recently, Jody served as a designer, facilitator, and faculty member of the Clinical Health Coach Training Program. She is a Certified Coach and a member of the Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers (MINT).
In her free time, Jody can be found exploring and enjoying the Colorado high country with her Golden Retriever Therapy Dog, Pearl.