Senior Leadership

  Bruce Siegel, MD, MPH
President & CEO
[email protected]  

Dr. Siegel has an extensive background in health care management, policy and public health. Before joining America's Essential Hospitals (formerly the National Association of Public Hospitals and Health Systems), he served as Director of the Center for Health Care Quality and Professor of Health Policy at the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services. He also previously served as president and CEO of two association members: Tampa General Healthcare and the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation. In addition, Dr. Siegel has served as commissioner of health for the State of New Jersey.

Among many accomplishments, Dr. Siegel has led groundbreaking work on quality and equity for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, as well as projects for the Commonwealth Fund, the California Endowment, and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. He also was ranked as one of the “50 Most Influential Physician Executives” and one of the "100 Most Influential People in Healthcare" in 2011 by Modern Healthcare. Currently, he chairs the National Advisory Council for Healthcare Research and Quality.

Dr. Siegel earned an A.B. from Princeton University, a doctor of medicine from Cornell University Medical College, and a master of Public Health from Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health.


Beth Feldpush, DrPH
Senior Vice President for Policy and Advocacy
[email protected]

Dr. Feldpush oversees America's Essential Hospitals' advocacy, policy, and communications work. In this role, she provides strategic leadership and advocacy on behalf of safety net health systems. Feldpush directs the association's federal government affairs portfolio, as well as the organization’s policy development activities. She oversees the association’s internal and external communications efforts. Feldpush also manages the association’s participation in and leadership of coalitions and allied organization activities—acting as a liaison to other trade associations.

Feldpush previously served as a senior associate director for policy at the American Hospital Association (AHA), where she worked on health care delivery system reform and hospital quality and patient safety issues. Prior to joining the AHA, Feldpush worked at the U.S. Government Accountability Office, where her work focused on Medicare payment policy, end-of-life care, geographic variation in service delivery, and health care workforce adequacy. She also serves as adjunct faculty for the George Washington University School of Public Health Department of Health Policy.



Jill Steinbruegge, MD, PhD
Senior Vice President for Leadership and Innovation
[email protected]

Dr. Steinbruegge is a physician leader who has a proven track record in working with large health care organizations — leading national initiatives that required developing teams of diverse stakeholders to achieve clinical transformation in nonprofit health systems. She previously held executive positions at the Permanente Federation and has most recently led work for the California HealthCare Foundation to improve the patient experience in California safety net organizations.

Now, Steinbruegge oversees the Transformation Center of the Essential Hospitals Institute (formerly the National Public Health and Hospital Institute), expanding the organization’s capacity to provide resources and tools to help safety net hospitals transform how they deliver care to patients by utilizing more integrated high-quality, affordable, and population-focused models.


Linda C. Cummings, Ph.D.
Director of Essential Hospitals Institute
Vice President for Research, America's Essential Hospitals
[email protected]  

Linda Cummings, Ph.D. is the director of the Essential Hospitals Institute (formerly the National Public Health and Hospital Institute), which conducts original research into issues concerning safety net institutions. Dr. Cummings is responsible for leading research projects and coordinating research activities with strategic priorities used in association-wide initiatives. Dr. Cummings also serves as vice president for Research for America's Essential Hospitals. Previously, she was a consultant with Radiant Communications and The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Dr. Cummings received her PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in American politics and public policy, with a concentration in health policy and regulation.




Rhonda Gold
Vice President for Finance and Administration/CFO
[email protected]

Rhonda Gold has been employed with Essential Hospitals Institute (formerly the National Public Health and Hospital Institute) since 1992. She has more than 25 years of accounting experience and is a certified public accountant. Her primary responsibilities include providing oversight and managing of all finance, IT, human resources, and operational functions of America's Essential Hospitals and the institute. Before joining the organization, she was the assistant controller at a large employment agency, an accounting manager for two property management companies, an auditor for Marriott Corp., and an auditor for a large public accounting firm. She graduated on the dean’s list from the University of Maryland with a bachelor of science degree.




Kristine Metter
Vice President for Member Services
[email protected] 

Kristine Metter has worked in the nonprofit and association industry for more than 20 years, primarily in the health care arena. She now serves as America's Essential Hospitals' vice president for member services. In this role, she spearheads membership recruitment and engagement activities, as well as association meetings.

Prior to joining America's Essential Hospitals, Ms. Metter has been vice president of administration and operations for the Visiting Nurse Associations of America, a vice president for AcademyHealth, and director of membership for the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators. She is a certified association executive (CAE) and holds a master's degree in nonprofit management from the University of Maryland University College and a BSBA in marketing from the University of Missouri.



Resources for this section

From: 
Email:  
To: 
Email:  
Subject: 
Message: