Kara Odom Walker MD, MPH, MSHS, FAAFP

Dr. Kara Odom Walker, MD, MPH, MSHS is Senior Vice President and Chief Population Health Officer (CPHO) for Nemours Children’s Health System. She leads Nemours National Office of Policy and Prevention, as well as all aspects of Population Health Strategy, Research, Innovation, and Implementation. Dr. Walker and her team are responsible for the development and implementation of national and state-specific advocacy strategies to help achieve outcomes tied to health and value while also leading Nemours’s policy agenda. She is based in Washington, D.C., and reports to Nemours President and Chief Executive Officer, R. Lawrence Moss, MD. As Nemours CPHO, Dr. Walker will lead population health program development and an enhanced research program. She will also provide management oversight and direction of innovative models of health care delivery and full execution of population health strategies that lead to high-quality children’s health outcomes. This includes accountability for the advancement of the overall health of the populations we serve in addition to the well-being of children nationally and internationally.

She will collaborate with operational leaders and share accountability for managed lives, including medically complex case management, school-based wellness programs, and other programs for specific populations. A highly accomplished executive, physician, and scientist, she is a visionary leader who has focused her career on transforming health care delivery to ensure that the system is designed to create a healthier population. She has led efforts to focus on addressing critical social determinants that impact health while eliminating unnecessary medical tests and procedures. Her philosophy and vast experience are a tremendous asset to Nemours' goal of redefining health in children and transforming payment for medical care to ensure the healthiest generation of children.

Dr. Walker has been recognized for her leadership by Harvard Business School’s Program for Leadership Development, the American Medical Association, and the National Medical Association. A respected leader, innovator, and clinician, she was elected to the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) in 2018. Election to the NAM is considered one of the highest honors in the fields of health and medicine, recognizing individuals who have demonstrated outstanding professional achievement. Dr. Walker completed her family and community medicine residency at the University of California San Francisco, graduated with a Master’s of Public Health from Johns Hopkins School of Public Health and Master’s of Health Services Research from the University of California, Los Angeles, School of Public Health, where she also completed her fellowship in the Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars program.