Walter Harris, MBA, PMP is an accomplished healthcare executive who leads organizations through growth and transformation with a steady blend of strategic direction, operational discipline, and patient-centered decision-making. His career bridges the nation’s most demanding public-health environments and the equally complex work of building high-performing institutions that expand access, strengthen quality, and improve outcomes.

Most recently, Walter served as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Heartland Whole Health Institute in Bentonville, Arkansas (2021–2025), where he helped advance a new vision for whole-person, value-based care in the Heartland. He led the planning and development of the Alice L. Walton School of Medicine and supported a landmark 30-year, $700 million collaboration designed to expand specialty care, reduce costs, and improve health outcomes across the region. In recognition of his commitment to equity, he has also been sworn in as a Commissioner for the Arkansas Minority Health Commission.

Earlier, Walter helped shape two major academic medicine enterprises. At Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine, he served as Senior Vice President for Administration and Finance and Chief Operating Officer, helping build the operational and financial foundation for the new medical school grounded in mission and community impact. He previously served as Vice President of Finance and Administration and COO at the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, leading enterprise operations spanning finance, human resources, IT, facilities, and strategic planning.

Walter’s public-sector leadership includes serving as Deputy Commissioner for Operations and Chief Operating Officer at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (2012–2016), where he drove modernization across complex operational portfolios and multibillion-dollar resources. As FDA’s acting CIO, he also championed practical technology upgrades—enabling more mobile, data-ready work in the field and accelerating how information moved through the regulatory system. Before FDA, he served as Chief Management Official at the Centers for Disease Control (2008 – 2012), directing the transformation of health information services during public health emergencies while managing a $450 million annual budget in support of emergency response and public health decision-making.

A U.S. Air Force veteran, Walter served as a liaison to the Secretary of Defense and was recalled during Operation Desert Storm.  He holds a B.A. in Management and Communication from Concordia University (Mequon, Wisconsin) and an MBA from Regis University (Denver, Colorado), and is a Project Management Professional (PMP).

Across every chapter, Walter has promoted operational excellence, regulatory rigor, and innovation in technology and value-based care—guided by the conviction that healthcare should be accessible, sustainable, and measured by outcomes, especially for rural and underserved communities.

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