Rocco Perla

Rocco Perla, Ed.D., is cofounder of The Health Initiative, a campaign catalyzing a nationwide effort to spur a new conversation about — and increased investments in — health. Perla previously served as president of Health Leads, which enables physicians and other health care providers across the country to address the fundamental drivers of patients’ health, such as healthy food and safe housing. Prior to this, he was part of the leadership team that established the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, where he was responsible for developing the national learning system to test new ways to pay for and deliver care through the Affordable Care Act and oversaw the $1 billion Partnership for Patients and the Million Hearts Campaign. He was a Merck Fellow at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement and received the Impact Article of the Year Award from the National Association for Health Care Quality; the Federal Executive Board Award for Outstanding Creativity and Innovation; and the Deming Medal by the American Society for Quality. He is an assistant professor at the UMass Chan Medical School, with a joint appointment in the Department of Population and Quantitative Health Sciences and Family and Community Health. Perla earned his Ed.D. from University of Massachusetts Lowell.