Lori C. Pickens, MHA

Lori Pickens joined Yale New Haven Health System in August of 2018. She is the Senior Vice President of Smilow Cancer Hospital/Cancer Service Line for the Yale New Haven Health System and the Chief Administrative Officer for Yale Cancer Center at Yale School of Medicine.

Pickens is a nationally recognized cancer leader with 20 years of leadership experience in the field. Prior to joining Yale, she served as the Associate Vice President for Cancer Service at Duke University Health System and the Associate Dean and Administrator of the Duke Cancer Institute at Duke University School of Medicine. She also served as the Senior Executive Officer of a joint venture between Duke and Wake Medical Health System to lead cancer services in Wake County North Carolina headquartered in Raleigh.

Prior to joining Duke University Health System in 2007, she served as the Chief Executive Officer of the American Lung Association of Missouri where she led statewide efforts associated with asthma, tobacco use and air quality. Prior to her role with the American Lung Association, she held leadership positions at BJC Health System/Washington University School of Medicine.

Pickens is a native New Englander who started her professional career in the high-tech industry, holding several management roles at Digital Equipment Corporation in Massachusetts over a 13-year period.

She received a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Clark University in Worcester, MA and a Master of Healthcare Administration from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, MO. She also completed an administrative fellowship at the Henry Ford Health System in Detroit, MI.