Biography: Mary Pittman

 
Mary Pittman, DrPH., is president of the Health Research and Educational Trust (HRET) an independent nonprofit organization that engages in research and education on critical health care service delivery issues.  HRET is an affiliate of the American Hospital Association.  Prior to assuming the leadership of HRET in 1993, she was president and CEO of the California Association of Public Hospitals (1990-93) and a director of the San Francisco Department of Public Health (1984-90). 

Dr. Pittman has been nationally recognized for her leadership in improving community health and access to vulnerable populations as well as patient-centered quality and safety. At HRET, she has spearheaded research initiatives as well as innovative knowledge transfer programs on a wide range of health care issues – from access and coverage research to managing culture change in order to ensure safety and quality within hospitals, to enhanced community collaboration as well as the use and integration of new technologies in the delivery of care. 

With over 25 years in program planning and design, research, and health policy, Dr. Pittman’s work has informed policymakers about the need to expand access and quality of health care to underserved populations.  She has served as principal investigator on numerous research and demonstration grants including Patient Safety Leadership WalkRounds™, Hospital Capital Financing in the Era of Quality and Safety, National Community Care Network Demonstration, and Assessing and Reducing Medication Errors in Hospitals.  She was co-chair of the Coalition for Healthier Cities and Communities and has co-authored two books, AIDS: Principles, Practices and Politics, and Death, Dying, and Bereavement.   Dr. Pittman serves on the boards of a number of organizations, as well as on many national advisory committees.

Dr. Pittman received master's degrees from the University of California - Berkeley in Public Health and in City and Regional Planning, and a doctorate from UC-Berkeley in Public Health Administration.