Michele Lueck to Step Down From Leadership of Colorado Health Institute

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Kristi Arellano, Managing Director of Marketing and Communications
arellanok@coloradohealthinstitute.org, 720.382.7080

The Board of Trustees of the Colorado Health Institute (CHI) announced today that President and CEO Michele Lueck will leave the organization on July 15. Managing Director of Research, Evaluation, and Consulting Sara Schmitt will lead CHI on an interim basis while the search for a permanent replacement is conducted.

Lueck will become Executive Director of Partners for Children’s Mental Health, a collaboration between Children’s Hospital of Colorado and the University of Colorado Anschutz School of Medicine Department of Psychiatry.

“Michele has had a profound impact on CHI and has set the organization up for continued growth and success. Because of the strong team Michele has built and the systems she has put in place, we are confident CHI is well-positioned for the future,” said Board Chair Angelina Salazar. “We are grateful for her service and wish her well as she continues to work to improve health for Coloradans.”

Since joining CHI in 2010, Lueck has grown the organization to more than $6 million in annual revenue and more than doubled its headcount. She has positioned CHI as a leader in health policy research, evaluation, and implementation, making it an indispensable partner to foundations, government agencies, nonprofits, and health systems committed to the well-being of Coloradans. She was instrumental in helping Colorado win a major State Innovation Model award from the federal Center of Medicare & Medicaid Innovation to integrate primary care and behavioral health, and she helped coordinate the Denver area’s COVID-19 response at the county, regional, and state levels.

As it celebrates its 20th anniversary and looks ahead to its third decade, CHI will continue to provide high-quality research, evaluation, and consulting services, including in its key focus areas of behavioral health, climate and health, and integrating systems of care — topics which CHI has defined as the three challenges most urgently in need of solving to achieve our mission of improving health for all Coloradans.

“One of the great joys of my career has been building the team that makes up CHI and watching them become thought leaders and changemakers in health policy,” Lueck said. “The time is right for me to step away and let this talented team take CHI into its next chapter.”

About CHI: CHI believes that good health policy leads to a healthier Colorado. We are a nonprofit, independent consultancy driving the well-being of our state and nation through policy expertise and implementational know-how. We simplify complexity, put work in context, and advance policies that make a difference. We partner with foundations, governmental agencies, and health systems and others working to improve health and health equity.