Keynote Speakers

Director of Leadership & Human Capital, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation      

Dr. Herminia Palacio joined the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) in 2013. Herminia is an alumna of the RWJF Harold Amos Medical Faculty Development Program, and recently served as a member of the National Advisory Committee of the Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program.  

Prior to joining RWJF, Dr. Palacio was the Executive Director of Harris County Public Health and Environmental Services (HCPHES), the local health department for approximately 2 million people the Houston area. Dr. Palacio's role was that of Special Policy Advisor to the Director for the San Francisco Department of Public Health before relocating to Houston. In 2007 she was awarded the Excellence in Health Administration Award by the American Public Health Association. 

Dr. Palacio received her medical degree from the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City, and completed her residency training at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) Primary Care Internal Medicine Program at San Francisco General Hospital. She obtained a Master of Public Health, with an emphasis in Epidemiology, from the University of California Berkeley School of Public Health. 

Additionally, she recently participated on the Board of Scientific Counselors for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response and is a current member of the CDC Advisory Committee to the Director. In 2011 she was appointed by President Obama as an associate of the Advisory Group on Prevention, Health Promotion, and Integrative and Public Health. 

President & CEO, Jackson Health System

Carlos A. Migoya has served Jackson Health System since May 2011, overseeing one of the nation’s largest and most respected public healthcare networks. Jackson has the distinction of bringing world-class medical care – including the medical school faculty and students from the University of Miami and Florida International University – to a taxpayer-owned system that guarantees a single high standard of care for all residents of Miami-Dade County. 

In his first year at Jackson, Mr. Migoya led a transformation that reversed years of massive losses, including an $82 million loss in the prior year, and produced a surplus of more than $8 million. It was the first time Jackson produced a surplus since 2006. A year later, the surplus increased to more than $51 million. At the same time, key indicators of healthcare quality and patient satisfaction improved, proving that public hospital systems need not choose between medical excellence and operational sustainability. In November 2013, he led a successful campaign in which 65 percent of Miami-Dade voters approved the $830 million Jackson Miracle-Building Bond program, which is the cornerstone of a 10-year, $1.4 billion capital plan to renovate, modernize and expand Jackson’s facilities.

Prior to joining Jackson, Mr. Migoya served as City Manager in Miami, successfully tackling the city’s ailing budget issues. Most of Mr. Migoya’s professional life has been spent in the banking industry, rising through the ranks over more than 40 years from part-time teller to regional president and CEO. He spent many years working for Wachovia, most recently as the regional president of Wachovia in North Carolina and the CEO for the Atlantic region, responsible for banking in New Jersey, Connecticut and New York.