Dr. Airica Steed is a visionary leader committed to revolutionizing healthcare and eliminating inequities that impact underserved communities; with a rich legacy as a fourth-generation nurse, Dr. Steed has dedicated her career to addressing the systemic issues in healthcare that disproportionately affect marginalized groups—her advocacy is deeply personal, shaped by her own painful encounters with a broken healthcare system, which fuels her unrelenting drive to create change.

As a strategic leader, Dr. Steed has successfully led healthcare organizations through transformational change, driving over $300 million in financial improvements and achieving top-tier safety and quality outcomes; her work spans academic medical centers, specialty hospitals, and Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), where she has applied Lean Six Sigma, Malcolm Baldrige frameworks, and Big Four consulting principles to optimize healthcare delivery.