Kristi Henderson (DNP 2010)

Austin, Texas

Kristi Henderson, DNP, FNP, ACNP, FAAN, FAEN received her Doctorate of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree from the UAB School of Nursing in 2010. She is a healthcare executive with over 25 years of experience as a digital health leader, innovator, health advocate, educator, researcher, and clinician. She currently serves as Senior Vice President of Innovation and Telehealth for Optum. Prior to this roles, she led clinical operations for Amazon Care. Before joining Amazon, she designed and launched AscensionConnect a national hub for Ascension’s virtual care, digital health and patient access operations. She holds an appointment as a Clinical Professor of Population Health at the Dell Medical School at the University of Texas-Austin with a successful track record using digital health tools to enable and scale new models of care. She is well known for her statewide Telehealth model in Mississippi which has been recognized as one of only two Centers of Excellence by HRSA.

Henderson is known for her expertise in design of innovative healthcare models using technology and for her keen ability to execute and sustain these models in advance of them becoming an industry standard. This includes extensive work in advancing policy and regulations necessary to implement the new models of care. She has testified before multiple U.S. Senate committees and given numerous presentations across the country, including TEDx and SXSW, to advance telehealth policy and share innovative new models of care.

A few of her other leadership roles include service as an executive board member for the American Telemedicine Association; AAMC Telehealth Committee member, ANA co-chair for Committee on Connected Health and NQF Telehealth Committee. She is a Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing and the Emergency Nurses Association. She maintains national certification as a family and acute care nurse practitioner. Dr. Henderson received the UAB School of Nursing Distinguished Alumni Award in 2019.