IntraHealth International welcomes Olivia Vélez as our new chief digital health officer, beginning May 9, 2022.

As a member of the executive team, Vélez will lead IntraHealth’s digital health team and initiatives, including iHRIS—IntraHealth’s free, open source human resources information system now being used in 25 countries—and mHero, our two-way, mobile phone-based communication system that connects ministries of health and health workers.

Vélez is a registered nurse and a health informaticist who brings over a decade of experience in global digital health.

“I am thrilled to welcome Olivia to our executive team here at IntraHealth,” says Polly Dunford, IntraHealth’s president and CEO. “Her experience as a health worker combined with her deep expertise and research in health informatics will be a great asset as we develop new ways to use technology, information, and analytical approaches to support the people at the center of our health systems.”

Vélez comes to IntraHealth from ICF, where she served as senior health informatics lead and focused on projects involving data use and digital transformation of health systems.

“I believe digital health tools are critical to strengthening health systems, reducing global health disparities, and supporting frontline health workers,” Vélez says. “That’s why I’m so happy to be joining IntraHealth, whose mission is to improve the performance of health workers and strengthen the systems in which they work.”

In addition to her role at IntraHealth, Vélez is the cochair of the Global Digital Health Network, a Professor of Nursing at the University of Maryland, and a 2022 WomenLift Health Leadership Fellow.

Learn more about Olivia Vélez.