Maria Megdal, St. Jude executive vice president and chief administrative officer
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital has appointed Maria Megdal as the hospital’s executive vice president and chief administrative officer. Medgal will oversee departments vital to St. Jude operations, including Human Resources; Information Services; Diversity, Equity and Inclusion; Environmental Services; Facilities Design and Construction; Facilities Operations and Maintenance; Food Services; Biomedical Engineering; the Gift Shop and Security.
“St. Jude is a longstanding leader in research and treatment for catastrophic childhood diseases,” Megdal said, “I am grateful for this opportunity to lead the people, strategies and systems to ensure this institution’s operational excellence.”
Prior to joining St. Jude, Megdal served as senior vice president and chief administrative officer at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. Her 29-year career in hospital operations has included key management positions at Saint Vincent’s Catholic Medical Centers and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, both in New York.
“Maria is a mission-minded leader with extensive experience orchestrating and driving strategic vision in diverse and complex academic health care and research settings,” James R. Downing, MD, St. Jude president and CEO, said. “She will be an invaluable asset as we continue to make progress against the goals of our six-year, $12.9 billion strategic plan.”
Pat Keel has served a dual role as chief administrative and financial officer since 2020. She resumes her role as chief financial officer, which she has held since 2016. Keel has played an integral part in shepherding program growth and campus expansion.
“Pat’s leadership, especially during the pandemic, has positioned Maria for success as our new CAO,” Downing said.
Megdal earned a bachelor’s degree from Rutgers University and a master’s degree in healthcare administration from the Sloan Program at Cornell University. Megdal is a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives. Since 2010, she has served on the board of Ronald McDonald House of Boston (Boston House), dedicated to providing lodging resources to pediatric cancer families.
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital is leading the way the world understands, treats and cures childhood cancer, sickle cell disease, and other life-threatening disorders. It is the only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center devoted solely to children. Treatments developed at St. Jude have helped push the overall childhood cancer survival rate from 20% to 80% since the hospital opened more than 60 years ago. St. Jude shares the breakthroughs it makes to help doctors and researchers at local hospitals and cancer centers around the world improve the quality of treatment and care for even more children. To learn more, visit stjude.org, read St. Jude Progress, a digital magazine, and follow St. Jude on social media at @stjuderesearch.