Priselac retired Sept. 30 after three decades as Cedars-Sinai president and CEO and 45 total years of service to the institution. He will assume a new role as president and CEO emeritus, serving as an adviser to Slavin and the organization.

“I am honored and humbled to partner with our dedicated Cedars-Sinai community as we build on Tom Priselac’s remarkable legacy,” Slavin said. “I have long admired Cedars-Sinai and now feel especially fortunate to call this great organization my professional home. With the support of our leadership and staff, we will continue to invest our energy and resources to ensure that Cedars-Sinai remains an essential resource for the community, region and beyond.”

Slavin is one of the nation’s most respected leaders in academic medicine. From 2003 to 2021, he served as president of Massachusetts General Hospital, one of the largest hospitals in the U.S. During nearly two decades as Mass General president, Slavin successfully led major growth in the hospital’s clinical care mission, research funding, scientific impact, workforce development and fundraising.

During his time as president, the hospital earned the highest national awards for community health and equity, particularly the American Hospital Association’s inaugural Equity of Care Award in 2014.

Slavin also has been an influential voice for hospitals on the national stage, chairing the board of the Association of American Medical Colleges and becoming an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine and the American Academy of Arts & Sciences. 

“Peter relishes the joy of medicine and understands the challenges of complex organizations like Cedars-Sinai, bringing vision and ingenuity to his work,” Priselac said. “His life experience and values align with the Judaic tradition upon which Cedars-Sinai was founded, inspiring his devotion to patients, staff and community.”

Slavin graduated from Harvard College with a bachelor’s degree in biochemical sciences and earned his medical degree from Harvard Medical School. In 1984, he began his training in internal medicine at Mass General, launching a nearly 40-year relationship with the hospital. While on staff at Mass General, he earned an MBA from Harvard Business School and developed the hospital’s first quality and utilization management program. 

In 1994, he was appointed Mass General’s senior vice president and chief medical officer. Three years later, he was recruited to serve as the first president of the newly merged Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis. He returned to Boston in 1999 to serve as chair and CEO of the Massachusetts General Physicians Organization, which included more than 1,700 physicians.

In 2003, he was appointed president of Mass General, the third-oldest hospital in the country and the largest Harvard teaching hospital, with more than 900 inpatient beds and the largest hospital-based research program in the U.S. During his tenure, Slavin taught internal medicine at Mass General and served as a professor of healthcare policy at Harvard Medical School. He stepped down as Mass General president in 2021 to pursue his interests in healthcare investment, advising and consulting. 

Today, he embarks on the next step in a storied career, saying he looks forward to meeting Cedars-Sinai staff in the weeks and months ahead.

“Cedars-Sinai is such an important and admired temple of healing for so many,” Slavin said. “I am humbled to join our staff in the sacred mission of caring for our patients and their loved ones, our community and our world.”

Read more on the Cedars-Sinai Blog | A Call for Change: Equity and Patient-Centered Care

She succeeds Vice President Deborah Kallick, who is retiring after 24 years of service to Cedars-Sinai.

“Stephanie is the perfect leader to advance Cedars-Sinai’s advocacy of healthcare locally and beyond,” said Thomas M. Priselac, president and CEO of Cedars-Sinai. “She has an extensive background in policy development within government and as an advocate for nonprofit academic medicine. And she has close working relationships with elected leaders and their staffs and understands how to forge healthcare coalitions.”

Cohen joins Cedars-Sinai from the University of Southern California, where she served as associate vice president of health policy at Keck Medicine of USC. Prior to working at USC, Cohen was health services deputy for L.A. County Supervisor Sheila Kuehl, overseeing partnerships with the county’s Department of Health Services and its Emergency Medical Services Agency. She also previously served as district director for Kuehl and as deputy district director for California Assemblymember Richard Bloom, where she played an instrumental role in creating educational opportunities related to the Affordable Care Act, veterans’ affairs and homelessness.

Throughout her career, Cohen has navigated congressional spending discussions, state legislative policy negotiations, and the development of county policies and services. She also has built strong relationships with leading healthcare industry organizations, including the American Hospital Association, the Association of American Medical Colleges, the California Hospital Association and the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine.

A graduate of UCLA with a bachelor’s degree in political science, Cohen is pursuing her law degree at Southwestern Law School in Los Angeles.

“I am excited to join the outstanding team at Cedars-Sinai, an institution with a reputation for quality and excellence,” Cohen said. “I’m eager to be part of that legacy as we continue to advance healthcare, research and public policy strategies that will have a positive impact on our patients and the healthcare delivery system.”

Cohen joined Cedars-Sinai on May 13 and will lead and expand an operation Kallick has spent more than two decades building.

“We send gratitude, best wishes and congratulations to Deborah as she retires after an exceptional health advocacy career,” Priselac said. “She has made a remarkable and long-lasting impact at Cedars-Sinai, throughout the healthcare system, the community and California. And we warmly welcome Stephanie as she carries on Deborah’s legacy in this vitally important leadership position.”

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