Susan Distefano

Distefano serves as the Chief Executive Officer of Children's Memorial Hermann Hospital, a 340-bed care quaternary children’s hospital with obstetrical services.

Under Distefano’s leadership, the hospital expanded The Fetal Center with specialists in high-risk pregnancies and expanded women’s services to better serve the Greater Houston community. The internationally recognized affiliated team is the most experienced in the region in advanced fetal imaging and fetal intervention. The team includes world leaders in fetoscopic laser ablation for twin-twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS), collectively performing more than 850 laser ablation cases to treat this serious condition, and was the first in the region to perform open fetal surgery for spina bifida repair.

Distefano has spent much of her career working in a range of leadership roles in healthcare. Prior to being named CEO of Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital, she served as the senior vice president of patient care services and Chief Nursing Officer at Texas Children’s Hospital. She played an instrumental role in a $145 million building expansion and a $575 million building project, while leading Texas Children’s Hospital through Magnet Recognition Designation in 2003 and their re-designation in 2007.

Before joining Texas Children’s Hospital, Distefano was a research officer at Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center (TMC), where she oversaw clinical research studies in close collaboration with The University of Texas Office of Research. In this position, she served as a member of the UT Institutional Review Board. Earlier in her career, she also served as nurse manager in Memorial Hermann-TMC’s neonatal intensive care unit, as well as a neonatal Memorial Hermann Life Flight® transport nurse and team coordinator.

Distefano graduated from The University of Texas at Austin with a bachelor’s degree in nursing and continued her studies at UTHealth School of Nursing, where she earned a master’s degree. She also completed the Wharton Fellows Program in Management for Nursing Executives at the University of Pennsylvania and the Intermountain Health Advanced Training Program in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Currently, she is a board member of DePelchin Children’s Services, Cornerstone Recovery, the Children’s Defense Fund and the Children’s Hospital Association. Distefano is also actively involved with a number of healthcare organizations including the American College of Healthcare Executives, Southeast Texas Chapter. She has been honored with numerous awards over the years, most recently in 2012 when she was recognized as one of 10 “Women on the Move” by Texas Executive Women (TEW).

Distefano lives in Houston with her husband, Iggy, and children, Nicholas and Nina. She enjoys cooking, traveling, working out and reading in her spare time.