Adaeze Enekwechi, PhD, MPP

Dr. Adaeze Enekwechi is a dedicated healthcare executive and policy professional motivated by the imperative that the US improve access, quality, and experience with healthcare for vulnerable populations. She is the CEO of Nadia Care, a venture-backed maternal health company that provides wrap-around services that augment clinical care to drastically improve birth outcomes for vulnerable women and families.

Dr. Enekwechi is also an Operating Partner at WCAS having joined the firm in 2021. She works across the healthcare portfolio on diligence, policy, payment and regulatory implications on investment decisions. Prior to WCAS, she served as President of IMPAQ, a large federal consulting company with a focus on evaluation and advanced analytics. She successfully led the company through its successful acquisition by a strategic buyer in a deal that closed in May 2020.

Dr. Enekwechi was the head of Health Programs at the White House Office of Management and Budget under President Obama where she provided policy, management, and regulatory oversight for over $1.6 trillion in spending on Medicare, Medicaid, and all federal health agencies. The agencies and oversight areas under her authority included the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), where she oversaw the development of several key Medicare and Medicaid payment proposals demonstrations through CMMI, and ACA implementation through CCIIO. She also had primary responsibility for all Operating Divisions under the Department of Health and Human Services including CMS, CDC, NIH and FDA. Dr. Enekwechi led OMB’s policy and spending negotiations for major public health crises such as the US response to Ebola and Zika viruses, and the city-wide lead poisoning in Flint, MI.

Dr. Enekwechi served as a Managing Director at Optum where she led the evaluation of various CMMI demonstration projects, and as the first Senior Program Officer at PCORI leading and scaling comparative effectiveness studies across the country. Earlier in her policy career she worked at highly influential policy organizations, the Congressional Budget Office and the MedPAC.

Adaeze completed a BA and PhD at the University of Iowa, and an MPP at the American University in Washington, DC. She completed her postdoctoral training at the University of Chicago School of Medicine. She currently serves on the board of directors at MedStar Health and Liberty Dental Plan and advises Arcventis Health Partners.