Jean Moody-Williams, RN, MPP
Deputy Director, Center for Clinical Standards and Quality, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)
Jean D. Moody-Williams, RN, MPP, is the current Deputy Center Director for the Center for Clinical Standards and Quality (CCSQ) at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). She has served since 2008 under multiple administrations in the Senior Executive Service (SES) Corp. She currently is a part of a leadership team responsible for one of CMS’ Centers that has nearly 800 employees and a $3 billion annual budget. She is responsible for leading quality improvement, value based purchasing, and delivery system reform. She provides oversight to multiple kidney health activities including regulations for organ procurement and transplantation programs and learning networks, development of conditions of participation for dialysis facilities and healthcare systems, oversight of ESRD Networks for quality improvement and the ESRD Quality Incentive Program. She works to ensure better healthcare, healthier populations and smarter spending of healthcare dollars for more than 90 million Americans.
Jean serves as a guest lecturer for many academic institutions and is a current Faculty Member of the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, Doctor of Nursing Practice in Executive Leadership Program.
Prior to joining CMS, Ms. Moody-Williams served as an executive at a number of state and private entities working to improve care for patients and families including, the Maryland Health Care Commission (MHCC), the National Resource Center for Health Policy and Strategies, Quality Improvement Organizations and a health care system in Dallas.
Jean has devoted her entire professional career to improving the care provided to patients and supporting families, leading many of the patient and family engagement efforts at CMS in order to bring the voice of the patient to the forefront of policy and program decisions. She is the author of a textbook for healthcare providers entitled, A Journey towards Patient-Centered Healthcare Quality Patients, Families and Caregivers, Voices of Transformation. She is also the author of the book entitled, Transitions, Trust and Triumph: A Daily Devotion for Caregivers, which provides inspiration, encouragement and resources for those caring for a love one or that recently lost a loved ones.
She is a recipient of the Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medal awarded by the Partnership for Public Service and was recognized as the Federal Employee of the Year. Ms. Moody-Williams is also the recipient of the 2016 President of the United States Meritorious Rank Award and the 2018 President of the United States Distinguished Service Rank Award. The Presidential awards are one of the highest given to Senior Executives that have demonstrated unparalleled leadership skills and a strong dedication to achieving tangible results. She is also the recipient of the 2020 CMS Executive of the Year awarded by the CMS Administrator for leadership. She received her Bachelors of Science in Nursing from Hampton University and a Masters of Public Policy and Management from the University of Maryland, College Park.