Mark Larson, former Medicaid director for the state of Vermont, is senior vice president of leadership and capacity building at the Center for Health Care Strategies (CHCS). In this role, he oversees the National Medicaid Leadership Center, the nation’s premier hub for Medicaid leadership development. He guides the Leadership Center’s programs, including the Medicaid Leadership Institute, which provides leadership training and coaching for Medicaid directors, and the Medicaid Pathways Program, which supports the growth of diverse senior leaders from across the country. Through the Leadership Center, Mark also oversees a range of tailored services for states and territories to strengthen their individual, team, and organizational development efforts, including for executive leadership teams.

Mark is an experienced leadership coach. He is certified by the International Coaching Federation as an Associate Certified Coach. He is also certified in the Leadership Circle Profile, an assessment tool aimed at helping leaders increase their leadership effectiveness. Mark has worked with leaders across organizational levels and career transitions.

Mark has a long-standing interest in building cross-functional collaboration between health care, child welfare, public health, criminal justice, and other health and human service sectors, as well as in promoting equity within organizations and service delivery.

During Mark’s tenure in Vermont, the state developed leading-edge innovations in delivery system and payment reform, and he brings this expertise to his work at CHCS. He served as commissioner of the Department of Vermont Health Access, from 2011 to 2015. In this role, he was responsible for oversight and management of Vermont’s publicly funded health insurance programs serving more than 200,000 Vermonters. He led the development and implementation of Vermont’s health insurance exchange and played an instrumental role in planning for Green Mountain Care, Vermont’s universal health care program.

Previously, Mark was a member of the Vermont House of Representatives, from 2001 to 2011, where he served as the chair of the House Health Care Committee, vice chair of the House Appropriations Committee, and co-chair of the Vermont Commission on Health Care Reform. In addition to his state public service, he worked for nearly 20 years as a program administrator, consultant, and trainer helping states develop effective responses to domestic violence and interventions for domestic violence offenders. In these roles, he has worked extensively with correctional and criminal justice systems, as well as child protection and human service programs. As Vermont’s Medicaid director, he was also selected as a fellow in CHCS’ Medicaid Leadership Institute.

Mark earned a bachelor’s degree in religion and sociology from Bucknell University. He completed the Senior Executives in State and Local Government Program at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and the ACT/Brown University Leadership and Performance Coaching program.

When not working, Mark can be found enjoying a sunset with his partner at their home on Lake Champlain in Burlington, Vermont, enjoying a laugh with his daughter, mastering his limited home and garden skills, and clinging to whatever skill he ever had as a basketball player and/or following his beloved Boston Celtics.