Meet ANHC CEO Lisa Aquino

This past December, ANHC bid a fond farewell to Tammy Green, ANHC’s CEO for over six years, and welcomed Lisa Aquino as our new chief.

A self-described “numbers nerd” with a passion for using data to address community-wide health challenges, Lisa brings both a scientific and holistic approach to her new role.

“The rigor of a scientific approach and the importance of an overall systems approach—it’s in that intersection that we can really make a difference and connect people with the care they need,” she said. “I’m so excited to join ANHC at the frontlines of this work.”

Lisa grew up on Anchorage’s east side and attended Bartlett High School. Her interest in public health was inspired by her parents—her mother a nurse and her father an emergency room physician.

After earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Anthropology from the University of California and a Master of Health Science degree from Johns Hopkins University, Lisa returned to Alaska, where she led the State of Alaska’s Arthritis Program and later the Tobacco Prevention and Control Program.

From 2008 to 2011, Lisa and her husband Chris lived in Cape Town, South Africa, where she worked as the youth program coordinator for the Desmond Tutu HIV Foundation.

After returning to Alaska, Lisa led the statewide Healthy Alaskans 2020 initiative. Most recently, Lisa spent nearly seven years as the CEO of Anchorage’s Catholic Social Services, one of Anchorage’s largest social service agencies.

Lisa is thrilled to join the ANHC team. “I’m so honored to be here and to get to work with all of the people who have been carrying this work forward for a long time, making such a difference for so many,” she said.

Lisa, Chris, and kids Holden and Stella are happy to call Anchorage home. “I think it all comes back to how much I love this community,” she said. “I want to make sure that everyone has access to the kinds of supports that allow us to have true, whole health, and ANHC is critical in making that happen.”