Carolyn Clancy
MD, FAAN
Carolyn Clancy, MD, FAAN, has served as the Assistant Under Secretary for Health (AUSH) for the Office of Discovery, Education & Affiliate Networks (DEAN), Veterans Health Administration (VHA), since July 22, 2018. The Office of the DEAN fosters collaboration and knowledge transfer with facility-based educators, researchers and clinicians within the VA, and between the VA and its affiliates. Prior to her current position, she served as the Acting Deputy Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs, the second-largest Cabinet Department, with a $246 billion budget and over 424,000 employees serving in VA medical centers, clinics, benefits offices, and national cemeteries, overseeing the development and implementation of enterprise-wide policies, programs, activities and special interests. She also served as the VHA Executive in Charge, with the authority to perform the functions and duties of the Undersecretary for Health, directing a health care system with a $68 billion annual budget and managing the delivery of care to more than 9 million enrolled Veterans. Previously, Dr. Clancy served as the Interim Undersecretary for Health from 2014-2015; the VHA AUSH for Organizational Excellence, stewarding the VHA’s performance, quality, safety, risk management, systems engineering, auditing, oversight, ethics and accreditation programs from 2013-2014; and ten years as Director, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
Dr. Clancy is a highly experienced and nationally recognized physician executive, general internist, and health services researcher. In addition to her VA position, Dr. Clancy holds an academic appointment at George Washington University’s School of Medicine and serves as Senior Associate Editor, Health Services Research Journal. She has contributed to eight academic textbooks and authored, co-authored, and provided invited commentary in more than 225 scholarly journal articles. She served as a member of the National Quality Forum’s Board of Directors, Chair of the AQA Alliance, and served on the Board of Governors for the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute. She is an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine and Honorary Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing.
Dr. Clancy has received numerous awards and was presented with the 2014 Quality Champion Award from the National Committee for Quality Assurance and named the 2015 Outstanding Federal Executive of the Year by Disabled American Veterans. In 2018, she was selected as one of the Top 50 Physician Executives by Modern Healthcare, and in 2019, she was identified as one of the 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives. Most recently, she was awarded the Primary Care Collaborative’s prestigious Barbara Stanfield Award and the 2025 John Edward Porter Legacy Award by Research!America. Dr. Clancy received her undergraduate degree from Boston College and MD from the University of Massachusetts Medical School.