Howard Brown Health Welcomes Healthcare Operations Leader Melba Ansah as Chief Operating Officer
Ambulatory operations expert joins Midwest’s leading LGBTQ+ health center to advance access, efficiency and patient-centered care
CHICAGO – Howard Brown Health today announced that Melba Ansah, MBA, BS, joined the organization as its new Chief Operating Officer, bolstering the leadership of one of the largest healthcare institutions in the country serving LGBTQ+ people and others seeking affirming care. Ansah brings 30 years of healthcare experience across academic medicine, private practice and consulting, with a proven track record of expanding patient access, optimizing clinical operations, and strengthening workforce structures to enhance care delivery. Ansah joins Howard Brown with a deep commitment to ensuring that operational strategy and execution directly support compassionate, high-quality, patient-centered care.
“I am honored to join Howard Brown Health to help advance its mission of providing high-quality, affirming care to LGBTQ+ patients and others in need of compassionate care,” Ansah said. “I look forward to partnering with teams across the organization to strengthen operations, expand access, and ensure our systems and processes truly reflect the needs and experiences of the communities we serve.”
Prior to joining Howard Brown Health, Ansah served as Executive Director of Ambulatory Operations and Strategic Initiatives at UChicago Medicine, where she directed long-range strategic planning for 30 specialty clinics with an average monthly volume of 34,000 completed appointments. In that role, she managed a $100 million operational budget and led local implementation efforts to ensure consistent, high- quality, patient-centered services.
Also at UChicago Medicine, Ansah coordinated major ambulatory construction projects to ensure on-time delivery with minimal disruption to clinical care, including oversight of budgeting and P&L management. She collaborated closely with cross-functional leaders in ambulatory quality and safety, care coordination, technology, customer service and process improvement, while providing direct leadership to a team of four directors and a project manager, and operational influence over approximately 450 staff across departments.
“Melba’s experience in complex healthcare environments and her passion for improving the patient and staff experience make her an ideal fit for Howard Brown Health,” said Dr. Travis Gayles, President and CEO of Howard Brown Health. “Her leadership will be instrumental as we continue to grow our services and improve access to affirming care for LGBTQ+ people and the communities we serve.”
Previously, Ansah served as Director of Operations at Northwestern Medicine, where she held progressive leadership roles supporting ambulatory services across the Chicago area. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Healthcare Leadership from National Louis University and a Master of Business Administration with a concentration in Management from Roosevelt University.
Ansah assumes the role effective August 10.
About Howard Brown Health
Howard Brown Health provides high-quality, integrated, patient-centered care that affirms each patient’s identity and experiences at seven health centers across Chicago. As the Midwest’s leading health center dedicated to whole-person care for the LGBTQ+ community and others seeking affirming care, Howard Brown offers a range of patient services including medical care, behavioral care, dental care, young adult care, sexual care, and aging adult care. Howard Brown is recognized as a federally qualified health center and serves more than 43,000 adults and youth each year, regardless of their health insurance coverage status and ability to pay. Learn more at: https://howardbrown.org/