Healthcare - National Viewpoint

Peter D. Banko '89

President & Chief Executive Officer, Centura Health

Peter D. Banko is leading Centura Health toward an exciting new era of healthy growth: in business, in community, and in spirit. He brings faith and business together, uprooting traditional ways of thinking and working to cultivate real passion into purpose, and innovative ideas into practical solutions. He’s committed to teaching, supporting, and lifting those around him to help them fully live their missions and change the world. Day in and day out, Banko continues to inspire the organization’s connected ecosystem of 21,000 caregivers across Colorado and western Kansas, who together are on missions to redefine health, one life, one neighborhood, and one community at a time.

Banko joined Centura Health as President and Chief Operating Officer in May 2016 following nine years in national and market leadership roles with one of Centura Health’s sponsors, Catholic Health Initiatives (CHI). At CHI, Banko played a pivotal role in integrating new partners into the ministry and served as market Chief Executive Officer for CHI St. Vincent in Little Rock, Arkansas. He has also served in a chief operating officer role at CHRISTUS Spohn Health System in Texas as well as operations and strategy roles at PhyAmerica Physician Group in North Carolina and Saint Clare’s Health Services in New Jersey.

Banko is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame and Cornell University. He is a Fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives and the AHA/Health Forum Creating Healthier Communities Program. He and his wife, Elizabeth, live on a small ranch in Sedalia, Colorado and they have four children – Daniel, Lauren, Zachary, and Luke.

Learn more about Peter Banko through these interviews and the video:

• Advisory Board (2019): Meet Peter Banko, Centura Health’s CEO. (You may also know him as a cattle rancher and blogger.)
• Denver Business Journal (2019): Most Admired CEO Peter Banko takes an anticipatory approach to health care in Colorado and beyond

Jane Lee ’09

Assistant Professor, University of Washington

Through her research, teaching, and service work, Lee, the daughter of immigrant parents, focuses on helping underserved immigrant groups who lack access to health care.

After graduating from Notre Dame, Lee earned a Master of Social Work degree from Columbia University in 2011. During her studies, she started her work with immigrant and refugee populations and saw their health needs firsthand. While working toward her Ph.D. at New York University, Lee learned she would need open-heart surgery to replace a valve. The experience further strengthened her resolve to make sure everyone receives access to critical health services. After earning her Ph.D. in 2017, she became an assistant professor at the University of Washington’s School of Social Work.

Lee’s publications in scholarly journals have attracted media coverage, and she continues to pursue innovative research and volunteer work that helps improve health outcomes for immigrant communities. Her scholarship in service of marginalized and underserved people truly makes her a powerful force for good.

Jane Lee is a Domer Dozen 2019 Honoree. Learn more about her work here:

Dr. Bernard Nahlen '75 (Moderator)

Director, Eck Institute for Global Health

Bernard Nahlen’s career is dedicated to addressing diseases that disproportionately impact people in low- and middle-income countries. From 2007-2017, he served as the Deputy Coordinator of the U.S. President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI). During his time as technical lead, PMI expanded to 24 high-burden countries in Africa, as well as to Cambodia, Myanmar, and Thailand, and developed effective partnerships with Ministries of Health, multilaterals (WHO, UNICEF, UNDP, World Bank, the Global Fund), other bilateral aid agencies in the UK and Australia, private foundations (Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Clinton Health Access Initiative), non-governmental organizations, and the private sector. In 2015, WHO reported that malaria deaths had declined by 60% globally compared to baseline year 2000.

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Featured Speakers: 

• Peter D. Banko, President & Chief Executive Officer, Centura Health
• Jane Lee, Assistant Professor, University of Washington
• Dr. Bernard Nahlen, Director, Eck Institute for Global Health, University of Notre Dame