Laura Forese, MD ‘83 is the retired Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of NewYork-Presbyterian, a comprehensive academic healthcare system, affiliated with the medical schools of Columbia and Cornell. During her 40-year career in healthcare, Dr. Forese held multiple positions of increasing scope and responsibility, including lead roles in patient care, operations, strategy and innovation.

Active in multiple healthcare and civic organizations, Dr. Forese is chair emerita of the NIH Clinical Research Hospital board and charter trustee emerita of Princeton University. Currently, she serves as a board director of the Shubert Organization and is a trustee of the Mother Cabrini Health Foundation. She was a director of Cantel Medical until it was acquired by another public healthcare company and in 2021 she became a director of Nereid Therapeutics, a biomedical startup from the Princeton University laboratory of Clifford Brangwynne, PhD.

An orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Forese received her BSE from Princeton University,summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa. She graduated Alpha Omega Alpha from Columbia College of Physicians & Surgeons and she holds a management degree from Columbia’s Mailman School of Public Health.