Denver Health and its Hospital Authority Board of Directors announced Thursday that Donna Lynne, DrPh, is the sole finalist for the health system’s open chief executive officer position.

Lynne current serves as the senior vice president and chief operating officer at Columbia University Irving Medical Center in New York City. 

“We are confident that Dr. Lynne’s extensive operational and leadership experience, her deep connections to our Colorado communities and her passion for public health make her the right person to lead Denver Health into the future and advance our mission as a leading safety-net hospital and Anchor institution,” officials wrote in a press release Thursday.

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Lynne will replace Robin Wittenstein who announced she would retire in August earlier this year. Wittenstein joined Denver Health in 2017, according to the health company. 

Lynne has previously served as the executive vice president of Kaiser Foundation Health Plan Inc. and Kaiser Foundation Hospitals and oversaw operations in Colorado, the Pacific Northwest and Hawaii, according to an online biography. 

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She also served as the state’s 49th Lt. Governor and chief operating office until early 2019 when she moved east. 

Lynne was chosen as the sole finalist after a nation-wide search was conducted by the board and an unnamed “nationally recognized search firm,” according to a news release.

The initial review contained 19 people, including 13 men, 6 women. Seven of the candidates were Black, Indigenous and People of Color, according to Denver Health.

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Twelve of these candidates were interviewed including five BIPOC candidates.

Denver Health’s board will vote on whether to extend an offer to Lynne at its June 23 meeting.