Dr. Leslie Wainwright is a nationally recognized strategist, educator and innovation leader who brings over two decades of experience applying design thinking to complex challenges in healthcare and beyond. As a frequent speaker and faculty member with the American College of Healthcare Executives, she has educated thousands of executives on how human-centered innovation tools can drive meaningful, measurable change; her work has guided leadership teams spanning from major health systems to local start-ups. Dr. Wainwright currently serves as faculty for the ACHE seminar “Applying Thinking to Healthcare’s Most Pressing Challenges.” Her expertise includes healthcare delivery, biotechnology, advanced analytics and entrepreneurship.

Dr. Wainwright was a founding executive of several pioneering organizations, including Sg2 and AVIA and Do Tank, where she currently serves as partner and senior strategist. Her approach blends deep scientific training with practical strategy expertise.

As an accomplished educator, Dr. Wainwright has designed award-winning executive education programs, including the Rush University Leadership Academy in collaboration with the Illinois Hospital Association. She has shared her expertise through keynote roles at the Hospital Association of Southern California, the ACHE Chapter Leaders Conference and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s Healthcare Transformation Delegation. Internationally, she led design thinking-based innovation training through the U.S.-Pakistan Science & Technology Startup and Ideation Program as part of the GIST initiative. Dr. Wainwright holds a PhD from Northwestern University and completed a fellowship at the University of Maryland Medical School.