Charlisa R. Watson, MHSA

President, CRW & Associates and Founder, NiaImani CHOICES

Charlisa Watson is president of CRW & Associates (www.crwassociatestoday.com) a veteran-owned, minority woman-owned healthcare consulting firm specializing in strategic partnership development, outreach and education and training as a certified member of the SBA 8(a) and MDOT MBE/DBE small business programs.

Ms. Watson is a senior consultant with nearly 26 years of healthcare experience analyzing, developing and implementing policies and programs to improve health delivery systems, particularly those serving Medicaid beneficiaries and veterans.

Most recently she was the Vice President for Community Development in the southeastern region for United Health Care Community Plan with responsibility for building strategic alliances and relationships with community and faith based organizations to include hospitals and health care delivery systems, and federally qualified health centers (FQHCs). Prior to this position she served as the Executive Director of a UnitedHealth Group Company Medicaid plan in Washington, DC.  In this position she was responsible for day to day operations, overall market performance, directing and managing the organization’s financial performance and partnering with corporate teams and sister segments to deliver various support services and ensuring access to quality care for members and overall compliance of a multi-million dollar contract with the state Medicaid agency.

Before joining UnitedHealth Group, Charlisa was the former executive director of the National Association of Health Services Executives where she established close working relationships with C suite executives, industry leaders, key policymakers and legislators at federal, state and local levels.  She also helped develop innovative programs to strengthen the membership base, increase fundraising and innovative membership growth initiatives.  Previously, she served as chief administrative officer and interim executive director of the National Association of Black Accountants where she oversaw daily operations including budgeting, staffing, revenue growth, program development and administration. Charlisa also served as operations manager/House of Delegates liaison to the National Medical Association; executive project director of Foster America a managed care program for children and youth in the foster care system; Vice President of Provider Relations for Health Services for Children with Special Needs, Inc. and other various leadership positions with managed care organizations.

As a former U.S. Army nurse, she has dedicated most of her entire career to serving disadvantaged vulnerable women and children and is a recognized leader in both the healthcare and nonprofit industries for energized vision and keen management skills. She has worked extensively in partnership with targeted private and public sector companies, employers, healthcare management corporations, and healthcare professionals, as well as with state and local government officials. Ms. Watson is a recipient of the UnitedHealth Group Community and State Innovation Award for Heart Smart Sisters, a bilingual cardiovascular risk screening, prevention education and outreach initiative to help women live healthier lives.

In addition, Ms. Watson is actively involved in creating healthier communities through several service organizations. She is founder of NiaImani CHOICES, Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to providing healthcare resources to low-income women, children and families in Maryland, Washington, D.C. and Virginia. She is also president elect of the National Health Services Executives Washington Metro Area Chapter (NAHSE-WMAC), where she has been instrumental in nearly doubling the chapter’s membership and increasing public/private partnerships to further the organization’s goals. She also serves on the Board of the Tigerlily Foundation and is a previous board member of Lupus Mid-Atlantic serving as the Board Chair and First Vice Chair DC Healthy Start Community Consortium, Inc.

Watson holds a master’s degree in Health Services Administration from Central Michigan University.