Dr. Brooke Buckley: Transforming Healthcare Leadership With Purpose, Courage, and Compassion
In a rapidly evolving healthcare landscape, few leaders embody both the clinical expertise and human-centered leadership required to reshape organizational culture. Brooke M. Buckley, MD, FACS stands at the forefront of this transformation—a board-certified general surgeon, Diplomate of the American Board of Lifestyle Medicine, experienced physician executive, health coach, and national advocate for trauma-informed leadership and workforce well-being.
Dr. Buckley is also the co-founder—along with Drs. Mark and Ali Novitsky—of Catalyst for Organizations, a groundbreaking, human-centered transformation initiative powered by The FIT Collective. This program equips hospitals, practices, and healthcare systems with the frameworks, training, and cultural scaffolding needed to build resilient, values-aligned teams that can thrive in demanding environments.
A Surgeon, Strategist, and Systems Leader
Clinical Excellence and Lifestyle Medicine Expertise
Dr. Brooke Buckley brings decades of experience as a skilled clinician and surgeon. She is:
Board-Certified in General Surgery
A Diplomate of the American Board of Lifestyle Medicine
A long-standing advocate for whole-person care, preventive health, and integrative well-being
Her dual training in high-acuity surgical care and evidence-based lifestyle medicine gives her unique insight into the full continuum of patient health—from emergency intervention to long-term resilience and recovery.
Leadership Training Rooted in Business and Human Behavior
Dr. Buckley earned her MBA from the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School, equipping her with strategic and operational expertise rarely combined with frontline surgical experience.
This fusion allows her to communicate across the clinical-administrative divide, build effective multidisciplinary teams, and drive sustainable organizational change.
A Career Dedicated to Transforming Healthcare Systems
Dr. Buckley’s leadership experience spans multiple institutions and progressive levels of responsibility.
Current Roles and Responsibilities
She currently serves as:
System Vice President of Medical Affairs for Henry Ford Health
Medical Director of the Command Center, stewarding system flow, crisis coordination, and operational readiness
From 2020–2025, she served as Chief Medical Officer of Henry Ford Wyandotte Hospital, guiding clinical strategy through some of the most challenging years in modern healthcare.
Past Leadership Positions
Her prior leadership includes:
Vice President and Chief Medical Officer at Meritus Health
Associate Chair of Surgery at Anne Arundel Medical Center
Medical Director for Acute Care Surgery and Wound Center Programs
These roles reflect her breadth of experience leading surgical services, hospital operations, crisis management, and physician culture initiatives.
National Leadership and Advocacy
Championing Clinical Leadership and Policy
Dr. Buckley has been trusted to lead at a national level across multiple influential organizations, including:
Past Chair of the Committee on Clinical Leadership for the American Hospital Association
Chair of AMPAC (American Medical Political Action Committee)
President of the Maryland State Medical Association
She currently serves on the Joint Commission Board, contributing to national conversations on safety, equity, quality, and accreditation.
National Speaker on Burnout, Workforce Wellness, and Trauma-Informed Leadership
Dr. Buckley is widely regarded as a compelling keynote speaker who blends vulnerability, data, and lived experience. Her signature topics include:
Burnout in medicine
Trauma-informed leadership
Workforce mental health
High-functioning team dynamics
Crisis leadership
Creating psychologically safe medical environments
Her workshops and presentations empower leaders to build healthier, more connected, and more sustainable systems.
Co-Founder of Catalyst for Organizations
A Vision Shared With Drs. Mark and Ali Novitsky
Dr. Buckley is the co-founder—alongside Dr. Mark Novitsky and Dr. Ali Novitsky—of Catalyst, an innovative organizational transformation framework for healthcare teams.
Catalyst for Organizations, created through The FIT Collective, brings together trauma-informed leadership, psychological safety, communication training, and cultural transformation strategies designed specifically for stressed, overextended healthcare environments.
Catalyst trains teams to:
Lead with clarity
Communicate with emotional intelligence
Regulate under pressure
Build cultures that retain people
Align organizational behavior with mission, values, and humanity
Dr. Buckley brings her executive leadership, operational mindset, and deep understanding of trauma and burnout to this program—making Catalyst one of the most unique, powerful tools available for healthcare organizations today.
A Mission to Support Women in Medicine and Leadership
Helping Women Reconnect With Meaningful Work
At the core of Dr. Buckley’s teaching is a mission:
To help women in medicine reconnect with their purpose, align their work with their values, and create space for both impact and joy.
Through coaching, mentorship, and system-level advocacy, she works with women physicians and leaders to:
Prevent burnout
Build self-trust
Develop boundaries
Navigate trauma and high-pressure environments
Reclaim passion for their work
Lead authentically
Certified Health Coach and CISM-Trained Leader
Her training in Critical Incident Stress Management allows her to support clinicians navigating traumatic events and cumulative stress.
As a certified health coach, she guides individuals in integrating sustainable habits, emotional regulation strategies, and lifestyle practices that support both personal and professional wellbeing.
An Integrated Leadership Philosophy
Where Purpose Meets Performance
Dr. Buckley believes that organizations thrive when humans thrive. Her leadership style is rooted in:
Courage
Self-awareness
Transparent communication
Trauma-informed decision-making
Alignment between values and actions
Respect for the emotional experiences of teams
Her approach bridges the gap between clinical excellence and compassionate leadership.
Leading Through Crisis With Humanity
Dr. Buckley has served in key leadership roles during some of the most turbulent periods in healthcare. Her C-suite experience is supported by:
Real-time crisis management
Command center coordination
Burnout mitigation frameworks
Support for teams facing moral injury
Creating space for recovery, communication, and reconnection
Her ability to lead while honoring the emotional weight of the work is one of her most defining strengths.
Education and Early Career
Medical Training
Dr. Buckley graduated from:
The Ohio State University College of Medicine and Public Health
Completed her Internship and General Surgery Residency at Fairview Hospital in the Cleveland Clinic Health System
Her surgical roots instilled a deep appreciation for teamwork, precision, and high-stakes decision-making—skills she continues to apply at the system level.
Life Outside of Medicine
Family and Personal Joy
Outside the boardroom and operating room, Dr. Buckley is a dedicated mother to three young sons and lives a joyful, grounded life with her family and her beloved sheepadoodle.
Her personal life reflects the balance, authenticity, and humanity she encourages in leaders and clinicians.
IMPACT
Dr. Brooke Buckley is a rare kind of leader—deeply skilled, deeply human, and deeply committed to transforming healthcare from the inside out. As a surgeon, executive, lifestyle medicine physician, and co-founder of Catalyst for Organizations, she brings clarity, compassion, and courageous leadership to systems in need of healing.
Her mission is clear:
To help clinicians and leaders reconnect with purpose, align with their values, and build lives—and workplaces—where impact and joy can coexist.
If you’d like this expanded further, turned into a downloadable PDF profile, or adapted into a video script or landing page, I can create that next.