Bill Lydiatt, MD, EMBA is CEO of Clarkson Institute, a nonprofit with a rich history and deep dedication to improving healthcare in Nebraska. Bill is immediate past president of the American Head and Neck Society, Chair of the AJCC 9th Edition Head and Neck Staging Core, and professor of surgery at Creighton University. He is former Chief Medical Officer at Nebraska Methodist Hospital.

Under Bill’s leadership, CRHS has crystallized its mission to focus on improving access to behavioral and maternal health care, ensuring these focus areas are prioritized in its directed initiatives and programs, philanthropic support, and data analysis. One of the first initiatives to develop from his vision is Bridges to Mental Health, a statewide initiative that seeks to mitigate the gap in access to behavioral health care by uptraining existing providers. Believed to be the first of its kind nationally, this program has uptrained more than 500 providers across Nebraska and Western Iowa to date.

Bill’s roles in governance and policy have included serving on the Nebraska Health Network’s board and Nebraska Medical Association’s House of Delegates. He has authored more than 150 peer-reviewed publications, books, and book chapters.

Bill received his Bachelor of Science degree from Stanford University and his medical degree from University of Nebraska Medical Center, where he also completed his residency in otolaryngology, and completed a post-residency fellowship in head and neck oncologic surgery at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. He holds an EMBA in healthcare administration from the University of Colorado–which he received after being selected as one of the first recipients of the Canedy Scholarship, awarded to a Nebraska physician with a demonstrated track record of leadership, a spirit of working across silos, and a long-term vision to improve the Omaha community.