Topic: Delivering on our Commitment to Community Performance Excellence

Beginning in October 2016, leaders across the country have joined the Communities of Excellence (COE) National Learning Collaborative with the goal of using the Baldrige based COE Framework to support their communities in identifying and measuring key initiatives to address community health and wellbeing. Stephanie Norling will give a progress update on these communities and their performance excellence journeys and will describe how these experiences have led to an ambitious new strategy.

Stephanie Norling has been Executive Director of Communities of Excellence 2026 since 2014. She participated in the development of the Communities of Excellence Criteria, adapted from the Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence, and launched a National Learning Collaborative of communities to support use of the framework. Stephanie has a BA in Anthropology from Tufts University and an MBA and Certificate in Nonprofit Management from University of San Diego. Prior to joining COE, Stephanie worked for the Institute for Healthcare Improvement as a Project Coordinator and at the San Diego Zoo and Safari Park. She is also a National Baldrige Examiner and serves on the Alliance for Performance Excellence board.