Roberta L. Schwartz, PhD, MHS ’94

Roberta L. Schwartz is the executive vice president of Houston Methodist Hospital—one of the founding institutions of the Texas Medical Center—and the chief innovation officer of Houston Methodist. As executive vice president of Houston Methodist Hospital, Roberta oversees all operations at the 979-bed hospital, which U.S. News & World Report named the No. 1 hospital in Texas for 13 straight years (tied for No. 1 in 2023–2024). The publication also listed Houston Methodist Hospital to its prestigious “Honor Roll” seven times. As chief innovation officer, Roberta is responsible for advancing and expanding Houston Methodist’s digital innovation platforms, including telemedicine, artificial intelligence and big data. 

Prior to joining Houston Methodist, Roberta worked as the director of business development for the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York. She was also a consultant and project manager for several academic medical centers for APM/Computer Sciences Corp. and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. 

Roberta earned a master’s degree in health science from Johns Hopkins University and an honors undergraduate degree from Barnard College at Columbia University. She has a PhD from UTHealth Houston School of Public Health. 

Roberta is nationally recognized for her professional and nonprofit work. She was recognized by Modern Healthcare’s Top 25 Women Leaders as one of its “10 Women to Watch.” She is involved in many nonprofit organizations, such as LifeGift, the Robert M. Beren Academy, the United Orthodox Synagogues, and the Young Survival Coalition.