Mark Spranca

About Mark Spranca

I am an entrepreneurial leader and creative scientist with extensive experience across mission-driven sectors, including academia, think tanks, consulting, healthcare, start-ups, and government.At my core, I’m a builder—whether building organizations, teams, decision tools, databases, courses, or a home for my family. My North Star is to contribute meaningfully to a world that is educated, secure, healthy, prosperous, just, and sustainable. To maximize impact, I utilize an evolving set of scientific and leadership approaches.Driven by curiosity and a desire to advance knowledge, I earned a PhD in Psychology, gaining expertise in judgment and decision-making, behavioral economics, intergroup dynamics, and many research methods and analytic techniques. Since then, I’ve expanded my toolkit to include adaptive testing, social network analysis, data science, and Generative AI. I’ve also deepened my understanding of public health, systems science, and sustainable development.In pursuit of greater impact, I assumed leadership opportunities early in my career. To prepare, I initially focused on building technical skills such as strategic planning, business development, and change management. Along the way, I learned that true leadership requires a mastery of interpersonal skills such as two-way communication, emotional intelligence, and team empowerment. I committed to continuously developing my leadership and interpersonal skills through reading, courses, coaching, feedback, and experience—growing with each new challenge and opportunity.Looking forward, I am deeply optimistic about the transformative power of science and leadership to drive innovation and positive global change.

Experience

1. Chief Scientific Officer

   Cook County Health

   Jan 2024 — Present · Chicago, IL, US

   Cook County Health is a large integrated health system providing quality care to patients regardless of their ability to pay.• Leading the modernization of research operations at Cook County Health• Driving growth in extramural funding for clinical research, public health, quality and safety of care • Spearheading initiatives to expand sponsored programs, which enhance the health system\'s impact on the Chicago community.• Implementing strategies to enhance accountability and foster innovation within the organization.

Education

• University of California, Berkeley

  PhD, Social Psychology

  1989 — 1994

• University of Pennsylvania

  BA, Psychology and Philosophy of Science

  1983 — 1987

Skills

• Policy Analysis
• Research
• Public Policy
• Program Evaluation
• Quantitative Analytics
• Survey Design
• Health Policy
• Change Management
• Healthcare
• Strategic Planning
• Public Health
• Grant Writing
• Nonprofits
• Research Design
• Statistics
• Survey Research
• Data Analysis
• Data Collection
• Quantitative Research
• Grants
• Qualitative Research