Margaret E. O’Kane is the founding and current president of NCQA.

She was elected a member of the Institute of Medicine in 1999 and received the 2009 Picker Institute Individual Award for Excellence in the Advancement of Patient-Centered Care. Modern Healthcare magazine has named O’Kane one of the “100 Most Influential People in Healthcare” eight times, most recently in 2013, and one of the “Top 25 Women in Healthcare” three times. She received the 2012 Gail L. Warden Leadership Excellence Award from the National Center for Healthcare Leadership.

She is a board member of the Milbank Memorial Fund, American Board of Medical Specialties and Chairman of the Board of Healthwise, a nonprofit organization that helps people make better health decisions.

O’Kane holds a master’s degree in health administration and planning from Johns Hopkins University, and is a recipient of that university’s Distinguished Alumnus Award.