Dr. Maureen Connelly Jones serves as Chief Accreditation Officer and is a senior leader with more than 30 years of experience in healthcare and higher education. Her career spans clinical practice, healthcare administration, academic leadership, and accreditation, giving her a deep, practical understanding of how education, leadership, and workforce preparation intersect to improve healthcare delivery.

Dr. Jones has held executive and senior academic leadership roles at large research universities, including Director of Graduate Studies and Program Director for Master of Health Administration programs. In these roles, she led complex graduate programs, supervised faculty and staff, guided curriculum and competency model development, and built assessment and continuous improvement systems that strengthened program quality, accreditation readiness, and student outcomes.

A CAHME Master Fellow, Dr. Jones has served in multiple national leadership roles within the accreditation community, including Chair of the CAHME Standards Council, member of the Accreditation Council and Candidacy Committee, and leader for major standards, policy, and process initiatives. Her work has shaped accreditation practices at both national and international levels, including standards revision and site visit modernization.

Dr. Jones began her career in clinical and supervisory leadership roles, grounding her work in real-world healthcare operations and patient care. That experience continues to inform her approach to accreditation, which emphasizes clarity, alignment, accountability, and support for programs as they prepare future healthcare leaders.

She holds a PhD in Workforce Education and Development with a focus on organization development and human resource management, along with graduate and undergraduate nursing degrees from The Pennsylvania State University. At the core of her leadership is a commitment to integrity, equity, stewardship, and helping programs and people thrive.