Wren Lester

Wren M. Lester, PhD, CPXP, CPHQ, LSSBB is an experienced executive specializing in customer experience, workforce engagement, culture transformation, and performance improvement within healthcare settings.

Wren Lester, PhD, CPHQ, LSSBB, has been appointed ChristianaCare Health’s inaugural System Chief Experience Officer, the largest health care provider in Delaware. In this role, she has established the vision and organization-wide strategic imperatives for transforming caregiver engagement and the care experience of patients and their families. She facilitated healthcare transformation through employee engagement, patient experiences, strategic plan development, organizational alignment, and tactical execution.

Dr. Lester has an extensive background in Experience Leadership, recently serving as Chief Experience Officer at SUNY Downstate Health in Brooklyn, NY. At SUNY Downstate, she developed an innovative playbook for caregiver engagement and patient experience and intuitive, digital patient engagement solutions. She was appointed transformation leader for Downstate Health’s High-Reliability Organization (HRO) Journey, which focused on improving care delivery and preventing harm to caregivers, patients, and the community.

Wren’s expertise and contributions have been widely recognized. She was honored in 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025 as one of Becker’s Top 50 Chief Experience Officers to Know. Her commitment to equity and inclusion is evident in her service on a National Equity and Inclusion Advisory Council. As a National Baldrige Examiner in 2016-2018, Wren conducted organizational performance assessments across multiple industry sectors throughout the United States. Her efforts have led to the successful design of processes to achieve top decile outcomes in customer experience, workforce engagement, patient safety, and performance improvement.

Previously, Wren served as Associate Vice President of Patient Experience at Planned Parenthood in New York City, Corporate Director of Performance Excellence and Strategic Planning, and Director of Quality Management at RWJBarnabas Health-Jersey City Medical Center in Hudson County, New Jersey.
Wren’s academic achievements include a PhD in Health Sciences Leadership and Organizational Development from Seton Hall University, an MS in Health Care Administration from The New School of Social Research, and a BA in Psychology from Rutgers University. Her commitment to continuous improvement is evident in her certification as a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt from the Juran Institute.