Seema Bajaj is a healthcare operations executive with nearly 20 years of experience leading clinical operations, financial management, and strategic planning for medical institutions. Her passion is optimizing healthcare to support clinicians and provide excellent patient experiences. As executive director of Seleni Institute, Seema leads and oversees day-to-day operations and drives Seleni’s mission to be the premier training center for maternal and reproductive mental health globally and to improve the emotional health of women, caregivers and their families during the family-building years.

Seema brings a diverse healthcare perspective that is attuned to the needs of patients, providers and staff and responsive to the fast-changing healthcare world. She navigates stakeholders, builds buy-in, and manages change to successfully execute on technical implementations and contingency planning. Seema’s career began in clinical research administration for Columbia University, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, and Emory University. She was also the director of awards and grants for the Research and Education Foundation of the American College of Rheumatology.

In 2010 Seema joined Stony Brook University’s Department of Pediatrics to oversee daily operations of a department with 120 physicians, 200 staff and 10 ambulatory sites. Her role encompassed operations leadership, human resources, strategic planning, grant administration and mission-based Children’s Hospital programs. During her tenure, she safeguarded and advanced the financial health of the department by overseeing an annual growing clinical budget of $50 million; improved practice productivity using high-level data analysis; implemented telehealth and other technology tools to better meet patient needs while increasing operational efficiencies amid staffing shortages, Covid restrictions and administrative changes; met quality outcome metrics to achieve payer incentives and improve quality care; and spearheaded physician recruitment and retention, managing large teams to deliver high standards of care within existing constraints while protecting work-life balance for all personnel.

Seema holds a Master of Public Administration from New York University Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service and a Bachelor of Arts from Emory University.  She is a member of the Association of Administrators in Academic Pediatrics, American College of Healthcare Executives, Digital Medicine Society, and Chief, a membership network focused on connecting and supporting women executive leaders.

Learn more about Seema in our Seleni Spotlight here and read the press release.