Chet Hewitt

Chet Hewitt is president and CEO of Sierra Health Foundation and its independent operating partner, the Center for Health Program Management. Since beginning his tenure in 2007, he has focused foundation investments on health disparities, health equity, and the healthy development and well-being of vulnerable youth. Before joining the foundation, he served for five years as the director of Alameda County’s Social Services Agency, where he is credited with transforming its failing child welfare system into a national model and using technology to improve the delivery of human services. Previously, he served as associate director for the Rockefeller Foundation in New York and established and managed its west coast regional office in San Francisco. Chet is a frequent lecturer on philanthropy and public sector leadership and advises organizations across the nation on issues related to the transformation of public systems. He has received numerous awards, including the Terrance Keenan Leadership Award in Health Philanthropy, an Annie E. Casey Foundation Child and Family Leaders Fellowship, and the Grantland Johnson Intergovernmental Cooperation Award; he has also been named Administrator of the Year by Black Administrators in Child Welfare. In 2021, he was elected to the National Academy of Public Administration for his commitment and contributions to public service. He joined PPIC’s board of directors in 2016 and was elected board chair in 2022. He previously served on the PPIC Statewide Leadership Council.