Kaiser Permanente appoints permanent president of mid-Atlantic region

Kaiser Permanente, a major healthcare provider with a significant presence in Northern Virginia, announced Tuesday it has appointed Emily Holliman as president of its Mid-Atlantic States region, effective immediately.

Holliman has served as the region’s interim president since June 2025, following the departure of previous President Israel Rocha, who left the position and became CEO and chairman of software development company Hrtly.

As president, Holliman leads efforts to provide healthcare and coverage to the organization’s more than 750,500 health plan members across 35 medical centers in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C. More than 270,000 of the region’s patients are in Northern Virginia.

“Under Emily’s leadership, Kaiser Permanente has improved access, quality, member experiences, operational performance and affordability in the mid-Atlantic states,” Craig Albanese, Kaiser Permanente president of integrated care and coverage, said in a statement. “She has strengthened and extended our value-based care model and improved the health of our communities, which is essential to Kaiser Permanente’s mission.”

Holliman joined Kaiser Permanente’s mid-Atlantic region in 2023 as chief operating officer, where she worked closely with the Mid-Atlantic Permanente Medical Group and organizational leadership. Previously, she held senior executive roles at hospitals and health systems across the country, including market vice president for Ardent Health Services’ New Jersey market, CEO of Pascack Valley Medical Center and president of Norwood Hospital in Massachusetts.

Holliman serves on the boards of the Greater Washington Board of Trade and the Healthcare Council. She has a master’s degree in health administration and an MBA from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, as well as a bachelor’s degree in commerce and business administration with a focus in healthcare management from the University of Alabama, and is a fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives.

“I am honored to lead Kaiser Permanente’s Mid-Atlantic States market,” Holliman said in a statement. “Together with our exceptional physicians and care teams, we will continue to drive innovation, improve health outcomes and expand access to high-quality, integrated care for the communities we serve.”

Based in Oakland, California, Kaiser Permanente was founded in 1945 and serves 12.5 million members in eight states and Washington, D.C.