Elizabeth Herrera Eichenberger
Columbia,Missouri
Summary
Health systems, operations, and performance improvement leader with more than 20 years of progressively responsible experience across military medicine, public health, state government, higher education, and healthcare partnerships. Current supervisor of a four-person strategy and performance team and former chief executive responsible for 40 employees and 80 volunteers. Applies DMAIC, process and value-stream mapping, root-cause analysis, performance measures, and executive reporting to improve quality, timeliness, accountability, and service delivery.
Overview
1
1
Certification
27
27
years of professional experience
Work History
Deputy Division Director Strategy and Performance
Missouri Department of Economic Development
Jefferson City, Missouri
05.2026 - Current
- Lead a four-person team consisting of two analysts, a project manager, and an economic development director and economist. Assign work, set priorities, coach staff, review deliverables, and translate analysis into recommendations for division directors and department leadership.
- Direct operational excellence work across agency divisions using DMAIC, value-stream mapping, and current- and future-state process mapping. Facilitate cross-functional teams, define problems and scope, identify root causes and handoff failures, clarify ownership, and develop implementation actions.
- Led mapping of DED's MOSERS retirement and separation workflow to reduce delays, unclear ownership, communication gaps, and processing errors. Facilitated an invoice-workflow review focused on late payments and limited visibility into invoice status.
- Supervise Qualtrics surveys and workforce and customer feedback required by Missouri statute and grants. Present findings to leadership, coach divisions on improvement strategies, and monitor implementation through Asana, Smartsheet, dashboards, PowerPoint, and executive briefs.
- Oversee economic-impact analysis of state tax-credit programs and use findings to advise department leadership on program performance and value to Missouri.
- 40 hours per week
Founder and Executive Director Mission Promise Kept
Stephens College
Columbia, Missouri
04.2022 - 05.2026
- Synthesized VA data, veteran-studies literature, Wounded Warrior Project findings, Missouri Veterans Commission resources, stakeholder input, and lived experience to design the nation's first comprehensive residential higher-education support framework for women veterans and their children.
- Authored and directed a $600,000 three-year U.S. Department of Education Center of Excellence for Veteran Student Success grant. Managed the $200,000 annual budget, implementation, federal compliance, performance measures, and reports with no monitoring findings or corrective actions during tenure.
- Maintained a registrar-verified 100 percent retention rate among 16 veterans and service members and supported 10 spouses and children. Tracked enrollment, persistence, academic standing, service use, referrals, satisfaction, and graduation in Excel.
- Tailored Stephens' Behavioral Intervention Team process for veterans by monitoring Canvas activity, attendance, grades, and individual check-ins. Coordinated multidisciplinary interventions and referrals with Truman VA Medical Center when health conditions affected academic performance.
- Delivered annual institution-wide faculty and staff education, written guidance, case consultation, and mediation on veteran transition, trauma, health, and classroom concerns. Built referral relationships with VA, campus departments, Wounded Warrior Project, Veterans United, Student Veterans of America, American Legion, and VFW.
- Personally completed the Military Friendly School assessment and evidence submission that contributed to Stephens' 2026 to 2027 No. 1 ranking among private institutions not offering doctorates. Selected by the VA Center for Women Veterans as one of 28 national 2025 Women Veteran Trailblazers.
- Designed a Puerto Rico recruitment strategy with the Puerto Rico Department of Education and schools, generating more than 300 inquiries, approximately five admissions, and two enrollments.
- 40 hours per week
- Concurrent Director Latin American Initiatives March 2023 to June 2025
Executive Director
True North of Columbia
Columbia, Missouri
07.2016 - 04.2022
- Held full executive authority for a 24-hour domestic and sexual violence organization with approximately 40 employees, 80 volunteers, and seven direct-report leaders. Directed finance, administration, fundraising, strategy, clinical and advocacy partnerships, and service performance.
- Assigned work and priorities; established job descriptions and performance standards; made final hiring decisions; completed evaluations; coached and counseled staff; resolved complaints; used performance improvement plans; approved discipline and termination; and created a Training Coordinator role to strengthen onboarding and data quality.
- Prepared and presented annual budgets and monthly budget-to-actual, cash-flow, forecast, grant-spending, and performance reports to the Board. Increased annual revenue 78 percent from 2016 through 2020, maintained clean audits and no corrective-action plans, and raised $1.25 million in restricted capital support.
- Used Apricot, HMIS, Neon CRM, ADP, SurveyMonkey, and operational data to monitor service, safety, workforce, and outcome measures. Investigated declining call counts, identified turnover and documentation-training gaps, standardized training, and restored normal service trends.
- Coordinated survivor healthcare and behavioral-health systems with MU Health Care's SANE program, Phoenix Programs, Burrell, Cornerstone, and community partners. Sustained law-enforcement collaboration with the Columbia Police Department DOVE Unit through structured referrals, coverage, training, documentation, and reporting.
- Kept 24-hour services fully operational throughout COVID-19 through screening, isolation, remote counseling, electronic documentation, staffing contingencies, and temporary lodging. Secured PPP and VOCA support and maintained uninterrupted services with no layoffs.
- 40 hours per week
National Program Administrator and Business Operations Manager
PACE Center for Girls
Jacksonville and Miami, Florida
08.2012 - 07.2016
- Redesigned National School Lunch Program operations across 18 centers after researching federal regulations and reimbursement rules. Increased program revenue 14 percent, reduced administrators' reported burden 75 percent, and helped one center eliminate a documented $25,000 annual loss caused by missed meals, costly vendors, and unsubmitted reimbursements.
- Built Excel reconciliation tools, standardized workflows, webinars, job aids, one-on-one coaching, and a detailed operating guide. Proposed and led a five-center tablet check-in pilot with leadership and IT, refined the process, and expanded it across all 18 centers.
- Served as operational lead for the new Miami center. Managed the startup plan, facilities, contracts, vendors, HR, onboarding, technology, security, transportation, records, food service, and emergency preparedness; supported hiring 30 to 40 employees and opened on time using 80 percent of the allotted budget.
- Supported federal, state, grant, and financial reviews with no significant findings. Built the emergency plan and monthly drill process and coordinated a Florida Blue onsite nurse-practitioner program serving approximately 60 girls through referral workflows, budget oversight, logic-model reporting, and aggregate utilization data.
- 40 hours per week
Staff Sergeant E5 Medical Public Health and Aviation Resource Management
United States Air Force Active Duty Reserve and Air National Guard
07.1999 - 04.2016
- AFSCs 4N051 4E051 and 1C071. Supported flight surgeons, aircrew, and families in flight medicine, emergency and 911 response, medical records, public and occupational health, communicable-disease surveillance, food safety, deployment processing, and disaster-readiness exercises at Whiteman, Ramstein, and Barksdale medical groups.
- As a Staff Sergeant, formally supervised three Airmen; assigned and reviewed work, provided feedback and counseling, trained staff, signed competencies, and maintained required training and qualification records.
- Cross-trained to seven-level Aviation Resource Management and supported the 102nd Rescue Squadron, 125th Fighter Wing, and 482nd Fighter Wing. Audited paper records and ARMS data and monitored aircrew medical clearances, flying-hour and training currency, evaluations, security, survival training, and deployment readiness; prevented flight qualification when requirements expired.
- Full time active and AGR service with traditional Reserve and Guard periods
Education
PhD - Organizational Leadership
William Woods University
Master - Nonprofit Management
Florida Atlantic University
Bachelor of Arts - Cultural Anthropology
Auburn University
Skills
- Systems Redesign Performance Improvement Supervisory Leadership Healthcare Operations Data Analysis Project Management Process Mapping Internal Consultation Training and Facilitation Budget Personnel and Procurement Federal Compliance
Personal Information
Title: Supervisory Health System Specialist System Redesign
Certification
SHRM Senior Certified Professional | Lean Six Sigma Green Belt Management and Strategy Institute June 2026
Affiliations
2025 Woman Veteran Trailblazer U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs | Bilingual English and Spanish | Rotary International
Timeline
Deputy Division Director Strategy and Performance
Missouri Department of Economic Development
05.2026 - Current
Founder and Executive Director Mission Promise Kept
Stephens College
04.2022 - 05.2026
Executive Director
True North of Columbia
07.2016 - 04.2022
National Program Administrator and Business Operations Manager
PACE Center for Girls
08.2012 - 07.2016
Staff Sergeant E5 Medical Public Health and Aviation Resource Management
United States Air Force Active Duty Reserve and Air National Guard
07.1999 - 04.2016
PhD - Organizational Leadership
William Woods University
Master - Nonprofit Management
Florida Atlantic University
Bachelor of Arts - Cultural Anthropology
Auburn University