At each Strayer University commencement ceremony, the Outstanding Alumni Award is presented to an accomplished Strayer University graduate who has demonstrated exceptional leadership in his or her professional or personal life.
At the Washington, DC, ceremony in June, the award was presented to Belita Strudwick, an experienced health care leader who measures success by the impact she makes. “I feel that we are put on this earth to leave it in a better place than we found it,” she says. This philosophy led her to a career in health care operations and compliance – after becoming the first person in her family to earn a bachelor’s degree.
She earned her MBA at Strayer in 2018 and since then has seen her career grow as a leader, innovator, and catalyst for change. “Earning my degree really made me confident to speak to health care executives,” she says. “It gave me the foundation to be able to have those high-level conversations.”
Today Belita is manager of quality management and accreditation for one of the largest not-for-profit integrated health systems in the country, with 12 hospitals and more than 30,000 employees. She oversees accreditations in key areas including specialty care, behavioral health, health equity, and population health. “I have the opportunity to impact 1.2 million lives,” she says.
She has received numerous awards for her work, including from the Virginia Medicaid Program and the National Committee for Quality Assurance. And she has been a featured speaker and instructor for organizations such as the National Association of Health Service Executives and Georgia State University, on topics including quality management, technology, and innovation.
Belita’s impact extends to her community as well. She is a board member of Nurture RVA, a nonprofit focused on improving outcomes in pregnancy, birth, and early parenting. She has participated in multiple national and international mission trips. And she is a proud member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.
In addition to her MBA from Strayer, Belita holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Greensboro College. She is currently pursuing a doctorate in Health Administration from the Medical University of South Carolina.
