Description
Southern California University of Health Sciences seeks a Founding Executive Director for the Institute for the Advancement of Whole Health
Click here to view full position profile: https://summitsearchsolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/SCU_ExecDir_IAWH_Profile.pdf
Location: Whittier, California (Remote & Hybrid Options)
The Position:
This is a once-in-a-career opportunity for an accomplished and dynamic leader to influence the future of healthcare as the Founding Executive Director (ED) of the newly established Institute for the Advancement of Whole Health at SCU (Institute). The University has developed a preliminary plan for the Institute. The ED will be expected to review, augment, and extend the plan based upon their experiences and ideas.
The Institute will advance SCU as the leading academic institution in the Whole Health movement, providing training and educational content to organizations and individuals, developing and delivering academic programs, establishing a model Whole Health community clinic, and advancing the field through scholarship. The Institute will serve as the authoritative academic resource for the definition, standards, and practices of Whole Health.
The ED has broad responsibilities for the planning, development and administration of the Institute’s educational programs and services, research and thought leadership, development and fundraising, clinic operations, and partnership and outreach development. The ED will be expected to build the reputation and visibility of the Institute by identifying and pursuing opportunities related to fundraising, grants, research, partnerships, clinical services, and educational programming. The Executive Director will work closely with the University’s Chief Whole Health Officer to implement SCU’s vision of becoming a Whole Health university by adapting the principles and practices of Whole Health to the academic community.
Note: While the ED will have tremendous influence over the direction and priorities of the Institute, the following are contemplated as part of the Institute’s multi-year plan: setting, publishing, and promulgating standards and competencies for Whole Health; expansion of Whole Health related academic offerings; Whole Health related research agenda oversight; design and development of a model Whole Health community clinic; robust engagement with likeminded clinicians, educators, employers, community organizations and policy makers through media, workshops, conferences, etc.; development and oversight of an aggressive fundraising strategy.
This is a minimum 60% position, although full-time is preferred. This position can be primarily remote, lending itself to a unique blend of being a mission-driven leader while maintaining a high quality of work-life balance. Building the strong national partnerships necessitated by this role may require occasional travel. Travel costs will be budgeted for and covered by the University.
Staffing and Oversight:
The ED will report to the President. The following SCU staff will move to the Institute: Executive Director of the DWHL (a 40% contractor); Program Manager of the DWHL; Capstone Director of the DWHL; SCU Department of Whole Health Research (Director, Researcher, Analyst, Assistant, Administrator). The Executive Director is expected to hire and develop a leadership team over time, anticipated to include a Deputy Director, Education Director, Development Director, and Clinic Director. In addition, the Institute has access to the services and resources of SCU, including finance and accounting, payroll and benefits, program planning and instructional design, and marketing and admissions.
Essential Functions:
- Develop a five-year strategic plan for the Institute, building on the existing planning in place for the creation of the Institute.
- Establish the Institute as the authoritative academic resource for the definition, standards, and practices of Whole Health through educational, promotional, research, and advocacy efforts.
- Represent the Institute externally at conferences, workshops, and other venues as appropriate.
- Partner with the SCU’s Chief Whole Health Officer to implement SCU’s vision of becoming a Whole Health university.
- Partner with Cornerstone Collaboration for Societal Change as appropriate to accelerate the transformation to Whole Health.
- Identify and maintain effective external partnerships.
- Identify and pursue grants.
- Develop and implement a fundraising strategy.
- Develop and manage budget, including meeting revenue targets.
- Oversee Institute staff.
- Oversee Institute contractors.
- Ensure the quality and effectiveness of all programs and services offered by the Institute.
- Complete special assignments as requested.
Qualifications and Skillset:
- Licensed clinician with experience in and passion for Whole Health and/or an experienced senior leader of a professional association or similar agency.
- Terminal degree from an accredited college or university.
- Ten years+ of executive leadership experience is preferred; fewer years of experience will be considered for highly desirable candidates.
- Strong entrepreneurial mindset with an ability to identify and act on strategic opportunities.
- Comfort working in agile environments where roles and structures evolve rapidly.
- Dynamic public speaker.
- Ability to fundraise.
- Excellent networker and partnership builder.
- Proven ability to create, launch, and lead new initiatives.
- A creative, can-do thinker energized by building something from the ground up.
- Ability to partner and collaborate across departments and organizations.
- Grant experience preferred.
- Experience developing, managing, and meeting budgets.
- Relevant educational experience preferred (e.g., teaching, research, curriculum development).
About the Institute for the Advancement of Whole Health:
Leading healthcare transformation through education, research, advocacy, standard-setting, and clinical care.
The Institute for the Advancement of Whole Health at Southern California University of Health Sciences (SCU) is an organization devoted exclusively to accelerating the nation’s adoption of the transformational approach to Whole Health. Rather than focusing solely on the medical treatment of disease, Whole Health empowers people by exploring what matters most to them, equips them with skills and support for self-care and behavior change, and provides whole-person clinical care aligned with their personal purpose. Rooted in a proven model developed within the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Whole Health is designed to optimize health and healing so that people can live their most meaningful lives. Implementing Whole Health requires a cultural shift from problem-based to purpose-driven care, reframing health from a medicalized paradigm to a humanized one.
Through education, clinical innovation, research, convenings of thought leaders, and policy engagement, the Institute will position SCU as the national leader in scalable Whole Health transformation, catalyzing a future where care is team-based, interdisciplinary and inclusive, and rooted in each person’s sense of their life’s meaning and purpose.
The SCU Doctor of Whole Health Leadership (DWHL) will be housed under the new Institute, as will any future degree programs related to Whole Health. The Institute will also house SCU’s Department of Whole Health Research and will be expected to develop scholarship opportunities to advance a research agenda in support of Whole Health.
Mission
The mission of The Institute for the Advancement of Whole Health is to accelerate a national transformation to Whole Health through education, research, clinical care, and advocacy.
Vision
Every American has access to Whole Health, empowered and equipped to lead their most meaningful life.
The Six Pillars of Advancing Whole Health
Education
In 2025, SCU launched a first-of-a kind Doctor of Whole Health Leadership program, a groundbreaking program developed in partnership with the nation’s leaders in Whole Health transformation and the architects of the Veteran Administration’s Whole Health initiative.
Research
For years, SCU’s Clinical Research Department has focused exclusively on advancing the science of integrative, whole-person care—rigorously examining its safety, efficacy, efficiency, and accessibility—with funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), numerous private foundations, and other partners. Working directly with SCU’s Institute for the Advancement of Whole Health, its team of respected researchers and advisors will continue to expand the evidence base needed to inform, shape, and optimize the nation’s healthcare transformation.
Advocacy
In today’s fragmented healthcare system, the Institute for the Advancement of Whole Health will serve as a vital convener—bringing together researchers, educators, clinicians, policymakers, and community partners to create and amplify a unified voice for change. The goal is to elevate evidence and lived experiences that demonstrate the value of Whole Health and help to shape public policy and accelerate reform.
Standards
Many providers and policy makers have begun adopting the language of Whole Health without a unified understanding of its essential principles and practices. A key priority for the Institute will be to develop and promote clear, evidence-informed standards and measures to ensure that Whole Health is practiced with fidelity and maximum impact.
Care
Every year, SCU receives nearly 50,000 patient visits at SCU Health, where integrative, whole-person care that addresses the physical, emotional, and social dimensions of well-being is provided. In partnership with the Institute, SCU’s clinics will soon be launching large-scale Whole Health pilot initiatives to measure and improve health outcomes and costs at scale.
About Southern California University of Health Sciences:
Southern California University of Health Sciences (SCU) blends the best of conventional medicine with proven complementary approaches to treat the whole person (body, mind, and spirit) for true, lasting wellness. It’s called integrative, whole healthcare, and it’s the cure for what ails our healthcare system.
Southern California University of Health Sciences (SCU), a nationally recognized leader in integrative health, recently established the Institute for the Advancement of Whole Health, the first of its kind in the country. The Institute will serve as a unifying force across a fragmented health system, setting educational and practice standards, driving clinical research, convening community and national thought leaders, and accelerating the adoption of Whole Health as part of the healthcare solution for the nation.
Founded in 1911, SCU has been challenging convention and pushing healthcare forward for more than 100 years. Today, as healthcare leaders across the nation—from the U.S. Surgeon General to the National Institutes of Health to the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine—call for a radical transformation in our healthcare system, SCU is bringing those critical changes to fruition.
SCU offers graduate, undergraduate, and certificate programs in a wide range of disciplines, including Physician Assistant, Chiropractic, Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Genetic Counseling, Genetics & Genomics, Medical Science, Ayurvedic Medicine, Acupuncture & Chinese Herbal Medicine, Psychology, Whole Health Leadership, and beyond. SCU holds institutional accreditation with the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) as well as several programmatic accreditations.
SCU’s enrollment has more than doubled since 2020. During this same period, the percentage of students from underrepresented minorities in health-related sciences increased 36% and now represents 44% of the student population. The University is at an exciting inflection point as it intentionally positions itself to become one of the leading integrative, Whole Health institutions in the nation. This is an exciting time to join an institution on the move as SCU continues a trajectory of deliberate, strategic, and thoughtful growth, which is unprecedented in the current higher education landscape. Click here to learn more about SCU.
To Apply:
Confidential review of applications will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled; parties who apply by May 18, 2026, will be given first consideration. Please submit a PDF version of your resume and cover letter outlining your interest and suitability for this position.
To apply online go to https://theapplicantmanager.com/jobs?pos=su505
For more information please contact:
Andrea Martinez
Senior Consultant
Summit Search Solutions, Inc.
(919) 357-8766
amartinez@summitsearchsolutions.com
Salary Range: $175,000–$300,000. As this is a newly created position, final compensation will reflect the individual’s depth of knowledge and experience as well as degree of commitment to the role (60%, 80%, or 100% for example).
This leadership role offers 100% remote flexibility with some travel. Start date is negotiable.
Southern California University of Health Sciences is an equal opportunity employer. Members of underrepresented groups are encouraged to apply.
