Learn About Hazelden Betty Ford
Center City, Minn. (Feb. 20, 2023) – Technology leader Cisco Skanson brings almost 30 years of experience at Minnesota institutions such Allina Health, Target, and Travelers to his new role as chief information officer at the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation.
Hazelden Betty Ford, founded and headquartered in Minnesota, is the nation's largest nonprofit provider of substance use treatment, mental health care and related research, education and prevention services. Long the leader in its field, with a strong history of innovation, the respected nonprofit is looking to leaders like Skanson to help it meet the unique, complex needs of modern patients and families; improve outcomes; and redefine excellence in addiction and mental health care.
"We are excited to welcome Cisco to Hazelden Betty Ford. He brings tremendous technical expertise and a history of building highly engaged, successful teams," said President and CEO Joseph Lee, MD. "We want to leverage technology to bring our clinical expertise and vast intellectual property together to create unique, immersive patient and family experiences. Cisco's leadership will play a key role in helping us meet the evolving needs of those we serve."
Skanson starts the new job on March 20. He has spent the past three years as vice president of information systems at Allina Health—a multi-location, nonprofit health system—where he led a team responsible for the Electronic Health Record and all other technology strategy, planning and implementation. Before that, he worked at retail giant Target Corp. for 15 years, including the last seven as senior technology director. At Target, Skanson developed deep expertise in application engineering and data analytics and led a global team supporting a technology portfolio crossing 10 business divisions and more than 1,700 business locations. He also has prior experience at the large insurance company Travelers, formerly known as The St. Paul Companies.
"Hazelden Betty Ford has a prestigious, market-leading past and is at the dawn of an opportunistic, digital future. It's an honor to join an organization with such a sterling reputation, bright future and important mission.," Skanson said. "Technology has a direct role to play in the care people receive, and as we build out our systems at Hazelden Betty Ford, we're going to be able to create even more stories of healing and hope. I can't wait to get started."
Originally from the small town of Fertile in northwestern Minnesota, Skanson played football at Hamline University in St. Paul, where he earned a bachelor's degree in management and music, which he still puts to use as a hobby musician. He later earned an MBA at the University of Minnesota. He and his wife live in Maple Grove and have three sons.
The Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is a force of healing and hope for individuals, families and communities affected by addiction to alcohol and other drugs. As the nation's leading nonprofit provider of comprehensive inpatient and outpatient addiction and mental health care for adults and youth, the Foundation has treatment centers and telehealth services nationwide as well as a network of collaborators throughout health care. Through charitable support and a commitment to innovation, the Foundation is able to continually enhance care, research, programs and services, and help more people. With a legacy that began in 1949 and includes the 1982 founding of the Betty Ford Center, the Foundation today is committed to diversity, equity and inclusion in its services and throughout the organization, which also encompasses a graduate school of addiction studies, a publishing division, an addiction research center, recovery advocacy and thought leadership, professional and medical education programs, school-based prevention resources and a specialized program for children who grow up in families with addiction.