Suzie Berregaard, JD, BS
Director of Operations – Veterans Affairs
Suzie Berregaard earned a BS in Forestry from Iowa State University, followed by a Juris Doctorate with Honors from Drake University Law School in Des Moines Iowa, and a Graduate Certificate in Healthcare Corporate Compliance from the George Washington University College of Professional Studies and School of Public Health in Washington DC. She started her legal career as a litigation attorney in the Iowa Attorney General’s office holding this position for eight years prior to beginning work as corporate legal counsel for private nonprofit healthcare organizations, where her areas of expertise included litigation, constitutional law, 501c operations, corporate governance, labor and employment law, strategic planning, and enterprise risk management. Ms. Berregaard joined VA in 2010 and served 11 years as the Chief of Quality & Safety at the VA Central Iowa Health Care System in Des Moines, Iowa. She is currently the Director of Operations for the Office of Quality Management, one of three Divisions within the VHA Office of the Assistant Under Secretary for Health for Quality and Patient Safety. She is a graduate of VHA’s Health Care Leadership Development Program and Leadership VA; she has been a VA Carey/Baldrige Examiner and was certified as a Just Culture/HRO Master Trainer through the Just Culture Company (Marx) 2015 and has been actively engaged as a speaker and in leading related discussions since that time. Her work at VA has focused on ensuring that strategy, systems, and processes are designed to support the Organization’s ability to accomplish its mission and ultimately produce highly reliable outcomes for Veterans. In addition to Quality and Patient Safety responsibilities, Ms. Berregaard has also served as a facility Veteran Experience Officer, facility planner, designated learning officer, and HRO lead. She is licensed to practice law in Iowa, the US Federal District Courts of Iowa, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the United States Supreme Court. Ms. Berregaard is a licensed Nursing Home Administrator, has been certified as a Senior Professional in Human Resources/SHRM Senior Certified Professional, Certified in Healthcare Compliance, and is a Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality.