Jennifer Orozco-Kolb, DMSc, PA-C, DFAAPA, has served as a volunteer leader, patient advocate, and change agent of the PA profession and all of healthcare for more than 21 years. She was appointed to the newly created role of AAPA chief medical officer and senior vice president of clinical affairs. Before taking on that role, much of Orozco-Kolb’s career had been dedicated to the clinical and academic leadership teams at Rush University System for Health in Chicago, Illinois. In that role, she was an assistant professor, vascular surgery PA, and the director of advanced practice for more than 400 PAs and APRNs across the hospital system.
Dr. Orozco-Kolb grew up just outside Doylestown, Pennsylvania, a small town located about an hour north of Philadelphia. She comes from a large family with deep roots in rural Bucks County, where her grandfather owned a dairy farm. As the oldest of four siblings, Dr. Orozco-Kolb was accustomed to taking on leadership roles within her family.
Her father worked as a blaster, and her mother was a nurse, which is where Dr. Orozco-Kolb first gained exposure to the world of healthcare. Her parents’ careers sparked her interest in helping others and laid the foundation for her future in the field.
At the age of 8, Dr. Orozco-Kolb discovered her passion for gymnastics, and this passion guided her throughout her childhood. When she graduated high school, her dedication and hard work earned her a full-ride scholarship to a Division 1 university in Chicago, where she continued to pursue gymnastics and further her education. In 1999, Orozco-Kolb received her bachelor of science in exercise physiology from the University of Illinois at Chicago. She later earned her master of medical science in PA studies from Midwestern University and her doctor of medical science from Southern Illinois University.
In her role as chief medical officer, she leads a department charged with helping AAPA achieve its mission and vision “empowering PAs to transform health”. The department focus includes clinical practice expertise, healthcare delivery systems, health equity, innovation, and continued efforts to stay ahead of evolving trends that inform strategies, improve patient care delivery, and elevate PA impact.
Orozco-Kolb’s clinical career began in 2003 when she was hired as a vascular surgery PA by the Department of Surgery at Stroger Hospital of Cook County in Chicago. She also worked per diem as an emergency medicine PA at Mount Sinai Hospital in Chicago. After three years, she was recruited to Rush University Medical Center as the first PA in vascular surgery. In 2008, Orozco-Kolb helped establish the Rush University Department of PA Studies and agreed to serve as its inaugural director of clinical education. She remained in that role for four years and continued to serve as faculty and an Assistant Professor once she took on a larger role in the hospital system.
Concurrent to her role in the PA program, Orozco-Kolb also worked as the director of PA clinical practice for the Department of Medical Affairs at Rush. In 2016, she became director of advanced practice providers and helped establish the strategic and operational structure that still exists today. During the COVID epidemic, she played a key role as part of the Operations Leadership Team/Hospital Incident Command Center and was responsible for leading physician, PA, and APRN re-deployment, the labor pool command center, and testing operations.
Jennifer Orozco-Kolb has been involved in leadership positions for the PA profession since being appointed to the AAPA Government Relations and Practice Advancement Commission where she served for five years. She was elected to the AAPA board of directors in 2018 and served 3 years as director-at-large. From 2021 to 2023, she served two consecutive terms as AAPA president and chair of the board of directors. Concurrent with her early service to AAPA, in 2016, she served as president and legislative chair of the Illinois Academy of Physician Associates (IAPA). She also served as a founding member of the National Advanced Practice Advisory Council with Sullivan Cotter, the Metropolitan Chicago Healthcare Council and the Illinois Hospital Association APN/PA Council.
During her time on the board and her consecutive terms as AAPA President, Dr. Orozco-Kolb played a pivotal role in steering the organization through a series of critical and complex challenges, setting the AAPA up for long-term success. On the business front, she helped lead the search for and onboarding of a new CEO, and spearheaded the implementation of an ambitious strategic plan that would guide the academy for years to come. She also guided the AAPA through the global pandemic, overseeing its first-ever virtual annual conference and helping the organization emerge from the crisis stronger financially. Under her leadership, the board advanced PA advocacy and policy to new heights—securing federal legislation for direct pay to PAs, passing multiple state PA compacts, and removing legal barriers that tied PAs to physicians, significantly expanding PA-led care. Additionally, Orozco-Kolb and the board launched a highly successful multimedia campaign that made PAs a household name, generating millions of impressions and showcasing the profession’s impact. Perhaps one of her greatest honors was receiving two invitations to the White House, underscoring the significance of the PA profession and their critical role in healthcare.
Orozco-Kolb is a distinguished speaker, published author, and Op-Ed contributor. She has written extensively on healthcare administration, career satisfaction, and provider burnout, with numerous articles, publications, and poster presentations to her name.
Jennifer Orozco-Kolb has been recognized by the Illinois Academy of Physician Associates both with its inaugural naming of the annual “Jennifer Orozco Emerging Leader Award” (2023) and awarding her the Member of the Year Award (2022). She was recognized by the Point of Care Network as “America’s Top PA Award – Leadership & Advocacy”; the Doctor of Medical Science at the Southern Illinois University School of Medicine awarded her the “Inaugural PA Advocacy and Leadership Award”. In 2022 Illinois Governor JB Pritzker recognized her as only one of 4 individuals named “Illinois Healthcare Hero”, with Orozco-Kolb being the only non-physician.
Orozco-Kolb is a Distinguished Fellow of the AAPA. She is a current member of the AAPA, the IAPA, and the American College of Healthcare Executives.
When not working to modernize healthcare, Dr. Jennifer Orozco-Kolb spends most of her free time outdoors cycling and traveling with her husband Kevin and her three children, Maddux, Matias, and Belicia, in Fox River Grove, Illinois.
Acknowledgments
This biography was prepared by Bill Kohlhepp and the PA History Society Staff with the assistance of Jennifer Orozco-Kolb. It was submitted to the Society in February 2025. Photographs are courtesy of Ms. Orozco-Kolb.
When using information from this biography, please provide the proper citation as described within the PA History Society Terms of Use.
To request the use of the photographs that accompany this biography, please contact the PA History Society to request permission as some photographs might have restrictions on their use.
