Vice Admiral Raquel Cruz Bono, MD, MBA, FACS—the first female surgeon in United States military history to achieve the rank of Vice Admira—will serve as the keynote speaker for Salus University’s 130th Commencement Ceremony at 2:00pm on Wednesday, May 21 at the Academy of Music in Philadelphia.
Currently, Dr. Bono is the CEO of Medical iSight, a 3D imaging and guidance software company for intra-procedural navigational guidance. Previously, she was the chief health officer for Viking Cruises, establishing an industry-leading C-suite model that re-started and sustained the cruise line during the COVID-19 Global Pandemic. Before Viking, she was a gubernatorial appointee as the director of Washington State COVID-19 Health System Response Management, subsequently leading the state’s Pandemic Health Response.
She is a senior fellow with the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. As the former chief executive officer (CEO) and director of the Defense Health Agency (DHA), Dr. Bono led a joint, integrated combat support agency that enabled all branches of the U.S. military—Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines —medical services to provide health care services to combatant commands. She integrated an unprecedented $50 billion worldwide health care enterprise composed of 50 hospitals and 300 clinical facilities that provide care to 9.5 million military beneficiaries; oversaw the Department of Defense (DoD) deployment of the electronic health record (EHR) system; and advanced the development of an integrated health system with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
Dr. Bono’s leadership positions in the DoD include: CEO/director, DHA (2015-2019); CEO/director, National Capital Region Medical Directorate (2013-2015); acting commander, Joint Task Force (JTF), National Capital Region (2013); command surgeon, U.S. Pacific Command (2011-2013); chief of staff, TRICARE, DoD (2008-2010); commanding officer (CEO), Naval Hospital, Jacksonville, Florida (2005-2008); and was deployed to the first Gulf War as head of casualty receiving, Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm (1990-1991).
She received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas, Austin, her Master of Business Administration from Washington State University, Spokane and her medical degree from Texas Tech Health Sciences Center, Lubbock. She completed her surgical internship and residency at the Naval Medical Center, Portsmouth, Virginia, and performed a trauma and critical care fellowship at the Eastern Virginia Graduate School of Medicine, Norfolk, Virginia.
“Dr. Bono is a pioneering leader in military medicine, a national healthcare strategist, and someone who has made a career of stepping up when the stakes are highest,” said Salus at Drexel president Michael H. Mittelman, OD ‘80, MBA, MBA FAAO, FACHE. “From the battlefield to the boardroom, from military hospitals to international business, Dr. Bono has consistently demonstrated what true leadership looks like—visionary, compassionate, and unflinching in the face of complexity.”
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Photo: Salus