Cherrill Farnsworth

Cherrill is an influential national expert on health care change and an entrepreneur who has started seven successful companies over the course of her career.

Cherrill is a regular speaker at business and health care symposia. Since 1984, she has been a regular spokesperson before the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). She has testified on the need to regulate quality in radiology at the House Ways & Means Committee and Congress. She is also a member of the National Quality Forum (NQF), which was formed by the U.S. Senate in response to the Institute of Medicine's report on medical mistakes.

Nationally recognized for her achievements, Cherrill has received the KPMG Peat Marwick High Tech Entrepreneur of the Year Award and the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award. The National Association of Specialty Health Organizations has named her “Most Influential in Specialty Health.”

Houston named her a Woman on the Move as early in her career as 1986. In 2015, she was elected to the prestigious Committee of 200, a membership organization of the world’s most successful women entrepreneurs and corporate innovators. Also, Cherrill is an active elected member of the Women Business Leaders of the U.S. Health Care Industry Foundation and in 2021 was honored by the City of Houston Chamber of Commerce, which added her to their Hall of Fame.

A graduate of Butler University, Cherrill received her degree magna cum laude and has served on the school's board of trustees.