Sara Jo Grethlein, MD, MBA, FACP

Assocate Director, Executive Leadership in Health Care
Email: sgrethlein@yahoo.com

Sara Jo Grethlein, MD, MBA, FACP, is associate director of the Executive Leadership in Health Care program. 

Dr Grethlein’s career in academic medicine and health care spans over 30 years. She is board certified in internal medicine, hematology and medical oncology. She has provided clinical care in urban, rural, county, state, federal, private, nonprofit and telehealth international systems. Initially specializing in bone marrow and stem cell transplantation, she later adapted her service to the clinical needs of the health systems she led.  She likes to note that “There isn’t a body part she hasn’t treated a cancer of.”  She volunteers internationally through the World Telehealth Initiative, providing oncology and hematology consultation in Africa.

As a medical educator, Dr Grethlein created the curriculum for and served as the inaugural course director for the Practice of Medicine course. She has served as associate dean for graduate medical education at SUNY Upstate Medical University, and associate dean for undergraduate medical education at Indiana University. She has served on the Internal Medicine RRC and the AAMC GRA, and been an LCME site visitor.

In 2015, Dr Grethlein moved into clinical operations, holding numerous positions, including medical director of cancer services at the Simon Cancer Center — a National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center — and the Joe and Shelly Schwarz Cancer Center at Indiana University. In 2021 she served as the executive medical director of the Swedish Cancer Institute, where she oversaw cancer care in the multiple Providence-Swedish hospitals, clinics and facilities across the Puget Sound, led a robust research enterprise, and launched the Paul G. Allen Research Center. From 2023 to 2025 she served as the chief medical officer for Clinical Institutes (Cancer, Digestive Health, Heart and Vascular, Neuroscience, Women and Children’s) across the Puget Sound.

Dr Grethlein built expertise in counseling and advising trainees from medical students through fellows during her early career, winning numerous awards for teaching and mentoring. She became a certified executive coach through the Center for Executive Coaching, and in 2025, founded and launched Belay On Coaching LLC to provide exceptional executive coaching to individuals and organizations within the health care sector. She continues to do consulting for legal, nonprofit and health care organizations.

 
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