Jill C. Klar

Chief Operating Officer for UNM Medical Group

Jill C. Klar has nearly 25 years of leadership experience as a healthcare executive within a variety of settings: physician practice, business and clinical operations, business strategy, payor and provider contracting, human resources, government relations, communications and marketing, compliance, health plan operations and provider network management. A collaborative, transformative and goal-oriented leader, Klar is driven by a strong desire to mentor, inspire and motivate teammates to perform at their highest levels.

Klar joined the UNM Health Sciences Center in January 2016 as Chief Operating Officer and was shortly thereafter named to the Chief Executive Officer position as well. During her tenure, UNM Medical Group improved financial and operating performance, through a lot of change and hard work by a great team. With a passion for operations, in January of 2020, Klar began dedicating 100% of her efforts to the COO role. She came to UNM from ABQ Health Partners, where she served as Chief Operating Officer. During her tenure there, she was a member of the team that transformed an unprofitable large multispecialty medical group into a prosperous, independent, multispecialty practice owned and led by physicians. She also led efforts to build Total Care, a new care delivery model focusing on value for the whole of the patient.

Klar is a graduate of UNM and is a Lobo and New Mexican at heart. She also recently earned a Master of Healthcare Administration from Colorado State University. Klar serves on the TriCore Board of Directors, the Lovelace UNM Rehabilitation Hospital Board of Directors and the La Tierra Sagrada Society Board of Directors.   Klar is an American Heart Association Circle of Red founder and is still actively serving with the American Heart Association. In 2014, she was honored as an Albuquerque Business First Woman of Influence, and currently, serves as a Bizwomen mentor.