The HLNY Foundation Career Excellence Fund

Merit should decide who earns the credential — not who can afford it.

The Career Excellence Fund awards up to $3,000 to early-career healthcare professional pursuing one of four nationally recognized credentials: CPHQ, Lean Six Sigma Black Belt, PMP, and FACHE. Every award is paired with executive coaching and a place in growing community of HLNY awardees.

This fund was established through the generosity of Founding Benefactor Stephern Allison. The inaguaral 2027 cohort is dedicated in Stephern’s honor.

Why This Fund Exists

Healthcare leadership is changing faster than traditional career ladders. AI integration, workforce shortages, and payer pressure reward leaders who can work across functions, and credentials are one of the clearest ways to show that range.

But credentials cost money. Prep courses, study materials, and exam fees often run $1,000 to $3,000, and many early-career professionals work for organizations that won't sponsor them. For a capable candidate with the drive and the track record, the gap isn't merit. It's access.

The Career Excellence Fund closes that gap, and pairs each award with the coaching that turns a credential into a turning point.

What the award covers

Each award provides up to $3,000, sized to the actual cost of your program. If your credential costs less, the award covers that lower amount.

Covered

  • Tuition and required course content

  • First-attempt exam fee

  • Approved study materials and exam-prep resources

Not covered

  • Exam retake fees

  • Costs above the award, such as instructor-led bootcamps priced over $3,000. You choose self-paced or instructor-led prep and cover any difference.

  • ACHE membership dues. Eligible members can apply to the HLNY Membership Fund for dues support.

  • Anything not listed above, including travel and recertification fees

How funds are paid: Funds are released once you submit proof of enrollment.


Who is eligible

You are eligible if you meet all six criteria.

  1. Early careerist. Under age 40 as of the application deadline, consistent with ACHE's Early Careerist Network definition.

  2. Active membership. Active ACHE membership with Healthcare Leaders of New York as your assigned chapter, held from application through confirmed completion. Not a member yet? The HLNY Membership Fund may cover your dues.

  3. Financial need. Your employer is not funding this credential, and its cost is otherwise out of reach. You confirm this in a confidential attestation.

  4. Community contribution. A record of volunteer service, peer mentorship, or community impact outside your job.

  5. Two professional references. One from a leader in your organization and one from an industry leader who knows your work.

  6. A clear career case. Why this credential will accelerate your effectiveness, and how you will put it to work in your organization or community.

You must also be able to meet your credentialing body's exam requirements within your completion window.

How awardees are selected

A Nominating Committee of senior HLNY Foundation leaders reviews and ranks every complete application. The committee weighs:

  • Strength of the career case and study plan

  • Likelihood of completing within the window

  • Financial need and community contribution

  • Balance of credentials across cohorts over time

Finalists advance to a selection panel that includes the Founding Benefactor.

How to apply

Before you apply: each credentialing body sets its own requirements to sit for its exam. FACHE, for example, requires one year of ACHE membership, a master's degree, a current healthcare management position with five years of management experience, 36 continuing education credits, four volunteer activities, and two references before you can apply (ACHE). Confirm you can meet your credential's requirements within your completion window.

STEP 1: Confirm your eligibility

Review the six criteria on the left and your credential's exam requirements. In MyACHE, open "My Chapter" and confirm Healthcare Leaders of New York is your assigned chapter. Save a screenshot for your application.

STEP 2: Build your application

Gather the following before you start:

  • Resume

  • Credential selection, with your rationale

  • Proof of ACHE membership showing HLNY as your assigned chapter

  • Community impact summary

  • Employer support letter confirming you will have time to pursue the credential

  • Two letters of recommendation: one from a leader in your organization, one from an industry leader

  • Study plan with milestones tied to your completion window

  • Career-impact essay [500 words max — confirm]

  • Confidential financial-need attestation (completed within the form)

STEP 3: Apply privately

Submit the confidential application on this page by February 28, 2027 at 11:59 p.m. ET. Only complete applications are reviewed. [Confirm whether recommenders upload letters directly.]

STEP 4: Notification

Every applicant receives an email decision in early April.

STEP 5: Accept and enroll

Awardees sign a short acceptance letter confirming their completion timeline, then submit proof of enrollment to release funds.


Awardee commitments

The Fund rests on selection rigor and public accountability, not repayment. As an awardee, you agree to:

  1. Sign an acceptance letter confirming your completion timeline.

  2. Keep your ACHE membership active through confirmed completion.

  3. Complete your credential within your window: 12 months for CPHQ, Lean Six Sigma Black Belt, and PMP; 24 months for FACHE. [Define "complete" — see decision 8.]

  4. Submit proof of completion, such as an exam result or credential certificate.

  5. Share brief progress updates for the Fund's annual impact report.

  6. Be publicly named as an awardee in HLNY communications. Your financial information is never shared.

Retake fees are your responsibility. Awardees who do not complete within their window owe nothing back, but become ineligible for future HLNY Foundation awards.

Mentorship and community

A credential alone is a document. Paired with the right mentor, it becomes a turning point. Every award includes:

  • A coaching session with the Founding Benefactor. One structured session with Stephern Allison, a certified executive coach whose career spans clinical care, finance, and human-capital leadership.

  • Senior HLNY mentors. Access to experienced leaders and HLNY's established mentorship program.

  • A peer cohort. Awardees from every year form an alumni network that lasts well beyond the exam.

  • Recognition on stage. Each cohort is honored at an HLNY signature event alongside New York's senior healthcare leaders.

Founding Benefactor

[Headshot of Stephern Allison]

Stephern Allison, Founding Benefactor

Stephern Allison has built a career on one conviction: organizations rise or fall on the people they choose to invest in. That career runs from clinical practice through finance and human-capital leadership, including service as a Chief Human Resources Officer, to executive coaching. A Lean Six Sigma Black Belt, MBA, and certified coach, Stephern founded the Career Excellence Fund so New York's next healthcare leaders get the access and mentorship that make a credential count.