Grady Health System Names Christine Guillory Chief Legal Officer

ATLANTA, Jan. 12, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Grady Health System today announced that Christine Guillory has been named Chief Legal Officer, effective January 12, 2026. Guillory succeeds Tim Jefferson, who retired at the end of 2025 after more than 25 years of dedicated service to Grady.

Guillory is a seasoned legal executive and business strategist with over two decades of experience advising complex, public-facing organizations across the healthcare, government, nonprofit, and corporate sectors. She brings a thoughtful, collaborative approach to governance, risk management, and decision-making, particularly in environments where legal integrity, public trust, and organizational mission intersect.

"Christine brings exceptional legal expertise, sound judgment, and a strong record of advising leadership in complex, highly regulated environments," said John Haupert, President and CEO of Grady. "Her collaborative approach to governance, risk management, and decision-making will be invaluable as Grady continues to advance its mission while maintaining the highest standards of integrity, accountability, and public trust. We are also deeply grateful to Tim Jefferson for his many years of service and leadership that helped shape and strengthen Grady's legal foundation."

Most recently, Guillory served as Associate General Counsel at Ochsner Health a non-profit health system serving patients across the Gulf South, where she guided strategic legal planning for 46 hospitals, 100 health centers, and more than 40,000 team members. In this role, her counsel to executive leadership addressed regulatory compliance, contracting, innovation risk, crisis response, and policy development amid rapidly evolving state and federal legislation.

Her work included guiding legal strategy during the COVID-19 pandemic, advancing crisis standards of care, strengthening end-of-life policies, and supporting national efforts to address the opioid epidemic through clinically integrated, physician-centered tools.

As Chief Legal Officer at Grady, Guillory will serve as a trusted advisor to executive leadership and the Board of Directors. She will oversee the organization's legal, governance, and compliance functions, including enterprise risk management, regulatory and statutory compliance, complex contracting, litigation oversight, and support of public-facing partnerships and programs.

"I am honored to join Grady and to support an organization with such a vital public mission," Guillory said. "I look forward to partnering with the Board of Directors, executive leadership, clinicians, and staff to provide thoughtful, accountable legal guidance that strengthens governance, upholds public trust, and helps ensure Grady continues to serve our patients and community with integrity and purpose."

Guillory is widely respected for her steady judgment, collaborative leadership style, and ability to navigate complex issues involving multiple stakeholders and sustained public scrutiny. She is a graduate of the USC Gould School of Law and Emory University, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies and Italian Studies.

About Grady Health System

Grady Health System is one of the largest safety net health systems in the United States. Grady consists of the 953-bed Grady Memorial Hospital, ten neighborhood health centers, Crestview Health & Rehabilitation Center, Correll Pavilion, and Children's Healthcare of Atlanta at Hughes Spalding, which is operated as a Children's affiliate.

With its nationally acclaimed emergency medical services, Grady is Atlanta's only Level I trauma center and serves as the 911 ambulance provider for the city of Atlanta. Grady's Walter L. Ingram Burn Center is one of only two in the state verified by the American Burn Association. The Marcus Stroke and Neuroscience Center is a Joint Commission-designated Advanced Comprehensive Stroke Center.

Other key services/distinctions include Grady's Regional Perinatal Center with its Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Georgia's first Cancer Center for Excellence, The Avon Comprehensive Breast Center, the Georgia Comprehensive Sickle Cell Center, and the Ponce de Leon Center - one of the top HIV/AIDS outpatient clinics in the country. Grady is one of an elite group of hospitals to earn the Baby-Friendly USA international recognition as a Baby-Friendly Designated birth facility. For more information, visit www.gradyhealth.org.

SOURCE Grady Health System