Mary Greeley's Ron Smith Receives Baldrige Foundation Leadership Award

AMES, IA – Ron Smith, director of performance excellence at Mary Greeley Medical Center, has been named a recipient of a Malcolm Baldrige Foundation’s 2026 Leadership Award.

The Foundation for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, Inc., annually recognizes individuals whose leadership reflects the values and principles of the Baldrige Framework and whose service has strengthened organizations, communities, and the broader Baldrige enterprise. He received the award at the Baldrige Quest for Excellence Conference in Baltimore on
March 31.

Smith leads Mary Greeley’s performance improvement strategy, and oversees a project portfolio management system, facilitates rapid improvement event teams, and partners with departments across the medical center to implement standardized work and other improvements.

Smith has been involved with the Baldrige program since 2010 when Mary Greeley made its first application to the state’s Baldrige program – the Iowa Recognition for Performance Excellence (IRPE). Mary Greeley has received the Gold recognition from IRPE a record four times and was named a Baldrige National Quality Award recipient in 2019.

Smith is a certified Lean Six Sigma Green Belt and has served as a lead examiner, coach, and judge for IRPE. He has served on the Malcolm Baldrige National Board of Examiners since 2015 and has been an active examiner with the Performance Excellence Network (PEN) serving Minnesota since 2021. Additionally, he serves as a board member for the Iowa Quality Center and Story County ASSET and is a standing member of the Iowa Lean Consortium.

“Ron’s leadership has not only strengthened Mary Greeley’s performance but has also enriched the broader community’s pursuit of excellence,” said Karen Kiel Rosser, vice president and chief quality officer at Mary Greeley. “Ron exemplifies the spirit and impact of the Baldrige framework in his work every day.”