The American Health Council has cordially appointed Kathryn Powell as “Best in Medicine.” Working in the healthcare industry for over 35 years, Ms. Powell is an expert in the field of Leadership, Management, Development, Operative Services and Healthcare Administration.

Ms. Powell completed her Bachelors of Arts in Medical Anthropology in 1979 at the State University of New York College at Oswego. Following on from this achievement, she decided to continue her studies at the Southern Methodist University, achieving her Master of Arts Degree in 1981. Ms. Powell has also gone on to achieve her Masters of Science at Texas Woman’s University in 1986.

Ms. Powell has been in her current role at Petaluma Health Center for 13 years. The Petaluma Health Center is a multi-facilitated health center offering services in family care, dental care, mental health, patience assistance, women’s health, and triage/ advice nurse. The center has multiple locations to ensure patients have the option to receive exceptional healthcare from the best healthcare professionals who make it a point to treat the patient in order to bring them to optimal health. The Petaluma Health Center has one mission: to provide high quality health care to all it’s patients.

Ms. Powell feels incredibly fortunate that her role in healthcare services enables her to not only serve people but to also collaborate with healthcare professionals to give the very best care possible. On a daily basis, Ms. Powell manages a health system of primary care, dental and mental health along with 350 employees, 30,000 patients and a $35MM budget.

Throughout the course of her career, Ms. Powell has proudly improved the productivity and efficiency of organizations in crisis to full-fledged thriving businesses. Among her many achievements, she is most proud to have worked as a CEO for a plethora of health systems from Physicians Regional Hospital, SouthEast Lancaster Health Services, and currently Petaluma Health Center.

To broaden her knowledge in her field, Ms. Powell remains a part of numerous professional associations. These include the California Primary Care Association and the National Association of Community Health Centers. She is also a member of the Partnership Health Plan of California, Redwood Community Health Network, Sonoma County Health Action, United Health Group and Petaluma Health Care District.

Ms. Powell has also had the honor of becoming Petaluma “Person of the Year” in January 2012. She achieved the Non – Profit Leader of the Year in January 2013, and the Women in Business Award in May 2015, awarded by North Bay Business Journal. In 2016 she was fortunate enough to achieve the Women of the Year from the California State Assembly.

Looking to the future, Ms. Powell hopes to create succession plans for top leaders, manage growth of the company and continue to consult. She dedicates her success to recognizing the best people to collaborate with and empowering them to do their best work.

Away from work, Ms. Powell spends her time helping charitable organizations such as the Community Health Centers.