Kathy has more than 35 years of experience helping healthcare organizations in strategy, marketing, and philanthropy to expand market share, amplify brand awareness, and increase philanthropic support.
About Kathy
Kathy provides strategic philanthropic expertise to healthcare clients to drive improvement in their fundraising success, enabling them to demonstrate value for their donors and organizations. With over 35 years as a healthcare executive in both regional and academic medical settings, Kathy brings a unique blend of experience, understanding, and a solutions-based approach to each client engagement.
Throughout her career, Kathy has:
- Led a community-based fundraising initiative for a regional health system, successfully establishing its first unrestricted endowment.
- Directed a philanthropic restructuring initiative for an academic medical center, realizing a 50% increase in funds raised within the first five years.
- Managed two philanthropic research initiatives — the first of their kind at an academic medical center — establishing its first cancer research endowment and funding for Alzheimer’s research initiatives.
- Provided executive leadership for a comprehensive philanthropic initiative at an academic medical center, achieving over 60% of the goal within 18 months.
- Led strategic planning and business development initiatives for a regional healthcare organization, resulting in increased market share, enhanced managed care contracting agreements, and the development of new programs and services.
- Managed a system rebranding initiative for a regional health system, resulting in increased brand awareness and loyalty and targeted market share growth, including obstetrics market share growth of over 25%.
Prior to joining Huron, Kathy served as senior vice president and chief philanthropy and equity officer at the University of Tennessee (UT) Medical Center and UT Graduate School of Medicine. She held leadership roles at healthcare organizations, including East Tennessee Children’s Hospital and Stanly Regional Medical Center in North Carolina.
She has led numerous successful philanthropic campaigns funding clinical care initiatives, graduate medical education, clinical education, and research, including cancer and Alzheimer’s disease research. Her team was recognized as a High Performer by the Association for Healthcare Philanthropy.
Kathy earned a Bachelor of Science in business administration from Meredith College.
Kathy is a member of the Association for Healthcare Philanthropy and has served as a board member for many local and regional nonprofit boards in both North Carolina and Tennessee.