Catherine Dodd, San Francisco Health Service System, Joins ABL

Santa Ana, CA — December 7, 2010 — Catherine Dodd, Director of the San Francisco Health Service System, has joined the Adaptive Business Leaders Organization (ABL). As part of California’s leading vertical-industry Chief Executives’ Organization, ABL Members provide one another with executive leadership coaching through its confidential, professionally-facilitated, peer-CEO Advisory Board Round Tables, executive learning workshops, network of CEO peers, and expert resources.

Catherine has worked in the areas of health policy and politics for over 25 years. In her current capacity, she is responsible for negotiating and administering health benefits for San Francisco's active and retired employees' and their dependents.
Before heading the Health Service System, she worked for Mayor Newsom and was charged with working to make San Francisco one of the nation's healthiest cities; among its claims: the "Most Walking Friendly City," an aggressive program of Farmers Markets (that must take food stamps), and the first locality to require nutritional menu labeling for chain restaurants.

Previously, Catherine served on the San Francisco Health Commission, overseeing a $1.3 billion budget, she also served as an appointee of President Clinton as Region IX Director for the US Department of Health and Human Service. She was District Chief of Staff to Representative Nancy Pelosi and worked for two members of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.

Catherine's earlier policy roles included a tenure as the Director of Government Relations for the California affiliate of the American Nurses Association; member of the Clinton-Gore National Health Campaign representing the White House; Consultant to the Political Action Committee of the American Nurses Association during the midterm elections of 1994; Director for the California Network for Women's and Children's Health; Executive Director of ANA/California; and Director of Government Affairs and Community Relations for Kaiser Permanente Northern California.

Her clinical experience includes Her nursing career includes working as a direct care nurse on a mobile health unit providing physical exams to farm workers in California, working as a high-risk perinatal nurse, and as the Director of the Women’s Health Clinic at San Francisco General Hospital.

Catherine's civic and community involvement includes serving on the boards of directors of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare; the Breast Cancer Fund, a national environmental health advocacy organization focused on preventing breast cancer; the Glide Foundation, a social service organization serving San Francisco’s Tenderloin district, the Homeless Prenatal Program, a health and social service program helping homeless families establish stability; and the Zen Hospice Project, assisting terminally ill people and their families. She also chairs the Health Careers Task Force for Bay Area Jewish Vocational Services and is on the Advisory Board of Emerge, an organization training women to run for office. Catherine is a frequent lecturer on politics and health policy and has served on the boards of numerous nonprofit and advocacy organizations in the past.

About the Adaptive Business Leaders (ABL) Organization
ABL supports the needs of its Member CEOs by providing a place for top-level executives to draw on the experience, knowledge and skill sets of their peers in a vertical industry, personal advisory board – “multi-coach approach” – setting.

The core component of the CEO Membership experience is the group Round Table meeting. Members meet once a month for a half-day with a group of peer CEOs, Presidents, COOs and Division General Managers from non-competing companies, all from the same industry (healthcare, technology or life sciences), in a trusted and confidential board room-like setting, which allows ABL Members to tackle topics and enhance their decision making and business performance. Topics include: developing and honing new business strategies and best practices, new lines of business, “A-players” on the management team, and an effective board of directors, as well as understanding trends in new markets, mergers and acquisitions, compensation, and other “hot” topics brought to the Round Tables by the Members themselves.

ABL Members also gather several times a year at workshops and conferences to exchange ideas and connect with other chief executives beyond their own CEO peer groups. In effect, ABL Members serve as one another’s business coaches within the Round Tables and are encouraged to connect and leverage their co-Member peers’ particular skills and expertise for additional leadership coaching, one-on-one, outside of their monthly group meeting. In addition, each Round Table’s facilitator also serves as an objective business advisor, offering executive and industry insights and advice.

 ABL's Chief Executive Leadership Development Round Table program is currently offered in California's Greater Los Angeles, Orange and San Francisco County areas. More information about the ABL Organization can be found at http://www.abl.org .