Catherine Dodd

Catherine Dodd's is a nurse and a health policy advocate and expert. She began her career as a maternity nurse helping health babies come into the world and describes the second half of her career as being concerned with how we leave this world. She is an alumnus of the University of California School of Nursing, receiving her Baccalaureate degree in 1979 and her Master of Science degree in 1983; she is currently completing her PhD there, examining the Medicare hospice benefit.

During the last two decades her work has been largely in the areas of health and public policy. Her roles have included: Chief of Staff to former member of the San Francisco county board of supervisors, 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 throughout the country during health care reform, Director for the California Network for Women's and Children's Health, Executive Director of ANA\California, Director of Government Affairs and Community Relations for Kaiser Permanente Northern California, District Director for Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi (the first woman in the leadership of the US Congress) and as an appointee of President Clinton working as Regional Director for the United States Department of Health and Human Services for Secretary Donna Shalala.

Ms. Dodd has been active in the American Nurses Association at the local, state and national level and has served as the Chair of the ANA Political Action. She has been a part-time faculty member at San Francisco State University teaching "Health Policy and Politics" in the graduate nursing program. Her civic and community involvement includes serving as a member of the Board of Directors of the Lyon Martin Clinic, the Board of the Homeless Prenatal Program, the Board of Trustees of the Glide Foundation, the Board of Zen Hospice, the Board of the Breast Cancer Fund and as an elected member of the San Francisco Democratic County Central Committee.