Adventist Health Sonora announced in a news release Thursday afternoon that it has hired Cathy Parker, the outgoing Tuolumne County superintendent of schools, to serve as the organization’s new well-being director.
Parker’s role will involve leading well-being initiatives both for employees of Adventist Health Sonora, one of the county’s largest private employers, as well as throughout the community in collaboration with the hospital’s Blue Zones Project Tuolumne County, according to the release.
“Cathy is a dynamic leader and relationship builder, and I couldn’t be more excited for her to join our team,” Michelle Fuentes, president of Adventist Health Sonora, stated in the release. “Collaborating closely with Blue Zones Project Tuolumne County and other stakeholders in our community, she will work toward making health and well-being more accessible.”
The newly created position at Adventist Health Sonora will focus on several initiatives that include “addressing community-identified health and well-being opportunities, reporting on the organization’s community benefit, and supporting successful deployment of the Blue Zones Project,” the release stated.
“Supporting the well-being of our community, particularly our most vulnerable, has always been at the heart of my work in education, and I look forward to building on that in this new role with Adventist Health Sonora,” Parker stated in the news release.”
Parker has spent the past 25 years in the county’s education system, which includes the past four as in the top position as the elected superintendent of schools. She narrowly lost reelection to Zack Abernathy in the June 7 primary.
“Parker has a history of building sustainable partnerships to serve diverse community needs,” the release from Adventish Health Sonora stated. “This has included creating an on-site mental health program at all school sites in Tuolumne County and implementing and coordinating multiple grant programs throughout the Central Valley and Sierra Nevada foothill regions.
“She has also been actively involved in Adventist Health Sonora’s work to support children and adults with adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), serves on the Blue Zones Project Tuolumne County steering committee, and sits on Adventist Health Sonora’s Community Advisory Board.”
Parker is set to begin her new job at the end of next month, the release stated.
