Name: Katie Kaney
Leadership Charlotte (LC) Class: 24
Title/Company: Owner, Kaney LLC; Author: Both/ And: Medicine and Public Health Together (available 1/31/2023); Founder, Whole Person Index
Hometown: Buffalo, NY (GO Bills!)
Education: DrPH, Public Health and Health Leadership, UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health; MBA, Healthcare and HR; BA Biology, University at Buffalo
If you could describe your Leadership Charlotte experience in three words or phrases what would they be? Fun, insightful, life-changing
What advice that you would you give to current Leadership Charlotte participants? Enjoy every moment. While schedules are busy and there are certainly competing priorities in your life, Leadership Charlotte is a gift you give yourself – surrounded by other amazing leaders, motivated by making a difference in our community. The friendships I made are of such importance in my life- 20 years later!- I am forever grateful for the opportunity to forge such positive, life changing relationships.
What would you like to see Leadership Charlotte alumni get involved in and why? Leadership Charlotte is the natural organization to recognize leadership- individual, organizational- large and small. The annual awards celebration was one of my personal favorites, engaging alumni and leaders across the community, celebrating the best of the best in Charlotte. What a great way to bond leaders, new and old, in their Leadership Charlotte experience! It reinforced Leadership Charlotte as the champion of inclusive leadership, educating the community by recognizing those leaders and organizations making a measurable difference.
What do you hope to be doing (differently) in five years? Talking about health. Too often we talk about healthcare synonymous with health. It is not the same. The drivers of health are clinical (10%), social (20%), genetic (30%), behavior (40%). Over 80% of US funding for health is spent on clinical. This approach is not balanced and will not achieve better health outcomes for all or address the current health inequities if it continues.
Knowledge is power and incentives will shift practice. My hope is by educating about the drivers of health, scientifically validating solutions across all drivers, and paying for solutions which span the drivers, we will evolve the current system to achieve sustainably better health outcomes for all, at a lower cost. I know we can do it and I am excited to be part of this change.