Press Releases: Colorado
May 29, 2012
Kaiser Permanente Announces New Community Relations Lead for Northern Colorado
Mary Atchison
LOVELAND, Colo. — Longtime Fort Collins resident, Mary Atchison, has joined Kaiser Permanente as senior community relations specialist for Northern Colorado. With more than 20 years of experience in the nonprofit sector, Atchison brings a wealth of experience managing and developing programs to improve the lives of Northern Colorado residents.
Atchison will serve as the community representative for Kaiser Permanente’s new service area in Fort Collins, Loveland, Greeley and the surrounding areas. She will build and maintain key relationships with the business community, civic organizations, including chambers of commerce, and local health departments, safety-net providers and other community-based organizations.
“Mary has a proven track record of forming partnerships and building relationships in the community. She is a recognized leader in Northern Colorado and we couldn’t ask for a better person to help Kaiser Permanente fulfill its mission of improving the health of our members and the communities we serve,” said Jandel Allen-Davis, MD, vice president of government and external relations, Kaiser Permanente Colorado.
This fall, Kaiser Permanente Colorado, the state’s largest not-for-profit health plan, will open two new medical offices, in Fort Collins and Loveland. A third medical office in Greeley will be added in 2014. The Northern Colorado expansion plan also includes a preferred network of community providers and a hospital agreement with Banner Health.
Atchison comes to Kaiser Permanente from Executives Partnering to Invest in Children, where she served as executive director of the organization, focusing on public policy, leadership and advocacy. Prior to that, she spent five years at United Way of Larimer County in Fort Collins. During her tenure as senior vice president for community investment at United Way, she successfully established and managed a county-wide effort to alleviate poverty in Northern Colorado.
Prior to her work at United Way, Atchison served as a nonprofit executive director. She was also instrumental in the design and implementation of the Colorado 2-1-1 system, a statewide network of call centers providing information and referrals to people in need of services. She served as the chair of the Colorado 2-1-1 Collaborative for five years.
Atchison is a licensed marriage and family therapist and was in private practice for 10 years before transitioning to nonprofit work. She served as president of the Colorado Association for Marriage and Family Therapy and on the national Marriage and Family Therapy Ethics Committee. She has also been involved in leadership positions with numerous community arts and culture efforts in Northern Colorado, including a three-year tenure as president of the board of trustees for the Poudre River Public Library District. She has led several local ballot initiatives and legislative efforts and currently serves on the transportation board for the city of Fort Collins.
Atchison holds a master’s degree in human development and family studies and a bachelor of science degree in psychology, both from Colorado State University.
About Kaiser Permanente Colorado
Kaiser Permanente Colorado is the state’s largest non-profit health plan, proudly working to improve the lives and health of Colorado residents for more than 40 years. Kaiser Permanente Colorado provides comprehensive health care services to more than 533,000 members through 24 medical offices and a network of affiliated hospitals and physicians. The health plan was named “Highest in Member Satisfaction” among Commercial Health Plans by J.D. Power and Associates for the fourth straight year. Kaiser Permanente was also recognized by the National Committee for Quality Assurance as the top-ranked private health plan in Colorado, No. 6 in the nation and one of the top three Medicare plans in the U.S. for the third year in a row. In 2010, Kaiser Permanente proudly directed more than $90 million to community benefit programs to improve the health of all Coloradans. For more Kaiser Permanente news, visit kp.org/newscenter or follow us on twitter @kpcolorado or facebook.com/kpcolorado.