CityHealth’s Co-Executive Director, Catherine Patterson, MPP, will leave the organization early next month for another role. Catherine has led CityHealth along with her counterpart, Katrina Forrest, JD, since 2020 — a period when the initiative experienced unprecedented growth and expansion.
“It has been an honor to work side-by-side with Catherine over the past few years,” said Co-Executive Director Katrina Forrest. “As my partner and co-leader, Catherine has worked tirelessly with our team, our partners, and with city leaders to prioritize the health of residents through policy. She leaves a strong embedded legacy of partnership and collaboration that we are excited to continue.”
During their four-year partnership, Catherine and Katrina led CityHealth through its growth from 40 cities to 75 cities and from a policy package of nine policies to 12 policies. In 2023, the second year the 75 cities were assessed on the new 12-policy package, 61% of the 75 cities received an overall medal for their health-promoting policies — meaning 43 million people lived in a city with an overall medal, 4 million more people than the first year.
“Catherine’s impact and leadership is clear in CityHealth but has extended to several other de Beaumont programs in her 10 years with the organization,” said Brian C. Castrucci, DrPH, president and chief executive officer of the de Beaumont Foundation. “Her time at de Beaumont and with CityHealth was defined by tremendous progress and attention to helping partners and teammates reach their goals and greatest potential.”
Catherine first joined the de Beaumont Foundation in 2014 and served in various roles before joining the CityHealth team in 2020. She came to the Foundation from the Pew Charitable Trusts, where she was a leadership fellow and associate.
“We are grateful for Catherine’s thoughtful and tireless co-leadership of the CityHealth initiative, and her stewardship of its expansion and influence in the local community health policy space,” said John Yamamoto, VP for Community Health, Kaiser Permanente. “And we look forward to our partnership with Katrina Forrest as CityHealth continues to help cities build healthier communities for their residents.”
Starting in September, CityHealth will be led by Katrina Forrest, who will serve as the initiative’s Executive Director.
