Catherine is a healthcare executive and TEDx speaker whose talk, "Scars Are What Make You Powerful," delivered a bold message: use life's difficulties and turn your hardest moments into fuel.

As Chief Administrative Officer for the UCLA Health Department of Psychiatry, founder of Connecting Minds Peer Support, and creator of Motherless Daughters of San Diego, she leads at the intersection of strategy and human connection, building stronger and more resilient communities from the inside out.

From "Invisible Scars" on the UCLA stage to "Scar Power: Use the Difficulty" at HFMA, Catherine's stories can light something in people. Her message is real, raw, and unforgettable: the very things we tend to hide are often the source of our greatest strength.

Blending executive leadership with lived experience, Catherine delivers keynotes that hit both the head and the heart, leaving audiences connected and ready to lead differently. Because when you learn to use the difficulty, everything changes.