Kathryn Austin Scott is senior vice president for state relations and advocacy at the California Hospital Association, where she leads the association’s state lobbying team. With over 20 years of experience in public policy and advocacy, she has guided dozens of bills through the state Legislature, working with legislative leaders and six different gubernatorial administrations.
Before leading the CHA team, she worked with the association as a contract lobbyist for 15 years through her firm, Capitol Partners, where she also represented the United Hospital Association, the District Hospital Leadership Forum, and other health care and non-health care clients. Throughout her tenure, Ms. Scott has gained expertise in a broad range of health care issues, including scope of practice and licensing, hospital seismic compliance, and labor and employment.
She began her career advocating for the needs of foster youth and has maintained a strong personal dedication to supporting this vulnerable population, particularly around the issues they face upon aging out of the foster care system. In 2002 she was a founding board member of the Foster Youth Education Fund and has raised more than $100,000 in scholarships to help foster youth realize their dreams of higher education.