Education
PhD, University of Chicago, 1996
MBA, University of California, Berkeley, 1990
MPH, University of California, Berkeley, 1990
Overview
Since 1996, Dr. Bethell has been a national leader in the development of policy, practice and research applications of population health and systems performance measurement and family and community centered improvement methods. As founding director of the Child and Adolescent Health Measurement Initiative (CAHMI) and the National Data Resource Center for Child and Adolescent Health (www.childhealthdata.org), a project supported through HRSA’s Maternal and Child Health Bureau, she has initiated and led the collaborative development, validation and national, state and local implementation and IT based public reporting of child, family and community health and health systems performance measurement tools.
The CAHMI has been a visionary research, policy and translational resource, leading all phases in the collaborative design, testing and implementation of innovative, family-centered measurement approaches to build knowledge and shape and drive systems improvement for children, youth and families at the national, state and local levels. This includes the design, testing and national integration of the National Survey of Children’s Health, which happens annually as of 2016 and focuses on national outcome and performance measures. She has previously worked on the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) survey for children with special health care needs survey, the National Health Interview Survey Complementary and Alternative Medicine Supplement and a range of nationally endorsed health systems performance and health care outcomes measures used in national surveys.
Dr. Bethell’s special focus is on assessing and building knowledge related to positive health development, social and emotional well-being and family and community health. She does this by not only leading the National Data Resource Center for Child and Adolescent Health, but also through efforts to develop, test and disseminate family-driven quality measurement and improvement tools such as the Well Visit Planner and Promoting Healthy Development Survey, two components of CAHMI’s Cycle of Engagement tools. She also advocates for policy reform and is currently advocating for trauma screening and trauma informed practices in multiple states (e.g. her work with Proposition 64 in California). Dr. Bethell is passionate about enabling data-driven partnerships and translating the new brain sciences, mindfulness and other mind-body methods to transform health and related services, with a focus on promoting self and community led healing, addressing childhood trauma, promoting positive health and advancing High Reliability Organizations. She earned an MBA and MPH from the University of California, Berkeley and a PhD in public policy from the University of Chicago.
Honors and Awards
2017
Association of Maternal and Child Health John MacQueen Award
2012
MCH National Outstanding Leadership Award
2001
Family Voices National Angel Award
1992-1996
Irving B. Harris Public Policy Fellowship, Irving B. Harris School of Public Policy
1991
Stull Award, University of California, Berkeley. For the outstanding master’s thesis in health services administration graduate program
1990
Annual Leadership Award, Women Health Care Executives of Northern California
1981-1985
UCLA Alumni Scholarship – University of California, Los Angeles
1981
Vision Award, Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce, Yearly Award to Recognize Youth Leaders