Kathleen McGovern Kearns

Senior Vice President, External Affairs and Development

Kathleen McGovern Kearns is the senior vice president, external affairs and development for Continuum Health Partners, the parent company of Beth Israel Medical Center, St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital Center, Long Island College Hospital and The New York Eye & Ear Infirmary. In this role, she is the executive responsible for all external relations and fund raising for the hospital system which is the sixth largest employer in New York. Previously she was the corporate vice president for public affairs and marketing for Continuum since its formation in 1997, and was vice president of public affairs and marketing for Beth Israel for one year prior. She was the director of public affairs and marketing for the Hospital for Special Surgery from 1993 to 1996.

Her career began in New York at Beth Israel in 1987 where she started as a physician relations coordinator. She advanced in the public affairs and marketing department to the role of director of public affairs and marketing for the Beth Israel Singer Division until she left BI (where she returned three years later) in 1993. She also worked in the media relations departments of the Visiting Nurse Service of Boston and Boston University Medical Center while in college.

Ms. Kearns was appointed by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg to the Workforce Investment Board of the City of New York, and chairs its strategic planning committee. She is a past president of the Healthcare Public Relations and Marketing Society of Greater New York and is member of several professional associations.

An MBA graduate of the Lubin Graduate School of Management of Pace University, Ms. Kearns received her bachelor’s degree from the College of Communication of Boston University. She lives on the East Side of Manhattan with her husband, Richard Kearns.