Tabitha Pederson

Tabitha has a Master's degree in social work from University of Chicago's Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy and Practice and a Bachelor's degree from Northwestern College in Iowa where she studied Business Marketing and Management. She has over 15 years working in healthcare and social service organizations in Las Vegas, NV and Chicago, IL serving people living with chronic illnesses seeking services and treatments to improve their health outcomes and overall well-being. She was previously the Social & Behavioral Health Services Director and then Chief Executive Officer at Volunteers in Medicine of Southern Nevada, a free clinic that provides integrated healthcare for the uninsured. Most recently Tabitha worked at the city of Las Vegas supporting the city's goals to improve healthcare and diversify the economy through engagement with state and city legislators and industry leaders to advance key policy initiatives and ecosystem growth.  She is now focused on developing stigma-reduction interventions in healthcare settings that can be universally applied and level the power dynamic between provider and patient creating more space for increased understanding and ultimately lead to better health outcomes and equitable care.

AM, University of Chicago