Veteran healthcare administrator and National University alumnus Mary Evert has been named Chair of a newly-formed advisory board for the National University School of Health and Human Services, according to School Dean Dr. Michael Lacourse.
“I’ve always been proud of my affiliation with National University,” said Ms. Evert, who added that she likes to be “in on the groundswell when someone is doing something innovative in healthcare.”
An occupational therapist, Ms. Evert earned her MBA from National University in 1979. She went on to serve two terms as President of the Occupational Therapy Association of California; as Chairman of the Board of Directors for the Palomar Pomerado Hospital District (the largest hospital district in California); and as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Health for the Reagan administration.
Ms. Evert has also served as Director of the Office of Community Services for the family support administration within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; as President of the Board of the American Occupational Therapy Association; and as U.S. Representative to World Federation of Occupational Therapy. She was recently appointed by Governor Schwarzenegger to the California Board of Occupational Therapy, and currently serves as chair.
With a husband in the Navy and a newborn child in 1977, National University offered Ms. Evert the opportunity to do what few women were able to do at the time: go back to school to earn an MBA. National University was among the first institutions of higher education in the nation to recognize and serve the needs of working adults, homemakers and other non-traditional learners.
“I wanted to help other therapists grow. I wanted help my department to grow. My husband went to sea and I wasn’t willing to let someone else raise my children, so of course National University appealed to me,” said Evert. “It allowed me to remain a stay-at-home mom and study and advance within my profession at the same time. National University was really a launching point for my career.”
