Health Care Services Director

Kate Grismala is a seasoned public health professional with over 15 years experience in Indian Country working with Tribal Nations across the United States. Most recently Grismala served as the Assistant Director Tribal Health Program Support at a regional Tribal organization. In this role she provided operational oversight of staff and programs, while providing technical support to 27 regional Tribal Nations as they worked to improve the health and wellbeing of their citizens. The geographic territory covered Maine to Florida and into Texas. With the support of staff, she grew the department budget from $2 million to $11 million through the successful application and funding awards from multiple grantors.  

Grismala also has extensive experience in Tribal health and dental facility operations including billing, collections, needs assessments, grant writing and management, budget creation and management though the funding cycle, and an understanding of the principles of direct and indirect costs.  Grismala’s public health experience includes program planning and management, community engagement and health communications. Her work in the Tribal epidemiology Center provided valuable experience in population health data translation and an awareness of critical role data plays in health planning. 

Prior to working with the regional Tribal organization, she worked with several Tribes in various administrative roles including work in health care funding, human resources, financial operations, and government and health infrastructure planning. Grismala served as a contract Director of Administration for the Shinnecock Indian Nation on Long Island New York and as the Director of Administration for the Mashantucket Pequot’s health and pharmacy division.  She worked with the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians on the conversion of their self-funded health benefit plan to Federal employee health benefits.   

Grismala has extensive experience working with Federal agencies including Indian Health Services (IHS), Centers for Disease Control, Office of Minority Health, National Institute of Health, National Library of Medicine and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.  She attended Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute where she earned her Master of Science in Business Management.