Katha Hartley spent two years, from 1992 to 1994, as a Peace Corps Volunteer Teacher Trainer in Grenada
ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT (OD)
KATHA HARTLEY
OD & Training Director
WellPoint Health Networks
.: More info about Organizational Development!
(See Human Resources)
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WEBCAST October 30, 2002 – Katha Hartley was born in Chicago, Illinois on February 23, 1940. She was the oldest child in a family of six girls and one boy. Her large, Irish–American, extended family included many aunts and uncles and forty–eight first cousins, all of whom lived in the Chicago area.
Katha attended Catholic schools all of her life. She was fortunate enough to be educated through elementary and high school by the Sisters of Mercy at St. Xavier Academy for Girls. The classes were very small, and the academy, even in the earliest grades, focused the students on college. The school had a wonderful arts program that included music, dance, art, and drama. During the cold Chicago winters, when students couldn't go outside for recess or lunch, the sisters encouraged the girls to use what was, in reality, an improvisational "little" theater in the basement of the school to invent plays and musical productions.
There were thirty–eight girls in Katha's high school graduation class. (What a contrast to today's huge high schools with thousands of students.) She regards herself as extremely fortunate to have been in a high school class that was close–knit, full of fun and very innocent mischief, and value centered. "We had a blast!"
In September of 1956, Katha entered Loretto Heights College, a Catholic women's school directed by The Sisters of Loretto in Denver, Colorado, as a sixteen year–old freshman. In the 1980's, Loretto Heights merged its nursing, performing arts, and art department with Regis College, a Jesuit school for men. Today, the combined schools are Regis University.
Katha majored in history and minored in English and Education. Immediately after her graduation, Katha worked as the campaign secretary for her uncle's successful run for State Auditor of Illinois. Her uncle was on the Democratic ticket with John F. Kennedy whom Katha met during the campaign. The Kennedy message of service has been an inspiration to her and her family all of their lives.
During her college years, she met John Hartley who, at the time, was a student at Regis College. They were married six months after Katha's graduation from college on New Year's Eve, December 31, 1960, and they began their lives together in Denver, John's hometown. Very quickly, Katha and John had five children all of whom have completed college, have interesting careers, are married, and either have children or are expecting children. Katha and John have seven grandchildren ‚ five grandsons and two granddaughters, and are expecting two more grandchildren in January. (Different daughters–in–law)
For seventeen years of her adult life, Katha was a teacher. Because of John's work, the Hartley family has moved in and out of Los Angeles four times. They were transferred to Chicago and the Philadelphia area where Katha earned her Masters' Degree in Counseling and Human Services from Villanova University. She completed her Masters' work while she was a full–time teacher and the mother of four teenagers ‚ her oldest daughter was a freshman in college when she began the program. She has taught most elementary school grades, juniors and seniors in high school, and spent two years, from 1992 to 1994, as a Peace Corps Volunteer Teacher Trainer in Grenada, West Indies. Her husband John was a Peace Corps Business Advisor at the same time.
After returning to the United States from Grenada, Katha and John moved to Washington, D.C. where she worked for a consulting firm that had contracts with the Department of Defense to reengineer the business processes of the military services. Katha was originally hired as a "wordsmith" ‚ the writer of the analysis text, but soon moved to a facilitator role for the Human Resources Development process improvement team. After two years, John was offered the position of Regional Manager of the Southwest for Peace Corps Recruiting, so he and Katha decided to once again move to Los Angeles. (Move four)
Katha Hartley joined WellPoint Health Networks in December 1997 and is currently a Director, Organization Development and Training (OD&T). She is the OD&T process improvement consultation leader for WellPoint, an internal consultant to WellPoint business units on strategic analysis and planning, and a training consultant to HR and the corporation.
ABOUT WELLPOINT
WellPoint Health Networks Inc. serves the health care needs of more than 7.6 million medical and approximately 34 million specialty members nationally. Blue Cross of California, with 5.4 million medical members, is the California operation subsidiary of WellPoint Health Networks Inc., one of the nation's largest publicly traded managed care companies. WellPoint offers a broad spectrum of quality network–based health products including open access PPO, POS and hybrid products, HMO and specialty products. Specialty products include pharmacy benefit management, dental, utilization management, vision, mental health, life and disability insurance, long term care insurance, flexible spending accounts, COBRA administration, and Medicare supplements.
WellPoint has earned recognition in Working Woman's Magazine as one of the Top 25 Companies for Executive Women, is on Forbes Top 400 Companies list, and was named Fortune Magazine's Number 1 Most Admired Healthcare Company.
