Courtney Powers is the Vice President of Public Policy of the Daughters of Charity Health System (DCHS). She has previously served as their Director of Advocacy and Government Affairs (2005-2011). She plays a leadership role in shaping and executing DCHS’ public policy agenda. Powers will co-teach with Michelle Kezirian a course entitled, “Intersection of Law, Health, and Public Policy: Medical-Legal Partnerships.”
Powers received her B.A. in Political Science from the University of California, Berkeley Phi Beta Kappa (1997), and her J.D. from the UCLA School of Law (2000). After graduation, she worked as a litigation associate for Folger Levin & Kahn LLP. She was previously an Adjunct Professor at Mount St. Mary’s College where she taught “Women and the Law.”
Powers’ recent publications include: “Judges Should Not Have To Open Up Their Private Lives,” Sacramento Bee (June 2011); “Strange Bedfellows: Lawyers and Doctors Work Together to Advance Patient Care,” Los Angeles Daily Journal (April 2011); and “Get Set for ‘Girl Territory’ on Court,” Sacramento Bee (July 2010).
Powers led the development of the Right to Health Project, a medical-legal partnership at St. Francis Medical Center. She also serves as legal counsel to HealthCare First South L.A., a new integrated delivery system which includes St. Francis Medical Center and is designed to implement the goals of health care reform in South L.A. She is also currently a board member of the Women Lawyers Association of Los Angeles.