Kimberly Cripe
Children's Hospital of Orange County (CHOC)
Orange, CA USA
"Stay open-minded and learn from every experience because it’ll make you a better person and a stronger employee. There are lots of disappointments throughout life but the attitude you bring to it is so important."
Career Roadmap
Kimberly's work combines: Non-Profit Organizations, Medicine, and Upholding a Cause and Belief
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Day In The Life
Skills &
Education
Here's the path I took:
High School
Bachelor's Degree
Marketing/Marketing Management, General
University of Southern California
Bachelor's Degree
Mass Communication/Media Studies
University of South Florida, St. Petersburg
Graduate Degree
Public Administration
Golden Gate University
Here's the path I recommend for someone who wants to be a President & CEO:
Bachelor's Degree: Marketing/Marketing Management, General
Bachelor's Degree: Mass Communication/Media Studies
Graduate Degree: Public Administration
Learn more about different paths to this career
Life & Career Milestones
I've taken a lot of twists and turns
1.
I was fortunate to grow up in a family where both of my parents were college graduates and education was emphasized.
2.
I loved science and, in college, I was leaning towards going into medicine.
3.
In undergrad, I changed my major 5 or 6 times and ended up with a degree in mass communications.
4.
I got married at the end of my junior year, moved to Florida, and graduated from the University of South Florida.
5.
After graduation, I couldn’t decide between business school or medical school, so I worked for a university community hospital.
6.
I decided to attend graduate school where I earned my master's degree in public administration. I then got a job at a hospital and worked for the for-profit side of healthcare.
7.
In that corporate job, I was always traveling, and by then I had started a family, so I wanted to move into a mission-driven organization.
8.
I got hired at CHOC to help them open their new hospital and I’ve been here since 1991.
Defining Moments
How I responded to discouragement
THE NOISE
Messages from Society in general:
You are a young woman and a single mother, how are you going to succeed?
How I responded:
I struggled early on to achieve work-life balance and balance being a great family member with time to focus on my career. I’m a career-oriented person and personal development along the way did not come at ideal times. Back in the day, not being taken seriously as a younger woman leader was challenging. If you pick the right kind of profession, it doesn’t feel like work. There’s integrity with what you like to do, and what you're actually getting paid to do.
Experiences and challenges that shaped me
I was divorced, a single parent, and it’s really hard to navigate having a family and having a professional career. I struggled early on to achieve work life balance, and how to be a great family member with time to focus on my career.