Kendra Calhoun is the Institute’s Chief Operating Officer and brings more than 20 years of experience in association management, government relations, human resources, finance, marketing, operations and public relations/communications to the Samueli Institute. Prior to joining the Institute, she was a partner with Carmichael Lynch Spong (CLS), a nationally recognized public relations firm. Prior to CLS, she was the corporate vice president of marketing, public relations and communications at Allina Health System, Minnesota's largest health system. She managed an interdisciplinary team which was responsible for crisis communications, service line promotions, creative services, system communications, the medical library system and Web strategy. Before Allina, Kendra was the Executive Director of the Minnesota Chiropractic Association (MCA) where she implemented a financial turnaround, developed strategies for government relations, including grassroots development, and an active PAC, and also led a successful membership revitalization effort. Her background also includes work with the Robert C. Byrd West Virginia University (WVU) Health Sciences Center and the WVU Alumni Association. She earned a bachelor's degree in business administration, a bachelor's degree in English and a master's degree in journalism from West Virginia University.