Keeping Tulare and Kings counties healthy is a “Giant” job, but for Kerry Hydash, it’s also a higher calling she discovered while at College of the Sequoias.
The President and CEO at the nonprofit Family HealthCare Network (FHCN), Hydash helps spearhead the largest primary care organization in the two counties and the third-largest federally qualified health center in the entire nation. Says the CEO, “Our focus is on ensuring everyone has access to health care, with dignity and respect.”
The Giant says her proudest lifetime achievement has been finding a career where she can make a difference in the community she calls home, a journey that started at College of the Sequoias.
“I decided to attend COS because… I wanted the freedom to try different classes and areas of study before determining which four-year college to attend,” recalls the alum. “It was there that I decided I wanted to study economics and accounting with a focus on health care.”
Hydash’s favorite thing about COS was making the transition to college while staying close to home and her life-long friends. As she says, “I have so many great memories!”
The Giant would go on to earn a Master’s in Public Administration. And today, she toys with the idea of going for a Ph.D. in between all of her work!
“I am on a variety of boards and find it hard to ever say no to a volunteer opportunity,” admits Hydash, who takes great pride in serving her community. To name just a few, she is a part of the Visalia Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, California Primary Care Association, and even the Tulare County Symphony Board. She also co-founded Central California Partnership for Health and plans to continue working hard for health care access.
Of course, Hydash also gives back to COS through volunteering, financial contributions, and staying in touch with old professors and classmates. She is also the mother of the next generation of Giants: both of her children have started taking COS classes while still in high school through the dual enrollment program.