Biography

Kelsey Stefanik-Guizlo is passionate about engaging patients, family members, and health care teams in accelerating the timeline of putting research into practice. She has deep experience in patient and community engagement, practice facilitation, quality improvement, and program design, implementation, and evaluation.

Kelsey joined Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute (KPWHRI) in 2020 as an implementation and evaluation associate and became part of KPWHRI’s faculty as a collaborative scientist in 2022. She has worked on a number of projects in KPWHRI’s Center for Accelerating Care Transformation (ACT Center), including:

• Developing and implementing a whole-person pain management program
• Conducting qualitative interviews and creating communication and training tools for a diabetes startup working with federally qualified health centers in California
• Coaching state primary care and behavioral health associations to improve their integration
• Managing the ACT Center’s endowments portfolio
• Working as a practice facilitator on a study focused on implementing an app-based treatment for substance use disorder in primary care

Kelsey earned a Master of Public Health at the University of Washington in the Community-Oriented Public Health Practice program. She completed her master’s capstone project with Seattle Children’s Hospital, where she worked on a PCORI (Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute)-funded project to improve support for children with type 1 diabetes in the Everett School District through the creation of a community leadership council on diabetes management. During her practicum at Public Health — Seattle & King County, Kelsey interviewed community leaders and stakeholders to understand needs related to training community health workers to support patients with chronic conditions and developed several training outlines.

Prior to joining KPWHRI, Kelsey worked as a program director for the Arthritis Foundation, Lupus Foundation of America, American Diabetes Association, and American Lung Association. In these roles she managed patient education programs including summer camps and educational events, as well as accredited continuing medical education trainings for health care providers. She started her career working in federal advocacy at the American Heart Association in Washington, D.C.

Outside of work Kelsey enjoys exploring new places both near and far, being near the water, and spending time with her husband, son, and 2 dogs.