Washington D.C. (August 17, 2020) – The Obesity Medicine Association names Katrina Crist as their new Executive Director. Crist’s professional experience includes more than 23 years as an Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer within the medical association sector. She joins OMA from her most recent position as Chief Executive Officer for the Association for Professionals in Infection Control & Epidemiology (APIC), a role which she has held since June 2011.
Crist is a direct yet compassionate leader whose leadership motto is “Respect the past, embrace the present, and create the future.” She holds a Master of Business Administration, Executive Management from Boston University.
After graduating from Purdue University with her Bachelor’s degree in Communications in 1987, Crist helped her parents get a new restaurant off the ground and then joined Pan Am airlines as a Flight Attendant. During this time most of her flights were international which really changed her world view and opened her eyes to different cultures. While she thoroughly enjoyed this experience, after four years, she decided to change careers and was hired by St. Mary’s University of Maryland in 1993, where she ran the auxiliary services, including conference services, vending, and food services.
In 1997, wishing to move from rural Maryland to Washington, DC, Crist pursued a position posted by an association management company as Executive Director for the American Society of Transplant Surgeons (ASTS). Hired as ASTS’ first staff executive, Crist successfully grew the organization from entirely volunteer led to a staff of three professionals serving 700 members. Her career as an association executive took off from here.
Sterling Martin Associates is thankful for the opportunity to work with OMA on this national search and match Crist with this distinguished executive role.
About OMA
OMA provides resources, education, and community to physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and other healthcare professionals in the field of obesity medicine. OMA is the largest clinical obesity organization in the U.S., with more than 3,000 physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and other healthcare professionals dedicated to preventing, treating, and reversing the disease of obesity.
About Sterling Martin
Sterling Martin Associates (SMA) is a national executive search firm founded in 2006 by CEO and Managing Partner, David Martin. SMA specializes in working with associations and nonprofit organizations on senior-level executive searches. With five office locations in Washington, DC, Chicago, New York and California, SMA offers national reach and scope while providing superior quality of service in a cost-effective manner. Our partners and consultants bring association, nonprofit and for-profit management experience to each of our client engagements. Our team also serves as volunteers for a wide range of nonprofit governing boards.
