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Project ECHO Team Spotlight: Kara Bowers

Project ECHO Spotlight interviews feature advocates, participants or team members discussing their experiences with ECHO. Read more ECHO Spotlights.


Kara Bowers, RD, MPA 
Research Project Manager

Background

Bowers oversees several project startups for Project ECHO at Penn State College of Medicine and leads members of the ECHO team in evaluation planning, workflow, project development and strategic planning. She serves as project manager for several substance use disorder series including our Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment series for providers, school nurses and SAP Liaisons. As a registered dietician, Kara also oversees all nutrition and physical activity ECHO series including the national Operation Revamped Camp, launched in 2019 in partnership with Boy Scouts of America.

Thoughts on Project ECHO

“I love that we use the ECHO model to improve child nutrition at camp, improve working conditions for veterans, and help school nurses address substance use. Our team is incredible. We have complementary skills; we maximize people’s strengths, and we work together to get a lot accomplished in a small amount of time. I love the fast-paced team environment. I am grateful to be surrounded by strong, knowledgeable women and industry leaders. The impact of this team is vast, and I am honored to be in the background of what happens here.”

Comments

  • “Kara is an efficient and organized team member – I always marvel at her ability to cut through to the essential components of a project. Through her implementation of project management tools and her exceptional skills in leading meetings, Kara helps the entire team stay focused on our goals and moves both her own work and our collective goals forward smoothly. And her commitment to incorporating wellness into our daily lives is an inspiration to all of us. Thank you, Kara!” – ECHO Team Member
  • “Kara brings outstanding skills to our Project ECHO team, including her tremendous ability to think outside of the box. My favorite ECHO story with Kara happened before she was even on our team. I was telling her about Project ECHO and she paused for a moment, and said, this sounds like what we could do to reach more camps for our Boy Scouts project. Later, Kara spearheaded our use of ECHO in collaboration with the Boy Scouts of America, reaching over 60 camps to help improve healthy food access and increased physical activity in this setting! We are grateful to have Kara on our team!” – ECHO Director

Learn more about Project ECHO

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