June 20, 2017
(Austin) – The Austin City Council voted to appoint Julie Oliver to the final vacant seat of the all-volunteer Central Health Board of Managers.
Oliver is a health care finance and law professional with 20 years of experience in financial management and leadership. She is the financial division controller for St. David’s HealthCare’s seven-hospital healthcare system, with 110 locations in Central Texas. Previously, Oliver worked as a partner at Patterson & Davies LLP in Austin where she provided planning, transactional advice and assistance in federal, state and local taxation, business start-ups as well as government relations.
“As a citizen of Austin who loves this community, I seek to serve in the best way I know—offering my talents and experience to an incredible organization tasked with caring for those who need it most,” Oliver said. “I was a teenage Medicaid recipient and then an uninsured mother, and I have seen firsthand how access to health care can be limited to those who can pay. I have also seen providers discriminate and treat unkindly those who do not have traditional health insurance. In my opinion, this is not right. Health care is not optional. It is necessary, and everyone should be able to access it regardless of their ability to pay. Central Health is our community organization that oversees this mission.”
Outside of work and family life, Oliver teaches yoga in a downtown yoga studio. She started a yoga program at two hospitals in the St. David’s Healthcare system, providing classes to health workers. She also loves animals and offers donation yoga classes that benefit Austin Pets Alive! She volunteers monthly with Meals On Wheels, HOPE delivery program, and for the last two years, she has participated in food sorting at Central Texas Food Bank with fellow yoga teachers.
Oliver holds a Doctorate of Law from The University of Texas at Austin and is licensed by the State Bar of Texas. She also holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in accounting from The University of Texas at Arlington.
Oliver will take over the appointment formerly held by Rosie Mendoza, a member of the Central Health Board of Managers since 2005.
The Central Health Board of Managers is an all-volunteer board composed of four appointees from the Austin City Council, four appointees from the Travis County Commissioners Court, and one joint appointee. Board members are appointed to four-year terms.