Annette Walker Named Chair of the 11th Annual Orange County 2015 Go Red for Women Luncheon on Friday, February 20, 2015 at Hotel Irvine

Annette Walker, executive vice president, strategic services for St. Joseph Health (SJH), will chair the 11th Annual Orange County 2015 Go Red for Women Luncheon. The Go Red for Women event will begin with a Health Expo at 10 a.m., followed by the Luncheon and Program at noon on Friday, February 20, 2015 at Hotel Irvine, 17900 Jamboree Road in Irvine. The Go Red Luncheon for Women is sponsored nationally by Macy’s and locally by St. Joseph Health and Edwards Lifesciences.

Annette Walker is responsible for SJH’s strategy, business development, marketing and communications, philanthropy, and the employer and retail-focused wellness division. SJH is a 16-hospital health system with services in the Western U.S and based in Irvine, California.

She also serves as president of American Unity, a professional liability insurance company owned by St. Joseph Health.

With her wealth of knowledge and wide-ranging expertise, Walker leads senior executives and physicians to develop, support, and implement the strategic objectives and competitive positioning of the health system.

She currently serves on the boards of trustees for SJH’s Mission Hospital, and the CSJ Educational Network, a ministry of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Orange that collaborates on the Church’s mission in education through a network of Catholic elementary schools across California.

The author of numerous articles on the promotion of health care quality, and a featured speaker at conferences across the country, she has received considerable recognition and nationwide honors for her work.

She holds a master’s degree in health care administration from the University of Minneapolis and a bachelor’s degree in biology from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles.

The annual Go Red For Women campaign raises awareness that heart disease is the No. 1 killer of women, and encourages them to take preventive measures to reduce their risk. The movement harnesses the energy, passion and power women have to band together and collectively wipe out heart disease. It also gives them the tools they need to lead a heart healthy life. On a national level, the Go Red For Women movement has resulted in 650,000 women’s lives being saved over the last 10 years.