Leader Spotlight: Cali Watkins, National Director of Member Relations

Cali Watkins grew up wanting to help people. She chose nursing as a career at an early age but realized in college that “healthcare was so much more than just the clinical piece that we always think about. I wanted to be involved in helping people in several aspects of their lives,” she says.

Before joining AbsoluteCare, she worked as a community coordinator and acted as a liaison between patients and their insurance companies. She joined us as an outreach manager but was soon promoted to oversee member care and train staff on how to foster and maintain trust with this vulnerable population.

As a leader, Cali recognizes the importance of modeling what she’d like to see in the people she works with, leading by example. “I never ask my team to do anything that I am not willing to do,” she says. “I make sure my team knows I am I am happy to get my hands dirty and help them in any way.” That, she says, builds a cooperative spirit and trust. Her team knows she has their backs. And it’s fitting that her personal motto is the golden rule.

If there is one thing lacking in today’s healthcare arena, it’s accessibility. Making good healthcare available to all is one of Cali’s wishes, and it’s why working at AbsoluteCare is especially rewarding.

Informing her leadership style of teamwork has been Cali’s lifelong interest and participation in team sports. “Learning how to support others while also being able to lean on others for support is so important in the workplace,” she says. That and the patience she learned in her first job as an administrative assistant for a corporate housing company are what make her a great leader.

Cali earned her BS in Public Health Education and Promotion and her MS in Health Care Administration. When she’s not working, Cali plays with her one-and-a-half-year-old son and two Labrador retrievers—while awaiting the birth of her daughter.