Kathleen King is a California native but has called a lot of careers home. Nearly 20 years at Applied Materials, a member of the Saratoga City Council, two terms as mayor of that city, and the past ten years as CEO of the Healthier Kids Foundation.
Healthier Kids Foundation and Housing Trust are both longtime beneficiaries of the Silicon Valley Turkey Trot, and she became involved around the time of the 2009 event. “Health and housing go together well,” Kathleen said, recalling the early conversations she had with Housing Trust CEO Kevin Zwick. “We’re trying to help the same families and the same children, and being in a position to help makes me want to get up and go to work every day.”
For the most part Kathleen’s everyday is at the Healthier Kids Foundation, but she is also a member of several other state and community boards including the Valley Medical Center Foundation, Lincoln Law School Silicon Valley and the California State Dental Board. In terms of her work on the Housing Trust board she says she’s been impressed at how much more Housing Trust does for affordable housing now vs. when her term first began, specifically naming the involvement and support of Housing Trust to pass Measure A in 2016 as well as the cumulative work to make sure more people are aware of the need for affordable housing in the area.
“I wouldn’t be (leaving the Housing Trust board) if my term hadn’t expired but I feel good about the timing,” Kathleen said. “It’s a passionate and conscientious board and I’ve enjoyed being a part of it. A lot of good things get done.”