Kari Carlson, MD
Associate Executive Director
Dr. Carlson was named associate executive director for The Permanente Medical Group (TPMG) in 2022. In this role, she is accountable for ambulatory, in-patient, and subspecialties in pediatrics and obstetrics and gynecology (ob-gyn), as well as for TPMG’s Family Violence and Prevention, Early Start, and ACEs/trauma informed care programs.
Throughout her career with TPMG, Dr. Carlson has held numerous leadership positions at the medical center and regional levels. From 2007 to 2019, she served as department chief for KP Redwood City Ob-Gyn, and was actively involved in the transition to Kaiser Permanente’s electronic medical record in both the outpatient and inpatient settings, the establishment of the first KP Redwood City satellite office in San Mateo, and in the opening of the new Redwood City hospital in 2014.
She was promoted to a regional role as Chair of Ob-Gyn in 2017, and under her leadership ob-gyn continued to deliver nation-leading care for cervical cancer screening, minimally invasive surgery, and low-risk cesarean delivery. In 2019, Dr. Carlson also took on a regional director role overseeing women’s health, which made several advancements in health equity, including the reduction of disparities in maternal anemia and hypertensive disease, which are the greatest drivers of morbidity and mortality in pregnancy.
Along with her work in Northern California, Dr. Carlson has held national leadership roles at Kaiser Permanente, serving as co-chair of the inter-regional ob-gyn chiefs’ group and as the clinical lead for both the Digital Experience and KP Connected Care, a new hybrid virtual prenatal care program. She also continues to practice clinical medicine in Redwood City.
Dr. Carlson graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in American History, magna cum laude, from Princeton University and received her medical degree from the University of California, Davis, School of Medicine. She completed her residency training in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Kaiser Foundation Hospital Santa Clara and joined TPMG in 2003.
