Priya Smith

Priya Smith is the Chief Employee Human Resources Officer for The Permanente Medical Group (TPMG) at Kaiser Permanente in Northern California. In collaboration with her physician partner, she has oversight for the people strategy for 45,000 people, aiming to make TPMG the best place to work and the best place to get care. Prior to this role, she spent the last 10 years as the Chief Administrative Officer of Kaiser Permanente San Jose Medical Center where she managed the operations and a multimillion-dollar budget for multiple sites including San Jose, Gilroy, Santa Cruz, Watsonville and Scotts Valley. Partnering with the Physician-in-Chief in overseeing approximately 600 physicians and 2,200 staff throughout the various medical offices, Priya helped ensure that more than 260,000 members receive exceptional care. She has dedicated her entire career to serving TPMG, starting as an intern at Kaiser Permanente during her post-graduate studies. She has served in a number of management roles over the years and led the application for Kaiser Permanente HealthConnect®, the conversion of paper to electronic medical records. Among her many accomplishments, Priya was selected as one of Silicon Valley Business Journal’s Women of Influence as well as its 40 Under 40 recognition. She served on the Leadership Morgan Hill Board from 2008 to 2011 and was elected President during her final year. In 2019, Priya joined the city of San Jose Work2Future Board to support workforce planning efforts in the community and was recently appointed Chair. She also serves on the board of Second Harvest Silicon Valley, as board secretary, and was drawn to Second Harvest because she believes there is a strong connection between food and health, and the mission aligns with her own values. Born in India and raised in Hong Kong, Priya came to the United States and received her bachelor’s degree in biological sciences from Stanford University and a master’s in public health from the University of California, Berkeley. She loves to spend time with her family on their ranch with their animals, as well as reading, writing, and yoga. She also enjoys traveling to expose her son to many different cultures around the world.