Kim Saruwatari, MPH
Director
Riverside University Health System- Public Health

Ms. Saruwatari is the Director of Public Health for Riverside County, California. Ms. Saruwatari began her career in Public Health 20 years ago in San Diego County as a senior epidemiologist for Public Health, with an emphasis on communicable disease investigations and emergency preparedness. In Riverside County, Ms. Saruwatari was Chief of Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response for the Department of Public Health and was on several emergency preparedness committees for the California Department of Public Health. Working with other administrators and outside agencies, Ms. Saruwatari oversaw the development of plans for Public Health responses to emergencies such as a pan flu epidemic, bio terrorism attack and natural disasters.
 
Ms. Saruwatari also served as the first ever Director of Emergency Management for Riverside County.  In this position she was responsible for creating a new model for emergency management by combining all-hazards preparedness and response with public health emergency management under a single department. She holds a B.A. in molecular and cell biology, and a Masters in Public Health in infectious diseases, both from the University of California, Berkeley.