Healthcare Diversity Summit
DiversityFIRST™ Certification Program
DiversityFIRST&Best Practices Awards
Women in Leadership Symposium
Webinar Series
Subscribe to our Email List
DiversityFIRST™ Jobs
Pilar Oates has over 20 years experience in health and human services. Her community health practice is grounded in the sociological understanding of the upstream influences of health-related behaviors and neighborhood contexts on health outcomes. She has extensive experience in non-profit management, with strong competencies in strategic planning, organizational development, executive leadership development, coalition building and grant making.
Ms. Oates was a founding director of the Methodist Healthcare Ministries (MHM) of South Texas, Inc., a faith-based, not-for-profit organization dedicated to providing medical and health-related human services to low-income families and the uninsured of 72 counties of South Texas. As Executive Director, She was responsible for directing the organization to ensure successful implementation of Board and CEO mission objectives to include matters concerning fulfillment of the Board strategic plans; IRS and partnership agreement; public policy initiatives at the State and City level; and working with partners through grant funding to further the MHM mission. Ms. Oates also worked closely with the executive team to direct, guide, advise, and mentor directors and managers at all levels. During her 17 year tenure at MHM, Ms. Oates helped to shape the organization’s strategy of community health, which grew from one program of $200,000 for 1,200 clients in 1995 to a budgeted expenditure of $72 million in 2012 to provide nearly 800,000 client encounters. This was achieved through programs owned and operated by MHM and through grant funding to partners who have similar missions.
Throughout her career, Ms. Oates has demonstrated a commitment to community service that includes working for the City of San Antonio’s Department of Community Initiatives. In addition to her service with the City of San Antonio and at MHM, She is involved in several community initiatives that are significantly improving outcomes for individuals and families across the region.
Ms. Oates’s service to her community has been celebrated by the San Antonio Commission on Literacy, which recognized her as a leader in the promotion of Lifelong Learning. In addition, she has been the recipient of the American Heart Association’s William T. Wright Award for community service. Ms. Oates is a graduate of the Community Education Leadership Program, Leadership Texas and Leadership America. Most recently, she served on the executive team of the Mayor’s Fitness Council, an initiative to fight against obesity in San Antonio. Ms. Oates has served on numerous boards to include chairing the Bexar County Health Collaborative and CI: NOW, an organization affiliated with the Urban Institute’s NNIP. Ms.Oates received her B.A. and M.A. degrees from the University of Texas at San Antonio with concentrations in sociology, psychology, and bicultural – bilingual studies.
