Page 25 - Healthcare Heroes 2025

HealthcareHEROES
A P R O G R A M O F B U S I N E S S W E S T & H E A L T H C A R E N E W S
“Up to that
point, I had
mostly been
working with
adults, but
because I
wanted to do
something more
with the whole
family and
community, I
was looking for
opportunities
where I could
expand to work
with kids.”
class of Healthcare Heroes — could easily be recognized in a few
different categories, including Emerging Leader, Collaboration in
Healthcare, and Healthcare Educator. But Community Health seemed
most apprropriate because her impact on the community, by helping
people change the way they look at food and nutrition, is significant,
and growing.
“Dr. Koh’s impact is clear: families eating better, students entering
the workforce more prepared, and communities being heard,”
Neuhauser added. “What makes her heroic is not just her scholarship
— it’s her radical belief that everyone deserves to live with health,
dignity, and joy. Her work is already changing lives in Western
Massachusetts. Her leadership ensures those changes will endure.”
Cross-country Impact
Koh grew up in Southern California, and her early educational and
career experiences took her to several far-flung locales.
“I worked in nursing in Colorado, I taught English for one year in
Ukraine, and I also did an internship in Denmark in health program
planning, so I had all these different ideas of things I was interested
in.”
But she eventually pursued an associate’s degree program in
nursing, and worked in that field for about 15 years. But she wasn’t
sure she wanted to work in a hospital for the rest of her life.
“After 15 years, it was already starting to kind of wear on me. My
husband was like, ‘if you go back to school, think of the impact that
you could have if you teach.’ So I decided to go back to school.”
Koh wound up at UMass for her graduate studies, but then
returned to California — Stanford University, to be specific — for
post-doctoral research work, where she worked with a pediatric
gastroenterologist at a weight-management clinic.
“I got a lot of experience working with patients in the clinical
setting,” she recalled. “Up to that point, I had mostly been working
with adults, but because I wanted to do something more with the
whole family and community, I was looking for opportunities where I
Linda Koh led the development of “Full Plate for Kids,” an
activity book that teaches children about good nutrition.
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