Community Health Center Executive Director Sherlyn Dahl to retire

After nearly 14 years of steadfast leadership and innovative contributions to the Community Health Centers of Benton and Linn Counties (CHC), Executive Director, Sherlyn Dahl is retiring early this summer. 

In 2006, Dahl transitioned her leadership, experience, and contributions to the Community Health Center of Benton and Linn Counties, now a six clinic Federally Qualified Health Center serving 10,000 people across two counties, with locations in Corvallis, Monroe, Alsea, Lebanon, and Sweet Home, Oregon. Dahl envisioned and helped implement integrated services across an individual persons’ primary care home, to extend into population-based public health, advocacy, and policy development services for those in Benton County.

In 2018, Dahl was honored with the Innovation and Leadership in Transformation Award from the Oregon Primary Care Association, highlighting her career commitment to serving vulnerable populations, creating a dynamic work environment for staff, and leading communities to better health.  

Prior to her service to Benton County, she served as the Executive Director of a Family HealthCare Center in Fargo, North Dakota. In her thirteen years with the organization, Dahl’s leadership brought a growth of services and quality care to those in Fargo, North Dakota and Moorhead, Minnesota. Her time at the center focused on addressing health care for the homeless and serving as a community-based organization, in addition to obtaining Federally Qualified Health Center status.

Dahl holds positions within the InterCommunity Health Network Regional Planning Council and co-chairs the Delivery Systems Transformation and Social Determinants of Health committees. Dahl also serves in committee and board leadership roles with the Oregon Primary Care Association, serving nearly 400,000 Oregonians and a quarter of those on the Oregon Health Plan (Medicaid). 

Dahl started her career as a trained nurse in a municipal hospital setting working with pediatrics and a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. She earned a Bachelors of Science in Nursing from Moorhead State University, and a Masters in Public Health from the University of Minnesota School of Public Health.

The CHC Executive Director recruitment is underway. Initial interviews are scheduled to begin in February, in hopes to welcome the new CHC Director in early June.