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Texas Children's Hospital West Campus Leadership

At Texas Children's Hospital West Campus, our leadership team is focused on creating an environment that fosters family-centered care.

Ketrese White, DNP, MHA, RN, NE-BC, is a highly accomplished health care professional with over two decades of service at Texas Children’s Hospital. As Senior Vice President of Texas Children’s Hospital West Campus and Texas Children’s Hospital The Woodlands, she oversees all hospital, ambulatory and Specialty Care operations in both regions. She plays a critical role in advancing the hospital’s mission of creating a healthier future for children, women and families in our global community.

Throughout her career, Ms. White has demonstrated a commitment to excellence and a willingness to take on new challenges. She began her career as a graduate nurse with Texas Children’s Cancer and Hematology Center’s Bone Marrow Transplant Unit. She quickly assumed increasing oversight and responsibilities, rising quickly in the organization. She joined the executive leadership team as an assistant vice president in 2019 before being named vice president of Texas Children’s The Woodlands in 2021. Ms. White has shown tremendous leadership in many areas, including defining patient experience processes, developing strategies, business & financial plans, establishing and refining recruitment practices at Texas Children’s community hospitals. She was also instrumental in the opening our community hospitals and executing on the vision of providing world class pediatric care in the West and North regions.

A lifelong learner, Ms. White earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Prairie View A&M University, a Master’s in Healthcare Administration from Houston Christian University and a Doctor of Nursing Practice from The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. She is fueled by her passion for leadership, mentorship, and service, and is currently active on several community boards throughout the Houston area, including West Houston Chamber of Commerce and Katy YMCA.

Denise Tanner-Brown, DNP, MHA, RN, NE-BC, is Associate Chief Nurse Executive and Vice President of Critical Care Nursing, the Newborn Center and Nursing at Texas Children’s Hospital West Campus and Texas Children’s Hospital The Woodlands. Since joining Texas Children’s in 2002, Denise has served in several progressive leadership roles within the hospital and has led countless system-level initiatives. She has demonstrated a commitment to quality improvement, workforce optimization, quality and safety, and improving the patient experience. 

Ms. Tanner-Brown graduated from Prairie View A&M University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing and the University of Phoenix with a Master’s degree in Health Care Administration. She is also a graduate of the Advanced Quality Improvement and Patient Safety Program at Texas Children’s Hospital and holds a Health Care Management Certificate from Rice University.

Outside of work, Ms. Tanner-Brown volunteers with Jack and Jill Foundation, which addresses issues affecting African American children and families. She is also a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority.

Kara Abrameit, MBA, is vice president for Texas Children’s Hospital West Campus and oversees several Texas Children’s Specialty Care locations within Greater Houston. She began her career with Texas Children’s in 2005 as an administrative intern and has served in multiple roles during her tenure, including successes in business development, leadership development, strategic planning and improving operational efficiency. 

After completing her internship and subsequent fellowship, Ms. Abrameit was named the first Assistant Director of Texas Children’s Pediatrics and led the operations and new practice development for the West Houston area. She transitioned to support the design, development and ultimate opening of Texas Children’s Hospital West Campus in 2009 and held multiple progressive leadership roles prior to her promotion as Vice President of West Campus in March 2023.

Ms. Abrameit graduated cum laude from Baylor University in Waco, Texas with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism in 2003 and a Master of Business Administration, Healthcare Administration in 2006. She has served on the Baylor University Robbins Institute for Health Policy and Leadership Advisory Council since 2015. She has a passion for mentorship and is active with many community organizations. She is known for her thoughtful and collaborative approach, growth mindset, steadfast leadership and can-do attitude focusing on both staff and patient satisfaction.

As Chief Medical Officer of Texas Children’s Hospital West Campus, Dr. Graf is interested in optimizing the delivery of safe, high-quality patient care for children in the community setting. She continues to engage in clinical research regarding pediatric transport and the prevention of hospital-acquired conditions.

Dr. Graf is a Professor of Pediatrics-Critical Care at Baylor College of Medicine.  She continues to practice as a Pediatric Intensive Care physician at Texas Children’s Hospital West Campus and serves as Medical Director of Texas Children’s Kangaroo Crew Intensive Care Transport Team. 

Prior to her appointment at West Campus, Dr. Graf was the Medical Director of the Pediatric ICU and Director of Respiratory Care at Texas Children’s Hospital, Texas Medical Center campus. From 2008-2010, she served as the Interim Chief of the Section of Pediatric Critical Care in the Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine.

Dr. Graf received her Bachelor’s Degree from St. Louis University and her medical degree from The Ohio State University College of Medicine. In 2012, she received a Graduate Certificate in Healthcare Management from Rice University, and in 2016 she received a Certificate in Academic Medical Department Leadership from the University of Texas School of Public Health. 

Dr. Graf is a Fellow of both the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American College of Critical Care Medicine. She served as the President of the Medical Staff for Texas Children’s Hospital in 2016.

Stephen J. Canon, MD is a board-certified urologist with a subspecialty certification in pediatric urology. He is passionate about serving children in the state of Texas and beyond through excellent patient care delivery, research, resident and medical student education and improvement in healthcare delivery and outcomes. He provides treatment for all pediatric urological conditions including hypospadias, kidney stones, hydronephrosis, vesicoureteral reflux, recurrent urinary tract infections, urinary incontinence and enuresis.

Dr. Canon received his medical degree from the University of Texas Medical Branch and completed his residency in urology at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis. He followed this with a pediatric urology fellowship at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio.

Dr. Canon is a Professor of Surgery, Department of Urology at Baylor College of Medicine. He enjoys teaching and research, with specific interest in hypospadias, minimally invasive surgery in pediatric urology and the use of technology to improve patient care.

Karen Sripan serves as the Director of Patient Care Services at Texas Children's Hospital West Campus. She has been with Texas Children’s since 2011 and has held numerous leadership positions in acute care, pediatric intensive care, and the nursing float pool. In her current role, she is responsible for overseeing nursing operations across multiple departments at Texas Children’s Hospital West Campus.

Ms. Sripan earned a Bachelor of Science degree in nursing from the University of Texas at Austin, followed by a Master's degree in nursing administration from the University of Texas at Arlington. She extended her expertise by completing the Advanced Quality Improvement and Patient Safety Program at Texas Children's Hospital.

Ms. Sripan has made notable contributions to the field of nursing through her presentations at various local and national conferences. Her topics of expertise include emergency center patient experience initiatives, innovative nursing recruitment strategies and narcotic medication management in the ICU setting.

Kelly Crumley has been with Texas Children’s since 2009 and has held several leadership roles throughout the Texas Children’s Hospital system. She currently oversees outpatient medical and surgical clinics at Texas Children’s Hospital West Campus as well as Texas Children’s Specialty Care locations in Bellaire, Clear Lake, Cy-Fair and Sugar Land. Therapy, respiratory therapy and sleep services for the region are also under her leadership.

Ms. Crumley began her career at Texas Children’s as a Revenue Cycle Manager. Over the course of her career, she has provided leadership and programmatic support to both financial and operational areas of the organization. Most recently, prior to her transition to the community setting, she held a Practice Administrator position in the Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine at the Texas Medical Center campus. She has a Master of Healthcare and Business Administration from the University of Houston – Clear Lake and a Bachelor of Science from Texas A&M University.

Dr. Shannon McCord has served Texas Children’s Hospital in a variety of roles, with over 30 years of experience in pediatric healthcare. As a board-certified pediatric nurse practitioner and maternal-child clinical nurse specialist, she has experience encompassing both hospital and ambulatory settings as well as private practice settings. Dr. McCord has served in numerous leadership roles over her career, including the inaugural Director of Patient Care Services for West Campus, the Assistant Director of Clinical Operations for Baylor College of Medicine Obstetrics and Gynecology Services, and the Assistant Director of the Wound, Ostomy and Continence service. She currently serves as the Associate Division Chief of Texas Children’s Wound Care department.

Dr. McCord received her bachelor’s degree in nursing from The University of Texas, a Master of Science in nursing as a clinical nurse specialist in maternal child nursing from Texas Women’s University in Denton, Texas and a post-graduate degree in the pediatric nurse practitioner program from the UTHealth Houston. She recently graduated with a doctorate in Executive Nursing Leadership Practice from Cizik School of Nursing at UTHealth Houston.

Dr. McCord has published national and international book chapters and articles in peer-reviewed journals on various pediatric nursing topics. She recently developed an international core curriculum on pediatric wound care principles in partnership with Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children’s Hospital Global HOPE for sub-Saharan Africa. Her current clinical and research interests include pediatric wound care, quality and safety and scope of practice.

Michael Dyer has served in progressive leadership roles at Texas Children’s Hospital since joining in 2013. With his extensive experience in healthcare administration and expertise in operations and clinical management, he has provided oversight and direction for business development initiatives and has built strong relationships with physicians and other healthcare providers.

Mr. Dyer earned a Bachelor of Science from the University of Utah and a Master of Health Policy and Administration from Washington State University.