Born in Salt Lake City, Hunter has always had a tender passion for helping others. At the age of 16, he underwent a life-threatening traumatic brain injury that solidified his passion for the health service industry. Modern medicine saved his life and from then on, he was certain about choosing a career centered on healthcare and improving the lives of others.
Hunter began his professional journey working for Intermountain Healthcare, a Utah-based health system at the time consisting of 22 hospitals, 185 clinics, and 39,000 employees. During this time, he quickly acquired a Master’s in Business Administration, and aspired to one-day become the chief administrator for a large urban hospital. Shortly thereafter, he was given a role administering system-wide community health initiatives through using data-driven decision making.
In 2017, Hunter married his collegiate sweetheart- Savannah Barlow. Savannah’s family was previously members of the Fundamentalist Church of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS), a religious group that was headquartered on the Utah / Arizona border during the early 2000s. In its current state, Savannah’s rural hometown of Colorado City is rebuilding from years of trauma and poverty, and lacks many basic needs such as public transportation, job opportunities, access to secondary education, and affordable and accessible healthcare; all impacting the lives of thousands of rural residents. Witnessing the medical and social needs existing in this community, Hunter’s primary focus shifted to Utah’s rural healthcare system, specifically safety net programs that serve rural and underserved communities.
In December, 2018, Hunter relocated and began the early stages of development for Creek Valley Health Clinic, a nonprofit community health center which is located in his wife’s hometown of Colorado City, AZ. Since its origination, this nonprofit has grown from a shared vision to now impacting over 4,000 unique patients along the Arizona Strip. The creation of Creek Valley Health Clinic has created 30 new jobs in the rural community, and now has an annual operating budget of over $3M.
Hunter is currently the Chief Executive Officer for Creek Valley Health Clinic, and has been the primary author of over 20 successfully funded grant awards, together equating to over $7.6 million of grant funding from federal, state, local, and foundation sources. Hunter has also been vocal and active in transforming the way state governments view healthcare in rural Bordertown communities; setting the stage for improved rural health access and economic development, specifically in Utah and Arizona.
Beyond the community health center’s continued growth and development, Hunter has recently began business consulting, specifically assisting startup and nonprofit organizations understand how to leverage grant funding to support their mission. He hopes to soon provide grant-writing and other business workshops to assist organization’s make big differences in small and rural communities.