Kenna Stephenson

WORK HISTORY

EDUCATION

ABOUT KENNA STEPHENSON

Kenna Stephenson, a family physician, author, teacher, and researcher thrives on helping others achieve well-being. At age 5, she declared her desire to become a physician. As a Texas teen she worked in the cotton fields, then excelled in fast food at KFC, and following her 18th birthday, she eagerly became a certified nurse’s aide. She received her last nurse’s aide paycheck on graduation day from medical school. In caring for over patients in diverse settings including: a Marae in New Zealand, under triple canopy jungles of Central America, inside a mobile unit traversing Texas mine fields, and on a Paramount Pictures’ set, along with private practice, community, global and academic medicine, she fulfills her passions for exploration and adventure. A native Texan and honors graduate of The University of Texas at Austin, she completed the Doctor of Medicine degree with Research Honors at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center which included a student fellowship at the National Institutes of Health. Her residency at the University of Texas Health Sciences Center culminated with the Resident’s Resident Award. Her career encompasses underserved areas of Texas, Arizona, Central America, Southeast Asia, and New Zealand. An award-winning science communicator, she hosted health programs on CBS and NBC Texas affiliates, and has lectured on 6 continents. Her research has been featured in: Family Practice News, Cardiology News, Ob/Gyn News, Medscape, UK News Digest, and Cleveland Clinic Heart and Brain Summit. Her clinical research in women’s health is recognized by The European Society of Endocrinology 2025 clinical practice guidelines for evaluation and management of menopause and the perimenopause, and recognized in a 2023 Mayo Clinic review, “Addressing the Missing Links in Cardiovascular Aging”. She serves as an Associate Professor of Family, Community & Preventive Medicine at The University of Arizona College of Medicine-Phoenix and is the Founding Medical Director of Team-5 Medical Foundation. She is a member of the American Botanical Council and the Royal New Zealand Society of General Practitioners, the New Zealand Writers Guild and New Zealand Royal Ornithological Society, a Fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians, and a Diplomate of the American Board of Family Medicine. Her book, The Gospel of Women’s Health: Awakening Athena Again has received international acclaim. Her husband, Doctor Douglas Stephenson, is the Physician Director of the Office of Quality Management for the Indian Health Service and Choctaw tribal member.