Mary Dale Peterson, MD, MHA, past President of the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA), currently serves as the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Driscoll Health System. Prior to that, she was the President and CEO of Driscoll Health Plan. She also serves as a Clinical Associate Professor at Texas A&M University. 

Dr. Peterson received her Bachelor of Science from Texas A&M University and completed her Doctor of Medicine and anesthesiology residency at The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston. Dr. Peterson also completed a Master of Science in Health Care Administration at Trinity University in San Antonio. She is board-certified in anesthesiology and critical care medicine. She has chaired the State Value Based Payment and Quality Improvement Advisory Committee and served on the Texas Medical Association’s Committee on Medicaid and the Uninsured.

Dr. Peterson has focused much of her career in population health, especially for low-income children and pregnant women to reduce early childhood caries, preterm births, maternal mortality and other preventable illnesses, diseases and injuries across a large, largely rural service area. 

She is married to Dr. Rafael Coutin, a cardiologist, and they have three sons and two granddaughters.