Avera announces that Shantel Krebs has been named Regional President and CEO of Avera St. Mary’s Hospital in Pierre.

As top executive in the Avera St. Mary’s region, she will be responsible to provide leadership, direction and administration across all aspects of care delivery within the region. She will also serve as a member of the Avera senior leadership team and provide leadership on designated service lines to support the overall delivery model for the system.

“It is a true honor to have been selected to lead the Avera St. Mary’s region into the future,” Krebs said. “Together, we will carry on the great work that this region is known for and keep inpatient and outpatient quality at the forefront of everything we do.”

Krebs has been serving as interim regional president and CEO since March, following the medical leave and passing of Dr. Mikel Holland.

“Over the past six months, I’ve been able to witness the unwavering, steadfast dedication of our team going above and beyond to take care of our patient and family needs, which can often be complex to navigate,” Krebs said. “This great team is a true testament of Avera’s commitment to rural health care.”

Krebs is a lifelong, fourth generation South Dakotan with leadership experience in health care, business, entrepreneurship and elected offices.

She joined Avera in 2019 as the Administrator of the Avera Academy. In this role, she helped to identify, train and employ the brightest young minds in health care roles – many of them first-generation Americans. Krebs built this program from the ground up working with clinical areas and developing a deep knowledge of operations. Avera Academy fosters consideration of health care as a career for these students and serves as an additional pipeline for future workforce.

Prior to joining Avera, Krebs has had a successful career in business consulting, entrepreneurship and public service, including 10 years in the South Dakota Legislature, serving in leadership capacities and on the Health and Human Services, Agricultural and Transportation committees. She introduced and passed over 500 pieces of legislation.

After her tenure in the legislature, Krebs became South Dakota's 28th Secretary of State. She restored and transformed the office and successfully navigated through a federal audit of the United States Office of the Inspector General. Shantel has also led the Miss America Organization on a volunteer basis during a time of transition.

Krebs holds a bachelor's degree in business administration from Dakota State University (DSU) and has been honored as a Distinguished Alumnus. She was inducted into the South Dakota Hall of Fame in 2022.

Krebs and her husband, Mitch, plan to relocate back to the Pierre area and look forward to once again calling this region home. In her spare time, she enjoys horseback riding and hunting.

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