Carrie Owen Plietz is a 1997 graduate of the JMU Health Services Administration (HSA) program. She has an impressive career in healthcare management, which began with her required internship in the HSA program. After completing her internship at St. Mary’s Hospital in Richmond, Virginia, she went on to complete her Master's in Health Administration at Virginia Commonwealth University.

Plietz serves as executive vice president and chief operating officer of WellStar Health System’s hospital division. She oversees the operation of WellStar's eleven hospital locations, as well as real estate, construction and facilities development, and security and emergency preparedness.  Prior to joining WellStar in 2016, she served as CEO of Sutter Medical Center in Sacramento, California (SMCS). Under her leadership, SMCS was recognized by Truven Health Analytics as a Top 100 Hospital for three years in a row, Top 50 Heart Hospital four times in a row and as an Everest Hospital demonstrating the fastest improvement over five years compared to other hospitals across the country.

She currently serves on the American College of HealthCare Executives Board of Governors, serving 40,000 members. She has been honored as one of the Modern Healthcare's 2011 Up and Comers, Becker's Top 25 executives under 40 for five consecutive years and the 2010 Robert S. Hudgens Young Health Care Executive of the Year by the American College of HealthCare Executives.

Plietz lives in Marrietta, Georgia with her husband Jasen (’97), who is also a JMU alumnus and two children.