Laurie McGraw is speaking with Inspiring Woman Melissa Bell, long time health tech executive ad CCO of Enliven Health. For Melissa, working hard was obvious and natural. She was always one to raise her hand for the next challenging assignment which gave her the reputation of being the company’s go to person for the most visible difficult projects. One of Melissa’s “fun facts” includes a lot of prison time…. having led a multiyear implementation at the nation’s largest correctional corporation. Another major project meant leaving her Midwest roots and relocating to California. This is home today having met her now wife there and where they have their family. The arc of Melissa’s career moves from leading important projects to being an executive leader at growth companies focused on patient outcomes. She is very intentional about how she shows up as a leader, her brand, and her style of leadership. Diverse teams and inclusivity mean a lot to Melissa. “Showing up as your authentic self” is more than a catch phrase. In those early years Melissa kept a sharp line between her professional self and her “weekend” self. Times have changed and those divides no longer exist for Melissa. She recognizes that depending on who you are, where you live, or the environment you are in, this may not be the case for everyone. Which is why it is so important to Melissa to be known for being inclusive, to gain trust of others, and to earn credibility as a leader. Melissa leaves us with a message of celebration, celebrating Pride and inclusivity. Melissa encourages us to stay true to being our authentic selves. And she invites us all to demonstrate and go the distance as allies to the LGBTQ community. It matters.

Laurie McGraw is speaking with Inspiring Woman Dr. Jenny Schneider about the new Home[ward] Grown program to elevate women founders and leaders that was launched last year. Dr. Sipra Laddha, CoFounder and CEO of Luna Joy discusses her experience with the program. Jenny is very vested in female founders and believes that the worn battle scars are useful to others. She has particular affinity to founders who are also physicians. And with Sipra, not only are they both doctors, but being Mom first is key to them both. You have to do it all and if there ever was a superpower for knowing that trying and not doing it all right all the time – being a mom is IT. Sipra began LunaJoy because she saw women’s health issues and mental health issues up close and personal in the early days of her practice. When she became pregnant with twins while practicing and trying to do it all, she found the needed resources to support women at every stage of the reproductive journey were either subpar or not available. LunaJoy aims to solve that with women’s mental health reimagined. Reproductive psychiatry begins from the moment that that person is thinking about conceiving or getting pregnant through fertility (or a fertility journey). LunaJoy aims to prepare women to have the best possible outcome.

As to the mentorship program, for Sipra this was intensely different. Every discussion with Jenny led to actions she could immediately take within LunaJoy. Sipra would bring the TL;DR approach to her team even though she would be taking copious notes in every discussion. Jenny also talks about how with most people who are involved in a company, as the CEO, you are always trying to impress them. Some of the magic of the mentee/mentor discussions is that nothing is off limits. “Things are crazy….3 people quit today…..how do I even deal…..”. Sipra emphasizes that we really don’t need to pathologize messiness, that is exactly what entrepreneurship is. Like Jenny, Sipra is also committed to paying it forward. And no matter how busy you are – if it is important to you to bring more female founders forward, to advance more women into leadership – you have the time. Small comments and actions matter. Showing up matters. Inspiring Women looks forward to showcasing future conversations with women in the Home[ward] Grown mentorship program.

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Guest Bios:

Dr. Sipra Laddha, CEO and CoFounder, LunaJoy

Throughout my education and career, I have been dedicated to improving the lives of others. My background in psychiatry and deep interest and experience in women’s mental health has allowed me to support women through various life transitions, including pregnancy and postpartum.

I gained firsthand knowledge of the challenges women face in accessing affordable and convenient mental health care. I co-founded LunaJoy with these challenges in mind. A unique platform that improves access to high-quality therapy, medication, and mind body interventions.

With our telemedicine platform, you spend less time commuting and waiting and more time engaged. And our ability to work with most insurance companies reduces the financial burden for patients who have previously seen cost as a barrier. Every woman should have access to the care she needs. We aim to make this possible.

From adolescence through menopause, we support women through their emotional challenges, allowing you to engage in other parts of your life with more joy and efficiency. It is time to live fully, unburdened, and authentically. For personalized psychotherapy and women’s mental health reimagined, send a message or visit us https://hellolunajoy.com

Dr. Jenny Schneider, CEO and Founder, Homeward

I am CEO of Homeward, a technology-enabled healthcare provider delivering care to those who don’t have it, starting in rural America.

Previously, I served 5 years as the Chief Medical Officer and President of Livongo. At Livongo, I was responsible for product, data science, engineering, marketing, clinical operations, and our growth strategy. In my final year at Livongo, we led the company through the largest consumer digital health Initial Public Offering in history, a secondary offering, a convertible debt offering that raised over $540 million, and the industry’s largest merger ever between Livongo and Teladoc Health, valuing Livongo at $18.5 billion and beginning a new era of consumer centric virtual care. I was honored by Modern Healthcare as one of the 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives and by Fierce Healthcare as Woman of Influence for our work empowering women and modeling diversity and inclusion in the workplace.

In October of 2020, I joined the Board of the Health Assurance Acquisition Corp., a Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC) with Hemant Taneja, Glen Tullman, Dr. Stephen Klasko, Quentin Clark, and Anita V. Pramoda. Our mission is to partner with leading health and care businesses leveraging technology. We aim to support their efforts to become iconic category winners that accelerate the digital transformation of existing healthcare into a new system of health assurance.

Laurie McGraw is speaking with Inspiring Woman Jami Youmans, President and CEO of HealthEco.

Jami is an athlete and expected to be seven feet tall when she grew up and likely playing professional basketball.  It was her sincere curiosity that led her to healthcare and building her company HealthEco.

In this 2024 WBL (Women Business Leaders) Series finale, Jami talks about her early stage career as a healthcare administrator which gave her tremendous experience understanding the front lines of healthcare while also needing to be operationally efficient.  Her curiosity and love for innovation led her to a background in venture which then further led her to forming HealthEco.

There, Jami and her team partner with health systems to find new and alternative revenue streams.  She describes one of the solutions where she is building a national network of hospital based clinical labs to buy and sell their capacity.  Today, those labs are managed only by the hospital schedule.  However, they may have more or less capacity to serve those immediate needs.  By creating a larger scale network, this in turn can bring new revenue to the health system or allow them to support higher demands when needed.

Jami also finds that building out her own professional network is critical to being a successful CEO with a growth mindset.  And who doesn’t want to be around women leaders?  With WBL, Jami has found not only a professional network, but also trusted advisors to help her expand her thinking or solve tough problems.  For Jami, collaboration, trusted relationships, and staying curious are key to building out her business today and for the future.

About Jami:

Jami Youmans

President and CEO, HealthEco

Jami is a healthcare executive and entrepreneur, serving as the President and CEO of HealthEco where she strategically collaborates with healthcare organizations to foster and scale pioneering innovations throughout the industry. Her foundational experiences at Trinity Health and BJC Healthcare laid the groundwork for her leadership, enabling her to spearhead the expansion of HealthEco’s robust healthcare provider network, venture studio, commercialization accelerator, and investment platform magnifying its influence across both established providers and emerging startups. Beyond this, Jami’s entrepreneurial spirit is evident in her establishment of two niche healthcare consultancies focused on advancing innovation across the healthcare ecosystem and Vantedge Ventures, a venture fund aligned closely with U.S. health systems. Jami received a Master of Health Administration from St. Louis University and a Bachelor of Science in Cell and Molecular Biology, Chemistry from Missouri State University.

Laurie McGraw is speaking with Inspiring Woman Denielle deWynter, CFO and SVP of Hearst Health.  Denielle has spent twenty years in finance and half of them in various Hearst businesses.  It’s the mission driven focus that Denielle finds so meaningful, making this her best position so far.

In this 2024 WBL (Women Business Leaders) Series, Denielle describes her natural curiosity growing up in rural Canada which led her to travel the world.  She credits her ability to think broadly and strategically from having worked in five different countries where she needed to learn and work effectively across many different cultures.

We also discuss her efforts to create WE@HH – an inclusive community for learning and mentoring of the next generation of company leaders.  Started as a monthly zoomcast during the pandemic, they are forty sessions in and going strong.  As the senior most female leader at Hearst Health, Denielle’s view was, if I am not going to do it, who is?  This including her efforts with Hearst Labs which funds female led startups are very rewarding and Denielle’s way to give back.

Denielle is a strong advocate for networks like WBL where she has realized that she does not need to solve all the hard problems alone. Her strong advice for others is to stay curious, have a growth mind set, learn to manage up well and most importantly, be a strong advocate for yourself.

Guest Bio:

Denielle deWynter

CFO and SVP, Hearst Health

A highly accomplished professional with 20+ years of global finance experience in finance, accounting, tax, audit and operations. Roles have included financial & operational transformation & financial planning & performance improvement with increasing components of behavioral change and relationship building to create buy-in cross functionally and cross company. Diverse & international work assignments have enhanced strategic thinking & analytical expertise to deliver global growth & performance across rapidly expanding businesses.

Specialties: Finance Transformation, Change Agent, Spin-off Transaction, Mergers and Acquisitions, Financial Due Diligence, Acquisition Integration, Enterprise Risk Management, ERP and System Implementation, Accounting Policy, Budgeting and Forecasting, Accounting Operations, Control, Financial Reporting, Financial Shared Services and Internal Control Environment.

Laurie McGraw is speaking with Inspiring Woman Kristin Rodriguez.  Kristin is many things, and one of those things is that Kristin is funny.  Don’t confuse her quick wit and humorous approach to career trajectory (a winding path indeed!) with anything less than her seriousness in how she expects to help Heroes.  Who are the Heroes?  The people who are trying to improve their health while often taking on more financial risk, navigating new places to receive care, and sorting through a complicated system.

In this 2024 WBL (Women Business Leaders) Series, Kristin gives us a view to her original career plans.  Plan A:  Run a Coffee Shop.  Plan B:  Go the Naval Academy and then into military service.  Seven colleges later along with a “bohemian walk about” led her to fall into healthcare sideways.  This is where she fell in love.  Love of serving customers and meeting their needs.  Her career throughline appears to be that of service and continuous exploration of new possibilities.

As Kristin works to support heroes in their healthcare journeys, she considers these key trends:

As Kristin discusses some great choices she has made along the way, these include getting her advanced degree, even while working full time and with young children.  She also believes the network she has found professionally with WBL is second to none.

Best professional habits for staying sharp?  Kristin is a huge believer in the power of sleep.  As a recovering over achiever, she has learned to put her energy on the right things which does not mean all things. She finds that she has to continuously work on protecting her time for “deep” work.  Her best advice for others is making sure just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should which has been key to her own growth as a leader.

Guest Bio:

Kristin B. Rodriguez

Chief Product Officer, Vitality Group

Kristin Rodriguez is a mission-driven healthcare executive with a 16-yr track record of launching successful products and transforming organizations to solve problems, bring people together,

and create lasting value.  She has a passion for collaborating in pursuit of high-quality outcomes for health care consumers. Kristin has deep experience in change management and has led teams through the disruption of leadership changes and the uncertainty of operationalizing strategic plans and mission-derived aspirations. She also has extensive experience in systems thinking, continuous improvement, as well as product design and strategy. Kristin maintains the strategic direction of Vitality Group’s product portfolio and customer success. She supports health plans and employers across the country get the engagement they want and the health results they need from their employees and healthcare beneficiaries by helping them lead engagement where wellbeing meets care, leveraging the world’s largest behavioral engagement platform and digital health solution.

Prior to joining Vitality Group’s executive leadership team, Kristin was Chief Operating Officer of the Health Plan Alliance, a for-profit venture designed to be a vehicle for collaborative innovation among provider-sponsored, regional, and independent health plans across the United States. She was responsible for value portfolio implementation and designed specific programming goals and strategies to achieve organizational objectives. She led the teams responsible for programming execution, member engagement and insights, communication, and knowledge management.  Prior to joining Health Plan Alliance, Kristin was recruited to GHG Advisors, a leading consulting and software solutions firm specializing in government-sponsored healthcare programs, where she led the creation and launch of GHG Advisor’s subscription-based content aggregation service. Kristin served as the firm’s director of marketing and corporate communications and her team executed on overall market engagement and branding, product management of the online knowledge center, and the regular introduction of GHG Advisors’ sister companies into the marketplace. Prior to joining GHG Advisors, Kristin served as the founder and executive director of RISE, Financial Research Associates’ flagship healthcare networking association.

Kristin holds a BA from the University of California at Berkeley and a Master of Science in Health Care Informatics from the University of San Diego. Kristin is a member of Women Business Leaders and sits on WBL’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion committee. Kristin is a sitting director for CIMRO, a URAC accredited independent peer review organization serving the public and private healthcare sectors since 1972. She also sits on the National Association of Chronic Disease Directors’ National DPP Medicaid Expert Panel. Kristin presents on issues related to leading change, has led multiple workshops on incubating innovation and is often asked to educate industry executives and governing boards on managed care industry trends.

StrengthsFinders® Signature Themes

STRATEGIC: I see patterns where others simply see complexity, play out alternative scenarios, and develop sound strategies grounded in the organization’s “Why”

ACHIEVER: An internal fire pushes me to excellence and my unwavering commitment is one of the ways I inspire others

LEARNER: I am energized by the steady and deliberate journey of continuous improvement

COMPETITION: I set ambitious goals with clear measurements of success

RESPONSIBILITY: My impeccable ethics and psychological ownership of commitments make me utterly dependable

In this 2024 WBL (Women Business Leaders) Series, Emily talks about her leadership journey from the point of view of a “mid careerist”.  Today she is leading innovation operations at Geisinger.  Her path to leadership was not a clear straight journey and she credits her prior diverse experience to giving her the confidence to lead innovation where she doesn’t need to be the subject matter expert in everything.

We go back to the time when Emily was first becoming a manager.  She is quick to thank her mentors who she looked to for advice at that key time in her career (Maureen Jones, Karen Murphy, Sajeev Thomas).  Their advice was meaningful and helped her shape her leadership style.  Establishing trust and learning from her team members and their experience is important to Emily.  Being kind first and smart second is part of her personal mantra.

As a “Mid-careerist” Emily also shares how she approaches wanting to be excellent professionally while also doing her “best job” of being a mom.  Easy?  No.  A juggle?  Sure.  She gets help. She doesn’t expect perfection from herself in everything.  And just because there isn’t a balance – she still finds peace and excitement in all of it!

Emily also talks about her excitement in joining WBL and attending her first conference.  Finding women at similar stages in their career journeys.  Expanding her network and investing in herself is a priority for Emily so that she too can do her best work.

Guest Bio:

Emily Fry – Vice President, Innovation Operations at Geisinger

Strategic Healthcare Innovation Leader | Value Based Care & Automation Enthusiast

I am dedicated to driving transformative change, fostering innovation, and elevating consumer experiences. My journey has been marked by a pursuit of operational excellence and a passion for enhancing healthcare quality. With a background in developing strategic directions and crafting innovative solutions, I have championed cross-functional collaboration to propel organizations towards their goals.

I firmly believe that a positive outlook paves the way for positive outcomes. My personal mission is to drive positive change in both my own life and the lives of others. For me, there’s no greater way to make a meaningful impact on the world than by working in an industry dedicated to creating healthier communities. Let’s connect and collaborate towards a healthier, brighter future!

Laurie McGraw is speaking with Inspiring Woman Michelle Wright.

In this 2024 WBL (Women Business Leaders) Series, Michelle begins our conversation talking about what it means to play the long game.  She has always been in Maryland and for nearly thirty of those years she was a senior executive at Carefirst BlueCross BlueShield.  To play the long game, it must be interesting.

Michelle started off in finance and then moved into HR.  Michelle is quick to point out that the HR field has evolved significantly over the past two decades.  But at the time, she was concerned about being pigeonholed.  With curiosity and purpose, she earned her MBA, learned the business of BCBS, and took on responsibility for several of their product lines.  Today she uses that experience to consult with others who are entering the payer space.  The lines are blurred today with provider organizations and growth companies taking on risk.

Michelle also opened up as to what drives her strong advocacy regarding access, opportunity for best health, and why innovation is so important.  Her adult son is very affected by autism.  Less than 5% of mental health professionals will see those with severe issues.  Many years of multiple powerful medications.  Five years of worsening symptoms, declining health, and limited remaining options that might provide benefit.  So Michelle went back to school to gain her PharmD.  She began exploring emerging therapies such as medical cannabis.  And this began to work.  After two years, her son is now off his previous six different medications.  And while this is not a cure for her son’s autism, it has been an enormous step forward.  For everything Michelle has accomplished professionally, she is very clear as to her why.  She is a Mom.  “This is why we do what we do.”

Closing out the conversation, Michelle provides her WBL story.  She has established a strong network and was connected to her most recent Board appointment through WBL.  “This sisterhood is powerful.”  And if you want to get connected, be connected, all you have to do is ask.

Guest Bio:

Board director, strategic advisor, business and community leader, with a unique mix of value-based health care, integration and human capital management experience; including finance, strategy and planning, M&A, product management, and governance; all resulting in alignment across operations, organization and services.

– A proven record of managing boards, distributed organizations, and executive teams through transformation and integration.

Laurie McGraw is speaking with Inspiring Woman Nadine Hauf.

In this 2024 WBL (Women Business Leaders) Series, Nadine begins our conversation with a view into how she developed an innovative technology hub for health plan members.  A place where people can come into the care system and understand what is available to them.  She built this hub at a time when there was no playbook to look to, so innovation began with an idea and a blank piece of paper.  This is where working collaboratively with her team was imperative.

Over the years Nadine has pushed herself into areas where she had both energy and opportunity to move up the ladder.  Relationships are important to her as is building her tribe.  When she wants to pursue something, she relies on them for advice and encouragement.  Even when she is headed into an important meeting or presentation, a quick call or check in from the network can give her that extra boost.  WBL has become a very important part of that tribe for Nadine.

On staying sharp, Nadine relies on nutrition and fitness as key parts of her daily routine.  And she is always cultivating her mentor and mentee relationships.  These have been critical to her own success, and she is now very committed to paying it forward.

Guest Bio:

Nadine Hauf, leads an integrated and synchronized concierge experience dedicated, personalized and focused only for National Account clients. Nadine supports our underlying deliverable focus on trend management each day and is accountable for commitments made to National Account Clients.

Primary Responsibilities:

Laurie McGraw is speaking with Inspiring Woman Karen Walker Johnson.

In this 2024 WBL (Women Business Leaders) Series, Karen begins our conversation talking about her path to sorting out retirement.  What I learned from Karen is that she is exceptional at just about everything she has ever set her mind to with the minor exception of retirement.

Welcome to Karen Walker Johnson’s world of “reWIREment”.  I am here for all of it.

Karen is a nurse… and she is a lawyer… and then decided she wanted to run a health plan.  So she did that.  She wasn’t lucky.  She was clear and determined.  She had a mentor who believed in her.  He gave her opportunities.  She took every one of them.

In this Inspiring Women conversation you are going to hear about an exceptional woman who has a strong interest in making a difference. In doing great work that serves vulnerable underserved populations.  Someone who is grounded in family (Karen points to her 88 yo father as her greatest cheerleader and champion) and is committed to bringing the next generation along with her.

In talking about the trends to pay attention to, Karen points out that value based care is here and ensuring there is demonstrable focus on health equity is coming along with it.

Aiming to find a way to deal with the aftermath of George Floyd, Karen put her energy towards action and leadership. Karen turned her attention to Board Service where she is a Director at a number of organizations which she does today.   We also spent time laughing about Karen’s desire to retire…which led her to her current role as CEO of another health plan .  For Karen, retirement really just means reWIREment.

As we are speaking at the WBL Summit, Karen also talked about the importance of finding an active network of senior executive women committed to supporting each other just as she did at WBL.

Guest Bio:

A change catalyst and innovative problem solver, with a 35-year track record of driving organizational transformation in the healthcare industry. Having worked with Fortune 50 companies, experience encompasses P&L management, market share growth, product development, hospital administration, health plan operations, and sales serving Medicare, Medicaid, Long Term Care, and Commercial populations.

As an established strategic leader, pursues her passion for leadership development and positively impacting and improving the health status of vulnerable populations. Has consistently demonstrated the ability to drive innovation, market share growth (double-digit year over year), and superior quality outcomes as evidenced by achieving the coveted Medicare 5-star rating. Previously responsible for developing innovative clinical care models and end-of-life programs.

Currently serves on public and private boards.

Laurie McGraw is speaking with Inspiring Woman Carla Harris.  THE Carla Harris…the renowned international public speaker, top 40 female speakers in the world who is sharing her “Carla’s Pearls” on career success.

This is the first of the 2024 WBL (Women Business Leaders) Series where Laurie and Carla are speaking to a live audience of senior executive women in healthcare.  “There is NO question where I will not have a prescriptive answer” and Carla most certainly lived up to that promise.

In this powerful conversation, we touched on many of “Carla’s Pearls” including the different types of currency you build, and bank, over the course of a career.  Performance currency is what you are building over the course of a career.  But as you get more senior, performance currency has diminishing returns.  What becomes more valuable is relationship currency.  Herein lies power.  What will people say about you behind closed doors?  In those conversations when decisions are being made for senior leaders, these conversations do not include numbers, it is about what people know about you.  “Danguole is our most creative person.  If she can’t do it, it can’t be done.”   Those conversations do not happen if you have not taken the time to build that relationship currency.

Another Pearl from this conversation is busting the myth of the imposter syndrome including a bit of exhaustion of still talking about it after decades.  Carla reminds us that in today’s world to get into the chair (whatever chair that is), you are being vetted by 8…12…more people.  They are wrong about you?  Not possible.  Own your truth.

One more favorite Pearl is the strong push to support others.  “You cannot be in that room and not support another.”  Carla is clear that no one would support someone if that was not deserved.  At the same time, the idea that you wouldn’t bring along others, like you, diverse from you, when you have the opportunity to use your currency……. Carla’s Pearl:  When you have relationship currency you USE it.  That’s power.

Guest Bios:

Carla Harris is a renowned international public speaker and is also a Senior Client Advisor at Morgan Stanley. She was most recently the Vice Chairman responsible for increasing client connectivity and penetration to enhance revenue generation across the firm. In her 30+ year career as an investment banker, Ms. Harris has had extensive industry experiences in the technology, media, retail, telecommunications, transportation, industrial, and healthcare sectors. She is highly regarded as a motivator, executor and leader. In August 2013, Carla Harris was appointed by President Barack Obama to chair the National Women’s Business Council.

Named as one of the Top 40 Female Speakers in the World in 2020, Carla engages audiences around the world with her popular “Carla’s Pearls” where she shares with both leaders and emerging leaders how to maximize their career success across all industries using the “hard earned and hard learned” lessons

that she acquired during her Wall Street Career. Her most recent book, Lead To Win, shares her pearls of Intentional Leadership to help professionals become powerful, impactful, influential leaders into today’s challenging professional context.

Carla has been named to Fortune Magazine’s list of “The 50 Most Powerful Black Executives in Corporate America”, Fortune’s Most Influential List, U. S. Bankers Top 25 Most Powerful Women in Finance(2009, 2010, 2011), Black Enterprise’s Top 75 Most Powerful Women in Business (2017), and “Top 75 African Americans on Wall Street”, and to Essence Magazine’s list of “The 50 Women Who are Shaping the World”, Ebony’s list of the Power 100 and many more. She has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Forbes, Fast Money, Barrons and many other publications.

In her other life, Carla is a singer who has sold out concerts at Carnegie Hall and the Apollo Theatre, and released 4 Gospel CDs: “O This is Christmas” (2021) “Unceasing Praise” (2011), “Joy Is Waiting”(2005), and her first CD entitled, “Carla’s First Christmas”(2000), was a bestseller on Amazon.com in New York and was featured on the CBS Evening News with Dan Rather in his “American Dream” segment.