Inspiring Women with Laurie McGraw

Dr. Debra Clary started her career at 4 AM, driving a Frito-Lay route truck in Detroit as a Teamster. Three decades later, she had held senior leadership roles across four Fortune 50 brands (Frito-Lay, Coca-Cola, Jack Daniel's, and Humana), spent nearly 17 years building Humana's Leadership Institute, performed a one-woman off-Broadway show, and written The Curiosity Curve, a research-backed leadership book published by Fast Company Press in October 2025. In this episode of Inspiring Women, she sits down with Laurie McGraw to unpack what tied all of it together: curiosity. It started with a single question. During a Humana board meeting, then-CEO Bruce Broussard leaned over and quietly asked her, "Do you think curiosity can be learned, or is it innate?" Debra promised she'd find out. What followed was a trip to Italy where she noticed Europeans had fundamentally different conversations than Americans, a Gallup engagement report showing the lowest numbers in the firm's history, and ultimately a multi-year research project (commissioned with researchers out of MIT) that produced something no one had measured before: a direct correlation between a leader's level of curiosity and the performance of their team. In this conversation, Debra explains: Why curiosity is a state and not a trait (which means it can be built) The four-factor framework behind The Curiosity Curve: exploration, inspirational creativity, focused engagement, and openness to new ideas The Coca-Cola moment that nearly cost her a job, until a former chief of staff told her, "Unless Tom asks for something three times, take no action" She also opens up about leaving Humana to write the book, getting talked into an off-Broadway debut by her mastermind group, and what she learned about borrowing other people's belief in you until you can own it yourself. The episode closes on what may be the most important leadership skill of the AI era. As Debra puts it, AI levels the playing field because anyone with a phone can now get the answer. The edge belongs to the leaders who ask the boldest questions: What are we not asking? What signals are we missing? And for women specifically, her research surfaced a striking finding. Men and women score equally on curiosity, but women don't show up as curious in the room. Her closing message is a challenge to change that. Topics Covered From a Frito-Lay route truck to the Humana boardroom, and why starting at the bottom built her credibility The boardroom moment with Bruce Broussard that sparked a multi-year research project on curiosity An Italian train ride, an American joke, and the conversational habit it exposed Why Gallup's worst-ever engagement report pointed to a missing ingredient in leadership Commissioning MIT researchers and the direct correlation they found between curiosity and team performance The four factors of The Curiosity Curve: exploration, inspirational creativity, focused engagement, and openness to new ideas A Coca-Cola chief of staff lesson on knowing how your boss processes information Building Humana's Leadership Institute through the company's shift from insurance company to health company Leaving Humana to write the book, and getting talked into A Curious Woman off-Broadway by her mastermind group Why AI raises the floor for everyone and makes question quality the real differentiator Her message to women: ask more questions in the room, and say your point of view out loud Closing Thought Debra's career arc, route driver to Fortune 50 executive to author to performer, is itself an argument for the thesis of her book. Curiosity is what makes the pivots possible. And in a moment when answers are cheap and questions are scarce, the leaders who keep asking what are we missing? will be the ones who actually move things forward.

A venture capitalist in London watched her closest friend disappear into postpartum depression. Texts, calls, visits, the slow realization that the transition into motherhood had no real support system around it. That was the moment Kate Ryder stopped writing about problems and started building for them. Twelve years later, Maven Clinic is the largest virtual care clinic for women's and family health in the world, working with thousands of employers across hundreds of countries, and Kate is one of the rare female founders to have taken a company to unicorn status. But the path there was anything but smooth. Her Series A was the worst fundraise of her life. Male tech investors didn't understand healthcare. They didn't understand women's health. They certainly didn't understand fertility, miscarriage, or postpartum depression as a market. Kate quickly figured out she was wasting her time on anyone who needed to be educated before they could be excited. The round was eventually led by Lauren Brueggen, a woman who happened to be pregnant with her third child and instantly understood the opportunity. Today Kate is taking Maven back to its roots with a direct-to-consumer platform launching nationwide, built on a decade of clinical rigor inside the enterprise system and powered by integrations with companies like Oura that give providers a complete real-time picture of the patient. In this episode of Inspiring Women, host Laurie McGraw sits down with Kate Ryder, founder and CEO of Maven Clinic, to talk about what it actually takes to build a category-defining company in a space the industry kept calling niche. They discuss: Why Kate's first close encounter with postpartum depression became the founding insight for Maven, and how her years as a journalist trained her to spot the untold stories inside women's healthcare The brutal reality of raising a Series A as a female founder in 2014, and why Kate's advice to founders today is to stop wasting time on investors who need to be educated before they get excited The single anchor client moment that made or broke Maven in the early years, and why she tells founders to know exactly what they need to prove and how long it will take How Maven's value system (patient first, then client, then Maven, then your team, then yourself) drives every product decision the company makes Why the new direct-to-consumer launch is a bet on a fundamentally different consumer than the one that existed when Maven started, post-Covid, post-GLP-1, post-AI front door The Oura partnership and what it means to actually have providers looking at wearable data in real time as they care for patients Why fragmentation in women's health is the problem Maven is now built to solve, and why one monopolistic front door to healthcare would be bad for innovation What the next decade of truly personalized, proactive women's health looks like when data finally flows freely between systems Why this is the steepest learning year of Kate's twelve years running Maven, and what every CEO is currently trying to figure out about AI Kate Ryder built Maven by ignoring the rooms that told her women's health was niche and finding the rooms where the problem was obvious. Twelve years in, she is still following the patient.

A nurse in neurotrauma and cardiac services, someone who had spent her entire adult life inside the healthcare system, was sent home from the ER repeatedly, told it was probably a migraine, given pain medication, and dismissed. It took losing her vision before anyone took her seriously. Sandy Goldstein had a congenital heart defect she didn't know about until her 20s. A hole in her heart was routing unoxygenated blood in the wrong direction, collapsing a vessel in her brain and preventing the release of cerebrospinal fluid. What followed was weeks of misdiagnosis, brain angioplasty, a two-year insurance battle, and finally open heart surgery in August 2010. Around one year later, she had her daughter. Today, the American Heart Association recognizes Sandy as a Woman of Impact in Colorado. She is in the final weeks of a nine-week statewide campaign: working with school districts, deploying hands-only CPR training, earning a gubernatorial proclamation, and closing in on the record for top Woman of Impact in Colorado history. Sarah Lux manages the educational community at The Pause Life, the platform built by Dr. Mary Claire Haver, the physician who has become the most recognized voice on perimenopause and menopause science. The community is free, serves millions of women, and exists to give women the resources and vocabulary to understand what is happening inside their bodies at midlife — because, as Sarah points out, most of their doctors were never taught any of it either. In this episode of Inspiring Women, host Laurie McGraw sits down with Sandy Goldstein and Sarah Lux to make the case that women's heart health is not just underserved — it is the single largest cause of death in women, claiming more lives than all cancers combined. They discuss: Why cardiovascular disease kills more women than all cancers combined — and why most women have no idea How Sandy was dismissed and misdiagnosed for weeks inside the very system she worked in as a nurse, and what it took for one doctor to refuse to give up The direct connection between perimenopause, shifting hormones, and exponentially rising cardiovascular risk that almost no physician is trained to address Why the black box warning on hormone replacement therapy was removed, and what was fundamentally flawed about the original study population How women's cardiac symptoms , GI distress, jaw pain, vision loss — look nothing like the clutching-the-chest picture everyone recognizes, and why that gap costs lives Why women remain underrepresented in the clinical research that sets treatment protocols, and what Sandy's AHA campaign is doing to change the funding behind that What The Pause Life community offers women who have been dismissed, unheard, or simply never given the right vocabulary for what they're experiencing Sandy Goldstein and Sarah Lux are proof that changing the narrative on women's health requires the people who lived it — and the communities built around them — to be louder than the systems that stayed silent.

Raised in the high Himalayas, educated across 22 homes in multiple countries, and fluent in five languages , Simmi Singh was never going to follow a conventional path. She started out wanting to be a UN translator. A mentor stopped her and said: you have a voice of your own. That single conversation redirected her toward management consulting at Booz Allen and Ernst and Young, then entrepreneurship, then scaling the health vertical at Cognizant from a $10M fledgling unit into one of the company's most significant growth stories, then 15 years as a partner and global practice leader at Egon Zehnder placing boards and entire management teams for some of the most transformational companies in the world, then a secondment as Senior Advisor on Health Innovation to the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, and most recently joining Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts as Chief People Officer and Executive Vice President. In this episode of Inspiring Women, host Laurie McGraw sits down with Simmi Singh to trace the through line of a brilliantly discontinuous career and pull out the lessons that only come from decades of doing it at the highest levels. They discuss: Growing up in the Himalayas surrounded by brilliant women with broken dreams, and how that shaped her hunger for agency at a time when no recipe existed for women like her Being one of 12 women in a college of 3,000 men and becoming the first female valedictorian in the institution's 100 year history What she learned scaling Cognizant's health vertical by giving away power before she had any, and why that was the most strategic move she made How she decoded great leadership by surrounding herself with human textbooks, including mentors under 30, even at 62 Why she believes women need sponsors far more than mentors, and what it actually means to be worthy of one The mistake she sees leaders making in healthcare AI right now, and the more audacious problems she believes women should be solving Simmi Singh is proof that intellectual homelessness, the restless feeling of living on the bridges between worlds, is not a liability. It is the rarest kind of preparation.

Five years ago, Laurie McGraw launched Inspiring Women on International Women's Day — her own birthday — with a simple belief: when women lead, we build a more just and equitable society. What followed was hundreds of conversations with some of the most remarkable women in leadership, healthcare, tech, business, and beyond. This episode is different. There's no single guest. Instead, Laurie steps back and reflects on the conversations that have shaped her most — and the lessons that have stayed with her long after the recording stopped. From Chelsea Clinton's conviction that those with power and voice have a responsibility to remove bias for those without it, to Kara Swisher's unshakeable self-belief in the face of being told she was "too confident." From Carla Harris drawing a sharp line between mentors and sponsors — and why the difference could define your career — to Dr. Jenny Schneider rejecting work-life balance entirely in favour of ruthless prioritization. From Missy Krasner reframing failure as the fuel that drives the next big thing, to four-time Olympian Joetta Clark Diggs picking up her cleats again at 62 and breaking national records, living proof that your why will always outlast your how. This is five years of hard-won wisdom distilled into one conversation. And it is for every woman — and every person — who has ever wondered what it really takes to lead. Topics Covered: Chelsea Clinton on using platform and power to remove bias for others How Chelsea manages an extraordinary portfolio of work Kara Swisher's early mentor and the generosity of sharing the room Why the best leaders never stop being students Kara Swisher being told she was "too confident" — and her response Carla Harris on the critical difference between mentors and sponsors Why imposter syndrome is just a distraction — and how to set it aside Carla Harris on senior women's responsibility to build the bench Missy Krasner on AI as healthcare's third watershed moment Why once you nail the fundamentals, nobody cares that you're a woman Dr. Jenny Schneider on ruthless prioritization over work-life balance The power of an intentional pause before the next big thing Why great leaders actively seek out dissenting voices Joetta Clark Diggs on leadership as a "we, not a me" Breaking national records at 62 — and why staying power has no expiration date Cara Munnis on what happens when strategy meets obsessive detail The hardest leadership skill — learning to delegate what you do best Five years of Inspiring Women and what comes next

Jessica Palacios was two semesters away from her nursing degree when she walked into a patient's room mid-clinical and found an elderly woman alone in the dark, covered in bed sores, on the wrong mattress, with photos of her family taped to her IV pump. When Jessica raised the alarm, her professor told her to worry about it when she was a real nurse. She sat in her driveway and cried for 30 minutes that evening. That one moment sent her on a decade-long journey through accounting, psychology, sociology, and business before a faculty advisor finally looked at her history and said, you should be in HR. What followed was a 20+ year career at the Texas A&M University System, where Jessica now serves as Associate Director of System Benefits Administration, overseeing healthcare and benefits for over 50,000 covered lives across one of the largest university systems in the United States. In this episode of Inspiring Women, host Laurie McGraw sits down with Jessica to unpack the full journey, the pivots, the promotions, the hard feedback, and the leadership lessons that only come from doing it the hard way. They discuss: The clinical experience that forced Jessica to walk away from nursing and what it still teaches her about advocacy today How she accidentally stumbled into benefits while working at Webb County before she even had her degree What it was like to be thrust into management early with no guidance and be told her tone was a problem The HR director who sat her down with emotional intelligence books and met with her every week until something shifted Why she believes benefits is the single greatest place in any organisation to change an employee's life outside of their paycheck How she now intentionally invests in her team's growth, certifications, master's degrees, vendor relationships and beyond Jessica Palacios is proof that the career you planned and the career you're meant for are rarely the same thing, and that a life spent in service to people can take more shapes than you ever expected.

What happens when a Wall Street bond analyst, urban planner, freelance filmmaker, and investment banker all become the same person, and that person ends up running healthcare benefits for 215,000 people at the University of California? Laura Tauber didn't follow the rulebook. She followed curiosity. Laura Tauber is the Executive Director of Self-Funded Health Plans at the University of California, Office of the President. She oversees PPO plans, HMO plans, and benefit partnerships with Anthem and Blue Shield for a workforce that spans everything from Nobel laureates to gardeners — active employees, early retirees, and families spread across California and beyond. 60% of that workforce is unionized. 5 of her campuses have no medical center. And 50-60% of total plan spend runs through UC's own health system, meaning she's constantly negotiating with the very hospitals she depends on. It started not in healthcare — but in natural resources. Laura studied environmental policy, nearly became a forester, spent a summer in rural Montana, and realized that wasn't the life for her. She pivoted to urban planning, moved to San Francisco in 1982 in the middle of a recession, couldn't find work, and called a friend in New York who happened to be hiring at a bond insurance company. That one phone call put her in healthcare. She became a healthcare bond analyst — spending years doing deep financial analysis for hospitals, understanding how CFOs and CEOs think, what keeps them up at night, what their numbers actually mean. Then she moved to Blue Shield of California. Then Accenture as a healthcare strategy consultant. Then a stint in investment banking — where her biggest revelation wasn't finance, it was that she hated banking but loved strategy. Then Scan Health Plan. Then Kaiser. And somewhere in the middle of all of it, she took what she calls "a long sabbatical or a midlife crisis" — left healthcare entirely, got a BFA in cinematography, worked freelance for the BBC, worked on a travel show, and worked on a Spike Lee film. Then she came back. And everything clicked. In this conversation, Laura breaks down what it actually takes to make high-stakes benefit decisions across a system this complex — balancing member needs, budget constraints, union contracts, provider negotiations, pharmacy costs, and the constant pressure of doing right by people whose lives depend on the decisions you make. We go deep on: How her background across hospitals, health plans, investment banking, and consulting gives her a different lens when she looks at data — and why that multi-perspective thinking shapes every decision she makes The GLP-1 decision that consumed 18 months of her life — every study, every doctor conversation, every ethical consideration — and the hard call she ultimately made The $2 million hemophilia cure problem and the question underneath it: if a drug pays for itself over time and it's the right thing to do for the member, can you afford not to cover it? Why she still pulls up the raw spreadsheet herself instead of reading the summary — and why that habit has repeatedly led her to insights her own team missed What "making room at the table" actually looks like in practice — and how her first boss at UC gave her the opportunities that shaped everything that followed How she thinks about developing the next generation of leaders: understanding where people want to go, clearing the path for them, and supporting them even when that means helping them leave Why healthcare is fundamentally different from every other corporate environment — and why that emotional dimension is exactly what draws her to it Every detour Laura took — the bond analysis, the urban planning, the film set — gave her a way of thinking about problems that a straight-line career never could have built. This conversation is about what that actually looks like in practice.

"When you do your homework... when you can speak to the facts... they stop and they listen." In this episode of Inspiring Women, Laurie McGraw sits down with Kristy Whitehurst, the powerhouse behind the employee benefits strategy at Genuine Parts Company (GPC). Managing the well-being of over 60,000 members across a global landscape is no small feat, yet Kristy has navigated this complex "puzzle" for over two decades. Kristy opens up about her unconventional start—from a degree in dietetics to becoming a leading voice in HR. She shares the raw reality of rising through the ranks in a male-dominated industry, the nerve-wracking moment of her first executive presentation, and why "owning your mistakes" is the ultimate catalyst for growth. Whether you are looking to scale the corporate ladder, master the art of data-driven persuasion, or find the balance between professional passion and personal life, Kristy’s "Maiden Voyage" into the podcast world provides a blueprint for sustainable, high-impact leadership. In this episode, we discuss: The strategy of managing benefits for a global workforce of 60,000+. How to command respect and "stop the room" in male-dominated boardrooms. The "Puzzle of Benefits": Balancing rising costs with employee retention. Why asking the "simple" questions is a leader's greatest superpower. Navigating corporate evolution, M&A, and the future of AI in healthcare. The importance of mentorship and watching how the "greats" prepare for the big moments.

"We’ve been conditioned to fear our food, but the 'health halo' is the biggest deception of all." Caroline Susie is not your average dietitian. From the Today Show to the boardrooms of the world’s largest corporations, she has become one of the most influential voices in nutrition. But her message is often met with shock: she believes "all foods fit" and that much of what we’ve been told about "fake food" and organic labels is marketing, not science. In this raw and wide-ranging conversation, Caroline sits down with Laurie McGraw to dismantle the myths that keep us stressed at the grocery store. She addresses why "conventionally grown" produce is safer than you think and why the "health halo" around organic products might be emptying your wallet without improving your health. Beyond the plate, Caroline reveals the high-stakes world of corporate health consulting at Mercer. She breaks down the "miracle" GLP-1 weight-loss drugs—balancing the clinical life-changing benefits with the cold, hard economics of a $1,000-a-month habit that most people are destined to fail. We discuss: The Strawberry Myth: Why you could eat 650 servings and still be safe. The "Fake Food" Trap: Why she chooses real butter and real cheese over "healthy" alternatives. The GLP-1 Crisis: Why the weight comes back faster—and worse—once you stop. Doing Nothing is Disruption: The bold leadership move required to save the healthcare system. Leaving a Toxic Boss: How a "hard pass" turned into a decade-long career transformation. This is a masterclass in nutrition, corporate strategy, and the courage to speak the truth in an industry built on confusion.

My Roadmap for Leadership in 2026 Host: Laurie McGraw Welcome to our very first episode of 2026! As I step into this new year, both in my role at Transcarent and as the host of this podcast, I’ve been thinking deeply about one word: Momentum. After more than 100s of conversations with incredible trailblazers, I’m dedicated to exploring how more inspiring women shape the world, and their businesses! I’m so glad you’re here with me. We will be dropping episodes every Tuesday with a new guest.

Cara Munnis was wearing an N95 mask while taking care of her daughter with norovirus all night because she had a critical meeting the next day and "I cannot get this thing." She showed up, ran the meeting, and afterward couldn't tell if anyone noticed she was operating on "one brain cell processing everything." Welcome to being a Chief Product Officer and a mom. Here's what most people don't know about the CPO role: it has the shortest tenure of any C-suite position—less than half that of other executives. You're supposed to be "Switzerland," the neutral party among competing stakeholders. But you're constantly telling your C-suite peers—very kindly—why their ideas are going to sink or swim. The real transformation wasn't navigating those politics. It was what happened when Cara's daughter was born seven years ago. "For someone who's led massive technology transformations multiple times, it's very ironic how hard this transition was for me." The evening checkboxes—that sacred 5-8pm window where she prepared for the next day—vanished instantly. It took five years to build a new operating system where she hired without compromise and delegated with her eyes closed. In this conversation, Cara explains why she's "obsessed" with finding the economic denominator, why Conway's Law means your product will mirror your org structure, and why staying close to technology was the best career advice she ever got. After describing her relentless discipline and surgical precision, she deadpans: "I haven't been fired yet, so I dunno, I guess it's okay." This is a masterclass in product leadership that scales, parenting that doesn't apologize, and ruthless prioritization when you're scraping for minutes in your day. Key Takeaways: How to choose the right ladder to climb—make career decisions based on intentionality, not just opportunity or speed How to turn constraints into leadership advantages—use the pressure of working parenthood to force yourself to hire without compromise and delegate with confidence How to stay close to technology in any role—even as a non-technical leader, understanding architecture helps you defend budgets, win deals, and articulate competitive advantages How to shift your communication style as you move into executive roles—listen more, ask questions even when you know the answer, and bring others along instead of leading with your opinion How to design org structures that create better products—use Conway's Law (products mirror internal communication structures) to intentionally build teams that will produce the outcomes you want About the Guest: Cara Munnis is Chief Product Officer at Care Lumen and Operating Partner at Newfire Global Partners, bringing over 15 years of healthcare technology product leadership to organizations navigating the intersection of clinical outcomes and business results. She spent six years at Amwell advancing from Senior Director to VP of Product Management, previously served as Head of Product for Digital Health at Blue Shield of California, and held leadership roles at Iora Health and Best Doctors. With a pre-med degree from College of the Holy Cross and an MBA from Bentley University, Cara is Pragmatic Marketing Certified – Level III and known for her ability to balance strategic product vision with rigorous execution while fostering collaborative team environments. Chapters [Placeholder for Chapters] Guest & Host Links Connect with Laurie McGraw on LinkedIn Connect with Cara Munnis on LinkedIn Connect with Inspiring Women Browse Episodes | LinkedIn | Instagram | Apple | Spotify

Women comprise 75% of the healthcare workforce and make the majority of family healthcare decisions—yet hold only 20% of senior leadership positions. Dr. Amy Compton-Phillips, Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer of CVS Health, sees this gap as more than unfair. At CVS Health, Dr. Amy oversees clinical strategy for 9,000 community access points with a clear mission: simplify healthcare and make the right thing the easy thing. "We've put things like electronic medical records, narrow insurance networks, and administrative rigmarole between patients and people who can help them," she explains. "How can we start taking layers out?" But she didn't reach this role by following the traditional playbook. She turned down her dream job because the timing wasn't right for her family. She went part-time during peak career years, trading off with her husband as their priorities shifted. And she's consistently been tapped on the shoulder for opportunities rather than raising her hand, which taught her that doing your current job exceptionally well matters more than constantly positioning for the next one. In this conversation, Dr. Amy explains why healthcare needs women's voices at the executive table for design thinking that actually works, how she and her husband negotiated dual careers through different life stages, why "performance gets you the podium" but authenticity and strategic thinking get you the C-suite, and what it takes to be heard when you're the only woman in leadership rooms. Whether you're balancing clinical practice with administrative responsibilities, navigating when to say yes and no to opportunities, or building toward senior healthcare leadership, this is uncommon honesty about the trade-offs and strategies that actually matter. Key Takeaways: Do your current job exceptionally well—performance gets you noticed before you ever raise your hand Design healthcare systems with women's voices at the table; they're both the workforce majority and primary family decision-makers Negotiate career trade-offs with your partner over time; one person doesn't have to sacrifice permanently Saying no to your dream job might be the smartest move you make—if they value you, they'll come back Taking layers out of complexity requires intentional design thinking, not just adding more solutions Figure out what's working and what's not, then adjust your strategy—sometimes you need to literally or metaphorically elevate yourself to be heard About the Guest: Dr. Amy Compton-Phillips is Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer of CVS Health, where she leads clinical strategy across 9,000 community locations. She previously served as President and Chief Clinical Officer at Providence, a $25 billion health system with 52 hospitals and 120,000 caregivers, where she led the response to the first confirmed COVID-19 case in the United States. Earlier, she spent 22 years at Kaiser Permanente, rising from front-line internist to Chief Quality Officer. A CNN Medical Analyst and keynote speaker, she has served on boards including HIMSS, the Institute for Systems Biology, and Wellcare. She holds her bachelor's degree from Johns Hopkins University and her medical degree from the University of Maryland School of Medicine. Health Podcast Network Chapters 00:00 - Introduction and Holiday Health Tips 02:38 - Simplifying Health at CVS 05:31 - The Voice of the Customer: Women in Leadership 08:42 - Career Progression: Being Tapped on the Shoulder 10:11 - Saying No to the Dream Job 12:39 - Making Choices: Work-Life Integration 15:05 - Going Part-Time and Life Partner Negotiation 17:55 - Pull Out the Platform Shoes: Getting Heard as a Leader Guest & Host Links Connect with Laurie McGraw on LinkedIn Connect with Dr. Amy Compton-Phillips on LinkedIn Connect with Inspiring Women Browse Episodes | LinkedIn | Instagram | Apple | Spotify

"I thought I understood healthcare—until I had cancer." Beth Ratliff had spent her entire career in healthcare operations. She'd built multi-site clinical systems, led digital transformations, and risen from physical therapist to C-suite executive. But when she was diagnosed with colon cancer, she discovered something that would fundamentally change how she leads. And it had nothing to do with clinical protocols or operational efficiency. Today, as Chief Operating Officer of Premise Health, Beth has built a reputation in Nashville's male-dominated healthcare executive world for an approach that shouldn't work, but does. She talks openly about being in recovery for 30 years. She shares her cancer journey in board meetings. And somehow, this vulnerability hasn't weakened her position; it's made her one of the most influential operators in the industry. There's something Beth figured out early in her career that most leaders miss: the moment when you realize you're not the best clinician in the room is exactly when you're ready to lead. What she learned on a Toyota manufacturing floor as a young physical therapist became the foundation for a leadership philosophy that combines systems thinking with something that can't be taught in business school but can be learned through lived experience. In this conversation, Beth reveals how she's navigated being consistently underestimated, why she applied for jobs she wasn't qualified for, and what changed in those terrifying moments coordinating her own cancer care that transformed her entire approach to building healthcare organizations. This isn't inspiration about overcoming adversity. It's a masterclass in strategic authenticity from someone who's figured out how to use her platform without making it about herself. Key Takeaways: How to turn being underestimated into your competitive advantage in male-dominated executive spaces The career strategy Beth used to land leadership roles she wasn't "technically qualified" for—and why more women need to do the same What Beth learned on Toyota's factory floor that transformed how she thinks about healthcare leadership Beth's framework for sharing deeply personal experiences without making it about yourself—and why this matters for organizational impact Why patient care technology keeps failing—and the missing ingredient that actually changes outcomes The unconventional way Beth built her advisory board using both real executives and AI-powered mentors How Beth gets her entire organization aligned when everyone claims competing priorities are equally important The critical difference between mentors and sponsors—and how to cultivate both strategically About the Guest: Beth Ratliff is Chief Operating Officer at Premise Health, where she oversees clinical operations, technology integration, and business processes for a nationwide healthcare organization serving employer clients. She started her career as a physical therapist on Toyota's manufacturing floor, where she learned the process improvement discipline that would eventually take her to the C-suite. Beth is a Nashville Health Care Council Fellow, a colon cancer survivor, and has been openly in recovery for 30 years—leading Premise Health to become certified as a recovery-friendly workplace where personal challenges become professional superpowers. Chapters 00:00 - Introduction at Nashville 01:43 - Succeeding as the Only Woman in the Room 04:09 - From Physical Therapist to Power Broker 07:17 - Learning from Cancer: The Patient Experience 10:30 - Recovery Friendly Workplace and Personal Journey 16:10 - The Growing Onsite Clinic Movement 18:32 - Ruthless Prioritization as a Leader 22:08 - Building Your Personal Board of Advisors Guest & Host Links Connect with Laurie McGraw on LinkedIn Connect with Beth Ratliff on LinkedIn Connect with Inspiring Women Browse Episodes | LinkedIn | Instagram | Apple | Spotify

Kristi Henderson invented telehealth at the University of Mississippi Medical Center decades before anyone thought healthcare needed it. While her colleagues were optimizing traditional clinic workflows, Kristi was asking a different question: What if geography didn't dictate healthcare access? By the time the pandemic forced everyone else to figure out virtual care overnight, she'd already spent two decades perfecting it. What makes her approach distinctive isn't just her track record at Amazon, Ascension, and Optum. It's that she worked every level of the healthcare system for 24 years before reaching the C-suite. She understands frontline friction because she lived it. At Amazon, Kristi discovered a framework that changed everything: one-way doors versus two-way doors. Some decisions are irreversible and demand precision. Others are experiments where failure means pivoting fast. That distinction became her playbook for tackling problems most leaders won't touch. But her most counterintuitive move? When she became CEO of Confluent Health, her first hire wasn't a CFO or COO. It was a leader for internal communications. Because brilliant transformation plans fail without deliberate stakeholder engagement. Change happens at the speed of trust. Now Kristi is betting on something that sounds almost naively optimistic: that AI will finally give clinicians their time back by eliminating friction, not replacing human connection. She uses AI daily as her "sidekick" and is building an organization where technology supercharges what only humans can do. Key Takeaways: Why Kristi kept raising her hand for jobs no one else wanted and how taking the hardest assignments became her competitive advantage The Amazon framework that changed everything: one-way doors versus two-way doors, and how to know which type of decision you're making What "change happens at the speed of trust" actually means in practice when you're transforming organizations Kristi's "reverse innovation" approach: why bottoms-up transformation consistently outperforms top-down mandates The counterintuitive first hire Kristi made as CEO, and why communication infrastructure matters more than most leaders realize How to handle naysayers strategically instead of avoiding them or trying to convince them Why Kristi believes the workforce crisis isn't permanent if leaders focus on the right problem The specific ways Kristi uses AI daily as a CEO, and why she sees it as the key to bringing joy back to clinical practice About the Guest Kristi Henderson, DNP, is CEO of Confluent Health, a family of physical therapy and occupational therapy companies. She spent the first 24 years of her career as a practicing nurse practitioner before pioneering telehealth at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, long before the pandemic made it mainstream. Kristi has since led digital transformation at Ascension Health, built clinical operations for Amazon Care, and served as CEO of Optum Everycare. She's Board Chair of the American Telemedicine Association and affiliate faculty at Dell Medical School and the University of Washington School of Nursing. Her career has been defined by raising her hand for challenges others declined and building tech-enabled care models that improve outcomes while reducing clinician burden. Chapters 00:00 - Introduction at Confluent Health 01:57 - From Bedside to Boardroom: The Leadership Journey 06:10 - Amazon Care Lessons: One-Way vs Two-Way Doors 11:07 - Change Happens at the Speed of Trust 14:11 - Overcoming Naysayers: The Early Days of Telehealth 19:11 - Bringing Joy Back to Medicine 22:56 - AI Hacks and Daily Innovation Guest & Host Links Connect with Laurie McGraw on LinkedIn Connect with Kristi Henderson on LinkedIn Connect with Inspiring Women Browse Episodes | LinkedIn | Instagram | Apple | Spotify

What if your biggest career advantage didn't come from your wins, but from the projects that didn't go as planned? Missy Krasner's career includes some of the boldest bets in healthcare: Google Health, Amazon Care, Box's healthcare vision. None went the way she originally envisioned. And she wouldn't change any of it. Because what she extracted from those experiences—being inside big tech's most ambitious healthcare ventures—gave her something more valuable than a conventional win: a clear understanding of what it actually takes to make change stick in the most regulated, fragmented industry in America. Now, as co-founder of Penguin AI, Missy is applying those hard-won insights to tackle the trillion-dollar administrative burden crushing healthcare. But this isn't another AI hype story. Missy has been at the forefront of healthcare innovation for over 20 years. She was building Google Health before meaningful use existed. She was evangelizing platform thinking when electronic health records were still competing with manila folders. She's witnessed three watershed moments transform the industry: meaningful use driving EHR adoption, COVID accelerating telehealth adoption, and now AI. And she believes this moment is fundamentally different. Why Missy's experiences at Google, Amazon, and Box taught her more about healthcare transformation than conventional success ever could What's really happening with the trillion-dollar administrative burden and how AI can finally address it at scale Why the current political and economic disruption will accelerate consumer-driven healthcare innovation Missy's candid assessment of the headwinds facing women leaders right now and what it means for advancement Why "nobody's coming to save us" and what that means for how women need to show up in leadership What fuels Missy after decades of innovation and her advice for anyone trying to push through when it's hard About the Guest: Missy Krasner brings 35+ years of healthcare experience spanning big tech (Amazon, Google, Box), government (helped launch the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT), venture capital (Canvas Ventures, Redesign Health), and now as co-founder of Penguin AI, which recently closed a $30 million Series A. She serves on multiple digital health boards including Uplift, Overalls, and Syntax, and holds degrees from Stanford (M.A.) and UCLA (B.A.). Chapters 00:00 - Introduction at Health Conference 01:14 - Journey Through Google, Box, and Amazon 02:53 - Three Watershed Moments in Healthcare 06:59 - Penguin AI and the Trillion-Dollar Administrative Burden 10:34 - Women Healthcare Leaders for Progress Reflection 14:15 - Finding Innovation Opportunities in Chaos 16:45 - Advancing Women in Leadership 22:13 - Learning from Failure and What Drives Success Guest & Host Links Connect with Laurie McGraw on LinkedIn Connect with Missy Krasner on LinkedIn Connect with Inspiring Women Browse Episodes | LinkedIn | Instagram | Apple | Spotify

Medicare spends as much on falls as it does on cancer—but 30-50% of those fall-related costs are preventable. Amanda Rees watched her grandmother develop a "goose egg" from a fall while gardening, then watched the shame make her stop gardening altogether, spiraling into depression and isolation. A decade of caregiving radicalized how this Princeton-trained engineer thought about aging. So she built Bold, a company now serving 10 million older adults—with a leadership team and cap table that's "very, very female" in a notoriously male-dominated space. But first, she had to stop making herself small. "You're really good at making yourself seem small," someone told Amanda early in her fundraising journey. The irony wasn't lost—she was downplaying a Princeton engineering degree, $100M in energy investment experience, and a decade caring for her grandmother while running a company literally called Bold. She only needed to hear that feedback once. What followed was a masterclass in building with intention. Amanda raised funding from Rethink Impact, the largest fund dedicated to investing in women, and assembled a predominantly female leadership team—not through quotas, but through mission alignment. "Women tend to be the frontline caregivers for a lot of families, and they see it. They understand that's a very real problem," she explains. In this conversation, Amanda dismantles the preparation myth holding women founders back: "If you have the itch and you wanna do it, do it. Don't go get an extra degree or do this thing before I'm ready." She explains why your first pitch will be terrible, why pitch five is the hardest, and how objection handling refines not just your deck but your entire business model. She also shares why she only hires people who'll stay "when things are tough, when the challenges ahead look really big and scary"—because fair-weather teams crumble, and resilience must be embedded from day one. Key Takeaways: Stop waiting to be "ready"—the best data comes from actually doing it, not preparing endlessly Making yourself small doesn't help anyone, especially not you—authenticity beats false modesty Build your team and investor base with people who deeply connect to your mission, not just the opportunity Your first pitch will suck; by pitch fifty you'll be excellent—you just have to survive pitch five The DNA of the people you hire becomes the DNA of your company—choose accordingly When older adults lose independence, it's the shame and isolation that does the damage, not just the physical limitation About the Guest: Amanda Rees is the CEO and Co-founder of Bold, a pro-aging health company serving over 10 million older adults through Medicare partnerships with organizations like UnitedHealth Group. Bold's platform has demonstrated a 46% reduction in falls and 182% increase in weekly physical activity in peer-reviewed research. A Princeton graduate with a degree in biological and chemical engineering, Amanda previously managed a $100M renewable energy portfolio at The Schmidt Family Foundation and has been selected for The Aspen Institute's 2025 class of Finance Leaders Fellows. Health Podcast Network Chapters 00:00 - Introduction at Health Conference 00:55 - From Caregiver to Founder: The Bold Origin Story 03:35 - Keeping Humanity in Fall Prevention 08:12 - Building a Female-Led Company and Cap Table 10:08 - Fundraising Advice: Just Start Pitching 13:41 - The Feedback That Changed Everything: Stop Making Yourself Small 15:21 - AI and the Future of Aging 16:52 - Building Your Team: The DNA of Your Company Guest & Host Links Connect with Laurie McGraw on LinkedIn Connect with Amanda Rees on LinkedIn Connect with Inspiring Women Browse Episodes | LinkedIn | Instagram | Apple | Spotify

At nine years old watching a presidential debate, Shefali Razdan Duggal realized something: in America, a peanut farmer and the son of divorced parents could become president. Her mother was cutting vegetables at night, working as a seamstress by day. Politics became the path to help people like her mother. Decades later, she became the first person of color to serve as U.S. Ambassador to the Netherlands, where the Dutch named a fuchsia-pink tulip after her, the first ambassador from any country ever honored this way. But the journey between that childhood revelation and diplomatic triumph involved a different calculation entirely. "Women of color have to work four times as hard," Shefali states. Her response wasn't resentment—it was a choice. She calls it "weed whacking" for the people behind her. While serving 90-hour weeks, she operated from what she calls "complete and utter equality" with her entire embassy staff. The result? Her Marines ranked as one of the best detachments in Europe. Her embassy became one of the best-run on the continent. And when women of color visited the ambassador wall and saw her photo next to John Adams, they would start crying. In this conversation, Shefali explains why ego kills opportunities faster than anything else, how she managed crushing stress without punishing anyone around her, and what happens when you choose to "do something" instead of "be someone." She also reveals why your work may not benefit you immediately—but that's actually the point. Key Takeaways: Why working harder (when you shouldn't have to) clears the path for everyone behind you How to build relationships before you need them What "lift as you climb" actually looks like in practice Why starting at the base level with zero ego changes everything How to manage stress without taking it out on your team When your work benefits someone else instead of you—and why that matters About the Guest: The Honorable Shefali Razdan Duggal served as U.S. Ambassador to the Kingdom of the Netherlands from 2022-2025, becoming the first person of color in this role. Born in India and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio by a single mother working multiple minimum-wage jobs, she began her political career volunteering on Senator Ted Kennedy's campaign. The Dutch honored her by naming a tulip "Tulipa Shefali"—the first ambassador from any country to receive this tribute. Her book about her journey from immigrant daughter to diplomat releases summer 2026. Chapters 00:00 - Introduction at Health Conference 02:17 - From Humble Beginnings to Public Service 05:08 - Starting at the Bottom: Early Campaign Work 07:39 - Working Four Times as Hard: Breaking Barriers 09:51 - Lifting as You Climb: Human Rights Commitment 15:15 - Learning Diplomacy: The Path to Ambassador 19:06 - EQ and IQ: Leading with Humanity Under Pressure 26:48 - Advice for Women and What's Next Guest & Host Links Connect with Laurie McGraw on LinkedIn Connect with Former Ambassador Shefali Razdan-Duggal on LinkedIn Connect with Inspiring Women Browse Episodes | LinkedIn | Instagram | Apple | Spotify

"As a physician in training, we have been trained to believe that we are the leaders of every team. That we should know more than anyone in the room, or we must not be a good doctor. Throw that out." Dr. Saria Saccocio spent months during COVID not sleeping, trying to solve every problem herself while managing care for 1.3 million people. She was drowning under the weight of leadership until she had an epiphany that would fundamentally change how she leads: "Maybe I don't have to have all the answers myself. Perhaps I'm not the only one who comes up with solutions." That realization—that her medical training had actually taught her the wrong leadership model—became the foundation of her approach as Chief Medical Officer of Essence Healthcare. Five years later, she describes watching her team shift "from a brain drain to a recharge," becoming one of the most creative and innovative teams she's ever led. Dr. Saccocio's leadership philosophy centers on what she calls "let go and lead"—a mantra she returns to whenever anxiety creeps in. "Leading is not always directing," she explains. "Leading is inspiring, empowering and enabling everyone to sit at the table, speak up, show up, and do things. Build everyone else's confidence." After a year with Essence, she's most proud not of her own decisions but of "the work that they do, the creativity that they have now that they're working across swim lanes and doing things together." This approach hasn't just prevented burnout—it's unlocked innovation. From eliminating prior authorizations through physician collaboration to providing Oura rings to Medicare Advantage seniors, Essence Healthcare's solutions emerge from empowered teams, not top-down mandates. What makes Dr. Saccocio's perspective particularly powerful is her refusal to abandon clinical practice. After two decades as a family physician, she still sees patients at a free clinic, maintaining what she calls "a sacred relationship" that keeps her grounded in the vulnerability patients experience. Her closing advice to women leaders is deceptively simple but hard-won: "Don't forget to be you. Let's stop trying to be someone else. You are at that table because you are you. Bring your whole self to work. Bring your whole self wherever you go." Key Insights: Why physician training teaches the wrong leadership model—and how to unlearn it How "let go and lead" prevents burnout while unlocking team creativity Why continuing clinical practice makes you a better executive leader The shift from brain drain to recharge: building teams that energize each other How to lead without directing: inspiring, empowering, and enabling others Why bringing your whole self to work is the most revolutionary leadership act The connection between seeing whole people as patients and leading whole people as teams About the Guest: Dr. Saria Saccocio is Chief Medical Officer at Essence Healthcare, a 21-year-old regional Medicare Advantage plan with consistently high star ratings. A practicing family physician for over two decades, she previously held leadership roles at CareMore Health, Elance Health, Securas, Carilion Health, and LifePoint Hospitals. She continues seeing patients at Greenville Free Medical Clinic. Recorded live at Nashville Sessions conference. Health Podcast Network Chapters 00:00 - Redefining Physician Leadership 01:11 - Why ESSENCE Healthcare 04:04 - Navigating Medicare Advantage Disruption 12:35 - Why She Still Practices Medicine 18:33 - OURA Rings and Digital Health Literacy 24:28 - Leadership Evolution: The COVID Moment 29:33 - Bring Your Whole Self to Work Guest & Host Links Connect with Laurie McGraw on LinkedIn Connect with Saria Saccocio on LinkedIn Connect with Inspiring Women Browse Episodes | LinkedIn | Instagram | Apple | Spotify

"Get us re-listed. You have 12 months." When Crissy Carlisle walked into HealthSouth in 2005, the FBI had already raided the building. The company held the distinction of being one of the largest frauds in American history. She filed six years' worth of 10-Ks in 12 months, deploying such autocratic leadership that she earned the label "dictator." Then she did something remarkable: she spent the next two years consciously rebranding herself. This is the story of a leader who refuses to be defined by crisis or constrained by labels. From PricewaterhouseCoopers to Summit Behavioral Healthcare, Carlisle has built a career on walking into impossible situations and transforming them through strategic vision and radical self-awareness. Her secret? Understanding that even when you deploy the right leadership style, there are consequences. And having the courage to evolve anyway. "I went from chicken little to now people say, 'How do you stay so calm in these situations?' My response is generally: years of practice." Today, as CFO of Summit Behavioral Healthcare, Carlisle brings decades of high-stakes experience to behavioral health's most pressing challenges. But her most powerful lesson came from managing an accounts payable team who taught her that while some people are motivated by promotions, others just want to wear jeans. The revelation changed everything about how she builds and leads teams. In this episode of Inspiring Women with Laurie McGraw, discover why removing "I don't have time" from your vocabulary might be the most important leadership decision you make. From being the only woman at investor conferences to consciously surrounding herself with people who think nothing like her, Carlisle reveals how strategic leadership isn't about having all the answers. It's about asking better questions. For Crissy Carlisle, leadership isn't about getting rich and famous. It's about serving patients well and knowing everything else will follow. In a healthcare system desperate for strategic financial leadership, she's proof that the best CFOs don't just manage costs. They reimagine what's possible. Key Insights: Why deploying autocratic leadership successfully still required two years of rebranding How managing accounts payable taught her more about leadership than managing MBAs The mental shift from "I don't have time" to "That's not a priority today" Why finding common ground through Alabama football changed everything How to build teams with people who think nothing like you About the Guest: Crissy Carlisle serves as CFO of Summit Behavioral Healthcare, bringing 30+ years of experience from PricewaterhouseCoopers, HealthSouth (now Encompass Health), and taking companies public. She navigated one of the largest corporate frauds in American history, transforming from "dictator" to strategic visionary through conscious leadership evolution. Her personal mission: walk by faith, give with a generous heart, and make a difference in the lives of others. Health Podcast Network Chapters 00:00 Introduction  3:06 From Auditor to Healthcare CFO  5:44 Leadership Lessons from HealthSouth  6:54 Rebranding After 'Dictator' Label  10:08 Choosing to Change Your Leadership  14:00 Building Diverse-Thinking Teams  15:51 Being the Only Woman in the Room  19:53 Priorities Over Excuses  21:49 Career Advice: Assess, Learn, Build Guest & Host Links Connect with Laurie McGraw on LinkedIn Connect with Crissy Carlisle on LinkedIn Connect with Inspiring Women Browse Episodes | LinkedIn | Instagram | Apple | Spotify

"What's the problem we're trying to solve? Because oddly enough, sometimes that's not really understood." Before Mercedes Ikard solves a problem, she asks a question most leaders skip: Are we even solving the right problem? In a world demanding immediate action, she's built her leadership on something more powerful: the discipline to pause, listen, understand, and ensure everyone's calibrated on what actually matters before moving forward. As Senior Director of US Benefits Operations at The Walt Disney Company, Mercedes leads benefits strategy for one of the world's most complex workforces—six generations, cast members in theme parks and executives in boardrooms, each with different needs. For Mercedes, this complexity requires constant calibration. "Empathy I think is important. And I think it's important to be a decent human. If we start out to be a decent human, that really is a good barometer and we really make decisions a lot easier." This is where calibration begins. Not with spreadsheets or plan designs, but with a fundamental check: Are we being decent humans? When issues explode in the cultural ethos, Mercedes does a gut check: Is this really an issue within this organization? She's learned to calibrate signal from noise, solving problems that actually impact her workforce rather than chasing topics du jour. In this episode of Inspiring Women with Laurie McGraw, discover why constant calibration might be leadership's most powerful skill. Not as hesitation, but as disciplined checking that everything stays aligned with what actually matters. From bifurcating work and home with precision to extending grace in postmortems, Mercedes has built her career on understanding before acting, clarity before speed, grace before perfection. Her superpower isn't speed. It's the wisdom to calibrate constantly on the right problems, with empathy, and with grace. Key Insights: Why "what's the problem we're trying to solve?" eliminates most organizational chaos How listening to understand rather than respond creates scalable solutions The discipline required to separate workforce-relevant issues from topics du jour Why plain language and "side streets" serve six generations better than complex plan details How bifurcating your day prevents the exhaustion of never decompressing Why showing yourself grace isn't optional for sustainable leadership About the Guest: Mercedes Ikard serves as Senior Director of US Benefits Operations at The Walt Disney Company, leading benefits strategy for one of the world's most complex and diverse workforces. Her leadership philosophy centers on calibration: constantly checking that she's solving the right problems, leading with empathy, and extending grace to herself and others navigating the high-pressure demands of corporate leadership. Health Podcast Network Chapters 0:00 Intro 2:05 Why Benefits Leadership Matters 4:03 Finding Her Passion in Healthcare and Retirement Benefits 6:59 Managing Disney's Multigenerational Workforce 10:42 Problem-Solving Framework for Complex Workforce Challenges 13:26 Leadership Skills That Matter: Empathy and Listening 15:03 The Power of Processing: Resisting the Urge to Act Immediately 18:29 Work-Life Balance and Decompression Strategies 21:11 Career Advice: Be Yourself and Show Grace Guest & Host Links Connect with Laurie McGraw on LinkedIn Connect with Mercedes Ikard on LinkedIn Connect with Inspiring Women Browse Episodes | LinkedIn | Instagram | Apple | Spotify