The Top 25 Women Leaders in Consumer HealthTech of 2022

The Healthcare Technology Report is pleased to announce The Top 25 Women Leaders in Consumer HealthTech of 2022. The awardees on this year’s list represent some of the most innovative companies in the healthcare technology space. They provide their organizations with steady leadership and deep knowledge in their respective specialties, piloting their companies through ever-changing market conditions with an unwavering focus on customer needs.

Thanks to Vice President of Growth Rita Razalan’s efforts in rebuilding dentistry demand after the pandemic, Tend has been able to return to even higher rates of consumer engagement and come out of the pandemic with YOY revenue growth of almost 400%. As Chief Product Officer, Dr. Tiffanie Ong has successfully led the development of Naluri’s health coaching curriculum and amplified the company’s capability to serve more than 300,000 members across six countries. And as Vice President of Product for ADHD Online, Zara Smith has been instrumental in the successful launch of a new patient portal and a new internal CRM, and has contributed to the 20% month-over-month business revenue growth.

This year’s awardees lead companies across the healthcare technology industry, from dentistry to nephrology, fitness, mental health, obesity, telehealth, and much more; and they do so from a variety of positions, from Chief Operating Officer to President to Head of Corporate Strategy. What they all have in common is their dedication to driving their companies’ growth and competitiveness in the markets they serve. Please join us in celebrating The Top 25 Women Leaders in Consumer HealthTech of 2022.

 

1. Jennifer Meyer
Company: DispatchHealth
Title: Chief Development Officer

Jennifer Meyer builds multimillion-dollar next-generation pricing and value-based strategies for many of the country's largest healthcare organizations. As Chief Development Officer at the nation's first comprehensive technology-driven in-home medical care provider DispatchHealth, Meyer orchestrates partnerships and designs programs to uniquely address their challenges with solutions that drive meaningful change in the healthcare ecosystem. She is an exceptional executive with a history of driving industry shifts that translate into better, more affordable medical attention for the masses. Colleagues describe her as having "a strong bias for action in all that she does to create healthcare access for all."

Meyer has held leadership positions at DaVita and McKinsey & Company. She received her Bachelor of Science in Finance and Marketing from The Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota and an MBA from The Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. She is an early member of the executive leadership team responsible for pioneering DispatchHealth’s unique model of care with services ranging from same-day, high-acuity care to a 30-day alternative to a hospital stay; all delivered straight to the patient’s door. Including mobile diagnostics, DispatchHealth is providing care to patients in 57 markets across the country and growing.

 

2. Claudia Huapaya
Company: Calibrate
Title: Chief Operating Officer

Claudia Huapaya is the Chief Operating Officer at Calibrate, a metabolic health company on a mission to change the way the world treats weight. Calibrate’s One-Year Metabolic Reset combines doctor-prescribed, GLP-1 medication with an app-based curriculum and 1:1 video coaching that leads to improved metabolic health markers and sustained weight loss. Calibrate was recognized as a World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer in 2021 and by Fast Company’s World Changing Ideas in 2022.

Huapaya served as Vice President of Customer Experience & Retail and Vice President of Operations & Strategy at Rent the Runway (RTR)––a logistics and technology company pioneering rental in the $1.7T global fashion industry––where she oversaw 400 employees, launched a second fulfillment center, and led the company’s strategic planning as they achieved a $1B valuation. Before RTR, Huapaya spent nearly a decade at AOL working in the venture portfolio building out its lifestyle brands, and overseeing operations and monetization for its core brands, including AOL.com and Mail. She also served as the executive producer for the first ever MAKERS conference, a global leadership event that brings together women from diverse backgrounds to accelerate women’s equality. Huapaya received her Bachelor of Science in Management from Boston College.

 

3. Sarah Griffis
Company: Cerebral
Title: Head of Engineering

Sarah Griffis is the Head of Engineering at Cerebral, a Series C telehealth platform that provides evidence-based online therapy and medication management to improve access to high-quality mental health care. Since its inception in 2020, Cerebral has served 400,000+ patients with significant clinical outcomes, including 82% of patients reporting an improvement in anxiety symptoms after care with Cerebral. At Cerebral, Griffis has implemented an engineering strategy that enables the delivery of the company’s impactful mission through its differentiated technology. In just 6 months, she has recruited a diverse global team to increase the technology team in size by 50%, and has established proprietary software that adheres to strict privacy and security measures.

Before Cerebral, Griffis led engineering at GoodRx, and prior to that she was a founding member and Head of Engineering at Kindbody, where she built a vertically integrated fertility care system. She began her career as an economics fellow at Harvard University. Her passion for mission-driven startups extends beyond Cerebral, and in her free time she consults for early-stage health-tech startups, many women-led, as a fractional Chief Technology/Product Officer. She also serves on the boards of Boundless Brilliance and the Wildwoods Foundation. Sarah received her Bachelor’s in Environmental Science Engineering from Caltech.

 

4. Renee George
Company: Strive Health
Title: Senior Vice President, Market Operations

Renee George is the Senior Vice President of Market Operations at Strive Health, a value-based, tech-enabled kidney care company based in Denver, Colorado. In her role, she leads 11 thriving markets across the United States that are transforming how kidney care is delivered. George, who resides in Springboro, Ohio, is a current member of Leadership Dayton and has served on the Board of Directors and as Treasurer for Five Rivers Health Center in Dayton, Ohio, and as the Southwestern Ohio Chapter President for the Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA). She was the recipient of HFMA’s President’s Honor Roll in 2015-2016 and the HFMA Medal of Honor in 2018.

For the past 20 years, George has served in various executive roles in health systems, physician organizations, and provider-sponsored health plans. She has extensive experience in various alternative payment models and is passionate about transforming how healthcare is delivered and reimbursed so that patient care is improved. She spent over 10 years advocating for payment transparency while serving as Vice President of Revenue Cycle at Mercy Health and later Premier Health. George received her Bachelor of Health Sciences degree in Health Administration from the University of Kentucky, where she graduated with distinction. She received her MBA with a concentration in Management from Georgia State University.

 

5. Shelley Stormo
Company: PharmaCann
Title: Vice President of Retail Operations

Shelley Stormo is Vice President of Retail Operations for PharmaCann, one of the largest cannabis companies in the U.S. Stormo joined PharmaCann in 2017 when her Massachusetts dispensary was PharmaCann’s first expansion license, growing its footprint beyond awarded licenses in Illinois and New York. When she joined, PharmaCann operated nine dispensaries in three states. With her cannabis expertise and collaborative leadership skills, Stormo became Head of Operations, opening 20+ dispensaries across six states and doubling the business size, and was promoted to Vice President of Retail Operations. Today, PharmaCann’s footprint has grown to over 50 dispensaries in eight states from Massachusetts to Colorado.

Stormo has been a source of inspiration for her team through her undeniable passion for the cannabis plant, the retail aspects of the business, and her emphasis on ethical leadership. She has been recognized for her effectiveness, reaching the store level with simplification, featuring clear direction, efficiency, and streamlined best practices that are building PharmaCann to be the most admired cannabis company in the world. Prior to PharmaCann, Stormo founded a non-profit and was awarded one of Massachusetts’ first 20 medical cannabis dispensary licenses to serve the state’s burgeoning cannabis market. She has a master’s degree in Clinical Psychology from Antioch University.

 

6. Rita Razalan
Company: Tend
Title: Vice President of Growth

Rita Razalan is the Vice President of Growth at Tend, the first dentist that people actually look forward to. Launched in October 2019, Tend was created to set a new standard for oral health by providing dentistry the way it should be—hassle-free, personalized, and straightforward, with a focus on patient happiness—all in a calm, inviting, and thoughtfully-designed space. Tend has provided a reimagined dental experience to tens of thousands of patients across four cities on the East Coast.

As the Vice President of Growth, Razalan has helped lead the company's performance marketing efforts from inception of its first location in New York City to 21 locations and counting. Notably, she led growth throughout the most challenging periods of the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City, when the company closed its doors to its studios for several months. Thanks to her efforts in rebuilding demand, Tend was able to return to even higher rates of consumer demand and prove that dental is a durable retail model. Under her energetic leadership, Tend was able to come out of the pandemic with YOY revenue growth of almost 400% from 2020 to 2021. A data-driven marketing leader with experience in driving and scaling high growth businesses across multiple consumer categories, including toys and beauty, Razalan has a strong track record of launching and scaling businesses and managing all aspects of growth. Before joining Tend in 2019, she was the Head of Growth and Acquisition at Little Bits, a Sphero company.

 

7. Dr. Jenna Carl
Company: Big Health
Title: Chief Medical Officer

Dr. Jenna Carl, Chief Medical Officer at Big Health, is a clinical psychologist who specializes in the research and treatment of anxiety, depression, insomnia, and related mental health disorders. She has authored more than 30 peer-reviewed publications, and has presented her research and clinical trainings at leading international conferences, such as the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies, World Congress for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies, and the American Psychological Association (APA). She serves as Chair of the APA’s Division 12 Presidential Task Force on the integration of technology and mental health treatment.

As the Chief Medical Officer at Big Health, Dr. Carl is responsible for developing evidence-based digital therapeutics for common mental health conditions that can be implemented within large employers, health plans, and health systems. She obtained her PhD in Clinical Psychology from Boston University, with training in the Center for Anxiety and Related Disorders at Boston University, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, and the VA Health System’s National Center for Innovation to Implementation.

 

8. Sabrina Baum Low
Company: NOCD
Title: General Counsel and Head of People Operations

Sabrina Baum Low is the General Counsel and Head of People Operations at NOCD, a leading provider for online behavioral health services, primarily focused on treating OCD. NOCD is home to the largest online OCD community, with over 200,000 members. Through NOCD's platform, members can access a national network of specialized therapists for telehealth sessions and between-session support. NOCD has demonstrated clinical outcomes showing a 40% reduction in symptoms in 90 to 120 days of therapy, half the time of a typical course of treatment. The company recently brought on Howie Mandel for its #KnowOCD campaign to further its mission of raising awareness of OCD and making high-quality treatment widely available and affordable.

Low joined NOCD last year as the company's General Counsel and first in-house attorney. During a period of tremendous growth, she has been responsible for steering the company through a complex legal and regulatory landscape while expanding into new business lines. Low now also serves as Head of People Operations, working to enhance the employee experience. Before NOCD, she was a litigator at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison and clerked for Judge Joseph F. Bianco (formerly E.D.N.Y., now Second Circuit). She received her bachelor's degree in Politics and Environmental Analysis from Pomona College and her JD from Harvard Law School.

 

9. Dr. Tiffanie Ong
Company: Naluri
Title: Chief Product Officer

Dr. Tiffanie Ong is Chief Product Officer at Naluri, a digital health service provider that delivers person-centered care for those at risk of, or managing, chronic or mental health conditions. Since its launch in 2017, Naluri has worked with leading corporate and healthcare payors to deliver highly personalized evidence-based interventions and lifestyle modification programs at scale, made possible by the company’s proprietary AI-augmented coaching platform, decision support systems, and self-help tools.

As a passionate and pragmatic leader, Dr. Ong has led the development of Naluri’s health coaching curriculum and amplified the company’s health coaching capability to serve more than 300,000 members across 6 countries. She also leads the company’s research agenda and clinical trials on topics of chronic disease, mental health, behavior science, and data science. Prior to Naluri, Dr. Ong was a consultant at both A.T. Kearney and Accenture, where she focused on large-scale operating model transformation, growth strategy, and developing digital roadmaps and culture. She holds a PhD in Cognitive, Perceptual, and Brain Sciences from University College London, where she specialized in the psychology of motivation, face perception, and social hierarchy.

 

10. Michele Wong
Company: Active Wellness
Title: Chief Operating Officer

Michele Wong is the Active Wellness Chief Operating Officer. With 50 commercial, corporate, medical fitness, and community center locations across the country, Active’s mission is to build and inspire healthier, more active lives through high-touch interactions and technologies that support a better quality of life. Active creates inspiring environments, delivering results-based programming and building meaningful relationships that support positive change in people’s lives.

Wong entered the fitness industry motivated by her passion for helping people live a healthy lifestyle. She began her career in corporate partner management running fitness centers and developing wellness programs for Silicon Valley’s Fortune 100. During her 23 years in partner management, she has led the development of fitness and wellness solutions with an emphasis on leveraging new technologies to enhance participation and drive health outcomes. She excels in operating various fitness delivery models and has a proven track record of exceeding client expectations through a shared strategic vision, industry expertise, an innovative mindset, and strong business acumen. Wong is a WELCOA Faculty Member, member of ASCM, ACE Subject Matter Expert, sits on the Medical Fitness Association Industry Partner Council, and holds an MS in Kinesiology with an emphasis in Nutritional Science from Cal State East Bay.

 

11. Emily Olsen
Company: DotCom Therapy (DCT)
Title: Chief Experience Officer

Emily Olsen is the Chief Experience Officer at DotCom Therapy (DCT), a pediatric teletherapy provider serving children in schools, at-home, or in healthcare settings across the U.S. As the Chief Experience Officer, Olsen oversees the customer success team as they foster and nurture relationships with DCT’s partners to ensure success for each unique therapy journey. Thanks to Olsen’s leadership and high standard for quality support, DotCom Therapy’s customer success team was awarded the bronze Stevie for Customer Success Team of the Year, and her team’s work fostering custom partnerships backed by a solution-focused approach helped DCT rank as one of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies of 2022.

Olsen received her Master’s of Social Work from Missouri State University and previously worked as a Medical Social Worker in healthcare and as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker for DotCom Therapy. While working as a therapist, she identified ways customer partnerships could be strengthened through innovative solutions. Transitioning to a Customer Success Manager, she worked alongside partner districts to improve the overall partner experience and found the best partnerships were created through integrated support systems that relied heavily on quality above all else—quality communication, care, and support. Olsen’s model of customer success follows these principles and her leadership at DCT helps foster partnerships that turn customers into true advocates.

 

12. Dr. Inna Yaskin
Company: Health Gorilla
Title: Chief Medical Information Officer

Dr. Inna Yaskin, DO, is a Triple Board-Certified physician passionate about primary care, medical informatics, and digital health entrepreneurship. She is the Chief Medical Information Officer for Health Gorilla, a leading Health Information Network in the U.S., providing permitted access to organized, actionable patient data.

Dr. Yaskin is at the intersection of medical informatics and digital health and has more than 20 years of experience administering primary and long-term care as a medical director of several large clinics, nursing homes, and Medicare bundled payment programs. She has also conducted extensive clinical research in the neurocognitive area and is an active advisor to digital health start-ups and innovative pharmacy disruptors. Today, Dr. Yaskin is a member of the CommonWell Health Alliance Interoperability Advisory Committee and the Gravity Health project Advisory Board for Social Determinants of Health (SDOH). She earned a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Cornell University and a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine from Touro University California. She then went on to complete her fellowship and residency at Jersey Shore University Medical Center.

 

13. Akshara Reddy
Company: Vori Health
Title: Chief Strategy Officer

Akshara Reddy is the Chief Strategy Officer at Vori Health, an award-winning, nationwide, virtual-first medical practice offering a holistic approach to musculoskeletal care. Vori’s unique care model focuses on treating the whole person through multi-disciplinary care teams that provide evidence-based full-service physical medicine and rehabilitation care, physical therapy, nutritional guidance, health coaching, AI-enabled instructional content, and community support. Bringing over a decade of leadership experience and a successful track record of driving innovation and growth within Fortune 500 and startup organizations, Reddy oversees Vori’s strategic growth and new product innovation activities to serve the evolving needs of consumers and enterprise customers.

Prior to joining Vori, Reddy was the Head of Strategic Programs and Digital Health at CVS Health/Aetna, where she oversaw the company’s virtual care and digital health strategy and product portfolio that delivered care to 13M+ members, including the launch of the first national virtual primary care offering in the U.S. Her past work includes forming strategic payer/provider partnerships and joint ventures that advance value-based care and transform the way care is delivered locally. Previously, Reddy held senior advisory and product development roles at Arcadia Healthcare Solutions. She holds an MBA from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania and a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from the University of Missouri, Kansas City. She actively advises early-stage healthcare companies and, as a former tennis professional, enjoys mentoring and coaching tennis players in her community.

 

14. Kara Cannon
Company: Enzo Biochem, Inc.
Title: Chief Operating Officer

Kara Cannon is Chief Operating Officer at Enzo Biochem, Inc. She has been working with this leading biosciences and diagnostics company for over 11 years. At Enzo, she is responsible for leading the global commercial operations, including the management of sales, marketing, production, and operations.

Cannon previously held executive positions at Pall Corporation and Dynal Biotech, where she focused on commercial operations within the areas of diagnostics, biotechnology, and biosciences. She has had extensive experience in the marketing and selling of innovative platforms for the diagnostics markets, as well as the development and execution of strategic plans for growth and sustainability. When not working, she has participated in various local mentor programs and volunteering efforts. Cannon has had the honor of participating as a founding member of a local bio-mentor initiative program designed to assist local entrepreneurs in partnership with the Center for Biotechnology. All along the way, she has invested in the development of other women around her. Cannon is an active participant in the Enzo internship program. She is also a 2019 and 2021 winner of the Long Island Business News Top 50 Women in Business award, and the winner of the 2021 Women in Supply Chain Award. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Biology from Franklin & Marshall College.

 

15. Dessa Williams
Company: Enlace Health
Title: Senior Vice President of Operations

As Senior Vice President of Operations at Enlace Health™, Dessa Williams brings over 28 years of expansive IT and payer operations experience to Enlace™. Williams views IT as an asset that should always bring added value, especially in healthcare, where improved value and efficiency are needed. Enlace Health™ clients are many of the largest payers in healthcare. Together with its client base, Enlace addresses today’s quality and cost issues from the inside out, fixing healthcare at its core and making value-based care a reality. Williams’ leadership is instrumental to Enlace’ s connected world that empowers payers, providers, and patients to participate together in an economically sound environment.

Williams’ history within healthcare IT is a powerful influence on client implementation and management. Being an integral part of many healthcare IT integrations and seeing inefficiencies from most providers, Williams is key to the Enlace “meet clients where they are” approach that helps companies at any maturity level in value-based care. Combining her passion for solving healthcare data challenges with a 20-year career as a leader of client implementation, operations, and innovation at Centene Corporation, Williams has built a culture that ensures continuous guidance, from onboard to expansion of all value-based care initiatives.

 

16. Carolyn Williams
Company: Cured
Title: Vice President of Customer Delivery

Carolyn Williams is the Vice President of Customer Delivery at Cured, a digital marketing and CRM platform built for healthcare. Williams loves navigating the exciting intersection of healthcare, customer experience, and human behavior. She is passionate about building meaningful partnerships with both her customer teams and internal teams and has a broad understanding of how each key stakeholder can contribute to and benefit from deep collaboration.

Williams started her career at Epic, managing implementations of oncology and outpatient software. She then moved into management consulting, where she spent the majority of her time in the healthcare industry, optimizing patient access centers and call centers with a focus on customer experience. She graduated Cum Laude from the University of Notre Dame with a dual Bachelor of Arts in Honors Sociology and Honors Psychology and a focus in Spanish Studies. She was an NCAA varsity athlete in Women’s Crew and is a proud winner of the Big East Championship. When she isn’t spending time optimizing teams and tech, you can find her reading sci-fi or historical fiction, playing with her young children, exploring the outdoors, or working with her husband on his next big adventure.

 

17. Alecia Pritchett
Company: ixlayer
Title: Head of Corporate Strategy

Alecia Pritchett leads corporate strategy at ixlayer, a health testing platform that combines consumer-friendly lab testing experiences and seamless back-end integration capabilities, making it easy for people to complete diagnostic tests outside of clinical settings and take proactive steps toward better health. As a solutions-focused executive, Pritchett is passionate about digital health with a focus on diagnostic healthcare products. Her expertise in building strategic partnerships, scaling teams, and implementing commercialization strategies for emerging healthcare technology has been instrumental in fueling ixlayer’s hypergrowth. Pritchett celebrated key achievements with ixlayer in December 2021 as it was awarded “Most Innovative Company, Silver” by Best in Biz and named an honoree in the Software category for Inc.’s Best in Business.

Prior to ixlayer, Pritchett served as Vice President of Business Development at PWNHealth, where she helped companies build infrastructure required to launch diagnostics in the consumer space. Pritchett joined PWN following nearly four years with Ambry Genetics, where she helped drive efforts to introduce cutting-edge genetic testing solutions. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Cytogenetics from the University of Texas, MD Anderson Cancer Center School of Health Professions.

 

18. Holly Rus
Company: SleepScore Labs
Title: Head of Scientific Research

Holly Rus is the Head of Scientific Research at SleepScore Labs, the company behind the science of sleep improvement. She joined the company in early 2018 as a researcher and has advanced to leading the team that conducts product validation studies using objective sleep tracking technology to study how consumer sleep improvement products affect sleep. Since late 2019 when Rus assumed leadership, the team has grown from three to eleven people. In that same time, SleepScore has tripled the number of studies they have conducted, positioning the company as a leader in consumer sleep science. Many of SleepScore’s studies have been published in peer-reviewed outlets and presented at major scientific conferences across the globe.

Before joining SleepScore, Rus studied stress physiology and health behaviors at the University of California. During her education, she received numerous research funding and fellowship awards, as well as department citations for outstanding performance and recognition of her research at national behavioral medicine conferences. She received a Women’s Program Outstanding Leadership Award from the University of California, Merced Office of Student Life in 2015. Drawn by the pace and immediacy of industry research, she transitioned her training to an applied setting, where she values the opportunity to improve how people sleep each night. Rus received her PhD in Psychology from the University of California, Merced.

 

19. Jill Schiaparelli
Company: Avation Medical
Title: Chief Executive Officer and Member of the Board

Avation Medical is an innovative neuromodulation and digital health company with a mission to make neuromodulation more accessible. More than 40 million patients suffer from the chronic condition of overactive bladder (OAB) and treatments, including drugs, needle electrodes, and surgical implants, are often rejected by patients due to undesirable side-effects. With more than 20 years of experience in the healthcare industry, Schiaparelli realized early in Avation’s development phase that taking a patient-centric approach to design was needed. Her efforts have culminated in the Vivally System, a non-invasive, wearable neuromodulation and digitally enabled behavior support system for OAB. Vivally is in clinical trial and is not yet FDA cleared.

Schiaparelli is passionate about bringing cutting-edge medical technologies to market to improve the lives of patients. She has honed her expertise in leading innovative healthcare organizations, driving them to success. Schiaparelli has held previous leadership roles with Johnson & Johnson and Baxter, as well as with high-growth, innovative companies such as ApaTech (U.K.), a company she helped sell to Baxter, and AxoGen, where she assisted their up-list to NASDAQ. Schiaparelli currently serves on the board of Ossdsign and InteloMed. She received an MBA in Finance and Business Management from the Stern School of Business at New York University and a Bachelor of Science in Finance and International Management from the Questrom School of Business at Boston University.

 

20. Jennifer Brooks
Company: GOLO
Title: Co-Founder and President

As president and co-founder of GOLO, the pioneering wellness solutions company, Jennifer Brooks is one of the innovative women helping shape the future of the e-commerce health and wellness industry. Her vision for the company is to help people transition to healthier lifestyles, whether by reaching their weight loss goals, understanding how to incorporate exercise into their daily routines, or learning the basic principles of good nutrition. GOLO products and services have reached over two million people during Brooks’ tenure.

Board Certified in Holistic Nutrition, Brooks holds degrees in Culinary Arts from Delaware Technical Community College and Mind-Body Transformational Psychology from Southwest Institute of Healing Arts. She is also a member of the National Association of Nutrition Professionals (NANP) and a Certified Dietary Supplement Professional (CDSP). An advocate for good corporate citizenship, Brooks makes finding meaningful ways to give back to the community a company priority, including support for Ronald McDonald House and the Special Olympics. Outside of work, she has dedicated her time to the Cancer Support Community and the Humane Association. Before joining GOLO, she held various positions in marketing, sales, and business development.

 

21. Dr. Florencia Halperin
Company: Form Health
Title: Chief Medical Officer

Dr. Florencia Halperin is Chief Medical Officer at Form Health, an obesity medicine practice that provides evidence-based medical care entirely through telehealth. Form approaches obesity as a chronic disease and empowers people to lose weight to improve their health. Dr. Halperin has led the development of Form’s unique clinical care model. She has built a world-class team of obesity medicine physicians and Registered Dietitians who are dedicated to providing compassionate care using a personalized science-based approach.

Dr. Halperin joined Form Health in 2019 as part of the founding team, to make quality obesity care accessible to everyone. In previous roles, she co-founded and served as Co-Director of the Brigham and Women’s Hospital Center for Weight Management and Metabolic Surgery, and she served as Chief of Endocrinology at Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital. She is a recipient of numerous patient care awards, including Castle Connolly America’s Top Doctors and the Schwartz Center Award for Compassionate Care. She has contributed to understanding the biology of obesity and the impact of novel treatment approaches through her clinical research. Dr. Halperin received her bachelor’s degree from Harvard University and her Doctor of Medicine and Masters of Medical Sciences degrees from Harvard Medical School.

 

22. Jean Balgrosky
Company: MD Revolution
Title: Chief Information Officer

Jean Balgrosky leads MD Revolution’s information technology strategy, development, and organization as Chief Information Officer and an active Board Member. Experienced and passionate about healthcare innovation, Balgrosky is a force for change in technology, leading and driving a path of excellence in MD Revolution’s software and technology solutions. Her vision for digitally-enabled remote care transcends devices and data, and emphasizes an inseparable blend of medical care, public health, and engaging patients in their own health.

As former CIO of large, complex health systems at Scripps Health and Holy Cross Health System (now Trinity Health System), Balgrosky is an established industry leader and arbiter of change. She designed and executed the strategic health IT plan for Scripps Health, a multi-hospital system including the world-renowned Scripps Clinic. There, she implemented an integrated enterprise electronic health record, leading the team to rebuild Scripps’ IT architecture from the ground up. She received her PhD in Health Policy and Management from the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health. In addition to her significant philanthropic contributions to the University, Balgrosky has served on the faculty for 10 years, authoring two textbooks on health information systems and technology. She is also the founder of Bootstrap Incubation, LLC, a firm established to invest, mentor, and grow life science and information technology start-ups.

 

23. Dr. Linda Lee
Company: UV Angel
Title: Chief Medical Affairs and Science Officer

Dr. Linda Lee is the Chief Medical Affairs and Science Officer at UV Angel, a health and technology company that harnesses the power of Upper-Room Ultraviolet Germicidal Irradiation (UVGI) to make environments measurably safer. As a certified indoor air quality manager specializing in infection control, Dr. Lee is foundational in providing critical insights to the development and evolution of effective UVGI technology to eliminate harmful air and surface bacteria in indoor spaces.

Dr. Lee brings over three decades of experience to her role at UV Angel, working with organizations such as CH2M Hill, WM Healthcare Solutions, the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, and Stericycle. Dr. Lee is also a highly sought-after healthcare speaker, and has authored numerous peer-reviewed publications, as well as three American Hospital Association-published books.

 

24. Zara Smith
Company: ADHD Online
Title: Vice President of Product

Latchezara (Zara) Smith is the Vice President of Product at ADHD Online. ADHD Online is a virtual mental health start up delivering diagnostic and treatment services nationwide. In her role, Smith has product, program development, and oversight responsibilities, securing positive patient experience and continued delivery of patient care. Since joining, she’s been instrumental in the successful launch of a new patient portal, a new internal CRM, the launch of a care navigation program, and has contributed to the 20% month-over-month business revenue growth.

Smith came to ADHD Online from Emergent Holdings, a BCBS of Michigan subsidiary, where she was part of the innovation team Business Lab. Prior to that, she developed and launched nationally recognized innovative programs as the Michigan SBDC at GVSU, preceded by business analysis experience at Spectrum Health Hospital System. Currently, she serves on the Board of Directors for GROW (an entrepreneurial support organization in Grand Rapids, MI), is a member of the West Michigan Cybersecurity Consortium, and enjoys teaching university level marketing research classes. She obtained her MBA from GVSU Seidman College of Business in 2000.

 

25. Lauren McConnell (tie)
Company: Hey Jane
Title: Head of Operations

Lauren McConnell is the Head of Operations at Hey Jane, a telehealth abortion company that helps patients complete medication abortion on their own terms. Since launching in early 2021, Hey Jane has grown significantly with great press—for good reason. So far, Hey Jane has facilitated nearly 10,000 medication abortions with a consistent NPS above 90. As Head of Operations, McConnell is responsible for leading the Clinical Operations teams, supporting new health products launches and driving process improvement across the patient experience.

Before joining Hey Jane, McConnell worked for one of the world’s leading institutions, Mount Sinai Hospital System (MSHS.) As a Team Leader, she directed the construction build out and operational implementation of the Health Center at Hudson Yards, the very first membership based practice with MSHS. McConnell joined MSHS after 3 years at One Medical, where she led the Flatiron office and launched women’s health specialty programs across multiple markets. Her leadership journey started at CityMD Urgent Care, where she built the Aftercare team and supported numerous office launches. In 2012, she received a Bachelor of Science in Biology from the University of Maryland. In 2014, she completed the Master of Science program in Biology from Hunter College.

 

25. Beth Husted (tie)
Company: Katalyst
Title: Director of Quality Systems

Beth Husted is the Director of Quality Systems at Katalyst, the first technological innovation in strength training. The first and only FDA-cleared EMS (Electro Muscle Stimulation) product for consumer use, Katalyst harnesses advanced technology to empower anyone to achieve a true two-hour workout in just 20 minutes, activating up to 90% of muscles compared to ~40% in a typical workout. EMS-specific training studios are widely popular throughout the rest of the world, but Katalyst is the first to bring this method to the U.S., and the first to do so via an in-home format. Unlike other workouts, Katalyst’s streamlined, no-impact training technology lowers the barriers to entry for all individuals—with a waitlist of 55k consumers to date.

As the Director of Quality Systems, Husted successfully brought Katalyst’s regulatory and quality systems into compliance with FDA regulations, bridging the divide between a commercial, off-the-shelf product business strategy and medical device requirements. As part of this work, Husted initiated and executed the digitalization of the Katalyst Quality System, resulting in a 93% customer satisfaction rate and zero product returns to date. Husted has 25 years of medical device experience, 14 of which were spent in quality management roles, and six years in molecular research and diagnostics. Husted is a BSI Certified Lead Auditor and a CITI Clinical Research Certified Auditor.

 

This year, we would like to recognize additional notable women leaders in the consumer healthtech field.