Experience

Healthworx

• United States
• Hospitals and Health Care

• Director, Corporate Venture Capital

  • Nov 2022 - Present

  Healthworx Ventures, the innovation and investment arm of CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, seeks investment and partnership opportunities to improve healthcare affordability, access, equity, and quality.As a Partner on our Corporate Venture Capital, I lead our Seed through Series B deals in verticals including Medicare, Medicaid, women's health, behavioral health, appropriate sites of care, therapeutics, health equity, etc. I also lead our 1501 Health team, where we invest in and support 5-10 early healthcare start-ups each year alongside our partners at LifeBridge Health. Finally, I focus on developing our platform, leveraging the expertise and reach of CareFirst to support and partner with the companies in our venture portfolio. Show less

• Director, Healthworx Strategy & Portfolio Acceleration

  • Jan 2022 - Nov 2022

  Healthworx, the innovation and investment arm of CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, creates, co-creates and invests in companies improving healthcare quality, accessibility, affordability and equity. We simplify healthcare innovation to change the way that health works.At Healthworx, I lead the strategic growth of both early-stage companies and the overall investment and innovation portfolio of Healthworx. This includes running the Healthworx Hub, a suite of programs for start-ups including 1501 Health. I also work across the Healthworx team to develop a balanced and strategic portfolio of projects to achieve our goals to change the way that health works. Show less

• Healthworx Hub Manager, 1501 Health Co-Manager

  • Jul 2020 - Dec 2021

  I led the Healthworx Hub, a suite of programs supporting early-stage startups to design for both healthcare consumers and healthcare systems. Healthworx Hub helps entrepreneurs navigate the complex and highly-regulated healthcare space by building bridges across innovators and experts like CareFirst, and breaking down the walls that constrain healthcare innovation.Our flagship program is 1501 Health, an investment and incubation program in partnership with LifeBridge Health, which provides entrepreneurs with up to $100,000 and support from payer and provider experts and networks. Show less



Optimizer Foundation

• Sweden
• International Trade and Development
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Investment Manager

  • Jul 2018 - Apr 2020

  Optimizer Foundation is an early-stage impact investor focused on East and West Africa. As the first Investment Manager, and the first team member based in the market, I was responsible for launching our Kenyan presence, and establishing the processes and networks for investments in the region. This has included: - Managing the overall Optimizer investment pipeline, including reviewing > 500 companies, completing full impact, commercial and financial due diligence on 11 companies, resulting in investments in 3 companies. - Identifying and supporting additional funding opportunities, such as grants or conciliatory debt, to support impactful organizations during times of crisis. - Opening new strategic directions for the foundation based on real market gaps and expert research, including revising our investment criteria and adding important strategic investment areas such as youth employment and West Africa. - Monitoring and advising portfolio companies in areas such as human capital, sales, recruiting, impact reporting, etc, and connecting entrepreneurs with other experts and advisors. - Building Optimizer’s reputation internationally through partnerships and relationships with investors, accelerators, foundations/grantors, government officials, subject matter experts, and entrepreneurs. - Establishing Optimizer’s presence in the East African market, such as various registrations, finding an office, hiring and managing local team members, and building processes and templates for pipeline and investment activities. Show less



Clover Health

• United States
• Hospitals and Health Care
• 300 - 400 Employee

• Product Operations Manager

  • Nov 2015 - Jul 2017

  Clover Health is a health insurance start-up that uses data and technology to improve health outcomes. As one of the first Product Operations Managers, I was tasked with improving ongoing operational systems, and launching new processes and teams, including the enabling technology. This included: - Launched and led 3 operational teams of 3-10 direct reports each, focused on in-home clinical services, member escalations, and doctor partnerships. - Pioneered 4 interdisciplinary clinical care programs to decrease hospitalizations, including utilizing machine learning to identify risk, assessing impact, and streamlining and scaling programs. - Directed a team of 12 to complete tight compliance requirements in 5 weeks. - Collaborated with product teams of up to 10 data scientists, engineers, and designers to create databases, assessments, and user interfaces for clinicians, improving data quality by 75%. - Established innovative processes for 20 new functions, structuring ambiguity and accelerating output as Clover grew from 100 to 500 staff in 12 months. - Identified and negotiated partnerships with 7 health tech start-ups, consultants, and auditing agencies. Show less



Vera Solutions

• United Kingdom
• IT Services and IT Consulting
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Consultant

  • Apr 2014 - Jun 2015

  Vera Solutions amplifies the impact of the social sector using cloud and mobile technology. At Vera I managed project teams to build data systems for global impact organizations, helping them to measure impact and streamline operations. This included: - Designed and programmed 12 custom relational databases, user interfaces, and business intelligence analytics for international social enterprises in Africa. - Guided teams of up to 7 multicultural consultants, associates, and developers through 9 multi-phase client engagements. - Negotiated and contracted new projects, and served as client lead and project managers throughout execution. - Invented and piloted Client Process Consulting option with a team of 4, solving client implementation challenges with human-centered design, in-person training, and process development. Show less



myAgro

• Brazil
• Online Audio and Video Media
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Data Analyst

  • Aug 2013 - Apr 2014

  myAGro's mission is to move smallholder farmers out of poverty through financial inclusion and market access. I managed the entire data system for myAgro, a social enterprise that empowers West African farmers through a mobile layaway program, agricultural input distribution, and improved agricultural technology. My successes in this role included: - Spearheaded first season of automated SMS-based microcredit for farmers in rural Mali and Senegal, supporting a 200% increase in customers. - Built new data quality assurance and reconciliation processes across remote and offline locations, ensuring that 8,000 farmers received correct agricultural inputs. - Supervised a team of 4 francophone data analysts to enter and analyze over 800,000 data points on farmer financial behavior. - Developed and surfaced key operational and impact insights to operational managers and teams. Show less



Sanergy

• Belgium
• Construction
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Senior Associate

  • Jun 2011 - Jun 2013

  Sanergy helps cities manage and solve their sanitation challenges by providing non-sewered sanitation solutions that serve all urban residents much more cheaply than sewers. As one of the first employees, I supported Sanergy in launching their social business franchising toilets in Nairobi informal settlements, and converting waste into profitable end-products such as fertilizer. This included, but was not limited to, launching the first toilet brand and marketing strategy and team, and optimizing our internal database system and team processes to derive useful business insights. Specific outcomes of my work included: - Created and drove pilot Fresh Life toilet brand, marketing strategy, timeline, and budget based on human-centered qualitative and quantitative surveying and market research on successful brands like M-Pesa and Coca-Cola. - Executed over 45 community marketing events, increasing customers for slum-based toilets by 350% in 5 months. - Recruited, trained and mentored new IT and marketing teams, including 13 Kenyan direct reports. - Led team of 7 to re-design company-wide database and analytics, and implement OCR and offline mobile technology for data collection in slums, improving data quality over 60%. Show less



USAID

• United States
• International Affairs
• 700 & Above Employee

• Intern West African Mission

  • Jun 2009 - Aug 2010

  During undergrad, I interned with USAID, including 6 months in the Washington, DC, headquarters and 3 months at the Regional Office in Accra, Ghana. Specific outcomes of my work included: - Assessed impact, finances and operations of Togolese NGO focused on the promotion of disabled women. - Trained NGO’s management in performance management and evaluation after visiting Togolese field sites. - Served as Country Desk Officer for Sierra Leone, Senegal and the Gambia from Washington, DC. - Completed research on strategic priorities for the region. Show less