DGTL Voices with Ed Marx

Phoebe Yang is the daughter of a single-parent Chinese immigrant father who raised three daughters in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. She went to law school intending to become a law professor, until her father was diagnosed with late-stage colorectal cancer and given four months to live. That moment changed everything.

From there, Phoebe built a career that spans AOL Time Warner (launching their China office), Discovery (turning around Discovery Health and doing early deals with Amazon, Google, and Microsoft when nobody else wanted them), the Obama administration's FCC, the Advisory Board Company, Amazon, and board roles at GE, Doximity, and CommonSpirit. She now teaches the business of AI at Stanford.

In this episode, Phoebe talks about why healthcare is the only industry where the greatest predictor of success is tied to how well you see the human being first, what curious humility means in a board role, why Socrates feared the written word the same way we fear AI, and what it means to sit alone in a Roman church with two Caravaggio paintings all day.

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Dr. Avonia Richardson-Miller is Senior Vice President at Hackensack Meridian Health. She grew up working the land on a family farm in North Carolina, earned a BS in Chemistry from Howard University, became a research chemist, an entrepreneur, an adjunct professor, and then found her way into healthcare leadership. Nine years ago, she underwent open heart surgery that changed everything.

In this episode, Avonia talks about why faith isn't passive, why she chooses joy as an active daily decision, how the discipline she learned in a cucumber row is the same discipline she uses to break down complex business problems, and why the human factor in AI is no different from Whitney Houston transforming Chaka Khan's original into something new while honoring the source.

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Dr. Jenna Taglienti is the Psychiatry Residency Training Director at Mather Hospital, part of Northwell Health. The day before Thanksgiving, she went to the hospital thinking she had a kidney stone. A CT scan caught a tumor in her right lower lung. She's a lifelong non-smoker, a mother of three, and a physician who spent years putting everyone else first.

After four rounds of chemo and a JAMA essay that resonated with thousands of healthcare professionals, Jenna is sharing what she learned: you are replaceable at work, but you are not replaceable at home. She talks about why doctors need sabbaticals, why modeling wellness matters more than preaching it, and why she didn't know she could write until cancer forced her to pause long enough to find out.

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Rachini Moosavi is the Chief Analytics Officer at UNC Health, an 18-hospital system serving the state of North Carolina.

She's a first-generation American whose parents moved from Sri Lanka to Illinois. It took her until her late thirties to feel comfortable knowing exactly who she was, and that journey shaped how she leads today. Rachini started in consulting, fell into revenue cycle, and found her love of analytics there.

She never planned to be a chief anything. Her career was a series of open doors she chose to walk through, and sometimes doors she had to make for herself by raising her hand and asking to be in the room. In this episode, Rachini talks about the Disney movie line that became her life mantra, leading UNC Health's sixth-largest Microsoft Fabric implementation worldwide, why vulnerability is a leadership superpower, and the advice she'd give every graduating class: it's perfectly okay to say "I don't know" when asked where you'll be in five years.

 

 

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Leigh Thomas Williams is Vice President and CIO at Augusta Health, a 255-bed community health system in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley.

 

She's also President of the HIMSS Virginia Chapter and an Ambassador for the Dr. Lorna Breen Heroes' Foundation. Leigh started her career in law, got recruited into healthcare at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, and found her calling in technology leadership during an EHR implementation when she realized IT was treating it like a software install and she was treating it like a chance to transform the way people work. Now she's leading Care Reimagined, a multi-year digital transformation built on three promises: meaningfully improve the professional workday, create compassionate patient journeys, and steward resources wisely for the community. When Augusta Health's Dr. Snodgrass told Leigh that their AI physician assistant was the first time technology had been done for her as opposed to to her, it became a watershed moment for the entire organization.

 

In this episode, Leigh talks about walkup songs for every day (not just keynotes), why she finally started baking brownies for her team, learning German at age 8 with no English-speaking teacher, and why now is not the time to take the foot off the pedal.

 

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On this episode of DGTL Voices, Ed interviews Renee DeSilva, CEO of The Healthcare Management Academy. This episode underscores the significance of community, feedback, resilience, and purposeful leadership in healthcare and beyond. Whether you're aspiring to be a CEO or looking to deepen your leadership impact, Renee’s insights provide valuable guidance to navigate your journey.

On this episode of DGTL Voices, Edward Marx interviews Ellen Wiegand, the CIO of VCU Health and the Healthcare CIO of the Year. They discuss Ellen's journey from her childhood in Albany, New York, to her pivotal career moments, including her decision to shift from pre-med to healthcare IT. Ellen shares her life philosophy centered on empathy, humility, and courage, and emphasizes the importance of mentorship in her career. The conversation also highlights the recognition she received through the Orbi award and the impactful work being done at VCU Health, especially during challenging times. Ellen offers insights on continuous learning, resilience, and advice for graduates entering the workforce.

On this episode of DGTL Voices, Dr. Andrea Ramirez Varela shares her inspiring journey from Colombia to Houston, discussing her passion for healthcare, her impactful role during the COVID-19 pandemic, and her commitment to continuous learning and mentorship. She emphasizes the importance of leadership in healthcare and the need for collaboration to improve public health outcomes. Dr. Ramirez Varela also highlights her daily life at UT Health, her involvement in global health initiatives, and the keys to her success, including persistence and a dedication to helping others.