Amy Goldman Brown

I think it's a combination of working and being focused on substance, and just doing high-quality work. What's helped me to be successful is making sure that I was always doing work that I felt passionate about, and that really leaned into my strengths, and then it just made work fun. And then when work is fun, you're that much better at it. That, in combination with being very lucky and having some really wonderful mentors and managers that have helped guide me through my career, to help me grow and improve my skills, learn how to be adaptable, flexible, and change with the ever-changing world we live in.

One piece of advice that I received from an engineering leader once was, it's not always the most important thing to keep moving up the ladder, but to be true to yourself and what you want to get out of your career and your role within a company. I thought that was really good advice, because I think there's this natural instinct to always want to keep moving up the ladder, but what I've learned as my career has unfolded is that there are times and places for different roles, and work-life balance also matters, and having time for your family matters. So I think that was really good advice, just to kind of take a step back and not always assume that you have to keep gaining more up the ladder, but that maybe you want an individual contributor role that's where you're just an expert, and that there are just alternatives to consider, and it's important to evaluate what's most important to you, and what your values are when deciding on the right path.

Follow your passion, because if you do that, you will be successful, and work will be fun, and then you'll be so good at it. And also, don't be apologetic about being a working parent and working. I think a lot of times people feel like they, especially women, they feel like they have to apologize for having a life outside of work, and I think it's important to embrace the fact that we're all human beings outside of work. There's always that balance, but make sure that you're following your values and working somewhere that will respect those values so you can be your full self at work.

I think the biggest opportunity right now is everything that's changing with AI, and I think not just in healthcare, but so many industries right now. It's really changing how we work, what roles and responsibilities look like, what our capabilities are, what jobs are going to be, and so I think that's something that we're all encountering right now, and it's amazing what it can help us to do faster and better, but also it requires people to learn new skills, be adaptable, and not be afraid of all the change. I mean, I think in healthcare generally, there's just a lot of gaps in how our healthcare system works today, and unfortunately, a lot of people fall through the cracks or end up in a less-than-ideal place because of that, and that's something that I really feel passionate about, and I'm trying to help create as many systemic improvements as I can through my role.

For me, for work, one of the things is I'm mission-driven. I think at the core, I really want to help the underserved, I really want to help people at their most vulnerable healthcare moments, and so that's what drives my decisions, where I want to work, what the work I want to do. You know, I would love to be a doctor and heal people, but that wasn't in the cards for me. So I'm a data geek, and I try and help through that way instead. So that's really what drives me, and I believe in not only for myself, but the people on my team, advocating for a good work-life balance, and allowing people to be their full selves at work, and to, you know, it's okay to talk about, I think it's great for us to get to know each other as human beings, as well as professionals, and to support each other through the ups and downs at work, but also outside of work, because it makes not only is it, does it make work a more fun place to be, but also it brings out the best in people at work when they feel that they're fully embraced as a human.