Her Story
About Annelisse
Annelisse Tovar is a healthcare administration professional with 10 years of experience. After graduating college with plans to become a nurse, she entered healthcare administration and took on a multi-site management role overseeing newborn hearing screens in hospital settings for about three years. There she focused on hiring, leadership, and driving positive culture. She then joined a private plastic surgery practice running a high-volume clinic with three surgeons performing around 100 surgeries weekly during the pandemic period. Later she transitioned to the dental industry at Aspen Dental, where she emphasized operations, team education, and culture to achieve strong financial results including 70 percent revenue growth while building strong provider relationships. Tovar holds a degree from Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois. She has received an award during her tenure at Aspen. She describes herself as having a positive outlook, being driven, focused, bubbly, and dependable, which she credits for her success in demanding environments.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Annelisse
01What do you attribute your success to?
I have a very positive outlook, even in the worst situations, or whenever it's very stressful. I've worked in really fast-paced environments, and they are very demanding. But I always am very driven and focused. People always tell me I'm so bubbly, I'm so positive. I think that really gets me through those days and those challenging moments. I'm dependable, I'm bubbly, I'm here to get the job done.
02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Always speak up. I think that's how I got every leadership position or new job opportunity. I kept advocating for myself. There was no idea that was too small. I just liked having a lot of conversations with people, learning about their backgrounds, seeing if we had mutual goals, and continuing to keep the conversation going. That has opened up a lot of doors for me.
03What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The biggest thing is diversity within the workplaces. I hire a lot of people from different backgrounds, but as a whole in healthcare, I think that we still see, at least in the leadership portion, I would like more diversity. Equal pay, I will say, for those people of color, minorities.
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