Her Story
About Carolyn
Carolyn is an accomplished healthcare executive with more than 15 years of experience in hospital administration and a distinguished career dedicated to advancing cardiovascular care. She currently serves as Vice President of Operations for the Heart & Vascular Service Line at RWJBarnabas Health, where she leads strategic and operational initiatives that enhance program development, physician collaboration, and patient care across one of the organization’s most critical specialty areas. Known for her expertise in leadership, innovation, and operational excellence, Vicenzino plays a key role in driving growth and alignment within heart and vascular services.
Vicenzino’s healthcare journey began in consulting with Huron Consulting, where she spent several years developing expertise in healthcare operations and strategy. She later joined NewYork-Presbyterian, where she held five progressive leadership positions over approximately 12 years. During her tenure, she gained extensive experience in finance, revenue cycle management, executive operations, and organizational leadership, including working closely with the CEO and chief of staff. These diverse experiences provided the foundation for her current focus on programmatic development with physicians, physician alignment, recruitment, specialty development, performance improvement, and marketing initiatives within cardiovascular care.
A lifelong advocate for professional development and leadership in healthcare, Vicenzino earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Wisconsin and a Master of Public Health from Columbia University. She has also shared her expertise as an adjunct professor teaching leadership at Columbia and remains actively engaged with the university through her service on the advisory board of the Mailman School of Public Health. In addition, she serves on the Vizient National Heart & Vascular Board and is a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE). Through her leadership and commitment to innovation, Vicenzino continues to shape the future of healthcare delivery and cardiovascular services.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Carolyn
01What do you attribute your success to?
I think a lot of mentors, and I think, honestly, a lot of women who have invested their time in me to mentor me. I worked for the chief of staff at a CEO's office. She was extraordinarily... she would just take time with me. Same with one of the cardiologists, Holly Anderson, that I worked with. She really taught me how to think differently and to think big. I think also my mom has been a huge influence on me of how you can balance different priorities. Those are some of my major influences. And I would also say, which is a very, very long time ago, he's recently passed, but it makes me think of him. I had a high school teacher that really, at a young age, started to make me feel confident to ask questions, because I think it's hard, and I think that that was really influential of learning, like, how good it feels to be able to ask questions.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I’ve received is that it’s better to be 80% right and move forward than to spend an excessive amount of time chasing perfection. It taught me the importance of effective time management and recognizing when something is good enough to meet the need at hand. Not everything has to be perfect, and knowing when to move on allows you to stay productive and focus on the next opportunity or challenge.
03What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Outside of work, I really value making time for hobbies and activities that bring me joy and help me stay balanced. Before becoming pregnant, I loved horseback riding and made a point to fit it into my schedule whenever I could. It was something I enjoyed as a child, and rediscovering it as an adult reminded me how important it is to have interests that are completely separate from work.
I’m also a big music fan and enjoy checking out live performances whenever I can. I love cooking and trying new recipes, and lately I’ve been getting into Pilates as another way to stay active and challenge myself. For me, maintaining a healthy balance between work and personal interests is essential to overall well-being.
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