Her Story
About Heidi
I am an athlete who was diagnosed with a rare heart arrhythmia when I was young and have been pacemaker-dependent since 1983. I've had open heart surgery and lung surgery, and I didn't want to be a victim - I wanted to continue being an athlete. I had to work through those challenges, and today I'm still racing bikes, traveling all over the country and the world racing mountain bikes and showing what's possible if you dream big and be fearless. I have been in the digital health field since 2014. I used to give talks about the future of healthcare and data empowering patients, and people would say we're never going to use patient data, it's not relevant. Fast forward to where we are now, and it's all about patient-generated data in the context of people living their lives. I'm the founder of Tour de Heart, a patient advocacy organization, and I consult with medical device companies and steering committees on how to build out IT platforms to support digital health technologies. I work on product development and R&D for developing digital health solutions, working with AI algorithms and building out platforms for data ingestion and transformation to deliver insights that are useful for both patients and physicians to have data-driven conversations. On the technology side, I build solutions to help more people have outcomes like mine. I started an internet company back in 1993 when people said the internet's a fad, no one's going to use it. My first paying customer was Bank of America, and I launched the original BankAmerica.com, build your own bank. I went from a fine arts degree to Google engineering because I trusted my gut and believed in myself.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Heidi
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to my willingness to trust my gut and not believe what other people tell you - to believe in yourself. Back when I started a lot of this, people said it'll never work, and I'm like, I think it will, and I stuck with it. I went from a fine arts degree to Google engineering because I trusted my gut and believed in myself.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I've ever received is that as women in male-dominated industries, especially women in technology, you need to be yourself. You can't walk into a room and try and be a man. You have to come in and be yourself. And also, when it comes to working with the best and brightest engineers, you have to remember that oftentimes they aren't the most sociable people, so don't take it personally if someone isn't engaged. Sometimes you have to start the conversation. Don't automatically assume malicious intent.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I think for women moving into this space, especially when it comes to digital health and the merger of healthcare and technology, bring your empathy, bring an open mind, and just a willingness to innovate and think outside the box.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
I think the biggest challenge in the field is right now we have rapid change when it comes to technology, data, and AI, and those are the challenges - how do you keep up with it all? But the opportunities are using the right technologies applied to the right questions, and that's how we're going to get answers.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Authenticity, respect, and being able to trust the people you work with and that are a part of your life.
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