Kathleen Mandziuk, MPH, RN

I attribute much of my success to the extraordinary mentors who have shaped my journey, particularly the women who broke barriers and paved the way for those who followed. Their guidance, example, and willingness to open doors showed me what was possible and gave me the confidence to pursue opportunities across healthcare, technology, and innovation. I have also been fortunate to work alongside mentors and colleagues who challenged my thinking, encouraged me to take risks, and pushed me to grow. Their influence has shaped not only my career, but also my commitment to paying it forward by mentoring others, creating opportunities, and opening doors for the next generation of leaders.

The best career advice I have received is that I do not need to be the smartest person in the room. Great leadership is about surrounding yourself with talented people who bring expertise, experiences, and perspectives that complement your own—and then creating an environment where those strengths can come together.

Equally important is the ability to communicate. Whether you are leading a team, working with customers, or building stakeholder relationships, even the best ideas have limited impact if you cannot communicate them effectively. Bringing the right people together, listening to different perspectives, and communicating with clarity are what ultimately turn great ideas into stronger solutions and lasting relationships.

I would encourage young women to build their professional networks in person and invest in genuine relationships. Those connections can lead to opportunities for employment, collaboration, mentorship, and continued professional growth. While technology has changed how we connect, I believe some of the traditional relationship-building skills are becoming valuable again, and developing a strong network can create opportunities that may not be immediately visible.

Artificial intelligence represents one of the greatest opportunities—and most important challenges—facing healthcare and clinical research today. AI and emerging technologies have the potential to accelerate research, transform evidence generation, improve efficiency, and ultimately enhance patient outcomes. In highly regulated environments, however, innovation must be balanced with responsibility, ensuring these technologies are appropriately governed, validated, transparent, and compliant.

Higher education faces a different but equally important workforce challenge. As institutions increasingly rely on part-time faculty, there is a growing need to identify qualified professionals, prepare them to succeed in the classroom, and create meaningful opportunities for their continued growth and development. Through Adjunctions, we are using EdTech to help address this gap by connecting institutions with qualified part-time faculty while creating pathways for experienced professionals to bring their real-world expertise into higher education.

Across both HealthTech and EdTech, I see the same opportunity: use technology not simply to automate what already exists, but to solve meaningful problems, connect people with opportunities, and create lasting impact.

Loyalty is one of the values that matters most to me. I believe in standing by people, especially when things are difficult, working through challenges together, and emerging stronger on the other side. I also believe deeply in authenticity—staying true to who I am and bringing that same sense of self to both my personal and professional life. And finally, I believe in dreaming big. Some of the most meaningful opportunities come when we are willing to push past fear, take a chance on ourselves, and pursue possibilities that may initially seem out of reach.