Her Story
About Kenyatta
Kenyatta Nwako serves as manager at Memorial Manor for Memorial Health Systems, a role she began on August 3, 2026. With 26 years in respiratory therapy, she has worked across inpatient and outpatient care, cardiac, interventional pulmonology, and pulmonary rehab. Her experience includes long-term care in pediatric and adult settings, post-acute care, and developing care plans for outpatient pulmonary rehab patients. She holds an associate degree in respiratory therapy from Reading Area Community College earned in 2000, a bachelor's in health administration, and a master's in health administration from Radford University completed in 2020. She is currently pursuing an interventional pulmonology certification and attended Immaculata University for her undergraduate studies. Kenyatta is a peer-reviewed author on a paper about pulmonary rehab and maintains memberships in AARC and NBRC. Her leadership emphasizes coaching staff, attracting and retaining talent, and focusing on staffing, training, and equipment.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Kenyatta
01What do you attribute your success to?
My grandmother, who taught me life lessons about education, taking care of people, and never allowing others' perspectives to define me. She was a maid born in 1911 and inspired me with her wisdom and resilience.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
Just because the person you interviewed with could not see your value is because a higher power was hiding it, because something better was waiting.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Believe in yourself. If you had not failed at something, you will never understand success. You can't be successful if you've never failed, because you need courage. Courage is my number one core value.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
Lack of staffing and accelerated programs that don't allow for true comprehension and critical thinking. The biggest opportunity is going back to basics, inviting people in before they leave high school, and showing how creativity applies to jobs like respiratory therapy.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Courage, kindness, and passion. Courage to keep going after failure. Kindness has substance and truth unlike mere niceness. Passion gives the spark to keep going and provide unconditional care.
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