Lisa Lopez-Smith

I attribute my success to the women who have mentored me and the leaders I have observed throughout my career. I have learned a great deal from people whose communication styles I respect and want to emulate, particularly their ability to communicate with others respectfully and objectively.

I have also learned to approach complex work by breaking it into manageable pieces. I do not believe everything has to be accomplished at once. Instead, I focus on taking projects and responsibilities in manageable chunks, understanding what needs to happen next, and continuing to move the work forward. That approach has helped me navigate an evolving career across healthcare operations, compliance, provider networks, population health, and healthcare technology.

The best career advice I have followed is to say yes to opportunities to learn and take on new responsibilities. Throughout my career, I have often been willing to step into work that was new to me, learn quickly, and figure out how to make it successful.

That willingness allowed me to continually expand my experience. I moved from healthcare administration and payer operations into provider data and network management, compliance and accreditation, population health and value-based care, and ultimately healthcare IT and EMR-related project work. Each new responsibility gave me an opportunity to learn something different and discover where my skills could have the greatest impact.

My advice to young women entering healthcare and healthcare technology is to say yes to opportunities, particularly opportunities that allow you to learn something new. I have always tried to approach new responsibilities with the attitude of, “Yes, I will take that work, and yes, I will learn it.”

You never know where an opportunity will lead. Some of the responsibilities that initially seemed outside my primary area of expertise ultimately expanded my understanding of healthcare and helped me develop a broader perspective. I encourage the next generation to remain curious, be willing to learn quickly, and recognize that experiences across different areas of healthcare can become valuable parts of their professional foundation.

One of the biggest challenges I see in healthcare technology and operations is the presence of silos between different departments and teams. This can be particularly challenging in a virtual environment, where people may not have the same opportunities to interact and understand how their work connects to the work of others.

At the same time, I see a significant opportunity in breaking down those silos. Healthcare organizations can create better outcomes when teams understand one another's responsibilities, communicate effectively, and recognize how operational, clinical, payer, data, and technology decisions affect one another. Another important challenge is knowing what you do not know. Staying curious, asking questions, and bringing the right people into a conversation are essential when working across such a complex environment.

Respect for the individual is one of the most important values I bring to both my professional and personal life. I understand that everyone works and operates differently, and I believe those differences should be respected rather than treated as problems.

I also believe strongly in having your colleagues' backs. I value collaboration, accountability, and creating an environment where people know they can rely on one another. When challenges arise, I try to get to the root cause by asking the “five whys” rather than immediately assuming bad intent. Understanding why something happened, listening to different perspectives, and working toward the underlying solution are important parts of how I approach both relationships and problem-solving.