Tyeisha Banks-Gardner
Tyeisha is a senior healthcare operations leader with over 15 years of progressive leadership experience within commercial health insurance organizations. She currently serves as Operations Manager, Appeals & Disputes at Florida Blue, where she has been with the organization since March 2017 and in her current role since January 2020.
In this role, Tyeisha provides operational leadership across commercial lines of business, overseeing regulatory appeals and disputes operations to ensure compliance, audit readiness, operational efficiency, and effective risk mitigation within a highly regulated healthcare environment. She leads workforce strategy, escalation management, and continuous improvement initiatives while maintaining a strong focus on service quality and member experience outcomes.
Prior to joining Florida Blue, Tyeisha spent 16 years with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, where she advanced through roles of increasing responsibility spanning corporate projects, system implementations, production operations, and compliance-focused initiatives. Throughout her career, she has been recognized for driving process improvement, reducing operational risk, and leading teams through complex organizational and regulatory transitions.
Tyeisha holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management and is Lean Green Belt certified. She is known for her strategic mindset, data-informed leadership approach, and ability to build high-performing teams that deliver sustainable results in complex healthcare operations. She has successfully led teams through significant change, including large-scale operational shifts during the COVID-19 pandemic, while fostering engagement, accountability, and resilience.
• Notary Public
• St. Petersburg College
• Spot Awards for Outstanding Performance
• Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Managers National Management Association
• Feeding Northeast Florida
What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to my faith in God, the strong foundation of values and resilience instilled in me by my family, particularly my father and grandmother, and to my children, whose strength and belief in me continually motivate me to persist, grow, and create meaningful opportunities.
What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best advice I’ve ever received is to stay curious and committed to learning, lead with integrity, treat everyone with fairness, and invest in developing the leadership of others.
What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
My advice to young women entering this industry: stay curious and open to learning, lead through service, respect everyone regardless of title, and invest in growing both yourself and those around you—because to whom much is given, much is required.
What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The biggest challenges in my field today include rising healthcare and pharmacy costs, as well as evolving government policies and market dynamics impacting the individual market. At the same time, there are significant opportunities to leverage lean process improvements and cross-functional collaboration to reduce costs and enhance service delivery.
What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
The values I hold most important in both my work and personal life are trust, service, integrity, compassion, and maintaining a healthy work-life balance.