Valentina Engelmann
Valentina Engelmann is an Executive Director of Market Access and Value-Based Partnerships at GoPath Diagnostics in Chicago, Illinois, where she provides strategic and operational leadership across molecular diagnostics, laboratory services, and genetic testing programs. She is a certified Medical Technologist (MT) through the American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP) and has built a distinguished career at the intersection of clinical laboratory science, reimbursement strategy, and payer engagement. Her work is focused on expanding patient access to high-quality genetic testing through improved coverage, streamlined authorization pathways, and strong provider and payer alignment.
In her current role, Valentina leads multiple high-impact teams, including credentialing and payer enrollment, as well as the genetics hub responsible for prior authorizations and genetic counseling coordination. She works closely with the revenue cycle management organization to evaluate denials, improve billing integrity, and develop data-driven strategies that strengthen reimbursement outcomes and payer policy alignment. In parallel, she partners daily with laboratory scientists, research teams, and marketing leadership to support the development, validation, and successful commercialization of new genetic and molecular diagnostic test panels. Her leadership also extends into value-based partnerships, where she collaborates with academic medical centers, hospital systems, and university-based programs to implement and scale genetic services that improve access, clinical efficiency, and provider usability.
Over the past 12 years, Valentina has played a central role in building and expanding GoPath’s genetics program from its early development into a fully established, high-performing service line. She has been instrumental in shaping its “white glove” service model, ensuring providers receive end-to-end support in navigating complex authorization requirements and payer processes. Her ability to connect clinical science with operational execution and reimbursement strategy has made her a key driver in advancing both innovation and sustainability within the organization.
Outside of her professional accomplishments, Valentina has been married for 13 years and is a devoted mother to three children—a 10-year-old daughter, an 8-year-old son, and a 4-year-old daughter. Family is at the center of her life, and she and her husband are actively involved in their church community, where they regularly volunteer together. She also contributes through music by singing in the church choir. In her personal time, she enjoys cooking and baking, which she describes as her primary way of expressing care and connection with others. As a family, they value time spent outdoors, especially biking, exploring, and taking road trips, as well as traveling together to experience new places and create lasting memories.
• Medical Laboratory Technology Certification through ASCP 2012
• Elgin Community College - Associate Degree in Applied Science - Clinical Laboratory Technology, with honors, 2012
• Cooks and feeds 100 people weekly for Awana Ministry Meal Deal program
• Awana Ministry children's program volunteer and secretary
• Church choir member
What do you attribute your success to?
When I joined GoPath, it was only a small company, a startup lab, and I saw a lot of potential and opportunity. As a person who came from another country and had to learn English in the first grade, I've always been up for a challenge. Even though it's been challenging and sometimes difficult, I have very much continued to persevere and move forward with the attitude that this too shall pass, we'll get through it. But I also have to give a lot of credit to my team. I would not have been able to do this all by myself. I have been very blessed to have had amazing women who have joined my team and have made GoPath what it is, and grew this department into what it is. They really helped me and have been my left and right hands. I really can't take all the credit, honestly. A lot of it is just perseverance and just keeping that positive spirit and wanting to achieve goals and bring success to the company. I have a lot of respect for Dr. Lu, who's our CEO and medical director. But I have to say, a lot of the growth and a lot of the success has been attributed to these amazing women that are on my team, and I owe a lot to them.
What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I've ever received, and this is probably more recent advice, is that sometimes it's best not to ask for permission, but rather just go for it. What that means is, if you're going to go into a project and you're going to do something, and you've been given the opportunity to take on an endeavor, don't so much ask 'okay, what should I do here?' or 'how would you like me to do this?' It's more, just go and do it. And if you happen to do something that's not necessarily the direction that leadership wanted you to go in, you can ask for forgiveness at that point. But at least you know that if you went into it, you went into it with your own head, and you just kind of go confidently in the direction that you want to go in. Don't ask for permission, just go for it.
What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
If science and mystery excites you, clinical laboratory medicine is the space for you. It takes, depending on if you would like to stay in the lab space or go into executive leadership, a difference in personality. You have to kind of really want to put yourself out there if you want to go into more of a leadership role. But I think just, be confident in yourself, know what you want, and just go for it. Don't sell yourself short of your talents, and always keep your head held high, and move forward in the direction that you want to go in, and don't let anything stop you.
What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
I think the biggest challenge is probably just being that translator. You're trying to translate things to patients and making sure that they understand genetic testing and what their options are. You're translating for providers because they don't exactly maybe understand everything that goes into getting a test pre-authorized and covered for a patient. And then, of course, working together not just as a lab, but we also have our biopharma and research. We have these really cool, exciting, sexy tests. However, guidelines don't catch up to them, so we're having to kind of hold ourselves back a little bit on launching new tests because the guidelines aren't meeting up to this more kind of sci-fi type of test that we're launching. So I think the biggest thing is just kind of translating and webbing together all those things that kind of make it all go together, and making it make sense to people.
What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
In my personal life, I think for me, number one is having God in my life is everything. I would not be where I am today, and have what I have, and be blessed like I am if it wasn't for God. So I think number one, that's my number one thing, is give it all back to God, and just thank Him for His blessings, because I have not done this in my own strength, but His strength. I try to transpire that where I work as well, and just be that positive light. I love leaving people better than how I find them. If I have left you better than how I found you, I have done something good, and I feel then I'm okay to move on to my next thing. With every person that I've passed in my life, everything that I've ever done, anything that I do, I really do try to leave that person better than I found them. That is a goal of mine.