Her Story
About Vanessa
Vanessa Fernandez serves as Assistant Chief Operating Officer at HealthLink, a federally qualified health center in Northwest Indiana, where she has worked for nine years. Her career began in early education and social services, including roles at Geminis Head Start and Meridian Health Services providing behavioral health support to foster children and dual language learners. After earning her Master's in Healthcare Administration through an online program at Kaplan University, now Purdue Global, she advanced to practice manager, site manager for the East Chicago facility, and program manager for the Food is Medicine and Remote Patient Monitoring initiatives before assuming her current leadership position two years ago. She holds an undergraduate degree in human development specialized in early childhood from Purdue University, completed in 2009. Fernandez attributes her success to her mother and family matriarchy as the first in her family to complete a graduate program, and she remains committed to serving her community through volunteering with the food bank of northwest and northern Indiana, Carmelite home, local churches, and Habitat for Humanity Women's Build. She values integrity, honesty, respect, servant leadership, family time, and collaborative work environments, and advises young women to trust their gut, ignore external noise, and open doors for others.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Vanessa
01What do you attribute your success to?
It probably started with my mom and my matriarchy of women. I wanted to make them proud... I was the first in my family to finish a graduate program... it continued with my kids and my own nuclear family. I wanted to make them proud and show them that regardless of the challenges that life or the hurdles that life puts in your way, there's no... just keep going. So I wanted to show them that you can be a mom and go to school and grow your career.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
Trust my gut. It came from our... a CEO I worked with. And, you know, a lot of the times, you're doubting yourself... I would say to that, trust your gut. You know, if you want to advance, it's going to be hard... It's not easy, but you have to try and take it one day at a time.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Don't let the noise outside affect your... or change your perspective of the goal you want to achieve... Especially as a minority... I don't want to be the only female at the table, and sometimes you will be. But don't let that hold you back. Open the door for other women to... Enter... And just don't... Don't give up outside of what's happening, or what you see, just keep fighting, keep pushing.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
Healthcare is just, in general, being attacked from different angles... barriers to access to care for the underserved... communities that are not healthy, they don't have the resources that they need... transportation, food, the cost of prescriptions. Medication, the cost of Healthcare in general, the cost of insurance. Those are all, challenges that healthcare is facing.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Definitely, integrity, honesty, respect, a sense of... Servant Leadership... I value spending time with your family and loved ones... having a culture in your work environment where you can collaborate and, you know, lean on each other to get to the finish line of the project, the goal. With that comes respect, integrity. In honesty.
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