Population Health

November 21, 2023

Initiative co-hosts entrepreneurial women in population health panel discussion

Moderator listens while a panelist speaks to the audienceThe Population Health Initiative and Buerk Center for Entrepreneurship’s Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership program (WE Lead) partnered on October 11, 2023 to host a panel of innovative women working in population health. Each of the women had a unique industry background that intersects with population health. Despite their different professional focuses, the panel shared a drive for improving health outcomes and digested many commonalities in their experiences during the event.

    Panel Members:

    Mariza Hardin
    Co-Founder and COO, Zócalo Health

    Sravanthi Parasa, MD MPH
    Swedish Health Services, Gastroenterology

    Emily Pesce
    CEO, Joon

    Elise Rasmussen
    Climate and Environmental Justice Associate, City of Seattle

Notably, each member of the panel described shifting their career path after realizing a gap in population health. Emily Pesce, for example, was called to action by the mental health crisis in young adults aged 13-24. In her role as CEO at Joon, she aims to support this age group and help youth realize the agency in their lives. Similarly, Mariza Hardin previously worked developing technologies at large corporations to expand healthcare access. However, she soon noticed that her efforts were not reaching her community as a Latino American. This pushed her to co-found Zócalo Health, a virtual tool that enhances the primary care experience for Latino families. For all of the women, their keen awareness of their impact and compassion for communities guided them to their current position.

The panel also discussed the importance of “the willingness to be misunderstood” in entrepreneurship. Along each of their paths, people have told them their vision would not work. To be an entrepreneur, they noted, is to have the tenacity to keep going. Sravanthi Parasa, a gastroenterologist at Swedish Health Services, noted that her ‘willingness’ was pivotal in her efforts to increase diversity in clinical trials and push for innovative AI patient care solutions. When she started her journey, there was not much evidence for the gaps she aimed to fill. To convince others of the need she conducted research to create the evidence required. Other panel members noted similar experiences and recounted when qualified people told them their idea was wrong. In many cases they had to summon the confidence to realize what they were doing was not wrong, it was questioning the status quo.

Lastly, Elise Rasmussen, a Seattle climate and environmental justice associate, described that she often aims to work towards solutions with more understanding, empathy, and compassion while also being assertive and bold in her work. She said it’s important to look at every situation as an opportunity, particularly in the climate justice space.

“If you can shake things up in the belly of the beast, it’s actually highly effective.” Elise Rasmussen

The panel led an insightful conversation and participants, both students and faculty, reported a positive experience. Please subscribe to our newsletter to be notified about future events of this nature.