Inspiring Women with Laurie McGraw
Advancing women to healthcare leadership–and keeping them there. Women comprise 70% of the healthcare workforce. They hold just 20% of the C-suite. Each week, host Laurie McGraw bridges that gap through conversations with the women rewriting healthcare’s leadership playbook.
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5 Years Of Inspiring Women: The Leadership Lessons That Changed Everything
<p>Five years ago, Laurie McGraw launched Inspiring Women on International Women's Day — her own birthday — with a simple belief: when women lead, we build a more just and equitable society. What followed was hundreds of conversations with some of the most remarkable women in leadership, healthcare, tech, business, and beyond.</p> <p><br></p> <p>This episode is different. There's no single guest. Instead, Laurie steps back and reflects on the conversations that have shaped her most — and the lessons that have stayed with her long after the recording stopped.</p> <p><br></p> <p>From Chelsea Clinton's conviction that t...
From Quitting Nursing 2 Semesters Before Graduating to Managing Benefits for 50,000 People | Jessica Palacios
<p>Jessica Palacios was two semesters away from her nursing degree when she walked into a patient's room mid-clinical and found an elderly woman alone in the dark, covered in bed sores, on the wrong mattress, with photos of her family taped to her IV pump. </p> <p>When Jessica raised the alarm, her professor told her to worry about it when she was a real nurse. She sat in her driveway and cried for 30 minutes that evening. </p> <p>That one moment sent her on a decade-long journey through accounting, psychology, sociology, and business before a faculty advisor finally...
Managing Healthcare Benefits For 215,000 People, What The Job Actually Looks Like | Laura Tauber
<p>What happens when a Wall Street bond analyst, urban planner, freelance filmmaker, and investment banker all become the same person, and that person ends up running healthcare benefits for 215,000 people at the University of California?</p> <p>Laura Tauber didn't follow the rulebook. She followed curiosity.</p> <p>Laura Tauber is the Executive Director of Self-Funded Health Plans at the University of California, Office of the President. She oversees PPO plans, HMO plans, and benefit partnerships with Anthem and Blue Shield for a workforce that spans everything from Nobel laureates to gardeners — active employees, early retirees, and families spread ac...
Leading 60,000 people: A Blueprint For Female Leadership In Global Business || Kristy Whitehurst
<p>"When you do your homework... when you can speak to the facts... they stop and they listen."</p> <p><br></p> <p>In this episode of Inspiring Women, Laurie McGraw sits down with Kristy Whitehurst, the powerhouse behind the employee benefits strategy at Genuine Parts Company (GPC). Managing the well-being of over 60,000 members across a global landscape is no small feat, yet Kristy has navigated this complex "puzzle" for over two decades.</p> <p>Kristy opens up about her unconventional start—from a degree in dietetics to becoming a leading voice in HR. She shares the raw reality of ri...
The Toxic Truth About 'Healthy' Eating: A Dietitian’s Confession - Caroline Susie || Ep. 234
<p>"We’ve been conditioned to fear our food, but the 'health halo' is the biggest deception of all."</p> <p><br></p> <p>Caroline Susie is not your average dietitian. </p> <p><br></p> <p>From the Today Show to the boardrooms of the world’s largest corporations, she has become one of the most influential voices in nutrition. But her message is often met with shock: she believes "all foods fit" and that much of what we’ve been told about "fake food" and organic labels is marketing, not science.</p> <p><br></p> <p>In this raw and wi...
The Toxic Truth About 'Healthy' Eating: A Dietitian’s Confession - Caroline Susie
<p>"We’ve been conditioned to fear our food, but the 'health halo' is the biggest deception of all."</p> <p>Caroline Susie is not your average dietitian. From the Today Show to the boardrooms of the world’s largest corporations, she has become one of the most influential voices in nutrition. But her message is often met with shock: she believes "all foods fit" and that much of what we’ve been told about "fake food" and organic labels is marketing, not science.</p> <p>In this raw and wide-ranging conversation, Caroline sits down with Laurie McGraw to dismantle the my...
Healthcare Executive's 2026 message to all Women! EP. 233
<p>My Roadmap for Leadership in 2026 Host: Laurie McGraw</p> <p><br></p> <p>Welcome to our very first episode of 2026! As I step into this new year, both in my role at Transcarent and as the host of this podcast, I’ve been thinking deeply about one word: Momentum. After more than 100s of conversations with incredible trailblazers, I’m dedicated to exploring how more inspiring women shape the world, and their businesses!</p> <p><br></p> <p>I’m so glad you’re here with me. </p> <p><br></p> <p>We will be dropping episodes every Tuesday with a n...
Reinventing Success as a Product Leader and Mom
<p>Cara Munnis was wearing an N95 mask while taking care of her daughter with norovirus all night because she had a critical meeting the next day and "I cannot get this thing." She showed up, ran the meeting, and afterward couldn't tell if anyone noticed she was operating on "one brain cell processing everything." Welcome to being a Chief Product Officer and a mom.</p> <p>Here's what most people don't know about the CPO role: it has the shortest tenure of any C-suite position—less than half that of other executives. You're supposed to be "Switzerland," the neutral pa...
CVS’ Chief Medical Officer on Simplifying Healthcare for 9,000 Communities
<p>Women comprise 75% of the healthcare workforce and make the majority of family healthcare decisions—yet hold only 20% of senior leadership positions. Dr. Amy Compton-Phillips, Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer of CVS Health, sees this gap as more than unfair.</p> <p>At CVS Health, Dr. Amy oversees clinical strategy for 9,000 community access points with a clear mission: simplify healthcare and make the right thing the easy thing. "We've put things like electronic medical records, narrow insurance networks, and administrative rigmarole between patients and people who can help them," she explains. "How can we start taking layers out?"</p>...
From Physical Therapist to COO: Beth Ratliff on Systems, Survival, and Strategic Vulnerability
<p>"I thought I understood healthcare—until I had cancer."</p> <p>Beth Ratliff had spent her entire career in healthcare operations. She'd built multi-site clinical systems, led digital transformations, and risen from physical therapist to C-suite executive. But when she was diagnosed with colon cancer, she discovered something that would fundamentally change how she leads. And it had nothing to do with clinical protocols or operational efficiency.</p> <p>Today, as Chief Operating Officer of Premise Health, Beth has built a reputation in Nashville's male-dominated healthcare executive world for an approach that shouldn't work, but does. She talks openly ab...
