Did you know that women make up over 70% of the global healthcare workforce, but they hold only 25% of leadership positions in healthcare in the US and Canada?
Despite their relatively small representation, female leaders are reshaping the health and wellness industry and paving the way towards a healthier future for all. This is because their unique perspectives and approaches enable them to reimagine patient experiences and pioneer innovative solutions to healthcare challenges.
In this piece, we delve into the stories of eight remarkable women who are shattering boundaries in the health and wellness industry and making a great impact on people’s lives.
Kirthika Parmeswaran
Kicking off strong, Kirthika Parmeswaran is the visionary founder and CEO of Vital Start Health, a Penn Center for Innovation early-stage digital therapeutic startup.
Through Vital Start Health, she aims to empower women, families, and mental health practitioners to prevent and treat perinatal mood and anxiety disorders by using a virtual and augmented reality framework enhanced with analytics and AI.
Kirthika’s impressive academic background includes a Master’s in Computer Science from Washington University in St. Louis and an Executive Master’s in Technology Management from the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Engineering and Wharton School of Business. She also has received numerous awards and honors, such as the Outstanding Leadership in Healthcare award.
Dr. Krystal L. Culler
Dr. Krystal L. Culler is the founder of Virtual Brain Health Center, an online platform focused on brain health, healthy aging, and dementia prevention.
As a doctor of behavioral health and a holistic brain health expert, she wants to make sure that everyone has the right tools and routines to live a brain-healthy life. Her goal is clear: to equip people with practical solutions that seamlessly fit into their daily routine and empower them to take charge of their brain wellness today.
Dr. Krystal has been working in this field for almost 20 years, teaming up with individuals, families, doctors, and organizations specializing in brain-related diagnoses. And through the Let’s Talk Brain Health! podcast, she shares her expertise and offers a wealth of knowledge to help you optimize your cognitive potential.
Lauren Orlick
Lauren Orlick is on a mission to reinvent the patient experience for women, ensuring they feel protected and covered, quite literally.
Driven by personal experiences within the healthcare system, including her mother’s fight against cancer and her co-founder’s heart condition, Lauren created HeartSnug with Sara Dorband and Lisa Humiston.
HeartSnug is an adjustable, X-ray safe chest garment that offers comfort during medical procedures. Through these bras, Lauren strives to help patients feel comfortable during procedures often associated with physical exposure and emotional vulnerability.
Moreover, Lauren participates in podcast appearances to highlight the importance of recognizing women’s health needs within the healthcare space. And she explores ways that industry and government policies can promote equitable access to healthcare.
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Anna Rahe
Anna Rahe is a successful business owner and fascia health and wellness entrepreneur. As the founder of GST Body, she’s built a thriving business and helped 10,000+ people find lasting change by restoring their bodies, including celebrities like Robert Downey Jr., Emmy Rossum, and Charlie Hunnam.
In her early 20s, Anna suffered from chronic pain and started searching for a fix to this agony that plagued her life. In her quest to find the answer, she discovered fascia, a vital yet overlooked organ within the body, and completely reversed her pain. Following this pivotal change in her life, she felt driven to help others just like her and created GST Body.
Now 25+ years later, she’s committed to helping as many people as possible to prioritize their well-being, reclaim their energy, and embark on their healing journey using the unique tools she has developed. The best part is that Anna has great tips on how to integrate movement into your daily life even if you’re busy.
Bethany Corbin
Bethany Corbin is a healthcare innovation and femtech attorney aiming to enable thought-leading companies to revolutionize the global women’s health sector.
As the founder and CEO of FemInnovation, she assists founders, clinicians, politicians, and advocates in transforming and disrupting “standard” care delivery for women’s health through tailored legal and educational programs. A strong advocate for community engagement, she devotes her time to mentoring health technology startups in five accelerator programs.
In addition to her speaking engagements at women’s health conferences, Bethany is the editor and co-author of the upcoming book “Innovating in Healthcare – Legal, Entrepreneurial, and Ethical Considerations.”
Honored as a Top 200 Trailblazing Leader in Women’s Health and Femtech, she is also the recipient of the prestigious 2023 Champion in Healthcare Award. With her insights featured in esteemed publications such as Fortune, BBC, NPR, and Forbes, she’s solidified her position as a leading voice in healthcare innovation.
Nan Wise
Dr. Nan Wise is a neuroscientist, best-selling author of Why Good Sex Matters, sex therapist, and licensed psychotherapist. For over 30 years, she has been dedicated to helping individuals and couples uncover the true sources of their unhappiness, dissatisfaction, and unease.
Through her studies, Dr. Nan is redefining our understanding of sex and showcasing the critical role that pleasure plays in enhancing our health and happiness. She delves into why we are experiencing less pleasure than ever before and how we can tap into our full sexual potential.
In addition to her book, she has authored several scientific papers on the neural correlates of sexual pleasure and contributed her expert opinion to top-tier publications such as National Geographic, The Atlantic, Time, Women’s Health Magazine, The Washington Post, and HuffPost.
Tracy Otsuka
Tracy Otsuka is a certified ADHD coach, attorney, and the author of ADHD for Smart Ass Women. And she’s a strong believer that “fitting in is overrated.”
Tracy has transformed the lives of a diverse range of clients, helping them to see their neurodivergence as a powerful asset rather than a limitation. With a hyper focus on revolutionizing the conversation around ADHD and women, she has cultivated a significant community – she moderates an ADHD Facebook group with almost 100,000 members.
Added to that, Tracy hosts the podcast ADHD for Smart Ass Women, which has achieved over 5 million downloads and ranks as the top performer in its category. Her expertise and experience as an adult living with ADHD are regularly sought out by top tier media including Inc, Forbes, HealthCentral, and The Goal Digger Podcast.
Ali Shapiro
At the age of 13, Ali Shapiro was diagnosed with cancer, a battle that led her to struggle with binge eating and emotional eating, resulting in a 30-pound weight gain between high school and college. As a result, weight loss became an obsession, and she thought her willpower was the main problem.
However, everything changed when she began to truly examine her health, body, and food struggles and initiated her Truce With Food journey.
Today, Ali is a holistic nutritionist, integrated health coach, and rebel with a serious cause. She is the host of the top-ranked podcast Insatiable where she offers actionable advice and unfiltered conversations about food, truth, transformation, and reform.
Her work and clients’ unique success have been featured in well + Good, mindbodygreen, Prevention, Women’s Health and Forbes, as well as industry leading podcasts Being Boss, Tell Me Something True, and Food Heaven.
Disclosure: This article includes a client of PodWritten.