A Moment with Bridgette Collado is part of our interview series featuring thought leaders in research and healthcare. Each interview includes 7 short and stimulating questions.
Bridgette Collado is a strategist + operator that recently moved into a Head of Strategy and Operations role at the amazing company Onboard Health. For more from Bridgette, find her on Twitter.
1. Tell us something we don’t know. (Anything!)
I love to sing, but I’m shy about it.
2. Which fiction book would you recommend to researchers and innovators in healthcare, and why?
I see many lessons for our field in The Alchemist, particularly that chasing shiny objects may bring adventure, but the answers are so often right where we started asking the questions – in our communities. For me, the question then becomes how do we bring out the treasures in our presence that might help all of us be able to chase our dreams?
3. What are you working on right now that you’re excited about?
Putting my professional focus on the mission of Onboard Health has me excited to go to work like never before! Not only do I get to flex my superpowers in my role as Head of Strategy and Operations, I get to interact with so many passionate leaders in the health innovation space keeping me continually inspired.
4. Who’s doing something that you admire in healthcare today, and why is it so cool?
Wow, there are so many. Readers can stay tuned the Onboard Health newsletter to learn about individuals and companies we admire…but if I have to choose one right now, that would be the work being done at Live Chair Health. Their work is revolutionary in that it’s taking a tried and true approach from traditional public health and putting it to scale.
5. What’s the biggest barrier to getting things done in your line of work?
Companies shying away from putting dollars behind their DEI strategies. Like anything else, DEI efforts need to be well resourced for them to be effective.
6. Imagine you win an award for impacting healthcare. What did you do?
I would be thrilled if one day I win an award for helping us progress toward a more equitable future of health by helping accelerate access for a more inclusive workforce.
7. What advice would you give innovators in healthcare?
Make diversity, equity, and inclusion a part of your business plan starting from now – it’s never too early or late. Measure it, be accountable for how you are measuring up, and then always ask how you could be doing better. The data are clear – the more inclusive your culture and policies and the more diverse your team, the better your business outcomes.
About Bridgette Collado
Professionally, I am a strategist + operator that recently moved into a Head of Strategy and Operations role at the amazing company Onboard Health. Most of my prior experience falls into strategy + ops for digital products for the health space. I moved into digital health from my clinical experience designing interventions leveraging behavioral science as a UX designer and content SME (I am also a registered dietitian nutritionist). It’s been an amazing journey so far!
Personally, I am super curious about the world around us. I could listen to people tell their stories all day. I’m equally content to be outdoors marveling at nature and the built environment. My life seems to sit on many cusps and I feel like it’s given me the opportunity to look at and understand many perspectives to help me translate and connect. I walk in this world as a first-generation American from Dominican and German immigrants (but my Spanish and German language skills are rusty).
