Hope, Power, and Healthcare

Stop Playing Small: The Real Reason You’re Not Getting Ahead

What can you unlock when you stop gatekeeping yourself, and start showing up? In this week’s episode of Hope, Power and Healthcare, hosts Melissa and Chris are back (and fired up) after a whirlwind week of conferences, conversations, and community-building moments that sparked new ideas, and a few healthy debates. From the Women Business Leaders Summit, to sustainability summits and AI forums, our hosts unpack what really happens when you get the right people in the room. When events can be more than networking and mentorship, but also the uncomfortable (but necessary) conversations that truly drive progress. Melissa shares a few insights from speaking on her panel on financial empowerment and the power of women supporting women, while challenging the norms around money, mentorship and “queen-making”. Chris takes us inside a high-intensity AI conference, where opposing views collide on stage, raising critical questions about ethics, regulation, and the future of creativity. If you’ve ever wondered how to grow your network, find your people, or just challenge your own thinking, this episode is for you.Don’t gatekeep yourself. Show up. Join the conversation.#HealthcareInnovation #AIinHealthcare #Community #HopePowerandHealthcareHosts:Chris Hemphill - Chris’s 17 years in healthcare technology have spanned sales, operations, data science IC, and AI leadership. Chris couples this with a focus on health equity and serves as the NYU McSilver Institute for Poverty Policy Research Fellow for Healthcare AI. Chris’s currently leads Modular Feedback, which focuses on helping healthcare innovators find and build thoughtful AI use cases: https://modularfeedback.com Melissa Reilly - Melissa spent the last 20 years leading innovations at major payers: UnitedHealth Group(Optum Ventures), Aetna, and Evernorth/Cigna. She’s helped drive and commercialize multiple startups in AI & consumer testing, and she is now driving product and commercialization for healthcare innovators full-time. She brings industry expertise as well as a background in law, negotiation, & real estate. Her company’s name is STLTH. Production:Edited by Alyssa SchrollMusic by Chris Hemphill

Are We Ready for AI Care Plans? Evaluating Darmouth Surgeon's App: STLTH Feedback Ep. 1

Are we ready for AI-powered care plans? This week, the Hope, Power and Healthcare team introduced our new event format: STLTH Feedback. This was a live, unscripted deep dive where founders shared their innovation and received real-time input from industry insiders. Our first “patient zero” is Dr. Asha Zimmerman, a former transplant surgeon, turned founder of Primary Intelligence. This AI-powered platform is designed to help patients navigate new symptoms, access health information, and walk into doctor visits more informed. Our hosts, Chris Hemphill and Melissa Reilly, were joined by a special third guest - Dr. Tarun Kapoor, a physician and former digital transformation executive. Together, our “nurse sharks”, created an event where founders bring in real problems, and the goal isn’t to tear them down, but to help them build something better. If you’re building in health tech, working in care delivery, or are just curious about where AI is taking healthcare, this special event episode is for you. Connect with us: Follow Hope, Power & Healthcare on LinkedIn Download the Primary Intelligence App: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.voxcura.voxcura&pcampaignid=web_share Hosts:Chris Hemphill - Chris’s 17 years in healthcare technology have spanned sales, operations, data science IC, and AI leadership. Chris couples this with a focus on health equity and serves as the NYU McSilver Institute for Poverty Policy Research Fellow for Healthcare AI. Chris’s currently leads Modular Feedback, which focuses on helping healthcare innovators find and build thoughtful AI use cases: https://modularfeedback.com Melissa Reilly - Melissa spent the last 20 years leading innovations at major payers: UnitedHealth Group(Optum Ventures), Aetna, and Evernorth/Cigna. She’s helped drive and commercialize multiple startups in AI & consumer testing, and she is now driving product and commercialization for healthcare innovators full-time. She brings industry expertise as well as a background in law, negotiation, & real estate. Her company’s name is STLTH. Production:Edited by Alyssa SchrollMusic by Chris Hemphill

The Dangerous Illusion of Trust in Startups & AI

What does it actually mean to trust someone, especially when the stakes are high? In this episode of Hope, Power & Healthcare, our hosts Chris Hemphill and Melissa Reilly unpack a concept that sits at the center of every decision we make. Trust. From choosing who to build with, to navigating co-founder dynamics, to evaluating whether AI outputs deserve your confidence, this conversation moves beyond surface-level advice, and into the real, often uncomfortable, work of figuring out who, and what, you can rely on. Melissa reflects on the frameworks she uses to evaluate potential opportunities, leaders, teams, and meaningful work, and why trust has become the deciding factor in where she invests her time and energy. Chris shares how trust is built “in the trenches”, and why small, real-world tests often reveal more than any interview or recommendation ever could. Our hosts bring the conversation to a technology perspective, challenging the idea that AI model outputs should always be taken at face value. From bias in healthcare algorithms, to practical ways to validate LLM responses, this episode makes a compelling case for starting from skepticism, and earning trust through validation. Whether you’re building a company, joining one, or deploying AI into real-world systems, always ask yourself. Can I trust it when it matters the most? Connect with us!Follow our LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/hope-power-healthcare/?viewAsMember=true Hosts:Chris Hemphill - Chris’s 17 years in healthcare technology have spanned sales, operations, data science IC, and AI leadership. Chris couples this with a focus on health equity and serves as the NYU McSilver Institute for Poverty Policy Research Fellow for Healthcare AI. Chris’s currently leads Modular Feedback, which focuses on helping healthcare innovators find and build thoughtful AI use cases: https://modularfeedback.com Melissa Reilly - Melissa spent the last 20 years leading innovations at major payers: UnitedHealth Group(Optum Ventures), Aetna, and Evernorth/Cigna. She’s helped drive and commercialize multiple startups in AI & consumer testing, and she is now driving product and commercialization for healthcare innovators full-time. She brings industry expertise as well as a background in law, negotiation, & real estate. Her company’s name is STLTH. Production:Edited by Alyssa SchrollMusic by Chris Hemphill

What Happens When a Healthcare Leader Becomes the Patient?

What happens when someone who has spent their whole career inside healthcare, suddenly becomes the patient? In this moving episode of Hope, Power and Healthcare, hosts Chris and Melissa sit down with healthcare veteran Terry Tuznik. Terry is a former Navy nurse, health IT leader and current consultant, who now finds herself navigating the healthcare system from the other side. After being unexpectedly diagnosed with Stage 3C ovarian cancer, Terry began openly documenting her journey across social media. What started as a way to keep loved ones informed has become something bigger. A mission to inspire others, shed light on the realities of healthcare from the patient perspective, and remind people that even in the hardest moments, joy is still possible. During this discussion, Melissa reflects on her own cancer survival story, and the group explores resilience, advocacy, and what healthcare leaders can learn when they truly listen to patient experiences. This episode is a reminder that hope, power, and humanity can still exist inside healthcare, even when the system makes it hard to see them. Follow Terry’s Journey here:TikTok: @Terrys.Cancer.Journey #HopePowerandHealthcareHosts:Chris Hemphill - Chris’s 17 years in healthcare technology have spanned sales, operations, data science IC, and AI leadership. Chris couples this with a focus on health equity and serves as the NYU McSilver Institute for Poverty Policy Research Fellow for Healthcare AI. Chris’s currently leads Modular Feedback, which focuses on helping healthcare innovators find and build thoughtful AI use cases: https://modularfeedback.com Melissa Reilly - Melissa spent the last 20 years leading innovations at major payers: UnitedHealth Group(Optum Ventures), Aetna, and Evernorth/Cigna. She’s helped drive and commercialize multiple startups in AI & consumer testing, and she is now driving product and commercialization for healthcare innovators full-time. She brings industry expertise as well as a background in law, negotiation, & real estate. Her company’s name is STLTH. Production:Edited by Alyssa SchrollMusic by Chris Hemphill

How Personal Finance Apps are Failing Neurodivergent People: A Conversation with Natasha Barber

After years of navigating trauma, ADHD, and financial instability, Natasha Barber decided to build the financial tool she always wished existed. In this episode of Hope, Power and Healthcare, Chris and Melissa sit down with Natasha Barber, the founder and CEO of Pistachio Pay. Pistachio Pay is a trauma-informed financial wellness platform, designed specifically for neurodivergent individuals, or those whose brains do not respond to the traditional budgeting tools. Natasha shares her powerful journey, and the personal experiences that inspired her to build a completely new category of “fintech”. After years of navigating through financial instability and systemic barriers, Natasha set out to create a new tool that actually meets neurodivergent people where they are. This conversation explores why traditional budgeting apps fail so many neurodivergent users, and the connection between financial stress, mental health and suicide risk. The conversation gets personal covering resilience, entrepreneurship, and the importance of building systems that work for people, not against them. This episode has something for everyone, you won’t want to miss it. Links from this episode:Visit Pistachio Pay, and get on the Waitlist!:https://pistachiopay.com/ Follow Natasha Barber on LinkedIn, to stay up to date on all things Pistachio Pay!:https://www.linkedin.com/in/natasha-barber-pistachio-pay/ Hosts:Chris Hemphill - Chris’s 17 years in healthcare technology have spanned sales, operations, data science IC, and AI leadership. Chris couples this with a focus on health equity and serves as the NYU McSilver Institute for Poverty Policy Research Fellow for Healthcare AI. Chris’s currently leads Modular Feedback, which focuses on helping healthcare innovators find and build thoughtful AI use cases: https://modularfeedback.com Melissa Reilly - Melissa spent the last 20 years leading innovations at major payers: UnitedHealth Group(Optum Ventures), Aetna, and Evernorth/Cigna. She’s helped drive and commercialize multiple startups in AI & consumer testing, and she is now driving product and commercialization for healthcare innovators full-time. She brings industry expertise as well as a background in law, negotiation, & real estate. Her company’s name is STLTH. Production:Edited by Alyssa SchrollMusic by Chris Hemphill