Inspiring Women with Laurie McGraw is now available on YouTube! 

Laurie McGraw is speaking with Inspiring Woman Dr. Carladenise Edwards.  Known for her thought leadership stemming from a thirty+ year executive career which has included three tours of duty as a chief strategy officer at various prominent health systems.  In 2023, Carladenise kicks off this year with an optimistic outlook.  “We need to claim joy” and “use this year to inspire our best selves.”  What this means for Carladenise is prolifically writing.  As a surviving sibling, she is putting words to page to capture the story of her brother.  And as a healthcare professional, she is also writing a manifesto, or rather, a vision for a new system of healthcare that is sustainable, effective and efficient and can serve the needs of all – those with means and with privilege and even those without.  Some of her ideas hark back to the first hospital ever formed in the 1400s in Barcelona.

Hear Dr. Edwards talk about:

1. Confidence came early (thanks Dad):
   
   • As the daughter of a US Marine, an Integration Officer whose job moved from place to place and was to be the only African American at differe
     
   • Be courageous, be fearless, own your space
     
   
   
2. Manifesto
   
3. Health Equity
   
4. Career knock downs and recovery
   
5. Most recent learning
   

BIO

Dr. Carladenise Armbrister Edwards has thirty years of professional experience ranging from Assistant Dean at University of Pennsylvania to government official at the state and federal level. She is an accomplished healthcare executive, most recently served as Executive Vice President, Chief Strategy Officer for Henry Ford Health, a $6.8B integrated health care delivery system headquartered in Detroit, MI where she was responsible for M&A, innovation, government relations, planning, technology transfer, and system transformation. Prior to that she led strategy for Providence St. Joseph Health, a $24B health care company headquartered in Seattle, Washington where she also served as Chief Contracting Officer and Chief Administrative Officer for Population Health.

Dr. Edwards has proven success achieving revenue growth exceeding $3.4B and helping health care companies achieve operational efficiency on the provider and plan sides of the business, not to mention her successful career as a fundraiser. Her academic background, and professional experience in the fields of medical sociology, epidemiology, marketing & business development, health information technology, and healthcare financing make her a highly sought-after advisor, speaker, and director.

In 2022, she was recognized by Modern Healthcare and Becker’s as one of the top Women Leaders in Healthcare and she was named one of the 50 Women of Excellence by the Michigan Chronicle and elected President of the cohort by her peers. She most recently joined the board of Clover Health [NASDAQ: CLOV] where she serves on the Compensation and Governance Committees. She is also a strategic advisor to Parsley Health, 4L Data Intelligence, and the Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics.

Dr. Edwards and her husband, Herman Edwards have started two endowed scholarships, one at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Nursing and the other at Johnson C. Smith University in support of African-American students seeking higher education. She is most proud of her service to the community including serving on Heluna Health’s Board of Directors, where she serves on the Finance Committee and Chaired the Advancement Committee. She also is a board director for the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) serving on the finance committee and a board director for Rand Health, as well as Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA).

Dr. Edwards received her BA and MS.Ed from University of Pennsylvania and her Ph.D. from the University of Florida. She is enrolled in Harvard University’s Adaptive Leadership Initiative as a fellow. Dr. Edwards is currently devoting her time to community and corporate board service. When she is not working, you can find her reading and spending time with family.