How My Mother's Healthcare Journey Shapes My Work


People often ask why I pivoted to healthcare.

This post attempts to unpack my usual answer: my mom.

Today is her birthday. Yes, she’s still with us. Yes, we’re still navigating all of the things.

It feels necessary to acknowledge that we all have stories about the current healthcare system. Despite our experiences taking many forms, it’s one that’s shared. Healthcare is as complex as it is humbling. And for this post, my perspective skews more caregiver than investor.

The context:

I grew up in Hartford, CT, a skyline once dominated by insurance companies and their shadows. But many years later, I am only now getting to know them. With time and distance came clarity on their incentives and design.

In 2021, my mom was diagnosed with cancer, Cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL).

In 2024, kidney failure and dialysis became a 3x/wk tether, and a transplant a future hope.

With multiple specialists and competing priorities, adaptation became the theme. Quickly noting that her medical conditions are one story and the system itself another. The last few years have been her and collectively us at our most vulnerable, navigating not only a sense of lost control but everything from fragmented care and bureaucracy to financial stress and logistical challenges.

And that’s why I’ve pivoted into healthcare.

The work:

The existing healthcare framework compounds pre-existing inequities.

Social determinants of health amplify them, a context I lived in but didn’t have the language for until grad school. My experiences inspired an interest in culturally competent community- and patient-centered solutions, as well as the relationship between quality of care and quality of life.

And look, the venture ecosystem isn’t free of challenges, but it’s an opportunity to invest in people building things for broader impact and scale.

This is where my personal and professional worlds converge.

My mother's journey illuminates the problems, but we can build the solutions together.