Kristi Ebong

Previous Experience

• Orbita, SVP with roles across product, sales, & marketing, early-stage digital health company
• Cedars-Sinai, Head of Emerging Technology; Cedars-Sinai Accelerator, Launch Team & Pipeline/IR lead
• Stanford Healthcare, Digital Health and Innovation
• The Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT, Policy for Provider EHR Adoption
• Epic Systems, Implementation Management
• The Johns Hopkins University, M.P.H., M.B.A. and The University of Wisconsin-Madison, B.A. Political Science & Global Security
• The Johns Hopkins Carey School of Business, Currently on Board of Advisors
• The University of Wisconsin-Madison, College of Letters & Science, Board of Visitors

What does defining healthcare mean to you?  
I've seen the challenges of our care delivery systems in diverse environments and I'm energized by solving them. For me, healthcare is personal. My grandparents put my grandfather through medical school while living in a small home with no running water, and my newborn father slept in a converted drawer: they made many sacrifices to serve our community. I also saw my father build successful healthcare services businesses to support physicians growing and managing their practices. This is where I first became a witness to the business challenges in the industry. My first job in undergrad was in international health where our team worked to develop health systems globally, developing transplant services and sub-specialty programs. I've worked as an investor, wonk, and operator. Building life-changing companies is an honor, a duty, and a calling.

What does defining partnership mean to you?
I love the grit and resilience of entrepreneurs. Great ideas need the right resources and people to be successful, and I believe that partnership is the essence of building great companies. I'm always asking myself these words from my kids' preschool song: "what can one little person do?" We all have a responsibility to contribute. Finding ways to create value and build something meaningful together is incredibly rewarding, especially when it impacts people at some of the most vulnerable times of their lives. For me, this defines a life well-lived in service of others.

What does defining leadership mean to you?
I appreciate the value of a good team who is in the trenches--and investors who are true partners. I aim for our entrepreneurs to know I understand them and their business. My last digital health operating role began at the seed stage where I cut my teeth on everything from sales and marketing to product and financial modeling; I know what it's like to be in the trenches and have the highest respect for operators in this space. Leadership is knowing the value levers and the build playbooks coupled with pure execution.