In recent years, the U.S. healthcare industry has been grappling with a severe workforce shortage. According to the American Hospital Association, a shortage exists at every level - from doctors and nurses to healthcare administrators, home health aides, and medical technicians. If this trend continues, the industry is predicted to be left with a shortage of more than 4 million workers by 2026.

The relationship between workforce availability and patient safety, care quality, and health system operations is significantly interlinked. In addition, with increasing workforce labor costs, a rise in chronic diseases, and a growing aging population, the demand for innovative strategies and solutions for supporting health systems, empowering the current workforce, and filling the workforce shortage gaps cannot be underestimated. Join us for a critical discussion with leaders who are powering healthcare organizations through digital innovation, investments, and transformational leadership, enabling and supporting the clinical workforce at multiple touchpoints throughout the healthcare industry, and empowering future business leaders to take charge on what's necessary to build the healthcare workforce of the future.

Panelists:

• Brandon Atkinson, CEO of CareRev
• Brenton Fargnoli, MD, MBA, Managing Partner at AlleyCorp Healthcare
• Wilhelmina (Willie) M. Manzano, MA, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN, Group Senior Vice President, Chief Nursing Executive (CNE) & Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Perioperative Services at NewYork-Presbyterian
• Moderated by Ryan Keating '24, MSN, RN, Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA), MBA Candidate at Columbia Business School

Brandon Atkinson

Chief Executive Officer at CareRev

Brandon Atkinson has 20+ years of experience with deep expertise in scaling high-growth, global, enterprise technology companies from early-stage to IPO-ready. He is currently the CEO of CareRev, a flexible workforce platform that enables hospitals and health systems to improve nurse engagement while reducing fixed labor costs.

Most recently, he was the COO of Cleerly Health, where he helped raise $223M and build the team and operations that brought its groundbreaking heart attack prevention technology to market. Prior to that, he was the COO at Monetate, which was acquired by Vista Equity Partners company, Kibo Commerce. He joined Roivant Sciences, a biopharma company, shortly after it closed a $1.1 billion round from Softbank to help scale their operations. Atkinson was also an early employee at AppNexus and Opsware, both of which were acquired for $1.6 billion, where he filled a variety of leadership roles to support their global hypergrowth. Atkinson lives in the NYC area with his wife and two boys, and has a passion for ultra marathons.

Atkinson holds a Bachelor with High Honors in History from Rutgers University, and a Masters in Public Affairs from the LBJ School of Public Affairs, University of Texas at Austin.

Brenton Fargnoli, MD, MBA

Managing Partner at AlleyCorp Healthcare

Brenton is a General Partner leading the Healthcare team at AlleyCorp, where he leads investments and incubations across digital health with a particular focus on value-based care and physician entrepreneurship. Prior to AlleyCorp, Brenton was an executive at Flatiron Health (acquired by Roche), where he built its value-based care business from the ground up and was instrumental in the launch of OneOncology (acquired by AmerisourceBergen). He worked previously at J.P. Morgan and Blue Cross & Blue Shield. An avid supporter of the New York healthcare ecosystem, Brenton serves on the boards of Fund for Public Health NYC and Digital Health New York.

Board-certified in Internal Medicine, Brenton previously practiced at Memorial Sloan Kettering and completed residency at Harvard’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital. He graduated summa cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania, earning an MD from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and an MBA in Healthcare Management from the Wharton School.

Wilhelmina (Willie) M. Manzano, MA, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN

Group Senior Vice President, Chief Nursing Executive (CNE) & Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Perioperative Services at NewYork-Presbyterian

Willie Manzano, MA, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN is Group Senior Vice President, Chief Nursing Executive (CNE) & Chief Operating Officer (COO), Perioperative Services for NewYork-Presbyterian Healthcare System (NYP).

As system CNE, she leads the Department of Nursing and sets the vision and strategic direction for the department. As COO for Perioperative Services, she provides strategic leadership and oversight, and sets goals and strategies for integration, standardization, and optimization of clinical and business operations.

Over the years, Ms. Manzano held additional responsibilities such as system Chief Quality Officer and Chief Operating Officer for NYP/Allen Hospital in addition to her CNE role. Prior to joining NYP in 1998, she held various leadership roles at several New York area hospitals.

Ms. Manzano is widely recognized for her transformational leadership. She founded the Institute of Nursing Excellence and Innovation at NYP to advance nursing and promote standardization and integration of best practices across the enterprise. She has been instrumental in the creation of many innovative programs and strategic academic and industry partnerships to meet the dynamic needs of the nursing profession.

Ms. Manzano received her BS in Nursing, MA in Nursing Administration, and Advanced Post Graduate Certificate in Human Resources from New York University. She is a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing, the Johnson & Johnson Wharton Program for Nurse Executives and the New York Academy of Medicine and holds an Advanced Nursing Executive National Board Certification.

Ms. Manzano was recognized as one of Crain’s New York Notable Women in Healthcare for 2019 and listed as one of the 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives, Modern Healthcare in 2021.

Ryan Keating '24, BSN, BA, MSN, RN, CRNA (Moderator)

MBA Candidate at Columbia Business School 2024

Ryan Keating is a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) at Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York City. In this role, he is responsible for administering anesthesia to patients undergoing a variety of surgeries and procedures. Alongside his clinical work, Ryan is also pursuing a full-time MBA at Columbia Business School in the Class of 2024.

His academic career began at the University of Pennsylvania, where he completed a dual degree in Nursing and Spanish. At Penn, Ryan completed internships at Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, D.C., and Weill Cornell Medical Center. After graduating, he worked as a Registered Nurse in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at Georgetown University Hospital before continuing his education at the Columbia University School of Nursing, earning a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) with a specialization in Nurse Anesthesia.

At Columbia Business School, Ryan serves as Vice President of the Management Consulting Association, ClusterQ, and the Latin American Business Association.

Last summer, Ryan completed a management consulting internship with Strategy&, working within their Health Transformation team. He contributed to a patient access project for a large northeast healthcare system. This experience provided him with invaluable insights into healthcare strategy and management and he is excited to return full-time post-graduation.

Ryan aims to leverage his clinical expertise and business experience by working at the intersection of healthcare and business. He is committed to applying a clinical perspective to business challenges, ensuring optimal outcomes for both patients and providers.