Leading with Values
Hello friends, colleagues, change makers – thank you for being here.
Intrigued by what inspired us to start Ellipsis Healthcare Leadership?
Craig and I came together in Cambridge, along with many of our advisors, to lead healthcare innovation in the first cohort of the Harvard Medical School Global Health Care Leaders Program. Fun fact: Harvard was my dream school as a child. We found lifelong friendships and a shared passion to build on our momentum and diverse perspectives - his stemming from a passion for rural healthcare, mine for health equity period. Our individual dynamic skills, personalities, and networks complemented each other’s in surprising, and what turned out to be inseparable, ways.
My background is interesting to say the least. I am a pharmacist by training - earned my doctorate in 2002 through an accelerated program. I graduated at the age of 22, thinking I’d go on to medical school. This did not come to fruition. My parents divorced while I was in pharmacy school, and I needed to get to work. I knew I wanted more, professionally and personally - so I grew, very intentionally. I'm proud to say I’m now a purpose driven executive leader, advisor, strategist, and angel investor with more than two decades of progressive experience in community and healthcare ecosystems, including clinical, strategic, and operational organizational planning and growth. My strengths are low-ego, values-driven leadership, high emotional intelligence, and consistent execution through curiosity and growth. I’m passionate about affecting change at the intersection of transformational leadership, healthcare equity, technology/innovation, and DEIB.
What does values-driven leadership mean to me? I firmly believe understanding and empathy for our lived experiences shape values, leadership, and our ability to influence change. Transparency and authenticity are paramount to my creed. I’m a single mom (divorced) of two beautiful humans, 13 and 10. They are my everything, my personal legacy, the reason I strive to be my best. I’m a survivor of childhood trauma, domestic violence, and more. I’m a fierce community advocate, leading in these spaces to ensure generations that come after me have culturally relevant pathways to health and wellness. I have struggled with my self-esteem, personally and professionally. I devote much of my time to mentorship with hope that the people I have the privilege to influence know their brilliance in a way I did not. I stumble and fall, but I always get back up. I’m honest about it, because there is no such thing as perfection – leadership is recognizing our lowest points do not define us. Often, the most functional people are the ones who struggle the most. As healthcare leaders, we must engage in vulnerable conversations so we can together overcome the challenges we hope to solve for. Integrity means doing the hard thing, the courageous thing, even at the risk of failure and judgement. Setbacks are opportunities for growth and grace, for others and ourselves. Innovation occurs in safe spaces. Empowering people to lean into their strengths and share experiences, including failures, fuels creativity through diverse perspectives. Everyone deserves access to equitable healthcare, and patients must remain at the center of our innovation. If we can build community around these pillars, we will succeed in solving complex challenges. These are the values I lead with.
Technology and innovation are changing healthcare delivery. We have the diverse experiences, integrity, relationships, expertise and tools to create a legacy. This is our inspiration to cultivate the Ellipsis Healthcare Leadership community, We believe innovation thrives with the passion that drives it. We would love to build projects and ideas with leaders aligned in this vision . We are an inclusive community and welcome all to join us.
In gratitude and solidarity,
Tarul
