ABOUT RHONDA
Healthcare Executive. Coach. Speaker.
Decades inside healthcare taught me things no leadership program ever could. The most important ones had nothing to do with medicine.
What I’ve come to believe about leadership.
MY PHILOSOPHY
The most talented clinical leaders I've worked alongside didn't struggle because they weren't smart enough, driven enough, or committed enough. They struggled because they were playing a game that nobody told them had different rules.
Clinical excellence earns you the seat. It doesn't prepare you for what happens when you sit down.
I've watched brilliant physicians and APPs get passed over. Not because they lacked the ability. Because they hadn't yet learned to lead at a different level.
To influence without a title.
To communicate with the kind of clarity and presence that makes a room stop and listen.
To lead with intention rather than just expertise.
That gap is real. And it's one of the most important things I've spent my career trying to close.
Most executive coaches have led in healthcare.
I still do.
As a senior healthcare executive, I continue to navigate many of the same leadership realities my clients face. The work is real. The challenges are complex. That perspective shapes everything about how I work with leaders.
WHAT SHAPES MY PERSPECTIVE
Clinician
Caring for patients taught me something that has never left me. Every strategy, every decision, every organizational priority ultimately lands on a real person in a real moment. That grounding shapes how I think about leadership at every level.
Every part of this work is shaped by where I’ve been.
Healthcare Executive
Leading within complex healthcare systems taught me that influence matters as much as expertise. Titles open doors. Presence, credibility, and the ability to align people around a shared direction determine what happens once you're inside the room.
Coach
Working alongside leaders has reinforced something I've observed throughout my career. Most don't need more information. They need someone who will ask the right question at the right moment and create the space to think differently about what they already know.
Speaker & Educator
Standing in front of an audience and watching something shift — a perspective, an assumption, a sense of what's possible — is one of the most meaningful things I do. It's why I keep coming back to the stage.
The experience behind the perspective.
LEADERSHIP EXPERIENCE
For more than 25 years I have worked and led within complex healthcare systems, from direct patient care to senior executive leadership. My experience spans clinical practice, advanced practice leadership, workforce strategy, leadership and organizational development, and organizational transformation at scale.
EDUCATION & CERTIFICATION
MS, University of Wisconsin-Madison
RN, APNP, ANP-C
Executive Coach Certification, St. Joseph’s University, Center for Executive Coaching, ICF Pathway (in progress)
RECOGNITIONS, AFFILIATIONS & SELECT SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS
Wisconsin State Award for Excellence, AANP'
Faculty Course Director, AAPA Executive Leadership Conference (2026, 2027)
Keynote Speaker, IL IAPA; WI WAPA; Bedside to Boardroom
Presenter, Becker’s Hospital Review; APP Leadership
Presenter, AMGA; APP Leadership for the Future
WHAT KEEPS ME GROUNDED
Leadership has been a meaningful part of my career. But it is only one part of who I am.
I am also a wife, a mother, a mentor, and someone who finds energy and perspective in the outdoors — walking trails, spending time near water, and sharing time with the people I care about most.
Those moments pull me out of the noise and into something quieter. In that quiet I've learned to notice things — the unspoken tension in a room, the leader who has more to offer than they've been invited to bring, the insight that's been circling without ever being named.
That instinct to notice and to name is the foundation of everything I do. Making the invisible visible. Creating space for the people around me to be seen, heard, and grown into the leaders they're meant to become.
That's why this work matters to me. Not just professionally. Personally.
Let’s Start a Conversation
Some of the most important leadership lessons I've learned were never taught in a classroom or at a conference. They came from experience, from the people alongside me, and from conversations that helped me see my situation differently.
I remember what it felt like to step into larger leadership roles and realize the expectations had changed. Wherever you are in your leadership journey, I'd love to hear your story and where you're hoping to go.