RECAP: 10 Steps to Turn Public-Sector Impact into a Career in the Women’s Health Industry

Hi Everyone,

Today’s session brought together a remarkable group of public-sector leaders, researchers, and academics ready to bring their expertise into the fast-growing women’s health industry. The conversation centered on a powerful truth: you don’t need to start over—you need to translate your impact.

Participants learned how to reposition their work in research, academia, and government through the lens of industry—where evidence, scale, and outcomes drive opportunity.

Key Themes

1. Translation Over Reinvention:
The most valuable skill in women’s health right now isn’t a title—it’s the ability to connect dots across systems. The session unpacked how to translate government or research outcomes into market-ready value stories: “I influenced X million in policy dollars” becomes “I scaled outcomes for X population through measurable impact.”

2. Speaking the Language of Industry:
Hiring managers don’t look for publications; they look for metrics. We explored how to express academic and policy work in the language of outcomes—budgets managed, populations served, results achieved.

3. Mission Alignment:
Many participants feared that moving to industry meant abandoning their public-sector mission. In reality, companies like Maven, Kindbody, Oura, and Evvy are desperate for systems thinkers who understand evidence-based care, policy design, and public health.

The 10 Steps Framework

1. Define Your Strategic Domain
Identify where your expertise creates the most leverage—whether in care delivery, payer systems, diagnostics, data science, or policy design. Anchor your transition in a market segment aligned with both your credibility and the sector’s capital flow.

2. Quantify Your Impact
Recast qualitative outcomes into measurable indicators of scale: populations served, dollars influenced, partnerships secured, or efficiencies gained. Demonstrate how your work has produced tangible, systemic results.

3. Craft a Leadership Narrative
Move beyond credentials to a narrative that signals vision and agency. Tell the story of how you’ve led change across bureaucracies, mobilized coalitions, or operationalized complex programs—and how those capabilities translate into organizational growth.

4. Conduct a Market Intelligence Scan
Study where innovation and investment are moving in women’s health—AI diagnostics, virtual care, menopause therapeutics, maternal equity, payer reform—and identify where your background provides asymmetric advantage. Read McKinsey’s overview: Women’s Health: An Untapped $1 Trillion Opportunity

5. Map and Leverage Your Ecosystem
Your government, academic, and NGO networks are not liabilities—they are unique distribution channels. Learn to position relationships as assets that de-risk business expansion or accelerate policy adoption.

6. Redesign Your Resume for Influence
Transform a CV of responsibilities into a portfolio of outcomes. Lead with systems-level results, financial stewardship, and cross-sector collaboration, demonstrating readiness for executive accountability.

7. Reposition Your Digital Presence
Audit your LinkedIn and professional footprint. Align your headline, summary, and thought leadership content with industry-relevant language—value creation, commercialization, and stakeholder alignment.

8. Identify and Bridge Business Gaps
Pinpoint the missing pieces in your business fluency—such as P&L management, regulatory pathways, or reimbursement economics—and close them through targeted learning. (The IWH Mini-MBA is specifically designed for this.)

9. Build Visible Proof Points
Translate your intent into action through consulting engagements, pilot programs, or advisory roles that generate measurable business outcomes. These serve as credibility markers for hiring executives and boards.

10. Position Yourself as a System Builder
The ultimate career differentiator in women’s health is the ability to connect silos—linking research, policy, and innovation into scalable solutions. Industry doesn’t just need subject-matter experts; it needs integrators who can operationalize change.

Exercises & Real-World Application

Attendees developed their Unique Value Add, mapped their transferable impact using the STAR and Pixar frameworks, and identified immediate proof-of-readiness projects—consulting engagements, partnerships, or pilot initiatives that demonstrate value to future employers.

The discussion reinforced that women’s health doesn’t just need more innovation—it needs people who know how systems actually work.

The Next Step: The Mini-MBA in Women’s Health

If today’s session helped you see how your skills translate, the next step is learning how the system itself operates.

The In Women’s Health Mini-MBA is the only executive education program designed to teach the business of women’s health—from payers and reimbursement to regulation, marketing, and policy. It’s the perfect complement to this session, turning your “why” into a strategic “how.”

Our final cohort of 2025 begins November 7th. Over six weeks, you’ll join 100+ industry leaders, founders, and investors to learn the frameworks, language, and levers that shape the business of women’s health today.

➡️ Join the final 2025 Mini-MBA cohort starting November 7th.
Learn more and apply here

💡 Closing Thought

Continue Learning

• The Five & One Newsletter Archive

• 10 Rules for Writing a Resume That Gets You Hired in Women's Health

• NIH Office of Research on Women’s Health

• Here are the slides

• Here’s the Recording

Closing Reflection

If today’s session helped you see the bridge between impact and influence, the Mini-MBA is where you’ll learn to cross it—with the fluency, frameworks, and network to lead in the business of women’s health.

If you’re ready to join us, Sign Up Here 

Read how the course changed the lives of multiple Cohorts

Your exclusive discount code (for 10% OFF - the highest one we offer — only to those from the webinar) - IWHMBA10 - expires Wednesday October 29th at Midnight EST.

Don’t take it from us…

"The best investment you can make is in yourself." — Warren Buffett

Whether it's expanding your skills, building new relationships, or deepening your understanding of the industry — investing in yourself pays lifelong dividends. Unlike market swings or business risks, no one can take your growth away from you.

Registration Now Open for Women’s Health Mini-MBA

Exclusive Discount Below

As we discussed on the call, registration is now open for the industry’s only deep-dive into the business of women’s health - the In Women’s Health Mini-MBA.

The Women’s Health Mini-MBA is the product of 40+ years of experience, hundreds of hires, and thousands of hours of training, leading, educating, mentoring and coaching in our ecosystem.

 There is nothing on the market like this. 

This is the only course that looks at the business of healthcare through the lens of women’s health.  

It’s the only course that:

• Breaks down the complicated silos in healthcare

• Covers the nuances of women’s health within our healthcare system

• Gives you access to expert mentors and a strong community

• Allows you to build your network with 100+ other talented leaders in the space

• Provides an opportunity to learn from industry leaders

Read what the alumni of the previous cohorts are saying about their experience.

We have some exciting changes to the curriculum planned along with 5+ guest speakers in this cohort!

The 6-week Women’s Health Mini-MBA will include:

• Week 1: Ecosystem: History, Overview, Opportunities + Challenges

• Week 2: Care Delivery (Providers, Pharmacy, PBM etc)

• Week 3: How Money Flows (Payers, Revenue Cycle, Reimbursement)

• Week 4: Funding, Strategy + Business Models

• Week 5: Product, Data and Marketing

• Week 6: Regulatory, Government & Privacy

Class Structure:

• Instructional video: Each week will include an asynchronous video to watch that gives you the “nuts & bolts” of a part of the American Healthcare system.

   

• Live Session #1: Then, our live 90-minute class will bring that part of the healthcare system to life in real terms through the lens of women’s health — usually with a case study.

• Live Session #2: We will continue examining the nuances of the week’s topic within women’s health and be joined by a guest speaker from the industry to share their 1:1 experience.

Course Dates: November 7th- December 18th

The class will meet 12:30 -2 PM EST on session days. It will also be recorded so you can follow along asynchronously.

I provide a 100% satisfaction guarantee - attend the classes and if you’re not satisfied I’ll give you a refund.

Past guest speakers included:

• Karla Loken, Medical Affairs Consultant

• Melissa Reilly, CRO - Zeel

• Colleen Foster, General Partner - Amboy Street Ventures

• Amanda Johnson, Founder & CEO - Julie

• Rebecca Bennett, Running for Congress - NJ-7

Guest speakers for this session will be announced shortly.

You’ll walk away with:

• Access to 10+ industry leaders

• 30+ hours of instruction from the industry’s top executives

• Lists of over 100+ people to follow in Women’s Health

• List of key women’s health resources to follow and conferences to attend

• An enhanced network of 100+ new women’s health leaders, connected by our private platform and a private Slack channel.

• 3-month membership to In Women’s Health including access to our function-based networks, private Slack community, real-time In Women’s Health Job Board with 115+ companies (a $177 value)

• Contact information for key recruiters and hiring managers in the industry

• List of key women’s health resources to follow and conferences to attend

• Access to the real-time In Women’s Health Job Board with 115+ companies

Investment: $1,197

DISCOUNT: If you register before Monday at Midnight, you’ll get 10% off using the code IWHMBA10.

Hurry, as this code expires Wednesday, October 29th at Midnight EST.

Additional Resources Mentioned in the Call:

Check out all of our other IWH Free Events - Subscribe to our Luma calendar so you don’t miss opportunities to connect with others in women’s health and industry leaders. 

Women’s Health PAC - Visit the website for more details on how to get involved and to join our mailing list for information on opportunities in your city.

In Women’s Health Newsletter - Join 6,200 industry executives and get our weekly newsletter for the latest women’s health career and leadership news and over 100+ jobs in women’s health each week. I have added each of you to this already!

In Women’s Health Talent Network - Add your free profile to our talent network. Don’t worry - we won’t share your information without contacting you first.