January Member Spotlight featuring Bergitta Cotroneo and Priya Bathija
The WBL Member Spotlight is a chance to get to know fellow members of our network as they share their background, experience, and insights as a leader in health care.
In this month’s special edition, we’re excited to feature the leaders of WBL’s DEI Committee, Bergitta Cotroneo, Chair, and Priya Bathija, Vice Chair. Bergitta and Priya have been members of WBL since 2006 and 2020, respectively. We are so grateful for the work they do to guide WBL’s DEI efforts and ensure an inclusive environment for all members of our network!
Bergitta Cotroneo is Deputy Chief Executive Officer & EVP at the Alliance for Academic Internal Medicine (AAIM), a consortium of five medical professional associations and three affiliates which represents over 13,000 academic internal medicine faculty and administrators at academic medical centers and teaching hospitals in the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico. Bergitta currently serves on several advisory boards and leadership councils, including the Flexible Medical Systems Advisory Board, the George Washington University MHA Program Advisory Council, the Virginia Hospital Center Foundation Womens Health Circle Advisory Board, and the Carol Emmott Foundation Leadership Council.
Priya Bathija is the founder and CEO of Nyoo Health, an organization dedicated to improving health and health care for women. She is also an adjunct professor at Loyola University Chicago School of Law where she teaches health care payment and policy. Previously, she was at the American Hospital Association where she led policy efforts and strategic initiatives on value, health equity, and maternal health. She started her career as a health care attorney and served as in-house counsel and a member of the leadership teams at ProMedica and MedStar Health.
What, or who brought you into WBL? What about WBL’s mission most resonates with you?
Bergitta: I was introduced to Lynn Shapiro Snyder and Eleanor Rosiak (who, along with Carrie Valiant, really represent the heart and soul of WBL) by Sara Larch around 2006. Sara and I were working with other women leaders in MGMA to develop a women’s leadership network. WBL became one of our most ardent supporters! From that early engagement I connected with other members and have enjoyed the benefits of being a member for more than 16 years.
WBL offers an opportunity to meet with and engage women who are unique, lead from diverse spaces and places, and embrace an incredible attitude of sharing and generosity. You truly never make a cold call; help and support are as close as an email or phone call away. WBL’s focus on and commitment to preparing women for new leadership opportunities, including board service and advancement to C-suites that have traditionally been closed to us, is the key reason I continue to embrace the organization.
Priya: I am fortunate to have had two amazing women leaders in health care encourage me to join WBL – Almeta Cooper and Jhaymee Tynan.
Almeta was assigned to me as a mentor through the Columbus Bar Association when I started practicing law. Over the years our relationship has evolved, and we have become good friends, cheerleaders, and sponsors for each other. I connected with Jhaymee while I was working at the American Hospital Association. We became fast friends and have been able to laugh, cry, and celebrate our wins together over the years. When both these women suggested I join WBL, I had to do it!
Being able to connect with and learn from even more amazing women leaders from across the health care ecosystem has been a value add to my career and life.
What are you most excited to see the DEI committee and WBL accomplish in the next year? What is your vision for a more diverse and inclusive WBL?
Bergitta: I want to use the information and feedback we’ve gathered to develop meaningful pathways (education, networking, advocacy, etc.) which demonstrate how women leaders inside healthcare can effect change. All women add value to the conversation. The WBL DEI Committee must be responsive to what we’ve heard. This means diversity at the volunteer leadership level as well as designing programs and networking opportunities that feel open and inclusive to general members.
I envision an organization that embraces women in healthcare leadership who upon joining us, find opportunities that meet their needs, new colleagues and friends whose diversity (at all levels) resonates, and feel engaged to contribute to WBL’s future success.
Priya: I want WBL to be a place where each member feels they belong. This includes connecting with women that look like them and have had similar lived experiences, and gaining exposure to those who do not, or who have had very different life and career experiences. It also means that no matter who you meet through WBL, you can trust that they will welcome, respect, and value you. Let’s be honest, many of us work or have worked for organizations where we have not had that sense of belonging. So, it’s even more important here.
I’m excited to see WBL work towards that vision in a way that works for the organization and our members. It won’t be work we finish in a month, year, or even a few years … But, I think the DEI Committee is taking the right approach – starting with understanding our membership, celebrating our members, and creating tools and education that meet their needs, including how they can improve diversity, equity, and inclusion in their own organizations.
What might the WBL network be surprised to learn about you?
Bergitta: I am an introvert, which I have to work really hard to overcome—sometimes that is hard to do!
Priya: I love Hallmark holiday movies. They are predictable, heartwarming, and a nice way to cope with the end-of-year rush. I watch as many as possible and rate them on a 5-tree rating scale. I share the ratings and commentary in my Instagram stories. Two years ago, I dedicated one tree of the rating scale to diversity. While there is still more to be done, I’ve been pleasantly surprised with how Hallmark (and other networks) have incorporated more diverse casts, stories, and traditions in these holiday movies.