Robbins Healthcare MBA Alumni Newsletter - Summer 2026

We continue to make progress on our fundraising efforts for the Robbins Institute. The goals of the endowment campaign are to:

• Ensure the development of future generations of Robbins Healthcare MBA administrative and clinical servant-leaders
• Create the foundation for a Department of Healthcare Administration with expanded healthcare administration programming
• Expand research efforts to shape U.S. health policy

We thank the following donors for their generous gifts:

• Dr. Dan and Jamie Wood
• Cherise and Brandon Bridgwater

You can give to the Alumni Endowed Fund using this link.

Director's Remarks

Dan Woods, EdD, RN, MHA, FACHE, CPHQ, NE-BC

Healthcare continues to experience rapid transformation, and the Robbins Healthcare MBA Program remains intentional in evolving alongside it. We are committed to fostering a culture of continuous improvement by regularly assessing, enhancing, and modernizing our curriculum to ensure our graduates are prepared to meet the opportunities and challenges of today's healthcare environment. Through innovative instruction, meaningful partnerships, experiential learning, and an unwavering commitment to excellence, we continue to develop healthcare leaders who are equipped to strengthen healthcare organizations and improve the lives of the patients and communities they serve.

As we reflect on the many of our latest accomplishments and milestones, I am pleased to share a few program highlights that showcase the outstanding achievements of our students, alumni, faculty and valued partners. Thank you for your continued support of the Robbins Healthcare MBA Program, and I hope you enjoy this Summer Update.

Class of 2026 Graduation

This past May, we proudly welcomed 14 new alumni into the Robbins Healthcare MBA Program as they all successfully passed their oral boards and crossed the stage during both the hooding ceremony and commencement. Their accomplishments reflect years of dedication, perseverance and a steadfast commitment to advancing healthcare leadership. As a program, we are incredibly proud of all they have achieved and are honored to have been part of their professional journey. We look forward to watching their careers unfold and are confident they will lead with integrity, compassion and excellence. May their journeys take them far and wide as they make a meaningful difference within the organizations they serve and the lives of the patients and communities they impact.

Director’s Chair

The Director’s Chair Award is provided through a generous endowment from retired Brig. Gen. Don and Jan Wagner. The gift is given to the student from the program director’s perspective who exhibited outstanding performance during both the didactic and residency year and who demonstrates exceptional promise as a future leader in healthcare management. This year’s award is presented to Abigail Steed.

Residency Award

The retired Brig. Gen. Don Wagner Excellence in Residency Award celebrates a student whose residency achievements, as affirmed by faculty, reveal exceptional promise for future leadership in healthcare. The honoree embodies professionalism, strategic clarity and the rare ability to transform business insight into meaningful, lasting organizational impact. This year’s award is presented to Hannah Evers. 

Healthcare Finance Competition – Waco Family Medicine

One of the hallmarks of the Robbins Healthcare MBA Program is providing students with opportunities to apply classroom learning to complex, real-world healthcare challenges. Through our valued partnership with Waco Family Medicine, a large, community‑anchored federally qualified health center providing comprehensive primary care, behavioral health, dental services and residency training for the greater Waco region, students demonstrated exceptional analytical, financial and strategic decision-making skills during the 2026 Internal Robbins Healthcare MBA Finance Case Competition.

Congratulations to our winning team consisting of Trinity Verduzco, Ron Varghese and Spencer Enlow, whose thoughtful analysis, innovative recommendations and professional presentation earned top honors from the judging panel. We also proudly recognize outstanding individual performances by Leeba Farooqi, who received the Best Presenter Award, and Constantine Breus, who earned the Best Q&A Award for his insightful and articulate responses during the judges' questioning.

On behalf of the Robbins Healthcare MBA Program, I extend my sincere appreciation to Waco Family Medicine for serving as our community partner and providing an engaging, authentic case experience. Collaborations such as this strengthen the connection between academia and practice while preparing the next generation of healthcare leaders to address the financial and operational challenges facing today's healthcare organizations.

PCT Completion of Oral Boards 

Another incredible milestone for our Robbins Healthcare MBA Program is that all of the pre-clinical students also successfully completed their comprehensive oral examinations! 

Throughout the examination, our students demonstrated exceptional critical thinking, sound judgment, and the ability to analyze multifaceted healthcare challenges while communicating thoughtful, evidence-informed solutions. Successfully completing this milestone marks the culmination of their Healthcare MBA program requirements and these six outstanding students will officially become alumni as they graduate this August, although they have already started their next journeys in medical school as we speak. No rest for the weary!

We congratulate each of these future physician leaders on this remarkable achievement. We are incredibly proud of their dedication, professionalism and commitment to improving healthcare, and we wish them every success as they begin the next chapter of their medical education and future careers in medicine.

From the classroom to Capitol Hill: A cornerstone experience for Baylor Healthcare Executive MBA students

This summer, students on the Baylor MBA in Dallas for Executives and Professionals program, including those studying the Healthcare Administration concentration, stepped into one of the most influential classrooms in the world – Washington, D.C.

As part of BUS 5302: Government, Business, and Societal Impact, students participated in an immersive residency designed to connect healthcare leadership with public policy, advocacy and real-world decision-making.

This experience brings Baylor’s MBA Cornerstone Commitments to life, not in theory, but in practice. Bringing to life the program’s four pillars: Innovative Curriculum, Supportive Community, Leadership and Career Advancement.

Innovative Curriculum: Integrating Policy, Finance, People and Technology

Baylor’s MBA in Dallas for Executives and Professionals program distinguishes itself through a curriculum that goes beyond theory, preparing leaders to navigate the full complexity of modern healthcare.

During the Washington residency, students explored how policy shapes healthcare delivery through discussions on advocacy, lobbying, regulatory processes and emerging national challenges.

At the same time, their summer coursework deepens this learning across four critical domains:

• Human Capital Leadership: Students develop strategies to recruit, retain, and grow talent, align culture with organizational goals, and implement performance management systems that improve outcomes.
• Financial Decision Making: Coursework strengthens skills in capital budgeting, cost management and financial analysis, helping leaders make sound decisions in complex and resource-constrained environments.
• Healthcare IT and Digital Transformation: Students examine how to leverage AI, strengthen cybersecurity, and align technology strategy with enterprise goals to drive innovation and improve care delivery.
• Business Law & Strategy: Students develop the ability to identify and manage legal and ethical issues, understand regulatory frameworks and integrate legal considerations into business decision-making.

Together, these areas create a fully integrated learning experience. 

Students begin connecting the dots; how decisions in Washington shape financial strategy, how law defines constraints and how people ultimately drive change.

Supportive community: Learning through shared experience

Equally important to the learning experience is the strength of the Baylor community.

Throughout the residency, students engaged in collaborative discussions, integration sessions and informal conversations with faculty and program leadership.

That same collaborative approach continues in the classroom, where students work together on:

• Talent evaluations and leadership development exercises
• Financial and operational analyses
• Case discussions involving legal, ethical and technological challenges

Leadership: Developing influence where it matters most

Few environments demonstrate leadership in action like Washington.

During the residency, students observed live hearings, engaged with policy experts and explored the legislative process firsthand.

These experiences reinforce leadership lessons from across the curriculum, including building high-performing teams, making data-driven decisions, leading innovation and change, and navigating regulatory risk, ethical considerations and governance responsibilities.

Career advancement: Expanding impact in healthcare

The combination of rigorous coursework and immersive experiences accelerates professional growth.

By the end of the summer term, students are better equipped to align organizational strategy with healthcare policy, make informed financial and operational decisions, navigate legal risks and ethical considerations, lead digital transformation initiatives, and develop high-performing teams.

A call to our alumni: Help shape the future of healthcare leadership

As a Baylor Healthcare MBA alumnus, you understand the value of this transformational journey.

You’ve experienced this transformation firsthand. Now, you can help others begin that journey to develop leaders who will shape the future of healthcare.

Together, advancing healthcare leadership

At Baylor, education is more than knowledge; it is transformation. Through integrated coursework and immersive experiences, students don’t just study healthcare systems; they learn how to lead and improve them.

For further information, please contact Eric Hooley, Associate Director, Graduate Enrollment at Eric_Hooley@baylor.edu or complete our MBA candidate online referral form.

Liam Ferreira and His Path to Medicine

Liam Ferreira, a member of the first cohort of Pre-Clinical Track students in the Robbins Institute MBA, is now completing his first year of residency, which is a great accomplishment for Liam, and a meaningful milestone for the program. Liam is currently a neurology resident at Dell Medical School in Austin, where he hopes to stay and build his career, giving back to the Central Texas community he calls home.

Liam didn't always know he wanted to be a physician, but he was always drawn to science. It was time spent shadowing physicians and working alongside strong mentors that ultimately set his path toward medicine. That early experience shaped how Liam thinks about his role today: the work he does impacts individual people, and even though that may seem small, the life of one person can make a resounding impact. Liam carries that sense of responsibility with him now, often mentoring medical students and even undergraduates who are curious about the field. “I'm always happy to return the favor,” he said, “since years back, some physicians did the same for me.”

During his time in the program, before medical school, Liam gives great respect to the mentors and leaders who poured into him during the MBA. “They were very genuine, and they led with humility. I think that's ultimately something everyone should aspire to do.” If he had to boil leadership down to a single word, Liam says it would be influence. People can naturally sense if you genuinely care and if you are who you say you are. When you have those values, people will lean in more naturally to the insights and support you are giving them to benefit their health.

It's an exciting time in healthcare, as it becomes increasingly clear that technology will reshape the entire care delivery system. Liam sees another opportunity in this moment, too. Something that technology and AI will never replace is the human connection between physicians and their patients. He believes physicians today are standing at a unique crossroads, where the decisions leaders make now about how to responsibly implement new tools like AI will shape care delivery for generations to come.

Liam credits the Robbins Institute MBA with preparing him for medical school in ways he didn't expect. From the rigor of graduate-level coursework to the teamwork required on group projects, both of which translated directly into working on medical teams in the wards. The piece that has stayed with him most, though, is the holistic view of healthcare the program instilled. That broader systems-level perspective has helped him recognize inefficiencies in patient logistics and care coordination – the kind of behind-the-scenes operational gaps that, if optimized, could meaningfully improve outcomes for patients even before treatment begins.

That same perspective fuels what keeps Liam motivated through the long hours of residency: a focus on listening to people in need and delivering care at the point of need. He describes hospitals as their own ecosystems, “cities within a city”, full of constant learning and connection.

Looking back, Liam's advice for students just starting the Baylor program is simple: enjoy the experience and immerse yourself fully in the business and administrative side of the MBA, even if your ultimate goal is clinical practice. The relationships built along the way, he says, are some of the most valuable parts of the program. As he put it, “You get what you put in”, and for Liam, staying present for every experience and connection has made all the difference. "That year at Baylor was one of the most formative years in my life. I'm really thankful for all the people who took time to mentor me – and not just about the business side, but who spent time investing in me. I'm always grateful for that."

We want to know you! Email Katherine_Swain1@alumni.baylor.edu to share your story and be featured here among fellow alumni.

Healthcare Community Connects at Robbins and Executive MBA Dinner

Members of Baylor's Healthcare MBA community gathered in April for the Robbins and Executive MBA Dinner, bringing together alumni, current students, faculty, staff, and industry partners for an evening of connection and learning.

Hosted with the support of Gray Reed, a full-service Texas-based commercial law firm, the event combined networking opportunities with industry insights, creating space for attendees to strengthen relationships while exploring trends shaping the future of healthcare.

"The event was designed to bring our Healthcare MBA community together, provide meaningful professional development, and highlight ways alumni can invest in the future of our Robbins and Executive MBA healthcare programs," said David Coe, director of operations for Graduate Business Programs at the Hankamer School of Business.

For attendees like Shunail Gill, MBA ’26, chief executive officer of Northwest Anesthesia Physicians, the real value of the evening was the room itself, the chance to pressure-test his thinking against people who approach healthcare from entirely different angles. 

“Healthcare’s biggest problem isn’t a shortage of smart people, it’s that smart people rarely get to sit in the same room,” Gill said. “You walk out with fewer certainties and better questions, which, in this industry, is the real progress.”

That long view shapes how Gill sees the degree itself. 

“The degree is the entry point, not the deliverable,” Gill said. “A lot of programs hand you a credential, this one hands you a community that keeps compounding long after graduation.”

Attendees heard from Lance Spivey, BBA ’92, co-founder and president of Catalyst Health Group, who shared insights into the future of healthcare delivery and the industry's ongoing transition toward value-based care.

"Lance outlined Catalyst's mission to transform healthcare through value-based, subscription-driven primary care," Coe said. "He positioned primary care as the central lever to fix an unsustainable U.S. healthcare system."

Spivey highlighted rising healthcare costs alongside inconsistent outcomes, noting that employers are increasingly demanding better access, quality and cost control. This is driving interest in new models that improve patient outcomes while reducing costs.

What resonated with Gill was Spivey’s practical framing.

“He treated value-based care as an operating discipline, not a thesis,” Gill said. “Scaling value-based care isn’t simply a strategy problem, it’s also an alignment problem. You’re asking physicians, health plans and patients to share risk in a system that was architected to do the opposite.”

A central theme of the presentation was the importance of primary care. While it accounts for only a small share of healthcare spending, it drives the majority of outcomes and costs, particularly those tied to chronic conditions.

"The current system is unsustainable," Coe said. "Rising costs are burdening families, employers and governments without proportional improvements in outcomes."

To address this, Catalyst has built a team-based, technology-enabled primary care model supported by subscription payment structures that align incentives across providers, patients and employers. The model expands physician capacity, improves care coordination and focuses on proactive management of high-risk patients.

"What stood out was how engaged everyone was with where the industry is heading," Coe said. "There's real opportunity here for leaders who can execute, and our students are getting a front-row seat to that conversation."

Gray Reed's sponsorship played an important role in the evening's success. 

"They provided a great introduction into why they are supporters of the Baylor MBA healthcare programs and their affiliation with the program," Coe said. "They are a natural sponsor given their connection to Baylor, which includes Managing Partner J. Cary Gray, BBA ’80, and attorney Pat Souter, BBA ’87, both two-time Baylor alumni. Souter also serves as a professor in the MBA program."

While attendees gained valuable industry knowledge, Coe noted that the most meaningful outcome of the evening was the opportunity to connect.

"The biggest thing is the relationship building that occurred," Coe said. "You could see alumni, current students, faculty and industry partners connecting throughout the event."

The value wasn’t lost on those in the room.

"The ROI on evenings like this is wildly underrated," Gill said. "A few hours, the right room, some substantive conversations, and it changes how you think about a problem you've been stuck on for months. That’s how networks compound, and ultimately how an industry improves."

Following the event's strong turnout, the program is already looking ahead.

"We plan to hold this event again next year due to its success," Coe said. "We're excited to continue bringing together members of Baylor's Healthcare MBA community to learn from one another and strengthen those connections."

Learn more about the Robbins Institute for Health Policy and Leadership here. 

Upcoming Dates

• Houston Alumni Dinner – Oct. 2, 2026, The Briar Club
• ACHE Congress 2027 Alumni Dinner – March 2027, Nashville, Tennessee

Virtual Coffee Talks

Quarterly on the second Tuesday of the last month of the quarter, we will host an informal virtual networking opportunity for alumni. This is an opportunity to discuss current events, ask the group questions, discuss challenges you are working through and to connect with one another.

Details

• Date: Sept. 8, 2026 (second Tuesday, last month of the quarter: March, June, September, December)
• Time: 12-1 p.m. CST
• Location: Virtual through Teams

In our last coffee chat, impacts of the One Big Beautiful Bill (OB3) were discussed with a cross functional healthcare group. With leaders from hospital facilities, provider offices, and health plan payers as part of the discussion, the impacts of individuals loss of Medicaid coverage in states, impacts to revenues and adjustments organizations are making in service line offerings, collections and contracting were deliberated. Mitigation of members/patients losing Medicaid coverage and the impact to people in our communities was at the heart of the discussion. Join us on Sept. 8 at 12 p.m. CST for our next coffee chat focused on Value Based Care. 

We are looking forward to connecting with everyone! For any questions, please email Andre Cisne (andre.cisne@silversummithealthplan.com) or Kara Abrameit (kbabrame@texaschildrens.org). 

The true strength of the Baylor MBA is found not only in outcomes, but in the lives and leadership of its alumni. As graduates of the Hankamer School of Business, you reflect our shared commitment to Community, Humility, Excellence and Stewardship; values that continue to shape both your success and the future of the program.

The Baylor MBA experience is built on community: meaningful relationships, collaborative learning, and networks that last a lifetime. Giving back helps ensure that future students have access to the same transformational experience. It is also an expression of humility; recognizing the faculty, peers and institutional support that helped pave your path, and a commitment to excellence, allowing the program to attract outstanding faculty and provide innovative, relevant learning opportunities.

As stewards of the program’s legacy, your generosity is an investment in people, ideas and impact. Together, we can ensure that the Baylor MBA continues to develop principled leaders prepared to serve business and society with purpose. 

Learn more about supporting the MBA program by visiting the Hankamer School of Business giving site or contacting our Advancement team.

We want to hear from you! Inform us about any recent promotions, job transitions, updated preferred email, personal transitions and successes, job positions you are looking to fill, any feedback to the Alumni Committee.

Some ways to get involved: 

• Serving as a mentor
• Being a case competition judge
• Joining the Women’s Affinity group. Linked here. 
• Contributing to the Robbins Alumni Endowment Fund. Gifts of any size can be made here. 

Follow this link to update the program or express your interest in getting involved.