Meet the Inaugural WBL Fellows Cohort!
Jessica Bell van der Wal
Co-Founder and CEO, Frame
Jessica Bell van der Wal is reframing family planning as the Co-Founder and CEO of Frame, a venture she launched with her husband in 2020 following their own fertility crisis. Prior to Frame, she led teams in marketing, customer success, operations, and strategy at various early- and late-stage companies including Castlight Health, Nike, Deloitte Consulting, and Genentech.
She currently sits on the advisory boards of two digital health companies as well as multiple educational institutions, nonprofits, and women’s empowerment organizations. Jessica’s foundational training in public health and international volunteer experience colors her passion for health solutions on a broad scale. Jessica holds a BA in Public Health from UNC Chapel Hill and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
FRAME
Frame is the first collaborative care platform for fertility and family building. Frame partners with healthcare providers and payers to provide holistic care, coaching, and 1:1 support for patients at any stage of their family-building journey, leading to better outcomes and lower costs for everyone involved.
Jessica Bussert
Founder and CEO, Wave Therapeutics
Jessica Bussert is an emergency room nurse, a lifelong technologist, and the founder of Wave Therapeutics. As a child, Jessica taught herself basic electronics at age 10 and how to program computers at 12. She was a published software author at 15 and was programming custom robotics by the time she was 17. She later led European business consulting for one of the largest tech companies in the world before losing that career to discrimination when she transitioned genders in her early 40s. Jessica moved back to the US and became a volunteer firefighter and an EMT before making the decision to go back to school and earn her nursing degree.
Years later, she was working in a small town ER when an ambulance arrived with a disabled vet who was septic and suffering from the worst bedsores she had ever seen. At that moment, Jessica decided to use her tech skills and healthcare experience to found Wave Therapeutics and create a more effective solution to the problem of bedsores that would be affordable to anyone who needed it.
In addition to her work at Wave, Jessica is a professional photographer with her own art gallery, an avid world traveler, and a disaster recovery volunteer. Jessica has been married to her amazing spouse, Sharon, for 30 years. Together they raised five wonderful children.
WAVE THERAPEUTICS
Wave Therapeutics, a Techstars company, has developed disruptive smart cushioning technology designed to prevent bedsores, save lives, and reduce a huge cost center for long-term and acute care facilities. Their devices help reduce the risks of bedsores and blood clots through a unique combination of tested medical therapies combined with powerful analytics capabilities. Using their technology, healthcare facilities can reduce hospitalization stays and treatment costs, increase reimbursements, and eliminate crippling legal liabilities.
Amy Fan
Co-Founder and President, Twentyeight Health
Amy Fan is the Co-Founder and President of Twentyeight Health, a mission-driven digital health platform increasing women’s health access for underserved communities. Twentyeight Health provides telemedicine, medication delivery, and care coordination, and is one of the only telehealth platforms to accept Medicaid. Previously, Amy was the General Manager of Onomie Beauty, a direct-to-consumer beauty startup, and a consultant at Bain & Company. She was recognized as Rock Health’s Top 50 in Digital Health in 2021 and Inc’s Female Founder 100 in 2022. Amy holds a Bachelor of Commerce from Queen’s University and an MBA & MPH from UC Berkeley.
Twentyeight Health
Twentyeight Health is a mission-driven women’s health platform providing accessible reproductive and sexual health services to underserved communities through telemedicine, medication delivery, and ongoing care. Twentyeight Health offers affordable access through Medicaid and provides culturally competent care with a clinician network experienced in serving low-income individuals and BIPOC patients. Founded by Amy Fan and Bruno Van Tuykom in 2018, Twentyeight Health is active in 34 states and Washington, DC, and is available to 85% of US women of reproductive age.
Obi Felten
Founder and CEO, Flourish Labs
Obi Felten is the Founder and CEO of Flourish Labs, a startup on a mission to scale professional mental health peer support with tech to address the mental health crisis. Flourish Labs trains young adults to become certified peer supporters and offers telehealth peer support for young adults and teenagers. Previously, Obi was Head of Getting Moonshots Ready for Contact with the Real World at Google X, Director of Consumer Marketing for Google in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, and set up e-commerce businesses in Europe.
Obi serves on the boards of Springer Nature, an academic and educational publisher, and Marathon Health, a primary and behavioral health care company for employers. She is also an advisor for the UK NHS Best For You youth mental health initiative. She is an advocate for women and other underrepresented groups in tech. Obi grew up in Berlin, has a BA in Philosophy and Psychology from Oxford University, and lives in California with her husband, children, cats, and dog.
FLOURISH LABS
Flourish Labs is on a mission to scale professional mental health peer support with tech to address the mental health crisis. They expand the mental health workforce by hiring and training young adults with diverse backgrounds to become certified mental health Peer Support Specialists.
On peers.net, Flourish Labs’ telehealth platform, young adults and teenagers can book a 1-on-1 session with a peer supporter of their choice on demand, usually within 24 hours. Their peer supporters provide emotional support, teach skills, and share their knowledge of and personal experiences with mental health. Flourish Labs’ proprietary training curriculum was developed to state and national certification standards, in partnership with online learning design experts, peers, and young adults.
Lisa Fitzpatrick, MD
CEO, Grapevine Health
Dr. Lisa Fitzpatrick is the Founder and CEO of Grapevine Health, a digital health media and patient engagement organization working to improve access to trusted health information in Black and brown communities. Dr. Fitzpatrick is an infectious diseases physician and CDC-trained medical epidemiologist. She is a member of the National Academy of Sciences Roundtable on Health Literacy and a professorial lecturer for the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics.
Previously, Lisa served as Chief Medical Officer for DC Medicaid. At CDC, she held several leadership positions, including U.S. diplomat for the Caribbean region. She is also a Co-Founder of the Community Wellness Collective, a local non-profit organization that provides health education and exercise programs for underserved residents of Washington, DC. Lisa earned a BA/MD at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, an MPH from the University of California-Berkeley School of Public Health, and an MPA from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. Lisa is a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network and an Aspen Institute Health Innovators Fellow.
Grapevine Health
Grapevine Health is a data-driven patient engagement company that creates and delivers culturally appropriate health education content digitally to help close care gaps for underserved communities. Their mission is to create relatable, compelling health content that increases health literacy, promotes trust between patients and medical professionals, and improves health outcomes for underserved communities.
Grapevine Health knows that health literacy is a powerful social driver of health. With roots in healthcare, technology, and community organizing, their team leverages technical expertise, trusted messengers, and empathetic storytelling to democratize health information, empower patients, and drive sustainable healthy behaviors.
Kavitha Gnanasambandan, PhD
Co-Founder and CCO, Blooming Health, Inc.
Kavitha Gnanasambandan, PhD is the Co-Founder and Chief Commercial Officer of Blooming Health. She received her PhD in Biomedical Sciences from the University of Florida and conducted postdoctoral cancer research at the NYU School of Medicine. Her work in cancer research, healthcare consulting, and digital health helped to bring new treatments and support tools to cancer patients. At Varian Medical Systems, Kavitha led the commercialization of Noona, a remote symptom monitoring platform for cancer patients, through pharmaceutical and payer partnerships.
Her experience as a caregiver to her grandmother and as a volunteer with the NYC Department of Aging inspired her to start Blooming Health with her co-founders. Blooming Health is powering healthy aging in place via an inclusive technology solution that connects all older adults and caregivers with community-based supportive services, regardless of their circumstances.
Blooming Health, Inc.
Blooming Health powers healthy aging in place by enabling all aging service providers to proactively engage underserved older adults and caregivers, and address their health and social needs in a personalized manner. Their age-friendly technology solution is used by a growing network of aging care providers across the US to engage and navigate thousands of older adults and caregivers in one click via automated text, phone calls, or emails in 26+ languages. Further, they enable healthcare organizations to proactively reach members and address their health-related social needs through their community-based, remote engagement solution.
Lyndsey Harper, MD
Founder and CEO, Rosy Wellness
Dr. Lyndsey Harper is a Board Certified Ob/Gyn, Associate Professor of Ob/Gyn for Texas A&M COM, a Fellow of The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and a Fellow of the International Society for the Study of Women's Sexual Health. Dr. Harper is the founder and CEO of Rosy, an award-winning women’s health technology company that connects women who have sexual health concerns with hope, community, and research-backed solutions. She has been named Forbes Top 53 Women Disrupting Healthcare, People Newspapers’ 20 Under 40, a Top Innovator in North Texas for 2020 and a DBJ Top Woman in Tech.
Rosy Wellness
Rosy Wellness is the first and only physician-founded women’s sexual health platform designed for the 43% of women with sexual health concerns. Now recommended by more than 11% of US ob/gyns, Rosy provides evidence-based patient-centered support including therapeutic education, CBT-based exercises, community, research-backed erotica, and coaching.
Rosy is the 2022 recipient of a Webby Design Award, a recipient of the UCSF Digital Health Award, and is the only app recommended by Cedars Sinai for patients with sexual problems. Rosy is proud to be the doctor-recommended lifetime partner for women's sexual health concerns including low desire, sexual pain, sexual concerns related to infertility, pregnancy, postpartum, menopause, cancer, and more.
Christine Lum Lung, MD, MBA
Co-Founder and CEO, Origin Healthcare
Christine Lum Lung MD, MBA is a physician entrepreneur committed to improving the health of patients and the future of healthcare. Christine received her B.A. from Stanford University and her MBA from the Yale School of Management. She earned her Doctor of Medicine from the University of Colorado and completed her Internal Medicine Residency at the University of California, San Diego, where she also served as Chief Resident.
Christine is a board-certified physician specializing in hospital medicine and has been practicing for over twenty years. She was the solo founder and CEO of a successful, independent hospital medicine company that she ran for sixteen years. She was a 2021 Poets & Quants “Best and Brightest EMBA” and an inaugural Rock Health Innovation Fellow. Christine is currently the Co-Founder and CEO of Origin Healthcare.
Origin Healthcare
Origin Healthcare is a tech-enabled company partnering with organizations so patients can receive advanced medical care at home, instead of the hospital. Origin’s value-based approach improves access and outcomes while lowering the cost of care by thousands of dollars compared to a facility-based admission. Origin Healthcare won the 2022 Colorado Prime Health Innovation Challenge, receiving a grant to partner with safety net organizations to improve health equity, quality, and cost. Origin believes the home is the future center of healthcare.
Joanna Nathan
Co-Founder and CEO, Prana Thoracic
Joanna Nathan is an investor turned entrepreneur on a mission to improve outcomes for lung cancer patients as the CEO of Prana Thoracic. Prana's technology is the first minimally invasive medical device to enable early diagnosis and intervention in lung cancer.
At the start of Joanna's career, she received the gift of entrepreneurship, an unexpected pivot that changed her path from research to innovation. Joanna's roles as Research Engineer at Texas Heart Institute and Director of Product Development at Saranas taught her what it takes to bring innovative technologies from idea to reality. Joanna's work at Mercury Fund, followed by her role as New Ventures Manager at Johnson & Johnson MedTech Center for Device Innovation, expanded her perspective on innovation to include the investor mindset and ultimately led her to step back into an entrepreneurial role with Prana Thoracic. Joanna is invested in growing and supporting Houston’s life science community. She has mentored countless founders and continues to advocate for students and aspiring entrepreneurs as Co-Founder of Enventure and as President of the Board for Rice University Engineering Alumni.
PRANA THORACIC
Houston-based medical device startup Prana Thoracic, Inc. is dedicated to developing solutions for early intervention in lung cancer. Prana Thoracic is developing the first minimally invasive, lung-sparing device for early intervention of suspicious pulmonary nodules.
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the U.S., making up almost 25% of all cancer deaths. Most lung cancers are diagnosed late after the disease has spread, limiting survival. While over 14 million patients in the U.S. each year are eligible for lung cancer screening, less than 5% of these patients are currently getting screened. With Prana Thoracic’s ThoraCore System – which is minimally invasive and lung-sparing – physicians will be able to target lung nodules that are challenging to reach and accurately sample, facilitating definitive diagnosis to dramatically improve outcomes.
Pita Navarro
Co-Founder and Chief Science Officer, Evvy
Pita Navarro is a molecular biologist by training with a deep passion for driving the translation of scientific discoveries into technologies that can improve outcomes and empower women to live healthier lives. As an entrepreneur-scientist, her biotech start-up experience spans research, development, and commercialization of novel diagnostics and digital health tools. Prior to starting Evvy, Pita was a founding team member at Athelas where she led the development of AI-based devices to monitor key biomarkers of inflammation for chronically ill patients.
Evvy
Evvy is on a mission to close the gender health gap by discovering and leveraging overlooked female biomarkers, starting with the vaginal microbiome. In 2021, Evvy launched the first at-home vaginal microbiome test to use metagenomic sequencing to tell you what’s up down there, why it matters, and what you can do about it. Insights from their test led to the expansion of Evvy’s innovative vaginal health platform, which is the first and only vaginal healthcare service to bring together state-of-the-art testing, precision clinical care and prescription treatment, and 1:1 coaching to give women and people with vaginas the care they deserve.
Through this platform, Evvy is building the real-world datasets necessary to transform their understanding of complex health conditions in the female body. That means building holistic definitions of what disease and health look like in diverse people, in addition to developing personalized care pathways that are grounded in data — not guesswork.
Rada Sumareva
Co-Founder and CEO, ZiphyCare, Inc.
Dr. Rada Sumareva is a healthcare innovator and notable advocate for inclusion, diversity, and humanitarian causes that benefit at-risk populations. She is the CEO and Co-Founder of Ziphycare, a digital health company with a mission to provide access to quality healthcare for all.
Dr. Sumareva has been a healthcare provider for over two decades, servicing patients with multiple chronic conditions, many of whom come from the most vulnerable communities – the elderly, people with disabilities, people living in care deserts, and the economically disadvantaged. She’s also been involved in a number of health initiatives helping at-risk patients get better access to care, providing health education, raising awareness, and improving compliance through her professional and non-profit affiliations (community boards, Henry Schein Cares Foundation projects, United Healthcare initiatives, JCRC, Alpha Omega, Tel Aviv University, and others). Dr. Sumareva is also a member of the UJA Healthcare Executive Committee and HealthCare Disparities coalition.
ZiphyCare, Inc.
ZiphyCare technology helps bridge the gap between telemedicine and in-person exams and enables effective, accessible care and socially responsive health services to chronically ill, vulnerable, and underserved patients while lowering payor costs and improving outcomes through value-based care.
ZiphyCare’s technology and model help bring high-quality care to every home, connect payer and large physicians organizations with their most complex patients, and enable true continuity of care via data sharing between all the medical team members, including clinical data flow through the EMR interface to any clinic, hospital or health system that needs the patient EHR.