Pleasant Radford Jr., MBA | 2024 Emerging Leaders in Healthcare

Pleasant Radford Jr.

I grew up in Chicago in a home wherere my father was a vivid storyteller and my mother worked as a nurse at Ingalls Memorial Hospital. My early influences were my African American culture, my ancestral history, my Christian faith, my mom’s career as a nurse and my dad’s skill for storytelling. I attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and received a B.S. in psychology and a B.A. in Spanish. Several years later, I attended the University of St. Thomas and received my MBA in finance. Throughout my life and career, healing and storytelling have played a crucial role in what my work is and how I do my work. 

As a Black man, I confront racism and microaggressions every day. Thus, I can empathize with other communities who endure unfair treatment in their daily life. Over the past three years, I’ve leaned into storytelling as a tool for healing. I am the host of the “Heart of Equity”podcast, where I talk with Black healthcare professionals to understand how they are advancing health equity in the Black community. Surprisingly, my role as a podcast host helps me in my current role as a health equity officer because as I learn about the unique stories within the Black communities and also more about myself and my story.This mutual sharing allows us all to find our paths toward individual and collective healing.

Please describe a turning point in your career — an event, a eureka moment, an encounter or a salient piece of advice from someone.

I worked with the Urban Health Initiative at the University of Chicago Medicine to help make the South Side of Chicago a model of health by 2025. We were asking different businesses to build on the South Side to improve health and economic vitality. The business owners would say, “I understand the health advantages, but let’s talk about the ROI, profit margins, cost/benefit analysis, etc., so that we can sustain our business.” Admittedly, I was unable to talk about the economic benefits, so I made the decision to pursue my MBA to understand business management and the role businesses play in enabling good health at the
community level.

What are your top two priorities as a leader in your organization and healthcare?

Climate change and housing. These two areas are having a growing impact on health and healthcare. My top two priorities in my organization are rebuilding trust in healthcare through community engagement and building the data architecture to collect, store and retrieve sexual orientation and gender identity data within our enterprise data warehouse.

If you could change one thing about U.S. healthcare, what would it be?

Cost. A recent KFF survey showed that about half of U.S. adults say it is difficult to afford healthcare costs. Many are worried about unexpected bills, the cost of healthcare services (including out-of-pocket that are not covered by health insurance), prescription drug costs and long-term care services for themselves or for a family member. The lack of affordability can lead to people postponing care, which can worsen health conditions and outcomes.

Name a book or article that everyone working in healthcare should read.

“On Repentance and Repair: Making Amends in an Unapologetic World.” I appreciate the book because it talks about repentance, atonement, forgiveness and repair from harm and our personal and collective responsibility to name and own harm, transform, accept consequences, apologize and make the required change to do better. This is particularly important in healthcare because patient harm is still too common.

How do you strike the right work-life balance?

I establish and protect boundaries so that I can be fully present at work and in life. Reducing multitasking and focusing on one thing at a time. Using my personal time off to unplug and recharge. Journaling so I can reflect on past actions, learn and make different choices. Creating accountability partners (i.e., friends, family, colleagues, etc.) to hold me accountable and help me achieve balance. Talking with a therapist to offer a new perspective and increase self-awareness.

If you could have dinner with anyone, living or dead, who would it be and why?

She is authentic, unapologetically confident, (and) a savvy businesswoman who consistently shows that you can build a successful international business (Fenty) that is inclusive of different races, backgrounds and experiences.