Daniza Neri

Daniza Neri

People. Processes. Better Outcomes.

Healthcare OperationsResearch OperationsProcess Improvement

I help healthcare and research teams work more efficiently while improving the experiences of the patients and participants they serve.

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Daniza Neri

5+

years in research operations

5

healthcare and process improvement credentials

8

published articles on digital health and AI

What I bring

Operations experience, applied to healthcare and research.

One consistent focus

Improving how people, processes, and technology work together, from technical support to operations management, user research, and healthcare.

Research operations experience

Five-plus years in research operations, growing from study moderator to site lead to project manager across multiple locations.

Better experiences

Helping healthcare and research teams work more efficiently while improving the experiences of the patients and participants they serve.

Featured case study

A problem I solved, and why it matters for clinical research.

Case study

Voxelmaps

Making sure the right participants reached the study

Participants were being booked into studies without meeting the required qualifications. I traced the problem to communication and documentation gaps, updated the screening documents, and trained recruiters on what to check.

Read both case studies

The outcome

Rejection rates went down, recruiters and the project team worked from the same accurate information, and more sessions ran with qualified participants.

Why it matters

Clinical studies depend on the same discipline: clear eligibility criteria, accurate documentation, and well-trained staff.

Explore

Get to know my work.

Experience My career path, where I fit in healthcare and clinical research, and two case studies. Work Published writing, graduate coursework, and the projects I’m building now. About My story, education, credentials, skills, and how to reach me.

What I’m building

Where my digital navigation work lives.

Solara Vita logo

SOLARA VITA

Digital Navigator · Founder

Solara Vita helps older adults in South Florida build confidence with the technology they need for their health and daily life. I offer one-on-one support, in person and virtually, with smartphones, tablets, patient portals, telehealth, and online safety.

I also bring that support to more seniors through free community workshops with local public libraries, including “Tech Made Easy: A Senior’s Guide to Devices” at Margate Catharine Young Library. Families and the organizations that serve older adults can turn to Solara Vita for workshops and guidance too.

Older Adult Tech SupportPatient Portals & TelehealthOnline SafetyLibrary Workshops
Start here Experience My path, where I fit, and two case studies.

Hiring for healthcare operations or clinical research?

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Previous: Home

Experience

People. Processes. Better Outcomes.

My career has taken me from technical support to operations management, user research, and healthcare. Across these experiences, one focus has remained consistent: improving how people, processes, and technology work together.

With more than five years of research operations experience, I have coordinated participants, managed project logistics, improved workflows, and supported teams working across multiple locations.

Today, I am building on that foundation through healthcare operations experience, graduate studies in Health Informatics, and professional development in clinical research.

My path

From tech support to healthcare.

Five chapters, each one adding skills I use today.

  1. 2015 – 2018

    Helping people with technology

    Apple Retail (May 2015 – Aug 2018)

    Started in sales and moved into technical support. Learned to explain technology in plain terms, solve problems on the spot, and protect customer data.

  2. 2019 – 2021

    Building operations

    Lyft (Aug 2019 – Aug 2020) · Transdev (Mar 2021 – Aug 2021)

    Joined a brand-new department at Lyft and helped build its daily operations, cutting errors by 30%. At Transdev, ran fleet scheduling and kept records for reporting and compliance.

  3. 2020 – 2026

    Running research operations

    Tech Mahindra (Aug 2020 – Mar 2023) · Voxelmaps (Mar 2023 – Apr 2024) · Tata Elxsi (Nov 2024 – May 2026)

    Grew from study moderator to project manager. Ran participant scheduling, onboarding, documentation, and tracking across multiple sites and projects at once.

  4. 2024 – 2026

    Connecting operations with patient care

    Personal caregiving (May 2024 – Oct 2024) · GPI Medical Center (Jul 2026 – Aug 2026)

    Supporting a family member through cancer treatment gave me firsthand insight into the challenges patients and caregivers face when navigating healthcare.

    At GPI Medical Center, I gained experience in front-desk operations, patient scheduling, electronic health records, and patient communication, strengthening my understanding of the workflows that support care delivery.

  5. 2026 – Present

    Digital navigation

    Solara Vita (Aug 2026 – Present) · digitalLIFT (Oct 2026 – Present)

    Founded Solara Vita to help older adults use health technology with confidence, and volunteer as a digital navigator with digitalLIFT.

Where I fit

Four capabilities, two career paths.

Each capability shows how it applies in healthcare and in clinical research, with examples from my career.

Operations & Workflow Improvement

In healthcare

Patient flow, scheduling, EHR processes

In clinical research

Site efficiency, research workflows

  • Lyft: Planned opening shifts around traffic patterns to get rental cars ready sooner, increasing vehicle readiness and the number of cars available for rental contracts.
  • Voxelmaps: Identified that participants were being booked without meeting study requirements, traced the cause to communication and documentation gaps, and updated process documents to lower rejection rates.
  • GPI Medical Center: Managed patient scheduling, maintained accurate records in the EHR, and handled patient communication in person and by phone to keep the front desk running smoothly.
LyftTech MahindraVoxelmapsGPI Medical Center

Research & Participant Coordination

In healthcare

Patient communication, documentation

In clinical research

Participant coordination, study logistics

  • Tech Mahindra: Progressed from lead study moderator to site manager to project manager, taking on more scope at each step while running participant sessions, scheduling, and daily site operations.
  • Voxelmaps: Coordinated participant scheduling and onboarding across concurrent research projects, and developed dashboards that gave project teams visibility into scheduling, participation, and project progress.
  • Tata Elxsi: Coordinated participant and venue scheduling across multiple locations, balancing recruitment requirements, availability, and project timelines.
Tech MahindraVoxelmapsTata ElxsiHIPAA Awareness TrainingCITI GCP (in progress)

Project & Stakeholder Management

In healthcare

Cross-functional coordination, resources

In clinical research

Research teams, vendors, study timelines

  • Tata Elxsi: Coordinated with external venue recruitment vendors and venue owners, and created a shared tracker for venue status, qualifications, and next steps that reduced recruitment delays. Kept teams coordinated through a reorganization.
  • Tech Mahindra: Worked with outside vendors to keep research sites supplied and secure, and managed onboarding by collecting and verifying participant documentation.
  • Voxelmaps: Trained recruiters on what to screen for and who to contact with questions, helping lower participant rejection rates.
Tata ElxsiTech MahindraVoxelmaps

Technology & Digital Navigation

In healthcare

Patient portals, accessibility, telehealth

In clinical research

Participant support, digital research tools

  • Apple: Diagnosed and resolved hardware and software issues, explaining fixes in plain language customers could follow.
  • Solara Vita: Help older adults use patient portals and telehealth on their own, through one-on-one sessions and free workshops with local public libraries.
  • digitalLIFT: Volunteer digital navigator, helping learners get connected and find low-cost internet, telehealth tools, and community resources.
AppleSolara VitadigitalLIFTGoodwill® Digital Navigator

Case studies

Problems I’ve solved.

Two examples from my research operations work: the problem, my responsibility, what I did, and the outcome.

Case 1

Research operations · Voxelmaps

Making sure the right participants reached the study

01The problem

Participants were being booked into studies without meeting the required qualifications. Each one had to be turned away, which wasted session time and slowed projects down.

02My responsibility

I oversaw participant scheduling and onboarding, so it was my job to make sure the people we booked were the people each study needed.

03What I did

I reviewed the booking process and screening documents and traced the problem to communication and documentation gaps. I updated the documents with the correct requirements and trained recruiters on what to check and who to contact with questions.

04The outcome

Rejection rates went down, recruiters and the project team worked from the same accurate information, and more sessions ran with qualified participants.

Why it matters in clinical research: clinical studies depend on the same discipline, with clear eligibility criteria, accurate documentation, and well-trained staff.

Case 2

Research operations · Tata Elxsi

Cutting delays in venue recruitment

01The problem

Recruiting venues for research sessions was slow. Each venue's status, qualification details, and next steps weren't kept in one place, so venues were rejected late and work stalled between vendors, venue owners, and our team.

02My responsibility

As project manager for UX operations, I worked with multiple venue recruitment vendors and venue owners and was responsible for getting qualified venues ready on schedule.

03What I did

I built a shared tracker showing each venue's status, qualifications, and next steps, and used it to give vendors clear requirements so venues met compliance standards before they were submitted.

04The outcome

Venue recruitment delays dropped, fewer venues were rejected, and everyone worked from the same accurate data, which closed communication gaps and kept projects moving.

Why it matters in clinical research: selecting and qualifying research sites works the same way, with clear standards, shared tracking, and steady communication with outside partners.

Two career paths

Where my experience applies.

Healthcare Operations

What I bring

EHR experience, patient coordination, an understanding of healthcare workflows, project management, process improvement, and digital health navigation.

Roles I’m pursuing

Healthcare Operations CoordinatorPatient Experience CoordinatorHealthcare Project Coordinator

Clinical Research

What I bring

Established research operations experience, participant scheduling, documentation, study logistics, cross-functional communication, and Good Clinical Practice training in progress.

Roles I’m pursuing

Clinical Research AssistantResearch CoordinatorClinical Research Operations AssistantEntry-level Clinical Research Coordinator

Clinical Research Coordination: Building on an Operations Foundation

My background in user research operations provides a strong foundation for transitioning into clinical research. I have coordinated participants, maintained study documentation, supported operational procedures, and worked across teams to keep research activities organized.

Combined with my experience in healthcare administration and continued training in Good Clinical Practice, I am building the knowledge needed to support clinical study coordination, participant communication, and research site operations.

CITI GCP (in progress)HIPAA Awareness TrainingEHR WorkflowsMedical Office Manager

Where I’m Headed

What I’m looking for next.

Supporting the people and processes behind better healthcare and research.

I am pursuing opportunities in healthcare operations and clinical research coordination where I can apply my experience in research operations, project management, workflow optimization, and technology support.

I am particularly interested in improving administrative and research workflows, strengthening communication between teams, and helping patients and research participants navigate their experiences with greater clarity.

My long-term goal is to contribute to healthcare systems that are operationally efficient, accessible, and designed around the needs of the people they serve.

Building toward it

Academic Education
Graduate coursework in Health Informatics, San José State University
Professional Training
EHR Workflows and Processes in Healthcare
Professional Training
Medical Office Manager
Digital Literacy
Goodwill® Digital Navigator Specialization
Process Improvement
Six Sigma Green Belt
Healthcare Compliance
HIPAA Awareness Training
In Progress
CITI Good Clinical Practice
In Progress
Digital Healthcare Informatics and AI
Next page Work 8 published articles, graduate coursework, and what I’m building now.

Hiring for healthcare operations or clinical research?

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Previous: Experience

Work

Work that lives outside the job description.

Published writing, graduate coursework, and projects in progress, the things I research, build, and write when I want to go deeper on a problem that matters.

Published writing

Writing on digital health, AI, and career change.

8 articles on Medium about how technology, policy, and operations shape the patient experience.

Article · Medium · Health Informatics

Listening to Patients: How Older Adults Navigate Digital Health Information

An exploration of how older adults search for, evaluate, and act on health information online, and why the gap between what digital health tools offer and what patients actually need is still very much open.

Health InformaticsPatient ExperienceDigital HealthOlder AdultsHealth Literacy
Read on Medium Published

Article · Medium · Artificial Intelligence & Healthcare

Beyond the Hype: What Artificial Intelligence (AI) is Actually Doing to Healthcare

A grounded look at what AI is genuinely changing in healthcare, cutting through the noise to examine real clinical applications, the limitations practitioners are running into, and what the technology still cannot do.

Artificial IntelligenceHealthcare TechnologyClinical ApplicationsDigital Health
Read on Medium Published

Article · Medium · Career & Healthcare Operations

The Algorithm Doesn't Know My Story

A candid look at how Applicant Tracking Systems filter out qualified career changers based on keyword matching rather than actual capability, and why transferable skills and demonstrated impact should matter more than job title familiarity.

Career TransitionsHealthcare OperationsHiring & ATSHealth Informatics
Read on Medium Published

Article · Medium · Career & Healthcare Operations

From UX Operations to Healthcare: I'm Not Starting Over. I'm Redirecting.

A personal reflection on what it really means to change fields, not as an act of abandonment but as a deliberate redirect. A broken referral process during my father's cancer treatment revealed the operational gaps that healthcare systems leave unfixed. The result: a commitment to applying years of operations and UX expertise where the stakes actually matter.

Career TransitionsHealthcare OperationsHealth InformaticsPatient Experience
Read on Medium Published

Article · Medium · Digital Health & AI Equity

The Digital Divide Is Already a Healthcare Crisis. AI Is Making It Worse.

A look at how rapid AI adoption in healthcare risks widening the gap for older adults, rural populations, and underserved communities who already struggle to navigate digital health tools, and an early idea for a community-focused digital health literacy initiative to help close that gap.

Digital HealthOlder AdultsHealthcareAI in Healthcare
Read on Medium Published

Article · Medium · Health Informatics & AI in Healthcare

Building an AI-Ready Healthcare Workforce: What It Actually Takes

Reflections from a panel of health systems and informatics leaders on what it really takes to prepare the healthcare workforce to use AI safely, effectively, and equitably, including a five-part competency framework, the gap between curriculum and current practice, and why governance and equity can't be afterthoughts.

Health InformaticsAI in HealthcareHealthcare WorkforceMedical Education
Read on Medium Published

Article · Medium · Behavioral Health & AI in Healthcare

What Behavioral Health Can Teach Healthcare About Implementing AI Documentation Responsibly

A case study on how one rural behavioral health organization implemented ambient AI documentation responsibly, prioritizing clinician trust, voluntary adoption, informed consent, and governance over speed, offering a practical blueprint for reducing documentation burden without compromising patient trust.

HealthcareArtificial IntelligenceBehavioral HealthHealth Informatics
Read on Medium Published

Article · Medium · Health Informatics & Interoperability

A Prescription Sent Is Not Necessarily a Prescription Received

Interoperability as a strategy for closing the prescriber-pharmacy gap, examining why electronic prescriptions still require manual clarification and outlining three pillars, connected software, professional digital literacy, and standardized workflows, for closing the gap.

Health InformaticsInteroperabilityHealth LiteracyPatient Experience
Read on Medium Published

Graduate coursework

Course projects in health informatics.

Presentation · INFM 208 · Health Informatics

Building an Information Assurance Strategy for Sinai Chicago

Developed a comprehensive information assurance strategy for a safety-net health system by applying the NIST Cybersecurity Framework 2.0, HIPAA, HITECH, and emerging AI governance principles. This project strengthened my understanding of the intersection between cybersecurity, governance, and healthcare delivery.

CybersecurityNIST CSF 2.0HIPAA & HITECHAI Governance
View presentation Course project

Presentation · INFM 210 · Health Informatics · Group Project

Leveraging AI to Support Evidence-Based Hepatitis C Prevention

Evaluated the use of artificial intelligence to support evidence-based screening, diagnosis, and clinical decision-making for hepatitis C prevention. The project explored how AI can improve population health while emphasizing responsible implementation, health equity, and evidence-based practice.

AI in HealthcarePopulation HealthHealth EquityEvidence-Based Practice
View presentation Course project

In progress

What I’m building now.

Web Application · UX & Health Informatics

Tracing Care Web Application

A patient-first health platform giving people real, granular control over their health data, who sees it, when, and why. Built with real-time data access logs, a caregiver hub, and ethical research participation tools. Grounded in peer-reviewed research and WCAG accessibility standards.

Patient Data PrivacyHealthcare OperationsUX DesignReact
View live demo In progress
Next page About My story, education, credentials, and how to reach me.

Hiring for healthcare operations or clinical research?

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Previous: Work

About

I didn’t just find my path, I built it, city by city.

A journey shaped by curiosity, a lot of uprooting, and the stubborn belief that the next chapter is always better than the last.

My story

Brazil, New York, Memphis, California, Florida.

  1. The beginning

    Born in Brazil, wired for curiosity

    Before I ever thought about systems, workflows, or efficiency, I was just a kid obsessed with how things fit together. Legos were basically my first job. Structure, logic, the quiet satisfaction of making pieces click into place. I didn't know it then, but that instinct would follow me everywhere.

  2. Age 14: New York

    Everything changed overnight

    At 14, my family packed up and chased the American dream to New York. New language. New culture. New everything. It was disorienting, humbling, and, looking back, one of the best things that ever happened to me. You learn real adaptability when you have no choice but to figure it out. No manual, no fallback, just forward.

  3. 2012: Tennessee

    Memphis, logistics, and thinking at scale

    I got married, settled in Tennessee, and landed in the middle of one of the world's great logistics hubs. Memphis moves things, millions of packages, truckloads, supply chains, all flowing through this one city. I was hooked. Watching complex operations run (or fail to run) at that scale lit something up in me: a genuine obsession with efficiency, coordination, and making systems actually work.

  4. 2016: California

    Operations, evolved

    West Coast, new chapter. I kept building on what I'd learned, but the work got sharper. Less about moving boxes, more about improving how people and systems interact. Workflows, processes, the invisible friction that slows organizations down. If something could run smoother, I wanted to know why it wasn't, and how to fix it.

  5. 2026: Florida

    Closer to family, clear on the mission

    Moved to Florida to be closer to family while continuing my graduate studies in health informatics. A different kind of chapter, one rooted in showing up for the people who shaped me, and in naming the work I'd already been doing for years: helping healthcare and community organizations close the digital gaps that leave people behind.

  6. Today

    Where it's all coming together

    Operations. Data. Digital equity. Three things that, when they actually work in harmony, don't just improve a process, they change who gets left out of the system. That's where my focus is now, through Solara Vita, my digital navigation practice: closing the gaps that keep older adults and underserved communities from getting the care and information they need, and building experiences that are genuinely accessible to everyone. The kid who loved Legos is still in there, just building bigger, more inclusive systems now.

Education

Always in the middle of learning something new.

Four schools, four states, two decades, each program added a new lens for understanding how systems, people, and data fit together.

San José State University, San Jose, CA

2028

M.S. in Health Informatics In progress

Deepening the technical and data foundation behind my digital equity work, connecting operations, healthcare systems, and data to close gaps for underserved populations.

Healthcare SystemsData AnalyticsPatient SafetyHealth Data Management

Golden Gate University, San Francisco, CA

2021

B.S. in Business, Operations & Supply Chain and Psychology

A deliberately unusual combination, operations and psychology. Because the best process in the world still fails if you don't understand the people running it.

Process ImprovementOrg BehaviorHuman Systems

Southwest Tennessee Community College, Memphis, TN

2016

A.A. in Business, Operations and Transportation Management

Studied in the middle of one of the world's great logistics hubs. The classroom and the real world were basically the same place.

LogisticsTransportation SystemsSupply Chain

Kingsborough Community College, Brooklyn, NY

2009

A.S. in Applied Sciences

Where it all started. I grew up building Legos, came to school in Brooklyn, and found out I loved structured problem-solving at scale.

Structured ThinkingTechnical Problem-Solving

Credentials

Certifications and training.

  • Six Sigma Green Belt Certified

    Jun 2026

    Management & Strategy Institute

    Process improvement, workflow optimization, and eliminating operational inefficiencies using Six Sigma methodologies.

    View credential

  • HIPAA Awareness Training

    Active · Mar 2026 – Mar 2028

    American Health Training

    Patient data privacy, security regulations, and compliance standards in healthcare environments.

    View credential

  • Medical Office Manager Specialization

    May 2026

    Johns Hopkins University via Coursera

    Healthcare administration, patient services, and medical office operations.

    View credential

  • Goodwill® Digital Navigator Specialization

    Sep 2026

    Goodwill Industries International & World Education via Coursera

    Digital navigation fundamentals, digital skills coaching, customer service, and community resource development to guide others toward digital resilience.

    View credential

  • EHR Workflows and Processes in Healthcare Specialization

    Oct 2026

    SkillUp via Coursera

    Electronic health record fundamentals, patient data and records workflows, documentation, data quality, and compliance across healthcare settings.

    View credential

Continuous learning

  • HIPAA: A Practical Guide

    HomeTown Health University · LinkedIn Learning

    View credential

  • Building a HIPAA Compliance Program

    Terra Cooke · LinkedIn Learning

    View credential

  • Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias Initial Training

    Approved by the Florida Department of Elder Affairs · Oct 2026

    View credential

Digital badges

User Experience Design Fundamentals badgeUser Experience Design FundamentalsIBM SkillsBuild Cybersecurity Fundamentals badgeCybersecurity FundamentalsIBM SkillsBuild Artificial Intelligence (AI) Fundamentals badgeArtificial Intelligence (AI) FundamentalsIBM SkillsBuild Teaching Internet Safety & Responsibility badgeTeaching Internet Safety & ResponsibilitydigitalLIFT

Skills

What I bring to a team.

Strengths

Process ImprovementChange ManagementStakeholder EngagementRegulatory ComplianceWorkforce ManagementRoot Cause AnalysisStrategic PlanningCustomer Service

Healthcare & Compliance

Health InformaticsHealth Data ManagementPatient SafetyHIPAA ComplianceHIPAA Program DevelopmentHealthcare Systems

Digital Equity & UX

Digital EquityDigital AccessibilityHealth LiteracyUser Experience Design (UX)User-Centered Design (UCD)WireframingPrototypingUsability TestingInformation Architecture

Technical

Data VisualizationPower BIGoogle SuiteMicrosoft SuiteAirtableCanva

Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity FundamentalsCyber Threat AnalysisInformation SecurityRisk ManagementIncident Response

Artificial Intelligence

AI FundamentalsMachine LearningNeural NetworksDeep LearningGenerative AIAI Ethics
Next page Contact Email, LinkedIn, the roles I’m open to, and my resume.

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Contact

Let’s connect.

If something resonated, a shared interest, a potential collaboration, or just curiosity, I’d love to hear from you. Reach out by email or LinkedIn, and I try to respond within a couple of days.

Open to

Roles I’m pursuing.

Healthcare operations and clinical research roles where my operations and research experience can help teams and patients.

Healthcare Operations

Healthcare Operations CoordinatorPatient Experience CoordinatorHealthcare Project Coordinator

Clinical Research

Clinical Research AssistantResearch CoordinatorClinical Research Operations AssistantEntry-level Clinical Research Coordinator

See what I bring to each path

Resume

The research-to-healthcare path.

A focused look at my path from research moderator to project manager, and my work in healthcare digital equity.

View resume