Closing digital gaps in healthcare and community access.
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Helping healthcare and community organizations close digital equity gaps, bridging operations, data, and user-centered design so technology works for the people it's meant to serve.
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Focused on digital accessibility audits, inclusive workflow design, and health literacy strategy, finding the friction and fixing it, at every scale.
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Building solutions that make digital health more equitable for older adults and underserved populations, where better systems mean better care.
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My Journey
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My Story
The journey behind the work
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Experience
Roles, results, and impact
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Learn More
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Education
Degrees, certs & skills
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Projects
Hands-on creation
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My Business
SOLARA VITA
Digital Navigator · Founder
The practice where this work lives. Solara Vita helps healthcare and community organizations close the digital gaps that leave older adults and underserved populations behind, through accessibility audits, inclusive workflow design, and health literacy strategy. It also provides patient, one-on-one tech support directly to older adults and families navigating healthcare technology.
Digital NavigationDigital AccessibilityHealth LiteracyOlder Adult Tech Support
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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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.
Professional experience
Different industries, the same strengths.
My career has moved from tech support to operations, research, and now healthcare. Each step added skills I bring to healthcare and research teams today. Here is the path, and where it fits.
My path
2015 – 2018
Helping people with technology
Apple Retail
Started in sales and moved into technical support. Learned to explain technology in plain terms, solve problems on the spot, and protect customer data.
2019 – 2021
Building operations
Lyft · Transdev
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.
2020 – 2026
Running research operations
Tech Mahindra · Voxelmaps · Tata Elxsi
Grew from study moderator to project manager. Ran participant scheduling, onboarding, documentation, and tracking across multiple sites and projects at once.
2024 – 2026
Moving into healthcare
Caregiving · GPI Medical Center
Cared for a family member through cancer treatment, then worked a clinic front desk, keeping patient records current in the EHR and helping patients use the portal.
2026 – Present
Digital navigation
Solara Vita · digitalLIFT
Founded Solara Vita to help older adults use health technology with confidence, and volunteer as a digital navigator with digitalLIFT.
Where I fit
Research Operations
Over five years running the day-to-day side of research.
Tech Mahindra: Grew from study moderator to site manager to project manager, running participant sessions, scheduling, and on-site operations.
Voxelmaps: Oversaw scheduling, onboarding, and progress tracking for participants across several projects at once.
Tata Elxsi: Managed participant and venue scheduling across multiple locations.
Tech MahindraVoxelmapsTata Elxsi
Clinical Research
My research operations work carries over to clinical study support.
Research roles: Coordinated participants, kept documentation accurate, and followed set processes across multiple studies.
GPI Medical Center: Kept patient records current in the EHR and helped patients use the patient portal.
Training: HIPAA certified and completing CITI Good Clinical Practice training.
Research ops rolesGPI Medical CenterHIPAACITI GCP (in progress)
Project Coordination
Managed schedules, resources, and timelines as a project manager on several projects, and built the trackers that kept teams on the same page.
Tech Mahindra: Aligned participant availability, team resources, and timelines, and resolved scheduling conflicts before they caused delays.
Voxelmaps: Built dashboards to track scheduling status, participation rates, and team performance.
Tata Elxsi: Served as the link between internal teams during a reorganization, resolving conflicts and keeping work moving.
Tech MahindraVoxelmapsTata Elxsi
Workflow Optimization
I find where work gets stuck and fix it.
Lyft: Planned opening shifts around traffic flow so rental cars were ready faster, increasing vehicle readiness and the number of cars available to book.
Tech Mahindra and Voxelmaps: Noticed participants being booked without meeting study requirements. Fixed the communication and documentation gaps behind it by updating process documents and training recruiters on what to check and who to ask, lowering rejection rates.
Tata Elxsi: Built a shared tracker for venue status, qualifications, and next steps, which reduced venue recruitment delays, kept venues compliant, and gave the team accurate data to work from.
LyftTech MahindraVoxelmapsTata Elxsi
Vendor Relations
I build and keep good working relationships with outside partners.
Tata Elxsi: Built working relationships with multiple venue recruitment vendors and venue owners, sharing clear requirements and guiding each venue through qualification and next steps.
Tech Mahindra: Worked with outside vendors to keep our research sites supplied and secure.
Solara Vita: Built community partnerships with local public libraries to host free tech workshops.
Tata ElxsiTech MahindraSolara Vita
Hiring & Training Support
I help get new people set up and ready to do the job well.
Tech Mahindra and Voxelmaps: Trained recruiters on what to check and who to contact with questions, lowering participant rejection rates.
Tech Mahindra, Voxelmaps, and Tata Elxsi: Managed onboarding by collecting, reviewing, and tracking documentation.
Solara Vita: Teach technology to adults through one-on-one sessions and group workshops.
Tech MahindraVoxelmapsTata ElxsiSolara Vita
Digital Navigation
Helping people with technology is where I started and where I am now. I hold the Goodwill Digital Navigator Specialization.
Apple: Diagnosed and solved tech problems and explained the fixes in plain terms.
Solara Vita: Help older adults use smartphones, patient portals, telehealth, and online benefit services on their own.
digitalLIFT: Volunteer digital navigator, helping learners get connected and find low-cost internet, telehealth tools, and community resources.
AppleSolara VitadigitalLIFT
Where I want to see myself
Supporting healthcare workflows that drive better patient care and efficient clinical flow.
I want to bring my operations, research, and digital navigation experience to a healthcare team, making the work behind patient care run smoothly so clinicians and patients can focus on what matters.
Building toward it
Education
Graduate coursework in Health Informatics, San José State University
Specializations
EHR Workflows and Processes in HealthcareMedical Office ManagerGoodwill® Digital NavigatorDigital Healthcare Informatics and AI (in progress)
Certifications
Six Sigma Green BeltHIPAA AwarenessCITI Good Clinical Practice (in progress)
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.
Degrees
San José State University, San Jose, CA
2028
M.S. in Health Informatics In Progress
Healthcare SystemsData AnalyticsPatient SafetyHealth Data Management
Deepening the technical and data foundation behind my digital equity work, connecting operations, healthcare systems, and data to close gaps for underserved populations.
Golden Gate University, San Francisco, CA
2021
B.S. in Business, Operations & Supply Chain and Psychology
Process ImprovementOrg BehaviorHuman Systems
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.
Southwest Tennessee Community College, Memphis, TN
2016
A.A. in Business, Operations and Transportation Management
LogisticsTransportation SystemsSupply Chain
Studied in the middle of one of the world's great logistics hubs. The classroom and the real world were basically the same place.
Kingsborough Community College, Brooklyn, NY
2009
A.S. in Applied Sciences
Structured ThinkingTechnical Problem-Solving
Where it all started, the kid who built Legos went to school in Brooklyn and found out he loved structured problem-solving at scale.
Certifications
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Six Sigma Green Belt Certified Jun 2026
Management & Strategy Institute
Process improvement, workflow optimization, and eliminating operational inefficiencies using Six Sigma methodologies. View credential →
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HIPAA Awareness Certified Active · Mar 2026 – Mar 2028
American Health Training
Patient data privacy, security regulations, and compliance standards in healthcare environments. View credential →
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Medical Office Manager Specialization May 2026
Johns Hopkins University via Coursera
Healthcare administration, patient services, and medical office operations. View credential →
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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 →
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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 →
AI FundamentalsMachine LearningNeural NetworksDeep LearningGenerative AIAI Ethics
Strengths
Process ImprovementChange ManagementStakeholder EngagementRegulatory ComplianceWorkforce ManagementRoot Cause AnalysisStrategic PlanningCustomer Service
Projects
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
Listening to Patients: How Older Adults Navigate Digital Health Information
Published
Article · Medium · Health Informatics
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
Beyond the Hype: What Artificial Intelligence (AI) is Actually Doing to Healthcare
Published
Article · Medium · Artificial Intelligence & 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
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
From UX Operations to Healthcare: I'm Not Starting Over. I'm Redirecting.
Published
Article · Medium · Career & Healthcare Operations
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 her 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
The Digital Divide Is Already a Healthcare Crisis. AI Is Making It Worse.
Published
Article · Medium · Digital Health & AI Equity
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
Building an AI-Ready Healthcare Workforce: What It Actually Takes
Published
Article · Medium · Health Informatics & AI in Healthcare
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
What Behavioral Health Can Teach Healthcare About Implementing AI Documentation Responsibly
Published
Article · Medium · Behavioral Health & AI in Healthcare
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.
A Prescription Sent Is Not Necessarily a Prescription Received
Published
Article · Medium · Health Informatics & Interoperability
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
Building an Information Assurance Strategy for Sinai Chicago
Final Course Project
Presentation · INFM 208 · Health Informatics
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.
Leveraging AI to Support Evidence-Based Hepatitis C Prevention
Final Course Project
Presentation · INFM 210 · Health Informatics · Group Project
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
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
