Episodes

  • How Shanna Adamic & Stephanie Trunzo Stay Audaciously Optimistic | Episode 23

    How Shanna Adamic & Stephanie Trunzo Stay Audaciously Optimistic | Episode 23
    Aug 25 2025
    For great leaders, optimism is a driving force. In this episode of Get Real, Shanna Adamic, Executive Director of the Oracle Health Foundation and author of Audacious Optimism, shares how her health journey and battle with a life-threatening brain tumor shaped her philosophy on resilient leadership. She’s joined by her good friend Stephanie Trunzo, CEO of Merge, who has guided major companies through transformation at the intersection of technology and business. Shanna reflects on her decade as an NFL cheerleader and her career in healthcare philanthropy. Stephanie offers her perspective on building a healthcare system that truly empowers patients. Together, they explore how audacious optimism fuels intuitive decision-making and the ability to turn challenges into opportunities. 5 Things You’ll Learn: - How “audacious optimism” can turn setbacks into growth. - What Shanna’s health journey teaches about resilience and leadership. - Why patient empowerment and storytelling matter in healthcare. - How Stephanie applies human-centered design to transform technology. - The impact of the Oracle Health Foundation in removing barriers to care.
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    45 mins
  • Episode 22: Jonathan Gluck, Journalist and Author of An Exercise in Uncertainty

    Episode 22: Jonathan Gluck, Journalist and Author of An Exercise in Uncertainty
    Aug 11 2025
    In today's episode, Jim is speaking with Jonathan Gluck about his new memoir An Exercise in Uncertainty. Gluck is a leading journalist, writing for publications like The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Vogue. He also served as the deputy editor of New York Magazine. Two decades ago, he was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a rare, incurable blood cancer, and told he had over a year to live. At its core, his memoir asks: how do we live our mortality? Tune in as we learn about coping with uncertainty with the incomparable, Jonathan Gluck. 1. How a slip on the ice led to an early cancer diagnosis 2. What treatable but not curable means and how his doctors have managed multiple myeloma over many years 3. How to cope with constant uncertainty 4. Why work can be a lifeline during long-term illness 5. How illness impacts a marriage and family, and the tools that help keep relationships strong
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    49 mins
  • Episode 21: Shelley Zalis, Founder and CEO of The Female Quotient

    Episode 21: Shelley Zalis, Founder and CEO of The Female Quotient
    Jul 21 2025
    On this episode of Get Real, Jim is joined by Shelley Zalis, Founder and CEO of The Female Quotient and the self-titled Chief Troublemaker. Shelley is the force behind one of the largest global communities of women in business. TFQ is 7 million strong across more than 100 countries. What began as a walk through CES with 50 women turned into a movement and a business... Shelley created a space she never had in business where women show up fully, support one another, and work together without sacrificing authenticity, and what makes them incredible as women. Shelley shares with Jim how she turned TFQ into a global brand, what she’s learned about being first, and why the soft skills we’ve undervalued for decades are some of the most essential leadership traits. In this episode, you’ll learn: 1. How Shelley scaled a single moment into a 7-million-women global platform 2. Why she believes every workplace should be redesigned 3. The evolution of The Female Quotient
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    34 mins
  • Episode 20: Dr. Mary Claire Haver, #1 Menopause Expert and Founder of The Pause Life

    Episode 20: Dr. Mary Claire Haver, #1 Menopause Expert and Founder of The Pause Life
    Jul 14 2025
    In this episode we're joined by the menopause GOAT, Dr. Mary Claire Haver. A board-certified OB-GYN, bestselling author, and truth-teller, Dr. Haver unpacks the science, stigma, and solutions surrounding menopause and perimenopause. She's breaking down what’s happening with your hormones and exposing the flawed studies that scared a generation of women away from HRT. Dr. Whether you're in your 40s or 70s, this is essential listening for anyone who wants to age smarter. In this episode, you’ll learn: 1. The difference between perimenopause and menopause and why your brain tracks the shift before your cycle does. 2. How flawed data from the 2002 WHI study derailed hormone therapy use for decades — and what the new research actually says. 3. Why hormone replacement therapy (HRT) isn't just about hot flashes. It protects your brain, bones, heart, and future independence. 4. More about GLP-1s and why traditional lifestyle advice often isn’t enough in midlife. 5. How to build your “nursing home prevention plan” through strength, nutrition, and medicine.
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    41 mins
  • Episode Nineteen: In Conversation with Two Decades of HBA'S WOTYs

    Episode Nineteen: In Conversation with Two Decades of HBA'S WOTYs
    Jun 30 2025
    As the Healthcare Businesswomen's Association's 2025 Honorable Mentor, Jim is bringing together HBA Women of the Year winners spanning two decades. Co-moderated with HBA CEO Mary Stutts, this episode features 2025's Reshema Kemps-Polanco (EVP & Chief Commercial Officer, Novartis US), 2015's Denice Torres (former President, McNeil Consumer Healthcare), and 2005's Lynn O'Connor Vos (former CEO, Grey Healthcare Group).They're exploring what connects Women of the Year winners, the mentors who shaped them, and moments they had to recalibrate priorities. In what Jim calls an "It's a Wonderful Life" moment for healthcare, these leaders examine how female leadership changes the trajectory of industries. They tackle the evolution of women's ambitions from 2005 to 2025 and which stereotypes persist. In this episode, you'll learn: 1. The common thread connecting Women of the Year winners and advice for advancing your leadership trajectory 2. How to leverage mentors beyond family influences in shaping executive leadership 3. When to recalibrate priorities without derailing career momentum 4. How women's ambitions evolved from 2005 to 2025 and which stereotypes remain 5. How female leadership can reshape healthcare's future amid industry threats
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    41 mins
  • Episode 18: Matthew Zachary, Host of Out Of Patients & Cancer Survivor

    Episode 18: Matthew Zachary, Host of Out Of Patients & Cancer Survivor
    Jun 16 2025
    Matthew Zachary has been reshaping the healthcare media landscape since before podcasting even had a name. A 29-year survivor of brain cancer, he’s the founder of Stupid Cancer and the voice behind Out of Patients—one of the longest-running healthcare podcasts, which launched in 2007 as The Stupid Cancer Show. Dubbed “America’s Cancer Advocate” by People magazine, Matthew is known for cutting through the noise, speaking the truth, and helping patients reclaim their power. In this conversation, we dig into what empathy looks like in the hospital, why healthcare marketing still misses the mark, and how consumer-led cancer care might finally force the system to pay attention. Link: https://open.spotify.com/show/4KpTeWR5O32zLBxUu7g4Wl?si=ZNx5WPeFQ_aUQiJidPK2BA
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    35 mins
  • Episode Seventeen: Oriana Kraft, Founder of ORI

    Episode Seventeen: Oriana Kraft, Founder of ORI
    May 5 2025
    In this episode of Get Real, Jim sits down with Oriana Kraft, the Founder of ORI. She is transforming women's healthcare through data-driven solutions and employer partnerships. After discovering alarming gaps in medical education and clinical research, Oriana turned her thesis project into a global movement dedicated to translating women's health research into practical care solutions. The conversation examines the economic costs of overlooking women's health issues in the workplace, the systemic barriers that prevent adequate care, and how employers can create more supportive environments while improving their bottom line. Oriana offers many innovative approaches that could finally close the gender health gap. What You'll Learn: How a staggering 70% of female employees lose 1-5 workdays monthly due to women's health issues, and the $3,000 per woman cost to employers who don't address these needs The economic and structural factors driving healthcare inequality Practical strategies employers can implement to create stigma-free environments for women's health discussions while improving productivity and retention How AI and data-driven approaches are revolutionizing women's healthcare design, creating opportunities for better diagnosis, treatment, and workplace support systems
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    30 mins
  • Episode Sixteen: Dr. Lennard Lee, Chief Medical Officer at the Ellison Institute of Technology & Co-Founder of the NHS Cancer Vaccine Launchpad

    Episode Sixteen: Dr. Lennard Lee, Chief Medical Officer at the Ellison Institute of Technology & Co-Founder of the NHS Cancer Vaccine Launchpad
    Apr 7 2025
    Dr. Lennard Lee is a force of nature in medicine. He is the Chief Medical Office at the Ellison Institute of Technology. Since 2020, he has led groundbreaking national programs that unite scientists, clinicians, and policymakers to advance the development of cancer vaccines. Dr. Lee co-founded the NHS Cancer Vaccine Launchpad, an initiative designed to streamline patient enrollment in cancer vaccine trials. He's spearheading efforts to enroll 10,000 patients by 2030, accelerating trials and ensuring the latest breakthroughs reach those in need. His work has earned him top honors such as the ACP McElwain Prize, IAP Outstanding Young Physicians Award, DSIT Superhero Award, and the UK Science & Engineering Infinity Award. In this episode, you'll learn: How he built the NHS Cancer Vaccine Launchpad The UK's role in global cancer vaccine development and clinical research Insights into successful cancer vaccine trials, including promising results from Devon The risk-benefit analysis of shifting to a vaccine-first approach for cancer treatment Current progress and breakthroughs in cancer vaccine clinical trials How research and development investments are being managed to sustain innovation Dr. Lee's predictions for when preventative cancer vaccines might become widely available Strategies for ensuring global access and affordability of cancer vaccine technologies How collaboration between pharma and biotech is accelerating innovation The evolution of cancer staging and diagnostics in a vaccine-driven treatment landscape
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    33 mins