肉肉传媒

During Women鈥檚 History Month, 肉肉传媒 is shining a spotlight on women breaking barriers each and every day. Yasmirel Reynoso joined 肉肉传媒 health plan Sunshine Health in 2013 and is currently Senior Clinical Development Program Manager for Population Health. She also is Co-President of 肉肉传媒鈥檚 听I.N.S.P.I.R.E. Yasmirel has a pharmacy background and works to remove barriers and advance health equity for our members. In the following Q&A, she shares her thoughts on advancing equality and the importance of 鈥渓ifting up others鈥� through mentoring and allyship.

Q.听听听听Tell us about your background and your current role as Senior Clinical Development Program Manager for Population Health?

A.听听听听My background is in pharmacy and new program development. I started my career working as a Pharmacy Technician at CVS. I worked on the frontline helping customers fill their prescriptions. After three years, I moved around and worked in different pharmacy settings. I worked in the mail order, behavioral health, and hospital setting, gaining experience and knowledge about each. I joined Sunshine Health as a Pharmacy Coordinator in 2013. My role was to manage the pharmacy benefit, overseeing the specialty and high-cost utilization of drugs and helping pharmacies process claims.听We reviewed prior authorization requests and developed initiatives to improve our quality scores around medication adherence. I received several promotions, moving to Pharmacy Specialist and then Pharmacy Supervisor.

Next, I decided to switch careers to Marketing and Communications. I had the opportunity to take on a specialist role supporting the Employee Engagement team. I led the Employee Recognition, Employee Well-Being, and Employee Events programs. When COVID-19 and the WellCare merger happened, my responsibilities changed. I supported the communications side of the team, writing for our employee newsletter and copyediting member and provider communications. I learned a lot about the importance of clear communication for our members and successful strategies to deliver messages. I was approached in July 2021 to join the Population Health team to develop and oversee communications for new and existing clinical programs with the goal of improved health for our members.

Q.听听听听What is the most meaningful part of your job?

础.听听听听Knowing that what I do has an impact on removing barriers to care and improving the health of those we serve. Having worked on the front line as a Pharmacy Technician, I understand how social determinants of health and administrative processes can cause barriers in accessing care and medications for people who need it most. I am always thinking about the member experience first in the work that I do. 听

Q.听听听听Who influenced you most during your career and why?

础.听听听听I have worked with so many amazing people throughout my career. My friend and prior manager, Paula Turner, had a big influence on the person I am today. As a woman of color, seeing another woman of color show up as her authentic self was inspiring. I learned by watching her speak up and advocate for employees when they weren鈥檛 in the room. She showed me what a true ally is and that I didn鈥檛 have to change parts of myself to fit in or be successful.

She taught me how to build authentic relationships and be more confident in my abilities but most importantly, she gave me the opportunity and visibility to show others what I was capable of. I remember something she told me that has stuck with me: 鈥淟ift as you climb.鈥� I take that to mean to give other women and women of color the same opportunities given to me. 听听听

Q.听听听听Can you talk about the importance of mentoring?

础.听听听听When it comes to mentorship, I think of the student and teacher relationship. Early in your career, you start off as the student learning all you can and as you gain experience, your role will shift to a mentor. A mentor can be a guide to helping you navigate your own career path by teaching through those lived experiences. As a mentor, you assume the responsibility of helping someone tap into their own potential and guiding them in the right direction to achieve their career goals. It鈥檚 truly rewarding when you help someone become a better version of themselves.

Q.听听听听How is 肉肉传媒鈥檚 approach to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) different from other companies?

础.听听听听I feel 肉肉传媒鈥檚 approach to DEI has been organic and robust by adding equity into the DEI strategy. Equity is the fair treatment and equal access to opportunity, information, and resources to all. By establishing accountability and measurement standards across industry benchmarks, 肉肉传媒 has demonstrated true commitment in its words and actions. I see the Employee Inclusion Groups (EIG) as focus groups for understanding the needs and addressing the issues that matter most to not only our employees, but also the populations we serve. EIGs provide a way to the solutions to solve or address those issues.听

Q.听听听听Tell us about your role as I.N.S.P.I.R.E Co-President and why it was important to you to become involved with this Employee Inclusion Group (EIG)?

础.听听听听As a working mom, I.N.S.P.I.R.E鈥檚 mission statement is something I truly believe in. 肉肉传媒鈥檚 Women鈥檚 EIG aims to further help its members meet their professional and personal goals at all career and life stages. As Co-President, my role is to drive the execution of our goals and advocate for the issues that are important to our members. This year, our goals are to drive policy change to accommodate women at all phases of parenthood, implement accountability standards for leadership development, and strengthen partnerships with intersecting communities. The EIG is focused on leveraging tools such as targeted development sessions, mentoring, and community engagement to develop women as leaders and prepare them to take on leadership opportunities at all levels of the company. I have seen the correlation of success by being part of a community like the EIGs.听听

Q.听听听听What is the importance of allyship to you, and how can employees be better allies?

础.听听听听I think of allies as a support system that can open doors. Allyship to me means using your privilege and voice to advocate for an underrepresented group of people not in the room when and where decisions are being made that impact them. Employees can be better allies by being attentive to the person they鈥檙e working with. You can be an ally by speaking up for someone else, giving opportunities, and promoting someone into a higher position. Collaborating with different people opens up your own perceptions. When you find a group of allies with a shared goal, it creates a spark where there is open communication and active sharing of ideas that can build a new or better workplace.

Q.听听听听What are your thoughts on the significance of Women鈥檚 History Month?

础.听听听听I have seen awareness grow over the past couple years around Women鈥檚 History Month. Empowering women doesn鈥檛 put us above men, it promotes gender equality and support to overcome gender bias. Women鈥檚 History Month shines a spotlight on the contributions of incredible women across various industries who are breaking barriers and creating a more equitable world, and who wouldn鈥檛 want to support that?