The Early Hires

How a Founding Dean Is Rethinking Clinical Education at the Edge of Silicon Valley — with Dr. Amy Bronson, Pepperdine University  Most episodes of The Early Hires feature clinicians who stepped inside a startup. This one takes a different angle. Dr. Amy Bronson is the founding dean of Pepperdine University’s brand-new School of Physician Assistant Studies — designing a clinical program from a blan...

From ER to Space Medicine: How Clinicians Create Systems Where None Exist Dr. Marsh Cuttino is an emergency physician who turned curiosity into systems impact. Trained at Kennedy Space Center, he raised his hand early and became one of the few clinicians to support shuttle launches and conduct zero‑gravity medical research. He founded Orbital Medicine to solve problems no one had addressed, includ...

From Primary Care to Startup Leadership: Why Clinicians Matter Most in Early Chaos  Andrew Shiflett, PA-C, brings more than a decade of experience in complex primary care and was one of the first clinical hires at a Series A mobile primary care startup. Joining within the first months of the company’s life, Andrew stepped into patient homes without playbooks. He had no formal title, but a role as...

Leading Without a Playbook: Why Executive Coaching Matters in Early-Stage Startups Lupe Prado is an executive coach who works with leaders across startups, private equity, and corporate organizations. For over seven years, she has helped high-performing professionals navigate leadership growth, career transitions, and complex workplace dynamics. Lupe built her career in accounting, and financial r...

Clinical Leadership in Healthcare Startups: What Clinicians Learn Navigating Growth, Risk, and Operational Strategy Helen is joined by Tim Talbert, nurse practitioner, veteran, and healthcare executive who spent more than a decade leading clinical teams inside healthcare startups. Tim began his career in clinic-based primary care before stepping into an early-stage company delivering high-acuity c...

In this episode, Helen sits down with Dipu Patel, DMSc, MPAS, ABAIM, PA-C, educator, innovation leader, and immediate past president of the PA Education Association. Dipu serves as professor and vice chair for innovation at the University of Pittsburgh PA program, where her work focuses on digital health, artificial intelligence, quality improvement, and preparing clinicians for the future of care...

From Underserved Care to Startup Leadership:  Why Gap-Closing Translates Across Both Worlds In this episode, Helen sits down with Dr. Neil Patel, a family physician with more than 20 years of clinical practice and over 15 years as an early clinical leader in healthcare startups. Neil was part of the founding team at Iora Health and later served as Chief Health Officer at Patina Health, carrying le...

Just because you are doing everything right clinically does not mean the organization will survive. In this episode, Helen sits down with Katie Davis, a nurse practitioner and clinician executive who has spent more than two decades building care models across hospital systems and early-stage healthcare startups. Katie has served as a founding and early clinical leader in multiple venture-backed co...

Patient safety is job one. Everything else is negotiable. The Early Hires launches with Dr. Adam Perry — a geriatrician and ER physician who has helped build home-based and senior care models across early- and mid-stage healthcare companies. He has served as a Chief Medical Officer and Regional Medical Director, and he is now the founder of Health Span Partners. In this pilot episode, Dr. Perry br...

Hosted by Helen Tanner, MPH, PA-C, The Early Hires Podcast centers the voices of clinicians building healthcare startups from the inside. Helen brings years of clinical and executive experience, translating real-world challenges into thoughtful, grounded conversations. Each episode features clinicians and clinical leaders navigating early-stage companies, sharing honest stories about leadership pr...