Licensed Clinical Social Worker Edith Lee, who earned her master’s from WNMU in 2016, is currently the Vice President of the U.S. Program at Americares, a global nonprofit improving health for people affected by poverty or disaster. In April, she will become the President and CEO of LifeBridge Community Services, which provides behavioral health services, youth development and asset-building resources for families in Connecticut.
The native of rural Arizona is a first-generation college graduate who began her undergraduate education just ten years ago. She will assume the responsibilities of her new role with the awareness that the average CEO is in their 50s and finished their education much earlier in their lives and careers.
Having earned her master’s from a regional university that offered a high-quality yet affordable program presented Lee prospects she might not have accessed otherwise. Although the MSW program is available fully online, being in Silver City physically was key to her success, Lee said, because she was able to step into jobs and seize opportunities that may have been taken by others in the larger pools of talent available in cities.
During her studies, Lee worked for the Southwest Center for Health Innovation and then transitioned to Hidalgo Medical Services, where she was Chief Support Officer. “I intentionally selected classes focused on family therapy and clinical, so I was able to do my practicum in our behavioral health department at HMS. Once I completed my practicum, I kept overseeing the family support services department but negotiated in my contract the ability to see patients one day per week,” she said.
Having learned the administrative side of healthcare in tandem with practicing policy advocacy and competencies around direct patient care, she was poised to climb the ladder at other nonprofits.
Lee drove the strategic direction of U.S. Program at Americares’s health programming. She was responsible for supporting close to 1,000 safety net clinics and health centers by designing, implementing and directing innovating community-based programs that expand access to care for millions of low-income and uninsured or under-insured patients, including programs to prevent diabetes, support mental well-being, expand health equity and improve the quality of patient care. She is eager to head up a new organization with similar energy and drive.
“I like the challenge of leadership,” Lee said, “because it’s the compilation of operating a busines but also managing humans and motivating people to all be rowing in the same direction and trying to accomplish something together. If I don’t feel challenged, it’s not for me.”