Coffee With: Northwell Health Chief Diversity Officer Dr. Jennifer H. Mieres

Jennifer H. Mieres, MD
Location: Lake Success, NY
Job: Senior Vice President of Community and Public Health and Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer, Northwell Health; Professor of Cardiology, Hofstra Northwell School of Medicine
Education: B.A. in Physical Sciences from Bennington College; M.D. from Boston University School of Medicine
Twitter: @DrJMieres

You started your career as a physician at Northwell Health and have since returned there to run Community and Public Health and Diversity and Inclusion. Tell us about that journey.

After completing my training in internal medicine and nuclear cardiology at St. Luke’s Roosevelt Hospital (now known as Mount Sinai St. Luke’s Hospital) in New York City, I started working as a junior attending cardiologist at North Shore University Hospital on Long Island (now part of Northwell Health). After three years, I was promoted to Director of Nuclear Cardiology, a job I held for 10 years. New York University then recruited me to be its Director of Nuclear Cardiology. Six years later, I returned to Northwell to lead our Office of Community and Public Health and serve as the organization’s first Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer.

What exactly does your role as Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer entail?

For 17 years, my role as a cardiologist was a mixture of clinical practice, research, teaching, and some administrative work. Now, as Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer, my mission is to identify gaps resulting from disparities in healthcare and come up with strategies for eliminating them. I spend most of my time on the design and implementation of programs dedicated to diversity, cultural and linguistic competency, health literacy, and the expanded model for women’s health. I also work with our strategic partners throughout the health system, to move our diversity and inclusion agenda forward.

What advice do you wish you could have given yourself on the first day of your career?

I would have told myself to keep a journal. It is an honor and privilege to be entrusted with the care of patients, and I’ve learned something from each of them. I wish I had understood how important these lessons would be, both personally and to my career development. Recording all the insights and advice would have been so meaningful.

I’d also tell my younger self to maintain a robust network of colleagues. They’re often the ones who become aware of job openings and know you well enough to issue a recommendation.

Finally, I’d remind myself to take time to breathe, reflect, and enjoy each career phase before worrying about moving on to the next thing.

Who has had the biggest influence on your professional life?

I have been fortunate to have both “life” and “career” mentors. I grew up in Trinidad, which was something of a world microcosm. Living among so many ethnically, socially, and religiously diverse groups taught me that differences were to be celebrated, not feared. My parents and grandparents encouraged my siblings and me to view ourselves as citizens of the world. They instilled in us a strong work ethic and respect for all types of people.

What are some stories of patients that have really stuck with you?

I can think of two particular people who have inspired me to shape and advance my current platform. The first was a woman with heart disease who had been misdiagnosed due to her doctor’s lack of knowledge about the way heart disease presents differently in women than it does in men. She was a real warrior who channeled her anger into a desire to help others avoid similar experiences. She inspired me to establish clinical research on diagnostic testing for women with suspected heart disease, and she has also supported my volunteer work with the American Heart Association and my push to get clinical guidelines published in order to more accurately identify and diagnose heart disease in women.

The other person was a hospital employee who ignored her symptoms of heart disease, even though she worked in the stress-testing lab and regularly saw patients who were experiencing the same thing. It wasn’t until a routine EKG showed that she had significant heart disease that she finally sought treatment. Her story inspired me to produce what became the Emmy-nominated PBS documentary A Woman’s Heart.

What is the most memorable moment of your career to date?

Watching A Woman’s Heart with my friends, family, colleagues, and the patients whose stories were featured in the film. The experience highlighted the impact that sharing these intimate and deeply personal stories can have. That’s when I realized I wanted to focus on eliminating disparities in healthcare.

What do you look for in candidates who you are interviewing for opportunities on your current team?

We recently interviewed a series of candidates to join the Diversity and Inclusion team, and while they all had the appropriate experience and skills, none of them seemed to be the right fit. One night at dinner, a former colleague shared a little about his journey and job history, and hearing from him actually made me rethink the type of candidate who would be right for the role. I realized that rather than focusing on the exact skillset I thought we needed, I should look for global thinking, agility, ability, and a determination to continually learn and problem-solve. When I found someone who had those qualities, I offered him the job, and I’m happy to report that he accepted.

What have you read or listened to recently that you would recommend?

I recently had the good fortune to hear Arianna Huffington speak about the importance of sleep. In her book, The Sleep Revolution: Transforming Your Life One Night at a Time, she rebukes the longstanding notion that, in order to be successful, we must be sleep deprived. I recommend this book to everyone. We can only do our best work and enjoy our best health if we are sufficiently rested.

I also highly recommend Oprah Winfrey’s SuperSoul Sunday interview with Gretchen Rubin, author of The Happiness Project. Rubin makes the case that we have to redefine happiness and success in a personal way. By taking others’ expectations out of the equation, we can focus on our needs and who we truly are.

Do you have a favorite saying?

There are two I consistently return to when I need to get back on track or feel overwhelmed. Maya Angelou once said, “I’ve learned that people will forget what you did ... but people will never forget how you made them feel.” Everyone wants to feel respected and valued, and this is something I always try to be mindful of, both in my work and my personal relationships.

The other is, “Find a way,” also the title of swimmer Diana Nyad’s book about her swim from Cuba to Florida. Failure is always possible — Nyad talks about failing many times before she succeeded — but I truly believe that if we face our challenges and consider our options from different perspectives, we will ultimately find a way to meet the challenges and overcome the failures.
Northwell Health is among Jopwell’s partner companies.