Pozen-Commonwealth Fund Fellowship in Health Equity Leadership Welcomes Newest Fellows

Earlier this month, the three newest recipients of the Pozen-Commonwealth Fund Fellowship in Health Equity Leadership visited Edward P. Evans Hall for a two-day immersion launching their Yale education. The fellowship, designed to give healthcare professionals the leadership skills and the deep understanding of teams, markets, and organizations necessary to tackle major inequities in the U.S. healthcare system, includes 22 months of study in Yale SOM’s MBA for Executives program, as well as specialized training and mentorship from national experts on healthcare disparities.

The new fellows, who are members of the EMBA Class of 2026, are Akshar Abbott, a Veterans Administration (VA) ophthalmologist with a focus on rural specialty care; Liany Arroyo, chief operating officer of the Charter Oak Health Center in Hartford, Connecticut; and Carrie Bridges, vice president of community health and equity at Rhode Island’s Lifespan Health System.

Abbott, a retina specialist, is a staff physician for the VA’s Veterans Integrated Service Network 23 Clinical Resource Hub Virtual Eye Care Service, which uses telehealth and mobile health to bring eye care to rural communities. He also leads the service’s Community for Innovation in Vision Care.

“For me, this work centers the core aspiration of our democracy: the uncoupling of demographics and destiny,” he said. “Neither who you are, nor where you live, should put you at risk for losing your sight. But too often, we see health disparities in eye care tracking exactly along those lines in our society.” In the fellowship, he said, “I hope to gain a deepened understanding of innovation and the economics of healthcare, in order to build new models of eye care that promote health equity alongside clinical excellence.”

At the immersion this month, he added, “I was especially struck by my co-fellows’ bold visions for a brighter future for our country, and the intentionality and brilliance they bring to making those visions into reality. I left our convening feeling inspired, excited, and challenged to do more.”

Arroyo served as director of health and human services for the City of Hartford before becoming chief operating officer of Charter Oak Health Center, a Federally Qualified Health Center in the city’s Frog Hollow neighborhood.

Arroyo applied to the fellowship in order to multiply her impact, she said. “It is no longer enough to talk with passion or incorporate your lived experience if you want to create change. You have to be able to reach broad swaths of people, that you may never otherwise agree with, to get your issue on their agenda. The fellowship provides an opportunity to learn to do that and expose me to a network of others that want to do the same.”

Learning the frameworks and tools offered by an MBA will be key to that effort, she added. “Being in management and understanding the theory and practice of management are two different things. Yale SOM will help me further my understanding of management principles and increase my effectiveness so I can lead at a larger scale.”

Bridges leads the Lifespan Health System’s health equity efforts, including the Community Health Institute and Center for Health and Justice Transformation, which provide community-based screening and clinical services, social needs navigation assistance, population health disease management interventions, workforce development and skill-building programs, and youth development initiatives.

Bridges said she came to SOM to further her longstanding professional and ethical commitments. “I see no path to a thriving populace without achieving health equity,” Bridges said. “The EMBA will help me develop the business and management skills, tools, language, and relationships to catapult my efforts in my health system and region.”

After just two days on campus, the support offered by the program was already apparent. “The fellows from previous years, fellowship leadership, Yale SOM faculty, Commonwealth Fund leaders, and all of their networks are lining up to help us be successful,” Bridges said. “Already, I’m grateful to join this community of health equity doers!”

Prospective students can learn more about the Pozen-Commonwealth Fund Fellowship in Health Equity Leadership and register for a pre-assessment to get personalized feedback from a member of the admissions team.

The views and opinions expressed by Dr. Abbot are his own and do not represent the views of the Department of Veterans Affairs or the United States government.