The Transformative Power of Relationships: A Conversation with Dave A. Chokshi, MD
Discover the transformative impact of relationships, community, and connection on staff engagement and collaboration through a thought-provoking conversation with national healthcare leader Dave A. Chokshi, MD, Sternberg Family Professor of Leadership at the City College of New York.
Beyond our work at Intend Health Strategies, many inspiring individuals and organizations are doing impactful, relational work, and we are pleased to expand our interview series to explore the work of others who also focus on the foundational power of relationships and human connection as driving forces of better healthcare and health. We were thrilled to welcome Dave A. Chokshi, a transformational leader, clinical innovator, policy expert, and an advocate for a stronger and more equitable health system.
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Matt Lewis, Narrative Leadership expert and consultant with Intend Health Strategies, and Sarah Smithson of Intend Health spoke with Dave A. Chokshi about his professional evolution with relational practices, his long-standing commitment to a friendship practice known as a Moai, and learning from his wife the importance of focusing on values first when confronting difficult decisions and the unknown.
"When you just go back in your own mind about the joyful moments that you have experienced over the past week, whether it's professionally or otherwise, so many of them will be rooted in relationship with people that you care about, that you enjoy spending time with. ... We are wired for that to occur in the context of relationships. We don't just exist in the world to accomplish goals, we exist to thrive in the things that make us uniquely human. And that is often lost in the machinery of many of our organizations and the task-oriented nature of so much of our work."
About Dave A. Chokshi, MD
Dave A. Chokshi — a practicing physician and public health leader — is currently the Sternberg Family Professor of Leadership at the City College of New York. Dr. Chokshi previously served as the 43rd Health Commissioner of New York City. From 2020-2022, he led the City’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including its historic campaign to vaccinate over 6 million New Yorkers. Earlier, he was the inaugural Chief Population Health Officer at NYC Health + Hospitals (H+H), the largest public healthcare system in the nation, where he also served as CEO of the H+H Accountable Care Organization. Dr. Chokshi has practiced primary care internal medicine at Bellevue Hospital since 2014. He has held successive senior leadership roles that span the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. A Rhodes Scholar and White House Fellow, he is nationally recognized as a transformational leader, a clinical innovator, a policy expert, and an advocate for a stronger and more equitable health system.
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Explore the transformative impact of relationships and connection on staff engagement in a conversation with national healthcare leader Dave A. Chokshi, MD.