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Leadership
Leading Through Change — From Boardrooms to Heart Health, with Kara Down
Hosted by Kara Down
Monday, October 19, 20264:00 PM UTC · 60 min
About This Event
Change is the one constant in every career. The question is whether it happens to you or because of you.
Join Jordan Dunin, founder of HatchPath, for a live conversation with Kara Down, Executive Director of Strategic Relationships at Naples Comprehensive Health (NCH), one of Southwest Florida's most vital healthcare organizations.
Kara's career is proof that reinvention is a skill, not a lucky break. She started in media relations at HCA in Nashville, managing press and marketing for a network of 151 hospitals. She moved into mergers and acquisitions at Wachovia, led cross-departmental projects at Wells Fargo, and spent a decade in implementation consulting. She advised high-profile clients like PayPal, Venmo, and Bank of America as a principal consultant with NTT Data. Then she came full circle, back to healthcare, where she now works alongside NCH President & CEO Paul Hiltz and the leadership of the NCH Heart Institute, driving change management, building the volunteer program from the ground up, and sharing the patient stories that show what community healthcare can actually do.
Beyond her work in the C-suite, Kara is deeply passionate about the two things that make organizations actually work: culture and operational efficiency. She believes the health of a company and the health of its people are the same conversation, and she lives that philosophy personally. She has been a fitness instructor for over 10 years, is actively involved with the American Heart Association, and brings the same energy she brings to a spin class to the way she thinks about building teams, systems, and workplaces where people can thrive.
In this session, we'll dig into:
✅ What change management really looks like when you are the one in the room making it happen
✅ How Kara navigated five different industries without losing her identity or her momentum
✅ The patient stories that keep her grounded in the "why" behind the work
✅ Why wellness is not a side project for high performers — Kara is also a fitness instructor, personal trainer, and mom of two who practices what she preaches
✅ How to protect your own health while carrying responsibility for an organization
Whether you lead a team, a company, or a community, this is a conversation about staying well while doing big things. Because you cannot pour from an empty cup — and you certainly cannot lead from one.
Come as you are. Leave with a plan.
🔗 Learn more about HatchPath: hatchpath.io
Join Jordan Dunin, founder of HatchPath, for a live conversation with Kara Down, Executive Director of Strategic Relationships at Naples Comprehensive Health (NCH), one of Southwest Florida's most vital healthcare organizations.
Kara's career is proof that reinvention is a skill, not a lucky break. She started in media relations at HCA in Nashville, managing press and marketing for a network of 151 hospitals. She moved into mergers and acquisitions at Wachovia, led cross-departmental projects at Wells Fargo, and spent a decade in implementation consulting. She advised high-profile clients like PayPal, Venmo, and Bank of America as a principal consultant with NTT Data. Then she came full circle, back to healthcare, where she now works alongside NCH President & CEO Paul Hiltz and the leadership of the NCH Heart Institute, driving change management, building the volunteer program from the ground up, and sharing the patient stories that show what community healthcare can actually do.
Beyond her work in the C-suite, Kara is deeply passionate about the two things that make organizations actually work: culture and operational efficiency. She believes the health of a company and the health of its people are the same conversation, and she lives that philosophy personally. She has been a fitness instructor for over 10 years, is actively involved with the American Heart Association, and brings the same energy she brings to a spin class to the way she thinks about building teams, systems, and workplaces where people can thrive.
In this session, we'll dig into:
✅ What change management really looks like when you are the one in the room making it happen
✅ How Kara navigated five different industries without losing her identity or her momentum
✅ The patient stories that keep her grounded in the "why" behind the work
✅ Why wellness is not a side project for high performers — Kara is also a fitness instructor, personal trainer, and mom of two who practices what she preaches
✅ How to protect your own health while carrying responsibility for an organization
Whether you lead a team, a company, or a community, this is a conversation about staying well while doing big things. Because you cannot pour from an empty cup — and you certainly cannot lead from one.
Come as you are. Leave with a plan.
🔗 Learn more about HatchPath: hatchpath.io
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