SPEA Excellence
Kelly Braverman
Alumna, Master of Health Administration
Even with her true affinity for health care, Kelly Braverman knew early on she lacked the emotional fortitude to deal up close and personal with the issues of life and death every day. What Braverman does share with health care providers, however, is an uncompromised dedication to help others — a commitment she fulfills today as a health care administrator.
"In trying to understand what motivates me to get up in the morning, it wasn't the idea of making widgets; it was about helping people," says Braverman, who is currently serving dual administrative roles at Clarian Health - special assistant to the president and CEO, and director of program development and operations for IU Medical Group Specialty Care. "As an administrator, I can make a difference by helping remove barriers for people on health care's front lines, hopefully making their jobs easier."
A 2002 SPEA MHA graduate, Braverman has continued her involvement with the school by occasionally serving on various alumni advisory committees. She was a member of both the MHA program evaluation committee and the selection committee for the program's new director.
Kelly Braverman, Alumna, Master of Health Administration
"It's really turned out to be a top-tier program," says Braverman of SPEA's MHA. "Dave Handel [SPEA's executive in residence and former director of health programs] has done a really great job turning a good program into an even better one."
Recalling her days as a SPEA graduate student, Braverman says one of the MHA program's assets was its emphasis on bridging the gap between classroom learning and the real world. Specifically, she speaks of lasting impressions made by her health law professor, a prominent Indianapolis health care attorney.
"His course wasn't just about book work that students sometimes have trouble understanding how to apply in real cases," Braverman explains. "He really brought you into the moment, offering scenarios of how the information is actually used practically in the workplace."
According to Braverman, earning an MHA from SPEA helped her land a prestigious one-year fellowship with the Cleveland Clinic — a defining opportunity she acknowledges really jump started her career.
Chosen for one of three fellowships out of more than 100 applicants, Braverman praises the experiential, project-based fellowship for improving her real-world knowledge of operational issues. While working at the medical center, Braverman participated in a variety of operations-oriented projects, including developing a major business plan and starting a hospital laundry company.
Fast forwarding to today, it's this kind of variety that keeps Braverman engaged in her multi-faceted work at Clarian.
"I like the opportunities where one minute you can be talking with a team of doctors about extending services in the ER and the next you're talking to someone else about an issue with the hospital's laundry," Braverman says with a smile. "It's just so varied — you never know what you're going to wake up to."