No Experience Is Ever Wasted (ft. Avonia Richardson-Miller)

Is there another pivotal moment in life that fundamentally changed your trajectory?

My first mantra is, God is in control. In a moment where I had absolutely no control of my physical body, I had to lean completely on my faith, and that phrase became my anchor. It is an active decision I make every single day to find moments of gratitude and light, even when things seem to be most difficult.

Welcome to Digital Voices, where healthcare and life science leaders explore the real work behind transformation. This podcast is about people, leadership, and the conversations that move healthcare forward. Now your host, Ed Marx.

Welcome to another edition of Digital Voices. So happy to have you. Thank you for listening. You have so many choices and watching, and you've chosen us, and you won't regret it because I have the fabulous Dr. Ivanya Richardson Miller. Avanya, welcome to Digital Voices.

Thank you, Ed. It is truly my honor to be here and join with you today for this conversation.

Yeah, it's gonna be so fun because we connected a couple of months ago. I was very humbled to be a guest of HMH at a board retreat, and it was breakfast time, and I saw this beautiful person sitting there, and I like just came up and I was like, hey, can I sit with you? We had this amazing conversation and just really connected, and I was like, I have to have you on Digital Voices. So thank you for being my guest.

Yes, thank you. Thank you. And that was a great opportunity for our paths to cross. It was meant to be.

Yes, absolutely. And so, you know already, Avonia, because we talked about this, what songs are on your playlist? That's the very first question, most important question of the podcast.

Yeah, as I was saying, it's a great question. As I started to think about this, I understand why you ask it. I think it gets Really to the heart of who I am. Um, I like to think of my playlist less as a random collection of songs and more as a musical map of my life's journey. Uh, so it might seem a little bit surprising at first, but there is really a thread that connects everything. At its core, my musical foundation is gospel. So growing up in a Southern Baptist church in the South, gospel music was the soundtrack of my life. It's the music that carried me through the significant health challenges that you and I had discussed, and it's where I learned that music could be a form of testimony. So songs like Marvin Sapp's Never Would've Made It or Travis Greene's Made a Way resonate deeply with me because they are powerful stories of resilience and gratitude. So while gospel was the music of my spirit, the music of my home was pure soul. So my dad was constantly playing the greats of R&B and Motown, artists like Otis Redding, The Temptations, Al Green, Aretha Franklin, and Marvin Gaye. Those were the soundtracks of my childhood, and that's where I got my education in soul. It's why I have such a deep connection to the storytelling in Teddy Pendergrass and the passion in Barry White's music.

Yeah.

And a perfect example that bridges all of this in this story is the song I'm Every Woman. So many people don't know that the teenage Whitney Houston actually sang background vocals on Chaka Khan's original 1978 funk classic. Then over a decade later, at the absolute peak of Whitney's global fame, she recorded a version on her Bodyguard soundtrack. And it became what I'd like to call the iconic cover because she didn't just re-sing it. She transformed it for a new generation and turned it into a '90s pop anthem. an R&B powerhouse. Her version became the anthem in its own right. But what makes it so special is the respect that she showed. At the end of that soundtrack, she does this famous ad-lib shout-out, Chaka Khan. It was a beautiful full-circle moment, almost a public passing of the torch from one legend to another, honoring the original while creating something new. and completely unforgettable. And this brings me to the part of my playlist that might seem like a plot twist, but is actually a homecoming for my love for country music. And that's because half of my childhood, I was raised on a farm in North Carolina. And I didn't just live there, I had to work the land. So when I hear the themes of country music, the connection to the land, the value of hard work, the stories of a small town. It was my actual world. It's not just a genre to me. It's the soundtrack of my upbringing. So when I listen to Chris Stapleton's Tennessee Whiskey, I know you know that, Ed.

Yeah.

I hear more than just a great song. I hear a modern-day hymn about redemption that feels right at home. That song was originally written in the '80s, and found its ultimate soul expression in Stapleton's version, which was famously inspired by Etta James' blues classic, I'd Rather Go Blind. And my first dance when I got married was to an Etta James song, The Love of My Man. So it perfectly blends the country and soul roots that I love. Even the newer hits that I have on repeat on my playlist. So it's a track, a bar song, Tipsy by Shaboozy. It's a fun, catchy song that Talks about the pressures of the 9-to-5 grind. And also Lainey Wilson's 4x4xU. It's a sweet and simple love song about finding your home in another person, no matter where it takes you. So when you put it all together, my playlist reveals a person who is drawn to authentic stories of the human experience. Stories of faith, stories of hard work, Stories of love and redemption. It shows that I'm grounded in my roots from the farm and in the church, but I'm also open to how those stories can be told in different and unexpected ways. And honestly, that story about Whitney and Chaka Khan—

Yeah.

—is a perfect lens for our work in AI. So we're teaching machines by showing them the great work of humanity. And that's the originals, right? The work of humanity. But the true goal isn't to create a perfect copy. It is to enable transformation. It is to build upon the foundation to create something new and do it with the respect for the source. So the ultimate human factor in AI is just like Whitney's voice was in that song. It's the unique, creative, and ethical spark that turns a technical marvel into something truly meaningful. It's about finding the soul in the system.

Yeah, I love it. We could stop now, Vania. This has been great. There's a great education in music, in history, and also a great A great executive summary for everything AI. That was fantastic. You know, we do have a playlist on Spotify called Digital Voices, and we have some new additions we're gonna be adding based on what you shared. I was writing down a lot of notes. What about life message or mantra? Are there words that you live by that help guide you? Are there probably a lyric that does?

Oh, absolutely. So, and this is such a powerful question. I don't think I have one mantra, but rather a 3-part philosophy that guides me. forged through my life's biggest challenges. So it starts with the foundation I mentioned in the previous response about the gospel roots. And my first mantra is, God is in control. So, and this became profoundly real for me almost 9 years ago when I was faced with having to undergo open heart surgery. And in a moment where I had absolutely no control of my physical body, I had to lean completely on my faith, and that phrase became my anchor.

Yeah.

So by— but faith isn't passive. So coming outta surgery, I realized that while I couldn't always have control of my circumstances, I could control my responses. So my second mantra, and which is lived as a daily practice, is, I choose joy. It is an active decision I make every single day to find moments of gratitude and light, even when things seem to be most difficult.

Yeah.

It's the reason why I've been able to experience so much success and happiness in the years since. And then that leads me to my third mantra, and this is the most forward-looking part of my philosophy. Your current situation doesn't define your future destination.

Yeah.

So this isn't just a nice phrase. It's been the roadmap of my life. My journey didn't start in the C-suite. It started working the land on my family's farm. That situation could have defined my future, but it was just the starting part. And then decades later, the life-altering diagnosis could have been a final destination, but I refuse to let it be so. And in both of these instances, because I believe God is in control and I actively choose joy, I'm able to see my circumstances not as a barrier, but as a foundation to build upon. So this isn't a personal— this isn't just a personal belief for me anymore. It's at the core of my actual professional mission at this point in my life. So as the senior vice president and the chief, Opportunity, Belonging, and Impact Officer. My entire role is to create systems where every single person, regardless of their current circumstances, has a chance to reach their own future destination. So it's about turning that personal mantra into a tangible reality for others.

Love it. This is so good, so rich, Avani. I, and it just reminded me like that feeling I had when I was with you, Uh, at that breakfast table. It's just so, uh, awesome humor. Uh, but everyone's gonna also wanna know who's the beautiful man behind you.

This handsome gentleman behind me is probably my biggest fan. Well, no, well, well, maybe, maybe he's at a tie with my mom. Uh, this is, uh, my husband and he retired, uh, 30, just shy of 30 years of New Jersey State Police as, uh, retired Lieutenant Al Miller.

Wow, that's Cool. Yeah, I'm sure he's got some great stories as well. You know, we already learned a little bit about you growing up. Tell us about a pivotal moment. Well, you already shared one with the art situation, but is there another pivotal moment in life that fundamentally changed your trajectory?

I'll take this. I'll start this with a line out of a song from the rapper 50 Cent.

Okay.

And he has this line that says, I never took a straight path nowhere. Life's full of twists and turns, bumped, bruised. I live, I learn. Right? So for me, I think that is really— it really starts where my life beginning in Newark, New Jersey, and then at 7, Relocating to that family farm. And my father was one of 18 children, and he made this incredible decision to leave his job and his life in the city to return back to that farm, to take over the farm and care for his ailing parents. And so this move was— and then we had an eventual return back to Newark, and there I entered high school back in the inner city after being in the South. These 2 experiences, I think, created a serious culture shock for me each time, and I truly became what I would describe as a city farm girl. I had to learn how to navigate 2 completely different environments. And With this, I chose to embrace the best that each had to offer and to take the lessons that were learned and build upon them. So I would say it was on that farm that my core work ethic was forged. So I learned 2 fundamental lessons there. The first came from my mother while working in the field. She taught me that whether, whether I was given a row of cucumbers to pick or Tobacco to Prime, the lesson is the same. You execute with excellence.

Yeah.

And the second came from my father, who once stood in a bare field and, you know, profoundly said to us, this is my new Cadillac. And so in that, he taught me to see the harvest in an empty field, and that is to have a vision and an action plan.

Yeah. So, you, you go to Howard and your degree is chemistry. Tell us about that.

When we, um, came back from the farm back to New Jersey, uh, my parents made that decision, uh, so that there could be more opportunity, uh, for their children. And so, my, my first major opportunity was when I was accepted into science high school. which put me on that path to major in chemistry and also to apply to attend Howard University. And Science High School is a magnet school in Newark. At the time, the school system in Newark was underperforming, but this was an excellent magnet school. And so as a first-generation college student, I lacked the mentorship that I would've needed to successfully navigate that path to medical school, but I pivoted and applied, you know, the principles of execution to become a research chemist and later a pharmaceutical sales rep. And then, you know, years later, I made another big conscious decision to pivot. And, you know, after a successful year as a childcare entrepreneur, I then reentered back into the corporate workforce and was quickly promoted to a vice president role. But however, you know, the demands were pulling me away from the balance that I needed with my family. And then I had to make a very difficult decision to take a major step back from that VP title. And that actually landed me coming into the healthcare industry at that time because I took a position with JFK Medical Center as a director of their early childhood program. And with that, you know, it was a role that I was uniquely qualified for given my background as an entrepreneur and with the childcare center. And I had during that time also earned my doctorate in education. And so with that opportunity, I just leaned into Dr. King's words that to be the best at whatever you are. And I poured that value of executing with excellence into the work that I did there. And under my leadership, that program earned its initial national accreditation, which is considered a gold standard from the National Accreditation of the Education of Young Children. And then it was during that time that I actually was diagnosed with the heart condition and had to undergo that surgery. And so that was another pivotal change. But with that, JFK at the time then merged shortly after, about a year or 2 after my surgery, we merged with Hackensack Meridian Health. And this merger created a wave of new opportunities at the corporate level. And I had already established a great track record for excellence in leadership and was positioned to be considered for, you know, a new role. So, um, that is how I landed into, uh, HMH.

Yeah, that's, that's an awesome journey. So many important lessons there. And I know our, our fans are, are eating this up. And HMH, let's just talk one thing about HMH, but then I want to focus our last couple minutes just kind of on personal and professional growth. Um, yeah, and I'm biased because I love HMH because I love the people there like yourself. Uh, tell us like one thing about HMH that many of the audience may not know, like, why, you know, and maybe like, why have you been there? You've been there a long time, and you've stayed, and you've grown. So, tell us like one great thing about HMH.

Yeah, I think it's, yeah, HMH is a very special place. And I think that that starts right at the top with our leadership, you know, our CEO, Bob Caron, even our board. You were at the board summit, and he has a clear vision and action plan to create tangible opportunity for everyone and really to foster that sense of belonging and measure our success by how we're impacting our team members and our communities and our patients. So, I think it really comes down to the culture of the organization that we have and our leadership. And I could think of no better place to be right now.

Yeah, yeah, it's an awesome place. So, you've already shared a lot of your journey and some common themes are just your your growth. You constantly grow, you constantly reinvent yourself. And I know a lot of people, a lot of our fans are always like thinking about the same for themselves. So what about with tech today? Because I remember this is one of the things we spoke about at breakfast, you know, with AI, which you mentioned earlier. What advice would you give people sort of mid-career that are realizing, hey, you know, there's a lot of tech change, a lot of things changing, and how should they, you know, view it? How can they continue to grow?

Yeah, so I just wanna reemphasize what you did say, and that is, I feel like my entire life has been a series of reinventions.

Yeah.

We talked in depth about that, and that experience has taught me 2 things that are more relevant now than ever for longevity and impact. So first, you have to embrace reinvention as a constant. And not as a crisis, right? So my understanding of this was forged through my journey, pivoting from the corporate world as a chemist to becoming an entrepreneur, and then reentering back in the corporate world to become a vice president, and then making the more conscious choice to step back into a different role within the healthcare system, and each pivot was a lesson in building a new identity on a foundation of my core skills. The second thing is, and this is the most critical reinvention that we all face today, you must engage with technology, especially artificial intelligence. So my view is that AI is going to touch everything that we do. And you and I had some extensive conversation about that, Ed. So my best advice to every professional is to stop seeing AI as something separate and instead to ask the question, how does AI intersect with what I do right now? And a critical part of that engagement is realizing that the old saying of garbage in, garbage out has never been more true. It's so much about communication and prompting, right? The ability to communicate effectively with AI, to ask the right questions and provide the right context is the new make-or-break professional skill in my view. So in my own leadership, this means we're constantly asking how AI can enhance our work. But in healthcare, enhancing our work, it goes far beyond just the productivity. It means a laser focus on the ethics and the human impact. So for example, this is one that excites me most, and it's the potential for AI to help us to detect diseases earlier and create those predictive solutions that could literally save lives.

Yeah.

And as a person whose life was saved by a timely diagnosis, right, that idea that we could use AI to find those warning signs even sooner before it is a crisis is incredibly powerful. So it's part of my personal mission.

Ivonne, this is an amazing conversation. I'm going to quickly summarize, but then I'm going to give you the last word for anything that we missed because we could literally go on a lot longer. You're so full of wisdom and passion. I'm just eating it up and I know our audience is as well. But we talked early on about music and the story of your life through music, which is great. Gospel, the soul, the country, and then Some things that came later, we're going to add Etta James and Chaka Khan and some others that you mentioned to our playlist. Your mantras were great. Faith is not passive. Love that. God is in control. I choose joy. And it was just so rich, all the stuff you talked about from becoming a chemist to entrepreneur, to education, to healthcare, your family involvement, the guidance of your parents as foundation. And then with your ability to pivot and change and showing all that resilience, and all grounded on on just your core identity of who you are and the foundations that you, I think you were raised with. And then just talking about, hey, you've gotta, you gotta make these pivots and you also have to embrace, uh, engage tech, including AI. And then, you know, maybe the whole summary for all that is that, uh, it's, it's a constant, not a crisis. Uh, so what did we miss or anything you wanna double down on? I'll give you the last word.

Yeah, so thank you for that. And I don't think that you missed anything, but there's one idea I'd love to double down on because It's the thread that ties my entire story together, and it's the idea that no experience is ever wasted.

Yeah.

So we've talked about my life as a city farm girl, my work as a research chemist, the time as an entrepreneur, my journey as a patient. On the surface, those look like completely different lives, but the most important realization that I've had is that they are all the same life teaching the same lessons. So the discipline I learned in that cucumber row is the same discipline I use in the chemistry lab. The analytical rigor I learned in the lab is what I use today to break down complex business problems. The vision that my father taught me to see a Cadillac in an empty field is the same vision I use to see the potential in my team members and to strategize even about the future of AI in healthcare. So this is the human factor that, uh, we are talking about today. It's not just one skill, it's the unique ability we all have to synthesize our varied experiences, our successes, our failures, our heartbreaks, and our joys into a leadership philosophy that is uniquely your own. And it's about finding the common thread of your own story and using it to make an impact.

Ivanya, you're an amazing human. I feel, uh, blessed and, and much richer in my life. I gotta make it back out to Jersey and spend more time with you. Thank you for being a guest.

I'm looking forward to it. Thank you so much.

Thank you for listening to Digital Voices. We hope today's conversation sparked ideas, reflection, and connection. Subscribe on YouTube, Apple, and Spotify Podcasts so you don't miss an episode.