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Guest: Jeffrey Simms, Associate Chair for Alumni and External Affairs & Assistant Professor, UNC
Host: Jarvis T. Gray, The Quality Coaching Co.

In this impactful conversation, Jarvis T. Gray sits down with Jeffrey Simms, a “rock star” in healthcare leadership and education, whose journey from North Carolina tobacco fields to academia is both inspiring and deeply insightful. Jeffrey Simms shares his guiding leadership mindset: always strive to leave every interaction better than you found it—a philosophy shaping his work with students, alumni, and healthcare professionals.

Together, they discuss:

• The importance of professional development and connecting alumni with future healthcare leaders
• AI and technology trends, workforce development, and improving access to care
• Real challenges facing rural healthcare organizations, and strategic planning for these providers
• The value of partnerships and not duplicating work—collaboration over competition
• Personal stories about overcoming early career challenges, imposter syndrome, and leading teams as a young professional
• Lessons on vulnerability, the power of lived experience, and always finding/including missing voices in decision-making
• Influences from family and pivotal mentors, and the vital importance of community engagement in healthcare delivery
• The biggest challenges and opportunities for healthcare leaders today, including workforce morale and purpose-driven leadership
• Inspirational advice: keep learning, know your “why”, and don’t forget to celebrate wins (and take vacations!)

Key Highlights

• AI & Workforce Trends: Emphasis on necessity for leaders to engage with AI, even if it feels intimidating, and making workforce retention/safety a top priority.
• Rural Healthcare & Strategic Partnerships: Discussion about supporting rural health organizations through strategic planning and partnerships with academia.
• Early Career Lessons: Navigating leadership roles at a young age, relationship building during difficult decisions, and the importance of including diverse voices.
• Purpose & Resilience: Advice on leading with purpose, staying curious, and remembering that patient care is at the heart of all healthcare work.

Rapid Two-Minute Drill

• Career Advice: Never stop being a student, and always carry a pen and notepad to ask questions and learn.
• If He Could Start Over: He’d prioritize his own wellbeing and take more vacations.
• Recommended Resources: Assembly Required podcast by Abrams, North Carolina Institute of Medicine resources, ACHE publications, and the power of reading fiction for balance.
• Looking Ahead: Excited to celebrate his son’s graduation, upcoming student successes, and innovative problem-solving in the face of healthcare challenges.

Connect with Jeffrey Simms

• LinkedIn: jefferysimms
• Email: jsimms@email.unc.edu

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