View Ask5: Using Digital Tools to Strengthen the Healthcare Workforce with Ashleigh Mcgowan

How can technology and collaboration help create new pathways into healthcare careers?

In this week’s segment of Ask5: Using Digital Tools to Strengthen the Healthcare Workforce with Ashleigh Mcgowan, Ashleigh shares her perspective on strengthening New York’s healthcare workforce and the innovative approaches that can help connect people with opportunities in the field. She discusses how digital tools can remove barriers to career exploration and education, particularly for individuals who may not have previously considered healthcare as a career option.

Ashleigh also highlights the power of bringing together education, healthcare organizations, nonprofits, and community partners to address workforce challenges. Through initiatives such as the Institute for Career Advancement in Medicine (ICAM), she shares how digital innovation paired with community-based outreach can help individuals begin or advance their healthcare careers.

Looking ahead, the conversation explores the skills, experiences, and mindsets that will be important for anyone preparing for a career in healthcare over the next decade.Bio: 

Ashleigh McGowan is Chief Innovation & Design Officer at Health WorkForce New York (HWNY), a statewide nonprofit dedicated to strengthening New York’s healthcare workforce. A strategic innovation leader with 15+ years of experience, she designs and scales cross-sector solutions to critical workforce challenges.

At HWNY, Ashleigh leads programs, products, and services that have introduced 60,000+ students to health careers, supported the training and development of 170,000+ workers, and helped secure $20M+ in funding to build sustainable, high-impact projects. She oversees the Institute for Career Advancement in Medicine (ICAM), an initiative that layers digital tools with boots-on-the-ground outreach and community partnerships to help people enter and advance in healthcare careers.

A designer by training, she brings human-centered design and systems thinking to align partners across the public, nonprofit, and private sectors and turn mission into measurable outcomes. She holds a Master’s in Instructional Design and certifications in human-centered systems thinking and service design.