I am a Social Impact Leader
In order to become a social impact leader, one must first buy in. Buying in to a community, to a cause, to something that means something is easy. Knowing what to buy in to, thats the hard part. Each one of us is different, we’ll all buy into different causes, preferably, a just cause. However different we are, we all come into play as social impact leaders.
Who am I?
My name is Jake Schweizer, currently, I serve as the Manager of Business Development and Strategy for AdventHealth Orlando. I spend my professional time growing key service lines in an effort to better serve my local community. Previously, I spent time in non-profit fundraising for a children’s hospital system where I was able to secure funding from corporations and foundations that went directly to various patient care initiatives.
Who do I Aspire to be?
I aspire to become a leader in my community. I want to be someone who knows my community, knows what it needs, and determines how to get there. I want to influence my community in a way that truly makes a difference. https://orlando.org/l/leadership-orlando/
I am looking into joining leadership Orlando!
How am I Preparing Myself?
Every day, I wake up and ask myself, how can I be better? Once, I heard the advice that you have to try to get 1% better every day. Preparation comes in all shapes and sizes, but currently, I am in a learning phase of my life and career. I am in school to better understand how to make real change, I am learning on the job on how healthcare systems can grow efficiently and effectively, and I am a sponge in my community trying to learn about community needs and what we’re missing.
What worries and inspires me about the future of your community?
My community has seen better days. Orlando typically sees waves of prosperity, from the early days of Orlando that were powered through the citrus industry and Walt Disney World and other theme parks, to today where theme parks still rule. However, now we are also bolstered by massive healthcare systems, first class academic institutions, and an airport that acts as a gateway to the rest of Florida come tourism season. Orlando is a city on the rise, however I do worry that we do not have the infrastructure or the job market to keep pace with the population gain. We have seen recent years of population gain slowing down, and that is mostly due to soaring insurance premiums due to severe weather and lagging job growth. I worry that we have overburdened the city, and that can lead to turmoil, for example, we have a growing homeless crisis coupled with severe drug abuse. However, I am inspired by our past, present, and future because at every turn, Orlando has powered through. Recently, the city has invested $58 Million in affordable housing, in addition to investments in job training and drug programs. Orlando is not without worry, but the community often comes together to help others, and help the community.
https://news.orlando.org/blog/orlando-economy-surpasses-200-billion-outpaces-u-s-economic-growth/
Leaders in the Community: Check it out! https://www.orlandomagazine.com/2024-50-most-powerful-people-in-orlando/
How do I use my profession as a platform for building a more livable world for myself, my family, and my community?
My profession is centered around building a more livable world and community. In my work, I grow services and build programs for one of the largest hospitals in the country. We are currently a 1,400 bed quaternary facility in the middle of Orlando, with plans for inpatient bed expansion. Most of my work is driven towards growing key surgical and procedural services, whether it is adding a new service line, or growing one that has a community need, I am working to meet my community needs from a healthcare services perspective. In an effort to make the world a more livable place, I also spend my time volunteering with beach cleanups, at food pantries, or even within the local children’s hospital where I started my career.
Upcoming Livability Challenges and Opportunities
I want to begin to study where and why our communities health outcomes are drastically in-equal. Orlando has opportunity to meet our underserved communities where they are in terms of healthcare services. Adding access points, identifying opportunities to reduce cost of care, and partnering with non-profit organizations in underprivileged communities is my top priority. For the most part, we know which communities are struggling and why, but doing something about it has proven difficult. However, we have to start somewhere.
Reflections
I see myself as a leader, but I know I have a lot to learn. I have always viewed myself as a leader, from my time as a young person playing sports and championing clubs, I was always captain of the team, or being designated as a leader by my peers. I think this was because of my outgoing personality. However, more recently I have become a bit more stoic, quiet, and reserved. I often commit to speaking when spoken to, and often hold back my thoughts whether it be in a meeting, or a casual conversation. I think this is a good and a bad thing, depending on the situation, but it’s something I want to work on.
As I observed myself throughout this process, I realized I was not always committing to being my best self as a leader. As I took a backseat in several conversations whether that be with co-workers, friends and family, or others in my community that I interviewed, I learned that I have to become more vocal if I want to be a leader in my community. I often sit back and observe others before speaking, and while that will work on some occasions, it does not always work out for me. Often times my voice will not be heard, or I will be lost in the conversation, but that isn’t the leader I want to be.
I wrote the above paragraph about halfway through this class, and since then I have committed to becoming more vocal. I never want to bully through a conversation or force my voice upon others, but I also want to be heard, and often know what I have to say is important. I have since practiced speaking up first in meetings, or even asking questions I know others are also thinking, but not asking. I was very intentional with this for several weeks, and I started noticing a difference in my confidence and my willingness to communicate with others. This is who I want to be as a leader. One who is confident and has something to say.
In my previous career I spent time as a fundraiser for a children’s hospital here in Orlando, and through that experience I was able to meet a lot of great community leaders. From non-profit leaders, to government leaders, to local business owners, I met a lot of people. These are the kinds of people who make waves in our community. I had a goal to make Orlando more livable, and I feel like I achieved that, at least to some extent. These are the people who are helping people, and I was lucky enough to be a part of that group for some time. I was so community oriented, and knew I could make a difference (I still can), and I was eager to meet as many people as I could, and to learn from them. I was able to raise funds that built new programs and services for pediatric health services in Orlando. I formed relationships with billionaire philanthropists who want, and can make real change. While I don’t ever plan to be a billionaire, I learned from all of these leaders and change makers about how community is key, but being a leader in your community when you have the opportunity, is vital.
I want to not only be a leader in my profession, I want to be a leader in my community. Having leaders in a community is vital for humans and for livability within a city. In order for a city to truly thrive, the citizens have to come together for a common good, and I know I can play a part in that. Leaders in a community are only one part of the equation, as citizens without true leadership intent also have to be bought into the prosperity of a city.
In my current role, i am able to be a leader in my community. The company I work for is one of the largest employers in the state and accounts for a significant part of the central Florida economy. Across the country AdventHealth has over 100,000 employees, and a significant amount of those work in the greater central Florida area. I get to be a part of that. I sit on one of the largest hospital campuses in the country, and people in the community genuinely look to us for guidance. Whether it be during the pandemic, local tragedy, or simply for a nudge in the right direction, the Orlando community looks to AdventHealth as a guiding light. I am lucky enough to get to represent that brand at community events, public speaking opportunities, government meetings, and more. I take a leadership role as an AdventHealth employee in any given conversation. We are able to make change, and as I work on our strategy and growth team, people look to me to understand where healthcare in Orlando is going.
Being a subject matter expert in my community has given me even more opportunity to showcase my leadership abilities in comparison to my last career, as a non-profit fundraiser. I feel as though I can make change in my community. I am an advocate for increased healthcare access, especially in underserved and underprivileged communities that have historically been ignored. I believe that is our purpose as a non-profit healthcare system. We have a duty to our community to offer care to those that otherwise may not seek it out due to their ability to pay. It is also our duty, and I take this upon myself often, to educate others on the importance of good healthcare in a community.
I am a leader, and now, I am a community leader. I want to continue to engage with my counterparts in other industries in order to continue much needed conversations in my community around livability, prosperity, sustainability, and cohesion amongst our community members. I have plenty of learning and growing ahead of me, but this class has given me the framework to propel myself forward as a community leader, and I am excited to see whats next.
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