Wilfredo (Will) Giordano-Perez

IE Brown Executive MBA (IE Business School and Brown University)

“Young and restless, still.”

Hometown: Providence, RI

Family Members: Husband: Sabatino Giordano-Perez

Fun fact about yourself: Before going to medical school, I used to be a competitive ballroom dancer.

Undergraduate School and Degree: Brown University, BA in Community Health ‘08; Alpert Medical School at Brown University, MD with a Global Health Concentration ‘13

Where are you currently working? Chief Medical Officer, Tri-County Health Centers; Assistant Clinical Professor, Department of Family Medicine, Alpert Medical School at Brown University

Extracurricular Activities, Community Work and Leadership Roles:

Rhode Island Department of Health, Providence RI

Consultant Medical Director 2021 – Present

• COVID-19 Vaccine Advisory Sub-Committee, Appointed by Governor Gina Raimondo.

Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence RI

Clinical Assistant Professor of Family Medicine 2018 – Present

• Co-Director of Scholarly Concentration in Caring for Underserved, 26 medical students
• Faculty Small Group Leader, Health Systems Sciences Course, 120 medical students
• Faculty Mentor, Office of Diversity and Medical Affairs (ODMA), Mentoring and Education of Diverse Students and Trainees to Excel as Physicians (MEDSTEP) Program, 6 medical trainees
• Faculty Mentor, Doctoring Community Mentor Program
• Outpatient clinic preceptor, Brown Medical Master’s Program
• Faculty Advisor, Brown Medical Masters Student’s capstone project
• Outpatient Clinic Preceptor, Primary Care Population Medicine Program, longitudinal curriculum, Tri-County Health Center
• Family Medicine Faculty Mentor, Primary Care Population Medicine
• Annual Guest Lecturer, Gateway to Medicine Student Program, LGBTQ+ Health

Lifespan Community Health Institute, Providence RI

Substance Use Mental Health Leadership Council of Rhode Island, Providence RI

Southern Providence County Regional Prevention Task Force, Providence RI

LGBTQ+ Physician Consultant 2019 – Present

• LGBTQ+ Effective Communication training for >550 healthcare workers in Rhode Island
• Providing subject matter expertise on understanding, supporting and affirming LGBTQ+ patients

The Wheeler School, Providence RI

Smithfield, Johnston, Scituate and North Providence School Districts, Rhode Island

LGBTQ+ Physician Consultant 2019 – Present

• Providing subject matter expertise on creating a safe and affirming environment for all students, faculty and staff in K-12 school environments, >1,400 students and >150 staff reached

The Hastings Center Bioethics Research Institute

Senior Physician Advisor 2023-present

• Advisory Committee for the “Bioethics in Community Health: Understanding Ethical Challenges of Community Health Centers.”

AWARDS/HONORS:

• Master’s Award for Engaged Citizenship and Community Service, Brown University, 2023
• Geiger-Gibson Emerging Leader Award, National Assoc. of Community Health Centers, 2022
• Dean’s Excellence in Teaching Award, Alpert Medical School of Brown University, 2019, 2022
• Providence Business News Forty Under 40 Award Winner, Providence Business News, 2021
• Secretary of State Certificate of Accomplishment, Rhode Island Secretary of State Nellie M. Gorbea, 2021
• General Treasurer Certificate of Recognition, Rhode Island General Treasurer Seth Magaziner, 2021
• S. Senate Certificate of Accomplishment, U.S. Senator Jack Reed, 2019
• S. Congress Certificate of Special Recognition, U.S. Representative David N. Cicilline, 2019
• S. Congress Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition, U.S. Representative James R. Langevin, 2019
• S Senate Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition, U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, 2019
• Rhode Island Health Center Association Award “Rooted in Community”, 2019
• STFM Resident Teacher Award, Oregon Health & Science University, 2017
• Emerging Leader in Global Health Award, Consortium of Universities for Global Health, 2013
• Al Senft Global Health Prize, Alpert Medical School, Providence RI, 2013
• Gold Humanism Honor Society, Alpert Medical School, Providence RI, 2012
• Albert Schweitzer Award, Alpert Medical School, Providence RI, 2011
• Vagina Monologue Award, Work empowering women in Haiti, Cranston RI, 2011
• VH1 Do Something Award Winner, $10,000 award for work in Haiti, Los Angeles CA, 2010
• Foreign Studies Fellowship, Alpert Medical School, Providence RI, 2009
• NMH Alumni Community Service Award, Northfield, MA, Summer 2009
• David J. Zucconi Fellowship, $25,000 Brown University, Providence RI, 2008
• Howard R. Swearer International Fellowship, Brown University, Providence RI, 2008
• RI Youth Leadership Award, RI Coalition for the Homeless, Providence RI, 2006
• Goldman-Sachs Brown Entrepreneurship Competition Winner $50,000 prize for Operation Happy Birthday, Providence RI, 2006

Which academic or extracurricular achievement are you most proud of during business school? It was our Key Reflection Project on developing a telehealth platform, using technology to create inclusive healthcare for trans people.

What achievement are you most proud of in your professional career? Most recently, it would have to be when I started Rhode Island’s first-and-only free same-day PrEP (Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis) Program for HIV prevention for individuals 13 years and older with or without insurance and with or without parental consent. This program reduces most barriers to accessing oral PrEP for individuals who would benefit without the fear of stigmatization, cost, or insurance coverage. It was a big step forward in an effort to help RI become the first state for zero new infections. We are making progress.

Who was your favorite MBA professor? Jill Paine, PhD! Hands down one of the most engaging and thoughtful professors I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. She was able to seamlessly connect her teaching to the work we do as executives in ways that allowed us to apply what we were learning in real time. She taught us to slow down, reflect and dive deep into who we are as people, managers, leaders and change makers. I continue to reference several of her teachings weekly in board meetings as well as state and local leadership meetings.

Why did you choose this school’s executive MBA program? Here are a few reasons:

1. I love Brown! I first came here as an undergraduate, then for medical school and now as an Assistant Clinical Professor for the Department of Family Medicine. In fact, when I graduate from the EMBA program this May, I will be celebrating my 15-year reunion from undergrad, 10 year reunion from med school and 5 years as an Asst. Clinical Professor.

2. With our healthcare system under undue stress during the pandemic with deaths climbing, limited access to resources, and medical staff tired, overwhelmed, and morally injured, I began to witness firsthand a great resignation and reshuffling within healthcare as doctors and others reconsidered their roles and what matters most to them and their families. I realized that in order for me to thrive in this changing landscape, I would need to step back, check my own pulse, and re-evaluate where we are as a healthcare system and how I can be of most help. I decided with the help and guidance of mentors to beef up my business acumen, hone my leadership skills, examine the intersection of business and society, and dive deep into the data evaluating where we are and where we are going when it comes to technology, innovation and creativity while not ignoring where it is that we came from. This last part is key. Brown doesn’t let us forget where we came from. The Shared History of Slavery and Capitalism is where this program begins its teaching, right alongside Accounting and Managerial Economics.

What is the biggest lesson you gained during your MBA and how did you apply it at work? I learned what leaders actually do, better understanding the differences between management and leadership. Management is more about coping with complexity by bringing order and predictability to a situation while leadership is more about adapting to change and coping with rapid change-thereby lacking any sense of predictability. With this information in hand, I went back to my health centers and redesigned our leadership and management teams, redefining the roles of many, elevating all, and promoting some. This led us to, in less than one year, double our clinical staff, expand access to patients and develop new programs during a time when most health centers were struggling to do the same.

Give us a story during your time as an executive MBA on how you were able to juggle work, family and education? I could not have done this without the support of my husband, friends, and work colleagues. I was already working 50-60 hours/week as the CMO of two health centers, Assistant Clinical Professor at the Medical School, Consultant Medical Director for a Medicaid Accountable Care Organization as well as the RI Dept of Health, and sitting on several clinical leadership committees throughout the state. I did this while traveling the country delivering training and presentations on LGBTQ+ care and HIV prevention. The time commitment of this program grew quickly over the first few months. Before I knew it, I was waking at 5 a.m. to start reading and posting on forums and doing the same late at night. Sleep hours and exercise were prioritized as well as family/friend time on at least one weekend a month.

What advice would you give to a student looking to enter an executive MBA program? Clear your schedule. The time commitment is real and almost always underestimated. I planned for 10-15 hours/week and found that the average was more like 20-30 hours/week – and even more if you were committed to reading all materials and fully absorbing all of the teachings.

What was your biggest regret in business school? Ask me in two years.

Which MBA classmate do you most admire? Lajuanda Asemota for so many reasons. She was the first person I sat next to in class, a member of my team for the first half of the MBA program and then my partner for the Key Reflection Project. Over the last 15 months, Lajuana has demonstrated academic excellence, leadership, creativity, perseverance, personal growth, and a wonderfully collaborative spirit that has made her an exceptional classmate and a source of inspiration for all of us. I feel fortunate to have had the opportunity to learn alongside her, and I’m grateful for the positive impact she has made on our educational journey throughout this program. She is an extraordinary individual who is constantly pushing the boundaries of what is possible. Her presence has made our educational experience richer, and I have no doubt that her future endeavors will be equally remarkable.

What was the main reason you chose an executive MBA program over part-time or online alternatives? I was looking for a program that I could integrate into the work I was doing daily as a physician leader, one that would focus on executive-level skills, strategic thinking, and leadership development, while still allowing me to practice medicine and care for my patients. I did not want to be in a class surrounded by other healthcare execs, but rather a class filled with execs from different business sectors all around the world. This is exactly what this program offered. Sitting next to me was a lawyer and CEO from Uganda, a Director of Informatics from Amsterdam, Leaders in Oil and Energy from Kazakhstan and Colombia, Senior VPs from one of the largest banks and corporations in the world and the list goes on…

What is your ultimate long-term professional goal? To be the next physician President of the World Bank.

What made Will Giordano-Perez such an invaluable addition to the class of ’23?

“It is a privilege to support so many talented students in the IE Brown EMBA program and Dr. Will Giordano-Perez epitomizes the best of what our students bring to this program, their workplaces and their communities.

As an individual, student and professional, Will has devoted his expertise, boundless energy and compassion to improve the lives of others. In high school, despite periods of homelessness, he created a non-profit (Operation Happy Birthday) to support other teenagers in similar circumstances; after college, he was public health director of an orphanage of 600 children in Haiti under the mentorship of Dr. Paul Farmer; after medical school, he helped develop Laos’ first childhood nutrition institute; in the last six years, he has run two federally qualified health centers in RI where they care for patients of all backgrounds regardless of their identity or ability to pay; over the last few years, he has focused on HIV prevention and caring for LGBTQ+ individuals as the LGBTQ+ physician-consultant for four Rhode Island public school districts, universities and both for-profit and nonprofit organizations, training on anti-LGBTQ+ bullying and how to create safe and affirming spaces for sexual and gender minority individuals; and during his EMBA program, he is in constant demand as an advisor to state education, health and political leaders. He truly cares and works to improve healthcare and opportunities for disadvantaged and marginalized communities, using his EMBA to be even more impactful as a leader.

In addition to being exceptionally bright, Will brings multiple perspectives to his classmates and faculty related to leading in very complex organizations, engaging (and protecting) marginalized communities, collaborating with diverse groups of stakeholders, and creating solutions to affect systemic change. Respected, admired and liked by all, he uses his intellect, energy, humor and interpersonal skills to make a difference. Will stands very tall among our best and brightest!”

Brendan McNally
Program Director
IE Brown EMBA Program

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