Monique Andrea Rainford
Yale School of Management
“Committed to living a purpose-driven life and making a positive impact on this world.”
Hometown: Live in Bethany, CT, Grew up in St. Andrew/Kingston, Jamaica
Family Members: Husband Ryan, Children, Zane and Kia
Fun fact about yourself: I love ballroom dancing and used to do amateur competitions and I love movies and would love to attend the Academy Awards.
Undergraduate School and Degree: University of Pennsylvania, Cum Laude, BA in Honors Chemistry, Harvard Medical School, Doctor of Medicine (M.D)
Where are you currently working? Yale School of Medicine, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences and owner of WWELL INC. a consulting company where I focus on work related to women’s health issues. Co-Founder of Enrich Health, startup focused on improving maternal health.
Extracurricular Activities, Community Work and Leadership Roles:
Senior Advisor for the Yale Healthcare Conference 2023
Member of CARE, Council on Anti-racism and Equity
Conference Team for the Yale Impact Investing Conference 2024
Mentorship of young women interested in women’s health and/or medicine
Advocacy work in addressing disparities in Black maternal health
Which academic or extracurricular achievement are you most proud of during business school? I am most proud of my role as a member of the organizing committee for the Yale Impact Investing Conference 2024. As EMBAs, we had a very active role in recruiting the speakers and designing the program for an event that was very successful.
What achievement are you most proud of in your professional career? Owning and operating a solo OB/GYN practice for ten years. I learned a great deal of lessons in managing a practice and I loved the clinical relationships and bond I was able to develop with my patients in that ten-year period. For some of my patients, I was able to deliver more than one of their babies. I am an author of three books. I’m particularly proud of the reach of my most recent book Pregnant While Black, which included being interviewed by Chuck Todd on Meet the Press Reports.
I am also very proud of my role as a medical director for two clinics of the largest federally qualified health center in Baltimore. The opportunity gave me excellent experience in the multiple facets of leading a healthcare delivery center.
Who was your favorite MBA professor? That’s a tough question. I have a few favorites so it’s hard to choose just one.
Why did you choose this school’s executive MBA program? I felt an MBA was important for the next step of my career. I valued a program with a strong reputation and due to family commitments, I needed to stay in the area. Yale really was the only choice for me and there was no substitute.
What is the biggest lesson you gained during your MBA and how did you apply it at work? In life we can stand by and lament about problems or we can do our very best to fix them. The MBA taught me that I am more equipped than I might think to help to solve big problems.
Give us a story during your time as an executive MBA on how you were able to juggle work, family and education? The entire program was an experience in juggling work, family and education. My husband was very supportive and took on a great deal of the childcare responsibilities. I spent a lot of time behind my desk and rarely took a full day off. However, I ensured that I took a two-week vacation in December of 2022. This turned out the be the very last Christmas with my mom, so it’s really important to make time for the people you value the most.
What advice would you give to a student looking to enter an executive MBA program? It is an excellent experience, but recognize it is a large time commitment. You’ll want to ensure you allocate enough time not just for classes and homework but for social relationships.
What was your biggest regret in business school? Although I believe I built excellent relationships with my classmates, I regret not being more intentional about building relationships with the students in the Classes of 2023 and 2025.
Which MBA classmate do you most admire? We have a very close-knit class and there are many classmates that I admire for different reasons so again I can’t pick just one.
What was the main reason you chose an executive MBA program over part-time or online alternatives? Even before I started the program, I recognized that a large part of the value of an MBA program was the relationships that were built both with classmates and professors. In-person time was necessary to build those relationships. As I mentioned I would only consider programs with excellent reputations and Yale was first on that list.
What is your ultimate long-term professional goal? My goal is to lead my startup company with the aim of closing the health disparities gap in maternal health and raising the standard of maternal healthcare in America.
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