Transforming Access and Equity in Healthcare Workforce…

About this episode

How can we build a healthcare workforce that truly reflects and serves our diverse communities? Our host Dr. Salvatrice Cummo, talks with founder and CEO of Futuro Health, Van Ton-Quinlivan. Together, they tackle some of the most pressing challenges in today’s healthcare labor market—from meeting critical workforce shortages to designing inclusive, accessible pathways into stable, middle-class careers. Van shares her story of escaping from the Vietnam War with her family at the age of six, and being a first-generation college graduate was able to become a trailblazer in workforce strategy. In this discussion, Salvatrice and Van emphasize how community colleges can become powerful engines for equity, and explore how partnerships and innovative approaches are reshaping the bridge between education and employment, especially with AI on the horizon. You’ll learn: How Futuro Health is addressing both workforce shortages and equitable access to healthcare careers How partnerships between education and industry—especially at community colleges—are being reimagined to scale opportunities Why AI and technology are fundamentally reshaping workforce structures and what that means for preparing students for future jobs How embedding real-world experiences and work-based opportunities is becoming critical for students’ upward mobility in a changing economy About the Guest: Van Ton-Quinlivan is the Founder and CEO of Futuro Health and is a nationally recognized workforce strategist and institution builder working at the intersection of healthcare, education, and economic mobility. As a national nonprofit addressing one of the country’s most urgent challenges: expanding the healthcare workforce while creating scalable pathways to middle-class careers. Futuro Health partners with healthcare providers, education providers, government and community organizations to design and scale talent solutions that strengthen healthcare access and economic opportunity. Van specializes in building durable workforce infrastructure that aligns capital, policy, and industry to solve talent challenges. She brings deep experience in cross-sector partnership, large-system transformation, and workforce strategy at scale. Her career spans senior leadership and governance roles across the private, public, and nonprofit sectors. She previously served as Executive Vice Chancellor of the California Community Colleges, the nation’s largest system of higher education, where she transformed workforce and career education strategy. Under her leadership, annual workforce investments grew from $100 million to over $1 billion, significantly expanding employer-aligned career pathways. She is the author of WorkforceRx and speaks nationally on healthcare workforce transformation, workforce infrastructure, and strategies to expand middle-class career pathways. Her work has been recognized by the White House as a Champion of Change for advancing economic opportunity. Engage with us: LinkedIn, Instagram & Facebook: @PasadenaCityCollegeEWD Join our newsletter for more on this topic: ewdpulse.com Visit: PCC EWD website More from Van Ton-Quinlivan & Futuro Health: Website - https://futurohealth.org/ LinkedIn - @vtquinlivan & @futurohealth Instagram - @futurohealth X - @workforcevan & @futuro_health Partner with us! Contact our host Salvatrice Cummo directly: scummo@pasadena.edu Find the transcript of this episode here Please rate us and leave us your thoughts and comments on Apple Podcasts - we’d love to hear from you!