In this episode, Elizabeth Smyers shares her journey from occupational therapist to Chief Innovation Officer at PRO-spectus and the mission-driven mindset that fuels her work. Rooted in compassion and shaped by a willingness to step into the unknown, Elizabeth reflects on how solving one patient’s challenges led her to solving problems at scale. She brings a blend of curiosity, process discipline, and a “how can I help” spirit to every opportunity, fostering a culture where people lean in, take risks, and show up for one another and the patients they serve.

Key Takeaways:

• A “how can I help” mindset turns challenges into opportunities for impact
• Curiosity and adaptability create the path for unexpected career growth
• Process and discipline transform complexity into clear, achievable outcomes
• Culture thrives when people show up for one another with purpose and consistency

Chapters:

1. 00:00 - Introduction
2. 05:08 - Connecting Passion to Purpose
3. 08:41 - The Power of a “How Can I Help” Mindset
4. 18:11 - Looking Ahead at Innovation
5. 20:54 - A Nonlinear Career Path

Listen to our podcasts at:

https://www.shorecp.university/podcasts

There you will also find our other Everyday Heroes episodes, alongside our series Microcap Moments and Bigger. Stronger. Faster., highlighting the people and stories that make the microcap space unique.

Other ways to connect:

Blog: https://www.shorecp.university/blog

Shore University: https://www.shorecp.university/

Shore Capital Partners: https://www.shorecp.com/

Blog: https://www.shorecp.university/blog

This podcast is the property of Shore Capital Partners LLC. None of the content herein is investment advice, an offer of investment advisory services, nor a recommendation or offer relating to any security. See the “Terms of Use” page on the Shore Capital website for other important information.

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:00:18

So there's a saying that a colleague has used for quite some time that has resonated with me, and that is go win the day every day.

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:00:26

And I think I would give that advice, that show up, do your best, know what you are trying to do, but then the reason why it's win every day, is you have to stay consistent.

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:00:37

You have to have that discipline, and you have to have the process as well.

Anderson Williams: 00:00:44

Welcome to Everyday Heroes, a podcast from Shore Capital Partners that highlights the people who are building our companies from the inside, every day, often out of the spotlight.

Anderson Williams: 00:00:54

With this series, we want to pull those heroes out of the shadows.

Anderson Williams: 00:00:57

We want to hear their stories.

Anderson Williams: 00:00:58

We want to share their stories.

Anderson Williams: 00:01:00

We want to understand what drives them, why they do what they do, how they might inspire and support others to become Everyday Heroes too.

Anderson Williams: 00:01:09

In this episode, I talk with Elizabeth Smeyers, the Chief Innovation Officer at PRO-spectus.

Anderson Williams: 00:01:15

Elizabeth got into healthcare as an occupational therapist where she found profound meaning in directly working with and caring for patients.

Anderson Williams: 00:01:22

But her subsequent career journey has been one of constantly seeking to solve bigger problems and to build better systems to care for more patients.

Anderson Williams: 00:01:31

In addition to offering insights on her approach to her career, Elizabeth also uncovers lessons learned from a strange place, racing sailboats, lessons about team, and risk, and process that have driven her success at PRO-spectus.

Anderson Williams: 00:01:45

So welcome, Elizabeth.

Anderson Williams: 00:01:46

Will you just start us off by introducing yourself, giving us your name and telling us what you do and where you do it?

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:01:52

Sure.

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:01:53

My name's Elizabeth Smeyers.

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:01:54

I'm our Chief Innovation Officer at PRO-spectus.

Anderson Williams: 00:01:57

And what does PRO-spectus do?

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:01:59

At PRO-spectus?

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:02:00

We partner with pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers to make access, affordability, and adherence easier and more effective across the patient journey.

Anderson Williams: 00:02:10

And give us a real world example of what that means.

Anderson Williams: 00:02:13

If I'm a patient and I'm looking for a particular therapy, what does that look like for you all?

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:02:17

We take on the more complicated parts of coding, coverage and payment.

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:02:22

Anything from managing benefit investigations, prior authorizations, affordability programs, um, clinical adherence, all the way to revenue cycle support.

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:02:32

Our focus is to remove the roadblocks that slow access down.

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:02:36

Supporting manufacturers, everything from early stage strategy all the way through operational execution.

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:02:42

But at the heart of it all, it's really about compassion and purpose.

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:02:46

Making sure that patients have access to the vital therapies they need with the care and the support that really makes the difference.

Anderson Williams: 00:02:55

So before we dive into your Everyday Hero story, is there anything about you that we can't find on LinkedIn that we ought to know?

Anderson Williams: 00:03:03

Families, friends, hobbies, interesting facts, anything we should know before we jump into the business side of things?

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:03:09

Yeah, yeah, sure.

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:03:10

So what you won't find about me on LinkedIn is I'm an avid sailor.

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:03:14

Yeah, exactly.

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:03:16

My husband Paul and I am actually even a racer of sailboats, so you'll find us probably most weekends on a little lake.

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:03:24

Yes, there's lakes and sailing in Arkansas of all things, and we're out there racing, and that's been something that has just really meaningful to me over the years.

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:03:33

One, it's just plain fun, but it's also a really great way to just be very present in the moment of what's ahead of you.

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:03:40

So when we're thinking about racing, you know the course is going to be different for the day.

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:03:45

The winds conditions are going to be different.

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:03:47

Ideally, we have the same crew, but we have to take all of those variables in that given day, juggle them, try and act as a team and not just yell at each other the entire time and figure out how to set that course and how to win.

Anderson Williams: 00:04:01

How did you get into that?

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:04:03

Uh, my husband actually, so our very first date, he took me out on a sailboat.

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:04:07

That was a long time ago.

Anderson Williams: 00:04:09

Are you a risk taker?

Anderson Williams: 00:04:10

It sounds like.

Anderson Williams: 00:04:11

I mean, it's one thing to go out on the lake in the pontoon boat and crack a beer or whatever.

Anderson Williams: 00:04:16

This sounds pretty intense and pretty risky.

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:04:18

I think that you'll get variable answers from different people.

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:04:21

Um, I think risk is calculated and I think that if you have a really good plan in place, you can measure the risk.

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:04:27

Now, I think if you ask probably my parents, you might hear a little bit of yes, because we actually have sailed out on the ocean, um, away from shore, and there's certainly risk associated with that.

Anderson Williams: 00:04:40

So you talked about being present, but what is it about that experience that hooked you other than the person you were dating at the time who became your husband?

Anderson Williams: 00:04:47

What hooked you about in the experience?

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:04:49

I think, I don't know, it must just be the chemicals that you are able to trigger.

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:04:53

There's a level of adrenaline, but there's also a sense of accomplishment in being able, again, to take all of those different pieces, figure out how to do something that is challenging and then just actually do it, execute on that.

Anderson Williams: 00:05:08

I've had the fortune of working with Elizabeth previously through the leadership development work PRO-spectus has invested in and was surprised by this unique passion I never knew she had.

Anderson Williams: 00:05:16

But then as Elizabeth described it, I was struck by her analysis and the parallels to the work.

Anderson Williams: 00:05:22

She helps lead at PRO-spectus.

Anderson Williams: 00:05:24

You can't successfully do the work of patient access without a solid and consistent team.

Anderson Williams: 00:05:29

You can't problem solve or innovate if you're afraid of risk.

Anderson Williams: 00:05:33

You likely can't create patient access if you can't turn something that can feel like chaos into a workable plan and a clear set of goals to execute against.

Anderson Williams: 00:05:42

But I still wanted to know more about how she got there to that mindset and to PRO-spectus.

Anderson Williams: 00:05:47

So you started your career switching back to that as an occupational therapist.

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:05:52

Mm-hmm.

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:05:52

Yep.

Anderson Williams: 00:05:52

Will you take us back to your career journey and tell us sort of how you started there and what brought you into healthcare and how that journey has evolved?

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:06:02

Sure.

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:06:02

So I don't want to turn this into school, but I feel like I need to explain first what occupational therapy is.

Anderson Williams: 00:06:07

For sure.

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:06:07

Most people don't necessarily know that.

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:06:09

So occupational therapy is about enabling or empowering people to do activities that are really meaningful to them.

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:06:16

So that can be anything from getting dressed independently to being able to make a meal one handed, or even tying it back, being able to sail or travel with limited mobility.

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:06:28

So I had the opportunity in high school to be able to shadow an occupational therapist and be able to see her do really just very skillful deep things like facilitate tone, do neuromuscular inhibition, being able to work.

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:06:42

There was this one stroke patient that I got to observe her with.

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:06:45

That she went through all of these very technical aspects, but then what they were doing, they were trying to make a pie.

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:06:51

And since she was recovering from a stroke, that was a very meaningful thing for her to be able to do that for her family.

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:06:57

And so that was such an aha moment for me when I saw, wow, you can take this science and all of this, meaning put that together and really do something for people.

Anderson Williams: 00:07:06

Well, I can't help but jump ahead based on that, this sort of merger of science and meaning with where you are at PRO-spectus.

Anderson Williams: 00:07:14

How did you find PRO-spectus and where along the journey did you find this opportunity?

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:07:18

Sure, so fast forward a little bit in my career, and I was working in pediatrics at the time and saw the challenges that many patients were going through and being able to get the medically necessary care that they needed.

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:07:31

There was this one particular kiddo that I remember along the way that he kept getting denied.

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:07:36

He didn't have quite the right diagnosis and everything just didn't come together that insurance liked.

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:07:41

So thankfully for him, he had quite the care team around him.

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:07:46

He had a amazing mama bear advocate who was willing to fight and push, and that really inspired me to do something a little bit different and something bigger.

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:07:54

Fast forward a little bit further, and one day I got a phone call from a colleague.

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:07:59

Her name's Erin.

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:08:00

She actually works at PRO-spectus and she said, I remember this very clearly.

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:08:04

Oh my gosh, this is it, you have to talk to Charmie.

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:08:08

And so I did, and that's where I learned about the mission of PRO-spectus.

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:08:13

And it may sound a little cliche, but honestly I was hooked.

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:08:16

Hearing about the mission and what we do and what we strive after, and understanding that, you know, I had the opportunity to do this on a larger scale, and that really spoke to something very deep inside of me where, yes, it's amazing to be able to work with one individual patient and help that person, but to be able to do that on a much, much larger stage and for so many more people, it was really, really impactful.

Anderson Williams: 00:08:41

Given Elizabeth's clear memory of her first interaction with PRO-spectus and its founder and CEO Charmie Chirgwin, I wanted to hear directly from Charmie, who not surprisingly, as it all has turned out, also remembers her first interaction with Elizabeth.

Anderson Williams: 00:08:54

She also shares how valuable Elizabeth has become, not just to the company, but to her as the founder and CEO.

Charmie Chirgwin: 00:09:01

You know, with Elizabeth, she started with us in 2017, and from the moment I met her, she made me smile.

Charmie Chirgwin: 00:09:10

And here's the crazy thing, back then it was all on the telephone.

Charmie Chirgwin: 00:09:15

I had never actually seen Elizabeth, and so she just is the embodiment of a smile.

Charmie Chirgwin: 00:09:24

I don't even know else to put it.

Charmie Chirgwin: 00:09:26

She's so engaged and just all in and has this essence about her that you just can't escape.

Anderson Williams: 00:09:34

Say a little bit about how that plays into your work.

Anderson Williams: 00:09:37

So why is that kind of magnetism so important for what you do?

Charmie Chirgwin: 00:09:42

So what we do is hard.

Charmie Chirgwin: 00:09:44

We do hard things.

Charmie Chirgwin: 00:09:45

Every single day as we are trying to get patients access to care.

Charmie Chirgwin: 00:09:49

So, with Elizabeth having the attitude that is all in, she is just always all in.

Charmie Chirgwin: 00:09:58

She's ready, she's engaged, she is ready to take on every challenge.

Charmie Chirgwin: 00:10:03

It just makes life.

Charmie Chirgwin: 00:10:05

Easier knowing that you have that person on your side and in your corner as you enter into some of the things we have to deal with every single day.

Charmie Chirgwin: 00:10:15

And I know that the team around her feels the same way as well.

Charmie Chirgwin: 00:10:19

She meets every challenge with this vigor and this energy that is infectious and it helps you level up to meet that challenge as well.

Anderson Williams: 00:10:29

And I have to believe that as a founder, that that has particular importance for the person who I'm sure feels like you're carrying the burden of this company and its growth on your own.

Anderson Williams: 00:10:40

To have somebody like Elizabeth at your side has gotta be more than comforting.

Anderson Williams: 00:10:44

It's gotta be just sort of solidifying for you.

Charmie Chirgwin: 00:10:47

It really is.

Charmie Chirgwin: 00:10:48

Elizabeth, is that good, I guess touchstone, right?

Charmie Chirgwin: 00:10:51

I am able to look at her.

Charmie Chirgwin: 00:10:54

I think sometimes for reactions, which is incredibly helpful because when I have gotten into those moments of doubt, thinking can we really pull this off?

Charmie Chirgwin: 00:11:03

Can we really do this crazy hard things that we keep trying to do?

Charmie Chirgwin: 00:11:08

I just have to tell you, I see her smile, I see her head nod.

Charmie Chirgwin: 00:11:12

The first words out of her mouth are, how can I help?

Charmie Chirgwin: 00:11:15

Even if what we're doing isn't necessarily in her lane.

Charmie Chirgwin: 00:11:19

That's what makes Elizabeth an Everyday Hero to us because she is the first one to say, how can I help?

Charmie Chirgwin: 00:11:26

And it doesn't matter what it is, and that just brings a sense of calm that it just immediately puts you right back into the head space of, yes, yes, we can do this.

Charmie Chirgwin: 00:11:38

Absolutely.

Anderson Williams: 00:11:40

Given Charmie's comments and the obvious impact Elizabeth has from the moment you meet her is not surprising that her growth and impact at PRO-spectus has been rapid.

Anderson Williams: 00:11:49

And you started in a consulting role, right?

Anderson Williams: 00:11:53

And you've recently been named the Chief Innovation Officer.

Anderson Williams: 00:11:56

So in a relatively short period of time, even within PRO-spectus, you've had quite a lot of growth and advancement.

Anderson Williams: 00:12:02

Talk through what that has looked like and how the company has grown and evolved.

Anderson Williams: 00:12:06

And how that you've grown and evolved with it over the last number of years.

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:12:10

Yeah.

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:12:10

So yes.

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:12:11

So you mentioned risk taking a little bit of go, and I think that was a little bit of a risk for me.

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:12:15

I'd never been a consultant before, but again, leaning in and seeing, Hey, there's an opportunity here.

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:12:20

There's an opportunity that's bigger than me, that sparked some excitement somewhere in that.

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:12:25

And I think that seeing the opportunity that's there and maybe being willing to take that step and take that risk is what has propelled my journey through PRO-spectus.

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:12:35

So certainly there's been times when there's been an opportunity in front of me and I've raised my hand and I said, yes, I want that.

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:12:41

Choose me.

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:12:42

I can do this.

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:12:43

But I think, honestly, maybe more often than not, it's about realizing that there's a need, there's something that's ahead.

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:12:50

And a challenge or an obstacle or a problem even, and being willing to take that step forward and say, I may not know what I'm doing here, but I'm willing to try.

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:12:59

I'm willing to help, and I'm willing to just give it my all.

Anderson Williams: 00:13:02

Well, and one of the things that was mentioned in your Everyday Hero nomination, just to double down on that, was your stepping into, uh, temporarily the Chief Technology Officer role when that position turned over at PRO-spectus.

Anderson Williams: 00:13:15

Talk about that in that spirit of, I might not know everything, but I'll get in and figure it out.

Anderson Williams: 00:13:20

That's a pretty big figure it out moment for a company like PRO-spectus, I imagine.

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:13:24

It really is and another thing you won't see on LinkedIn is a litany of computer science degrees.

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:13:32

So, no, I do not have that but I think truthfully, again, it comes to knowing the business, knowing what our patients need and then also listening to the team and the experts in the network that we have.

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:13:44

This is an area where I was incredibly thankful to have the network of Shore and the Centers of Excellence.

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:13:49

I think some of the first phone calls I made were to the heads that were available to me to say, Hey, here's what we're facing.

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:13:56

Here's what I see ahead.

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:13:57

I need to keep the team focused.

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:13:59

I need to keep them motivated.

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:14:00

We need to recenter in these areas, but I don't know what this acronym means.

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:14:04

Can you help me out here and help me understand and putting those pieces together.

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:14:09

So that was really how I approached that.

Anderson Williams: 00:14:11

Yeah, it's almost a problem solving and orchestration approach.

Anderson Williams: 00:14:15

It's not a sort of subject matter approach.

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:14:18

Right?

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:14:18

Yes.

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:14:19

And I think, honestly, you say that, that really resonates with me.

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:14:22

I love doing problems and I love figuring things out and I think maybe even more so than problems, it's about solutions.

Anderson Williams: 00:14:28

Yeah.

Anderson Williams: 00:14:29

Your Everyday Hero nomination.

Anderson Williams: 00:14:31

I want to read you a piece of this and then just kind of get your reaction because I think it aligns with what we're talking about now.

Anderson Williams: 00:14:36

It said, Elizabeth embodies a process driven mindset building and optimizing systems that support both high stakes emergencies and everyday operational excellence.

Anderson Williams: 00:14:46

She consistently models resilience, accountability, and patient-centered focus in all she does, going above and beyond to serve the mission and inspire those around her.

Anderson Williams: 00:14:55

Does that sound right?

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:14:55

That's incredibly humbling, and those are large words, but honestly, to be completely truthful, Anderson, I almost find them uncomfortable because I think that there's so many people at PRO-spectus that those words describe and while I take that as a compliment to myself, I really think that a lot of that is what I've learned from the colleagues around me and from the experiences that I see every day.

Anderson Williams: 00:15:20

Where does that come from for you?

Anderson Williams: 00:15:22

Because I think what's interesting about what you've described is figure it out approach, a risk tolerance, and so someone who's willing to go into ambiguity and abstraction and make sense of it, and yet at the same time, this describes you as someone who's process driven can build and orchestrate structures and things like that.

Anderson Williams: 00:15:41

Those two things don't always go hand in hand, like where does that come from for you in terms of how you've learned, how you're wired or how you think or what really drives you?

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:15:50

I think this is a two part answer.

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:15:52

I think the first piece is the near term.

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:15:54

You said what drives me, what motivates me right now.

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:15:56

And I really do think we have a phrase, it's the team PRO.

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:16:00

We put it on all of our items and it's because we truly believe it.

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:16:03

And I think that it's those people that push me every day that are showing up.

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:16:07

I have to show up.

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:16:08

But if I look back even further, and to give you a little fun anecdote.

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:16:13

I grew up in a family of overachievers, I would say.

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:16:16

I have two older brothers and we played a lot of board games, and so there was always competition at Heal.

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:16:22

There was always something pushing us, and being the youngest sibling, if you will, it was often challenging to follow in their footsteps, so you had to figure it out.

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:16:33

You had to figure out how to shine, how to adapt.

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:16:36

But I think that while there's that competitive nature there with my brothers, it's also in a sense of support.

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:16:42

They're actually both in tech and so they were two of my first phone calls I made this summer.

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:16:48

Help me understand this acronym, and again, having that support system there, whether it's in your professional network or in your personal network, I think has really helped me be able to do many of the things I've done.

Anderson Williams: 00:17:01

Talk to me a little bit about how when you started your career in occupational therapy, you were drawn to something that had this one-on-one kind of empowerment and very much a figure it out.

Anderson Williams: 00:17:14

Like, how do I create an opportunity for this person to find meaning in this?

Anderson Williams: 00:17:17

How do you maintain that same sense of personal drive?

Anderson Williams: 00:17:22

And personal connection, rather.

Anderson Williams: 00:17:24

As you move up through leadership in a larger organization, how do you stay grounded in that relational piece that got you started and clearly still motivates you, but as your role shifts and moves up in an organization?

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:17:38

Mm-hmm.

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:17:39

Absolutely.

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:17:39

I think, again, it really comes to building the culture and being a part of that culture.

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:17:44

I certainly have not built the culture of PRO-spectus by myself.

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:17:48

I think that there's an element of making sure that we think about the impact.

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:17:54

And so again, for this role as innovation, it's about looking ahead, looking to the future, where are we going?

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:18:01

What do we need to consider and how is that going to impact our patients, our team, our clients?

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:18:07

And putting all of those pieces together.

Anderson Williams: 00:18:11

Here again is Charmie speaking to Elizabeth's impact on the PRO culture.

Charmie Chirgwin: 00:18:15

We talk about culture carriers, we've talked about this even in our own works together, Anderson, but Elizabeth walks the walk.

Charmie Chirgwin: 00:18:22

She doesn't just say, how can I help?

Charmie Chirgwin: 00:18:24

She then jumps in and helps.

Charmie Chirgwin: 00:18:26

She is the embodiment of the culture that we have built here at PRO-spectus, which is I guess in how can I help?

Charmie Chirgwin: 00:18:35

You're never gonna hear the phrase, stay in your lane.

Charmie Chirgwin: 00:18:38

At PRO-spectus, which I think you've experienced yourself, Anderson, uh, with us.

Charmie Chirgwin: 00:18:44

You know, elizabeth, every single day when she shows up in these meetings and these projects comes with this spirit and attitude of today we are going to do great things and it just, it really permeates through the rest of the team and because of that, we have been able to do some pretty incredible things with her leadership.

Anderson Williams: 00:19:10

When you think about your current role and innovation at PRO-spectus, what does that mean?

Anderson Williams: 00:19:17

When you're thinking about looking forward, you're in a growing company, in a dynamic market with a private equity sponsor and all of these other things that are like fuel on a fire.

Anderson Williams: 00:19:28

What does looking forward look like for you, and what does innovation mean when you're looking at it from the perspective of PRO-spectus?

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:19:36

That's a big one, but it's such an important one and it is something that certainly I am giving a lot of careful consideration to pulling again from that professional and personal network and just really digging into it and I think where it is for us.

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:19:50

We have to think about where this industry is going.

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:19:53

We have to think about, there's such an evolving, fast changing aspect to healthcare and patient access.

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:20:00

There's new legislation every day driving this.

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:20:03

We have to look at the levers that are influencing those variables and drivers.

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:20:09

But also, you know, there's so many buzzwords right now around AI.

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:20:13

That's just every other podcast I listen to every other article I read, AI is a piece of that.

Anderson Williams: 00:20:18

Well, now it's in this one, so.

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:20:20

And now it's in this one, and here we are.

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:20:21

But you know, we have to think about how do we start using these tools?

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:20:26

How do we start building processes?

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:20:29

How do we start designing systems that will allow us to not just continue to grow, but leapfrog forward to the future so that we are that partner that.

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:20:41

Our clients seek out and look for and say, yeah, PRO-spectus is it.

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:20:46

That's who we want.

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:20:47

That's what we need for our patients, and I think that's what will really help us to grow and thrive as an organization.

Anderson Williams: 00:20:54

Given Elizabeth's rapid growth, impact and evolution across her career and the compelling and obviously powerful story of her stepping up when PRO-spectus needed someone most, I wanted to ask her what she had learned or what advice she would share to anyone listening about how she's built her career.

Anderson Williams: 00:21:10

If somebody's listening to this and they're in a dynamic and growing company like PRO-spectus where these kinds of opportunities can emerge and candidly can be career changing, what advice do you give them based on what you learn about that flexibility or being able to step in, not only and raise your hand and say, yeah, I'll do it, but to be able to succeed?

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:21:30

I think it's about.

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:21:31

Understanding that careers are definitely not linear anymore.

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:21:34

I think that it's a spiderweb at best, and it's about, one, knowing your path and knowing what you want to pursue and pursuing it heavily, but then also actively listening to what's around you and being willing to take that step forward.

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:21:49

So if I had stayed on that linear path, I would probably have a caseload and be doing direct patient care.

Elizabeth Smyers: 00:21:56

But I took other options and here I am, and I'm now leading innovation and this is such an exciting space to be in.

Anderson Williams: 00:22:05

Elizabeth Smeyers is an Everyday Hero whose superpower is her attitude.

Anderson Williams: 00:22:09

Whether you call it can do or you look at it from the perspective of winning the day every day.

Anderson Williams: 00:22:14

Elizabeth's attitude has propelled a remarkable career, rooted deeply in her how can I help spirit.

Anderson Williams: 00:22:20

From helping a stroke victim learn to make a pie again, to helping create and innovate systems that help more patients access more care more broadly.

Anderson Williams: 00:22:29

As PRO-spectus grows and she grows and innovates with it.

Anderson Williams: 00:22:32

You can't help but feel that the true impact of Elizabeth's attitude has only just begun.

Anderson Williams: 00:22:44

If you enjoyed this episode, check out our other Everyday Heroes at www.shorecp.university/podcasts or anywhere you get your podcasts.

Anderson Williams: 00:22:54

There you'll also find episodes from our Microcap Moments as well as Bigger.

Anderson Williams: 00:22:58

Stronger.

Anderson Williams: 00:22:58

Faster.

Anderson Williams: 00:22:58

series.

Anderson Williams: 00:22:59

Each highlighting the people and stories that make the lower middle market space unique.

Anderson Williams: 00:23:04

This podcast was produced by Shore Capital Partners and recorded in the Andrew Malone podcast Studio with story and narration by Anderson Williams.

Anderson Williams: 00:23:11

Recording and editing by Austin Johnson.

Anderson Williams: 00:23:14

Editing by Reel Audiobooks sound design, mixing, and mastering by Mark Galup of Reel Audiobooks.

Anderson Williams: 00:23:20

Special thanks to Elizabeth Smeyers and Charmie Chirgwin.

Anderson Williams: 00:23:23

This podcast is the Property of Shore Capital Partners, LLC.

Anderson Williams: 00:23:26

None of the content herein is investment advice, an offer of investment advisory services, nor a recommendation or offer relating to any security.

Anderson Williams: 00:23:34

See the Terms of Use page on the Shore Capital website for other important information.