Beyond the Bedside: Why Dr. Monika Wells Chose the MBA Path to Healthcare Leadership

“I got to a place in my life where I felt that pursuing this executive-level training, as well as the MBA portion, would be helpful for where I want to go—and the ways I want to contribute in healthcare,” she shares.

For Wells, the goal wasn’t to walk away from medicine. It was about expanding her impact beyond the clinical setting. Enrolling in Seattle University’s Executive Leadership Program (ELP’25) and Professional MBA (PMBA ’26) marked a transformational step—not just in her career, but in her confidence, capacity, and calling as a leader.

Purpose-Driven Leadership in Healthcare

Wells didn’t always envision herself in a leadership role. What she knew from an early age was that she wanted to help people. That calling was cemented as a teenager when she watched her mother face a relentless battle with cancer—one that eventually took her life.

“It was a turning point,” she recalls. “I decided to channel that experience into something productive—to do some good. Medicine became my calling.”

That calling carried her through medical school and into public health. Her approach to care was always rooted in empathy, purpose, and a deep understanding of what patients and families endure. But over time, Wells realized something more: treating individual patients wasn’t enough if the systems around them were broken.

“I wasn’t just focused on the patient in front of me,” she says. “I was also thinking: This patient is part of a larger system, so how do I help make that system work for them and their family, too?”

Wells understood that healthcare outcomes aren’t just shaped in exam rooms—they’re influenced by policy, budgets, and boardroom decisions. If she wanted to create lasting equity and systemic change, she needed a seat at those tables.

Why Seattle U Was the Right Fit for Dr. Monika Wells

A trusted colleague and Albers alum invited Wells to lunch to share his experience with the ELP and MBA programs. What stood out wasn’t just the curriculum—it was the personal transformation he described.

Wells knew an MBA would require time, energy, and heart. But the more she explored the program, the more aligned it felt. “It was the right time, the right place, the right program—and the best approach,” she says.

It wasn’t about adding three more letters to her resume. It was about expanding her fluency in strategy and systems—learning the language of budgets and operations without losing the language of care.

“I was drawn to Seattle U’s mission of developing leaders who are socially just, ethically grounded, and community-focused,” she says. “That mission spoke to me.”

For Wells, it felt like a continuation of values she already lived by—now paired with new tools to amplify her impact.

Her belief in education as a catalyst for change runs deep. Her father immigrated to the U.S. from India at 19 to pursue a PhD—the first in his family to seek higher education. That legacy shaped her view: education is both a sacrifice and an act of faith in the future.

“At Albers, I found a place to grow—not just as a professional, but as a purpose-driven leader.”

Learning Across The Aisle: The Power of Diverse Perspectives

In her first ELP session, Wells realized she wasn’t in a healthcare echo chamber. Around her were professionals from government, tech, finance, and engineering—each offering unique perspectives.

“I’ve appreciated expanding my mind with mentors outside my industry—people I’d like to emulate,” she says.

The ELP is intentionally designed to bridge professional silos. It encourages mid-career leaders to step beyond their expertise and challenge their assumptions. For Wells, that shift in perspective was just as powerful as any business strategy course.

As a woman of color in leadership, Wells was used to being one of the few in the room. The environment at Albers gave her the space to speak with confidence and be taken seriously. Seeing other women and people of color thrive in Seattle’s business community affirmed that she belonged in those spaces, too.

“Observing women and people of color doing this great work—it’s been meaningful,” she shares.

Leadership, she discovered, isn’t about fitting a mold. It’s about reshaping what leadership can look like—and who gets to lead.

Leadership That Listens: How One Project Challenged Ageism

In the ELP, Wells found herself faced with a unique challenge: take on one of society’s biggest “-isms”—such as racism, ageism, or sexism—and turn it into a real, actionable project. This was something far from theoretical, and a call to use leadership skills in the service of something bigger. Her group chose ageism.

They focused on a growing and overlooked crisis: the social isolation of older adults. Drawing on her background in public health, Wells knew this wasn’t just an emotional problem. It had measurable health impacts. Feelings of disconnection, invisibility, and loneliness were contributing to cognitive decline and deepening the mental health crisis among elders.

Her team built something deceptively simple, but powerful: an intergenerational storytelling project. Using an online platform, they designed a template that paired younger people in interviewing and recording the story of older adults—facilitating an exchange of wisdom and connection across generations.

Wells wasn’t sure how much they could really achieve in just nine months. But the deeper they went, the more impact they saw—not just in the final product, but in the relationships formed and the mindset shifts that followed.

She saw her peers take on everything from incarceration to housing equity, and she watched as each team tied systems thinking to social outcomes. Together, they put leadership into action with heart, backed by data, strategy, and collaboration.

She shares, “It was one of the most special things I’ve seen a graduate-level business program do: tie the dollars and cents with social justice and humanity.”

The Social Justice Project reminded Wells why she came to Albers in the first place: not to become someone else, but to become more fully herself. A physician. A strategist. A mission-driven leader equipped to turn bold, human-centered ideas into real, lasting change.

The Albers Impact: How Wells Leads Today

Today, Dr. Monika Wells serves as Seattle District Medical Director for Kaiser Permanente, leading operations in the organization’s largest and most complex district. Her role straddles clinical care and executive strategy—and she embraces both.

There was never a “perfect” time to invest in herself, she says. But there was a right one.

“There are always a dozen reasons not to do something,” she says. “But if you have people in your life—professionally or personally—who support you, go for it. Dream big. Write your destiny.”

For Wells, breaking out of her silo wasn’t about leaving medicine behind. It was about stepping into her full potential. Your silo isn’t your ceiling. It’s just the starting point.

Your Next Chapter Starts Here: Join the LEMBA Program

If you’re wondering what’s next—and you’re ready to lead with clarity, confidence, and purpose—the Leadership Executive MBA (LEMBA) at Seattle University’s Albers School of Business and Economics could be your next step.

The program blends the values-driven leadership of the Executive Leadership Program with the strategic, analytical rigor of an MBA. It’s built for professionals like Monika Wells—those ready to lead systems, not just navigate them.

No matter your industry, the LEMBA is designed for mission-driven leaders who want to align purpose with performance and drive change where it matters most.

No matter your field of specialty, the LEMBA program builds the cross-functional skills needed to influence systems, lead with integrity, and create measurable impact. It’s a degree that expands—not replaces—your expertise, empowering you to lead with both heart and strategy.