Norma Padrón, PhD

Dr. Norma Padrón is a Latina and first-gen economist and entrepreneur with a doctorate in health economics who founded EmpiricaLab—a company specializing in peer–to–peer training within healthcare organizations to accelerate their digital transformation.

She earned a Ph.D. in health policy and management from Yale University; a master's degree in economics from Duke University, as well as another master's degree— in public health-from Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona, Spain; She has a bachelor's degree in economics with a math minor, from the University of Texas, Rio Grande Valley.

She has held leadership roles across the healthcare industry, including in academia, nonprofit and private sector. Her teams have leveraged data analytics and technology to improve digital health products for patients and providers, design value-based care models, and quality and performance measurement and training.

In addition to her work in health economics and analytics, Norma has held board positions in STEM education and technology, including as Chair of the industry advisory board for an NSF Industry-University Cooperative Research Center focused on improving healthcare through organizational transformation.