Norma A. Padrón is a Latina and first-gen entrepreneur with a doctorate in health economics. She is the founder and CEO of EmpiricaLab, a company specializing in peer–to–peer training within healthcare organizations to accelerate their digital transformation.

Norma holds a Ph.D. in health policy and management from Yale University, a master’s degree in economics from Duke University, a master’s degree in public health from Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona, Spain, and 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, as well as in academia and the nonprofit and private sectors. Norma has led data analytics and technology teams focusing on improving patients’ and providers’ digital health and care delivery models, designing value-based care models, and quality and performance measurement and training.

She has board experience in STEM education and technology, including chair of the industry advisory board for the National Science Foundation Industry-University Cooperative Research Center focusing on improving healthcare through organizational transformation.