In this episode of Beyond Barriers, we explore a transformative journey with Deborah Kilpatrick, Ph.D., Executive Chair of Evidation Health. From humble beginnings in rural Georgia to breaking ground in Silicon Valley’s health tech landscape, Deborah’s career reflects a powerful philosophy: that true success is about surpassing one’s self. Inspired by her father’s role as a high school football coach, Deborah leads with a coaching mindset, motivating her team to reach their potential. She shares how this approach has fueled her impactful journey and commitment to lifelong growth.
Deborah offers valuable lessons on fostering impact, building supportive networks, and defining your own success. Tune in to discover how Deborah’s dedication to impact, self-competition, and lifelong growth offers a roadmap for creating a career with purpose and resilience.
Key Takeaways:
- Self-Competition as a Success Metric: Deborah shares her journey to defining success by surpassing her own potential, not through external comparison.
- Career Growth Through Intentionality: Learn how Deborah’s small-town roots and family values shaped her unique leadership style and pursuit of impact.
- Building Impactful Teams: Discover how fostering collaborative environments has been pivotal in Deborah’s leadership, from startup ecosystems to large-scale projects.
- Strategies for Resilience: Get actionable tips on staying focused, maintaining resilience, and creating a purposeful career in high-stakes environments.
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Highlights
The key moments in this episode are:
[00:00] Introduction to Beyond Barriers Podcast
[00:26] Taking the First Step
[00:48] Redefining Success with Deborah Kilpatrick
[02:35] Deborah's Journey from Rural Georgia to Silicon Valley
[06:56] Building Evidation Health
[10:13] Leadership and Mentorship
[13:36] Navigating Career Transitions
[19:09] The Importance of In-Person Interaction
[24:47] Peer Mentoring and Professional Growth
[26:58] Overcoming Intimidation: Building Confidence
[28:46] The College Experience: Thriving in a New Environment
[31:42] Empowering the Next Generation: Female Representation in Engineering
[35:14] Daily Routines: The Power of Consistency
[38:22] Building Meaningful Relationships: Key Influences
[40:48] MedTech Women: Changing the Conversation
[45:34] Lightning Round: Personal Insights and Legacy -
Lightning Round
Q: What book has greatly influenced you?
A: Madame Curie: A Biography by Eve Curie and Just Kids by Patti SmithQ: What is your favorite inspiring quote or saying?
A: To truly become number one, you must constantly strive to surpass yourself, not the competition - a quote from a poster Deborah had as a kidQ: What is one word or moniker you would use to describe yourself?
A: PersistentQ: What is one change you've implemented that made your life better?
A: Very aggressive adoption of KT Tape in my 50s to keep being active and do what I want to doQ: What power song would you want playing as you walk out onto a stage?
A: Mama said knock you out - LL COOL JQ: What do you want your legacy to be?
A: I think my legacy is maybe people that are doing things (with major impact in the world) that hopefully I interacted in a productive way with -
Quotes
If you surround yourself with other people who are smarter than you, better than you, pushing you to be better, people who also have that same mindset, you'll all collectively adopt this idea that you're trying to better yourselves and in doing so, you will become better at something else in the process.
Deborah Kilpatrick, Ph.D.
To truly become number one, you must constantly strive to surpass yourself, not the competition.
Deborah Kilpatrick, Ph.D.
Be in the room when hard decisions are being made. It doesn't mean that you have to be the one making those hard decisions, but find a way to be in the room so that you're watching how those decisions are being done.
Deborah Kilpatrick, Ph.D.
Peer mentoring is so important, and I worry it’s just not happening. We often see teammates, not peer mentors—and that’s a crucial missed opportunity.
Deborah Kilpatrick, Ph.D.
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About
Deborah Kilpatrick, PhD is the Executive Chair and former CEO of Evidation Health in CA. The Evidation platform helps global organizations understand everyday health and characterize product benefits outside clinic walls through the use of person-generated health data (PGHD) at large scale. She began her medtech career at Guidant Corporation in multiple leadership roles that included Research Fellow, Director of R&D, and Director of New Ventures in its Vascular Intervention Division prior to its acquisition by Boston Scientific
(NYSE: BSX). In addition to chairing the board of directors at Evidation Health, Deborah is also a director at Sleep Number (NASDAQ: SNBR) and biotechnology company NextGen Jane (privately held), as well as Sutter Health—one of the nation’s largest and most innovative healthcare delivery systems. She is a Fellow of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering and has given both the Fogarty Lecture on Innovation at Stanford University and the Gegenheimer Lecture on Innovation at Georgia Tech. In 2021, Deborah was named to the Digital Health Hall of Fame by the University of California-San Francisco, and in 2023, she was
named to the Georgia Tech College of Engineering Hall of Fame. She is the co-founder of Silicon Valley's annual MedtechVision Conference and has been named to the San Francisco Business Times’ 100 Most Influential Women in Business, the Silicon Valley Business Journal’s 100 Women of Influence, FierceMedicalDevice’s Top Women in Medtech, and Forbes 50 Over 50 Entrepreneurs. She holds B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in engineering, with a doctorate minor in applied mathematics and statistics, from Georgia Tech.