Impact in Action: Leadership, Caregiving, and System Change

In this episode of Amplify: Elevating Patient Voices, hosts Ursula Mann and Brent Korte sit down with Sandra Walker, venture capital partner at Hard Climate Venture Studio and founder of Viacern.

Sandra has spent decades working across global healthcare systems—spanning pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, diagnostics, venture capital, and now climate innovation. Throughout her career, she has been drawn to tackling the kinds of complex, messy problems that require systems thinking, collaboration, and bold leadership.

The conversation explores how leaders make decisions within complex systems, why unconscious bias often shapes those decisions, and how personal experiences—like caregiving—can influence how we approach change.

Sandra also shares her journey as a remote caregiver for her father during a critical health period, highlighting the emotional and logistical challenges many caregivers face but rarely talk about.

From healthcare leadership to climate innovation, this episode examines how different systems intersect—and why solving tomorrow’s healthcare challenges requires thinking beyond traditional boundaries.