As VOZ’s new Director of Client Services, Pacific Northwest-based Carisa Almquist brings a deep commitment to listening to and amplifying patient voices. This concept is at the heart of VOZ Advisors and this focus on patient-centered therapies and care resonated with Carisa and her background in patient outreach and engagement. We sat down with Carisa for a dive into her experience in oncology, her motivations in joining VOZ, and a quick fire round where we learned some surprising “fun facts” about the newest member of the VOZ team.
First, we’d love to hear what drew you to VOZ Advisors?
VOZ’s commitment to centering patient voices drew me in. As I got to know the team and learned more about their individual approaches to the work, I felt even more aligned with the strategies and efforts of the firm.
Dedication to improving health equity has been a core principle throughout my career as you cannot talk about access or health outcomes without addressing the critical role equity plays. This is a main focus of VOZ as well which is important: it strongly resonates with me both personally and professionally.
What is your approach to Patient Advocacy and Engagement?
When we think about healthcare and our communities, we cannot do this work without centering the people most impacted by diseases and critical health issues. Whether it is cancer, which has been my focus for nearly a decade, or many of the rare diseases that VOZ has also shed light on, ensuring that a diverse range of lived experiences are heard and represented in therapeutic development is essential.
In what ways do you hope to contribute and grow professionally at VOZ?
Most of my professional experience has involved program development and implementation directly with patients, clinicians, and communities. I know through experience that effectively creating change and improving patient outcomes requires a deep understanding and strategic alignment of the perspectives held by different health care stakeholders. These stakeholders should not function in silos. My role at VOZ is providing me with an opportunity to work with our clients to bridge these silos and address unmet community needs while simultaneously deepening my insights into the important role of the biopharmaceutical industry to improve patient outcomes by partnering with and supporting patient communities.
Now for a few quick-fire questions. What’s one thing people don’t know about you that you’d like to share?
While I consider myself more of a “city gal” now, I grew up in a mountainous area outside of Seattle so things like surviving long power outages, seeing wild bears, and driving on 4×4 roads do not intimidate me much!
What are three things you can’t live without?
My loved ones, travel, and coffee.
What is heavily played on your music playlist right now?
Depeche Mode.
Where is your next travel dream destination?
Japan.
How do you start your day?
I love mornings because they’re quiet and peaceful, and I feel like my productivity is at its highest. I know it’s cliche being from the northwest, but I can’t start the day without my espresso.
“VOZ’s commitment to centering patient voices drew me in. As I got to know the team and learned more about their individual approaches to the work, I felt even more aligned with the strategies and efforts at the firm.”
