Jawanza Hadley, MS, PMP, CSM, is on his way. Doors have opened for Jawanza, which he said would not have before he earned his Master of Science in Healthcare Management from OHSU School of Medicine, Division of Management.

Today he is the Director for Work2BeWell at Providence St. Joseph’s Health Systems. In this role, Jawanza is spearheading national program expansion, overseeing curriculum development and digital asset development, and building community partnerships with local and national education and behavioral health organizations. 

Before starting work on his degree at OHSU, Hadley was at a point in his career where he knew he needed to do something dramatic to change course.

He’d already had a couple of careers. He started his professional career as a high school teacher. After about a decade, he was laid off and forced to transition into a new career field. He parlayed his skills and abilities as a teacher into an organizational development and project management consultant for nonprofits and social services organizations. Hadley eventually went out on his own as a consultant working alongside executives to design, develop and help execute strategies to accomplish organizational goals.

“In conversations with leaders, it quickly became clear that a master’s degree would give me more credibility and help develop skills necessary to advance my career,” Hadley said. And to become a highly qualified contributor, Hadley decided to pursue an advanced degree focused on health care.

To do that, Hadley shopped for a program that would flex around his schedule. “The work I was doing required frequent travel, so the cohort model didn’t work well for me.”

After exploring offerings from a number of colleges, the MS in healthcare management stood out to him. “I liked the combination of business and operations management with healthcare. This was the exact type of training I was looking for,” he said.

Upon graduation in 2016, Hadley went to work for OHSU’s Perioperative Services as a project manager and later became a practice leader. In 2019, he transitioned to Providence as a senior project manager, where he served until his appointment to his current role as director of Work2BeWell.

He feels he has arrived at a place where he is equipped to deliver his highest potential and sees himself eventually in a senior leadership role.

“The work I did to earn my master’s laid the foundation for anything I want to do. Now, I feel like the opportunities are endless.”