Joelle Ragland is a dynamic healthcare operations leader specializing in high-touch patient care, project management, and infectious disease response. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Public Health Policy from the University of California, Irvine.

Joelle’s career at Cedars-Sinai Medical Group showcases a trajectory of rapid, earned advancement. She began as a Patient Service Representative, leading operations for a multidisciplinary gender-affirming clinic serving the LGBTQ+ community—work that demanded both clinical precision and deep cultural competency. Her performance there fueled a promotion to Patient Liaison, where she became the trusted care coordinator for some of the organization’s most high-profile specialty programs: the Team USA Olympics Partnership, the NFL-DHN Retiree Program, the Executive Health/Compass Program, and the TIA Women’s Health Partnership. Recognizing her ability to manage complexity across diverse patient populations and stakeholder groups, Cedars-Sinai promoted her once again—this time to Operations Supervisor within the Department of Strategic Integration and Development, where she now oversees the very specialty programs she once helped build. In just a few short years, Joelle has moved from frontline patient care to strategic oversight of some of the most visible programs in the organization.

Her experience in infectious disease is extensive, stemming from her time at AM LLC, where she held multiple roles including Senior Case Navigator and Deputy Project Manager for Outbreak Prevention and Response teams during the COVID-19 pandemic. A licensed Phlebotomy Technician, Joelle is focused on outbreak disease management, sickle cell research, and medical technology as she pursues the Executive MPH to drive operational excellence in healthcare.

How do you spend your free time?
“I spend my free time with friends and family and catching up on sleep. I also like to take dance classes and or try to cross something off of my bucket list. The last thing I did was do a 5-mile hike to bungee jump off of the ‘Bridge to Nowhere.'”

Why did you join the EMPH Program?
“I joined the EMPH Program to deepen my understanding of the diverse career paths within public health and to identify where I can make the greatest impact. In my current role, I’ve been steadily moving into leadership positions and wanted a stronger foundation to guide that growth. My manager—who also completed the program—spoke highly of the experience and encouraged me to apply, which ultimately motivated me to take this next step in my professional development.”