Dr. Faith Adole is a healthcare executive, nurse practitioner, speaker, and global health leader with over 17 years of clinical and leadership experience. She is the Founder and CEO of U-VOL Foundation, an international nonprofit advancing health equity through innovative, community-driven programs and sustainable health systems in the U.S. and across multiple countries.
Dr. Adole is recognized for her work in health systems design, strategic operations, primary care, maternal-child health, and mission-driven, community-centered program development and partnerships. A passionate advocate for frontline-informed innovation, she is committed to designing scalable, culturally responsive solutions that strengthen healthcare systems and expand access to care for underserved populations globally.
How did your career in healthcare start? Have you always been passionate about this area, or did it happen by chance?
I didn’t enter healthcare by chance. I entered it with conviction. From early on, I was grounded in compassion and drawn to the intersection of service and systems, recognizing that access, quality, and leadership shape health outcomes long before a patient ever walks into a clinic. I also saw firsthand how social determinants of health and lived experience shape access to care, a perspective influenced in part by my upbringing in an immigrant family.
As a nurse practitioner and healthcare executive, I’ve worked across ambulatory care, acute care, home health, and public health. I experienced both frontline realities and operational strategy, which gave me a dual perspective on healthcare delivery from the view of providers and health systems, as well as the patients and communities they serve. Founding U-VOL Foundation was a natural extension of that work. I wanted to build bridges to close gaps in care access through sustainable models that strengthen health systems, empower local providers, and expand access to care, not just deliver episodic services.
You’re a strong advocate for including the voices of frontline workers in healthcare innovation. Can you share an example of when doing so led to meaningful impact?
In healthcare innovation, especially with the rapid adoption of new technologies, frontline providers are often consulted during the design phase but are not consistently integrated throughout implementation and long-term use. As a result, solutions may be technically sound but fail to align with real-world workflows, cultural contexts, and patient needs.
I’ve seen this firsthand in global maternal health settings. When we launched the ValueHer Initiative, we intentionally co-designed the curriculum and implementation approach with frontline providers. They identified workflow barriers, supply chain gaps, and cultural nuances that outside experts would have missed.
As a result, we implemented a hybrid train-the-trainer model, integrated midwife kits aligned with real delivery room conditions, and embedded ongoing education rather than one-time workshops. Knowledge scores improved, but more importantly, providers reported increased clinical confidence, ownership, and long-term adoption of the practices.
What lessons from your global work have influenced how you approach healthcare delivery in the U.S.?
Working in low-resource global health settings has been one of the most formative experiences of my career. In those environments, clarity is non-negotiable. There is simply no margin for waste or misalignment.
That discipline has deeply influenced how I approach healthcare delivery in the United States. My global perspective has reinforced that resources alone do not guarantee better outcomes. What matters most is how intentionally we design, implement, and sustain them, always grounded in the realities of those providing and receiving care. Resilient health systems are built through operational alignment, community trust, and workforce empowerment, rather than top-down initiatives developed in isolation.
Personally or professionally, what might the WBL network be surprised to know about you?
Many people are surprised to learn that music has been a lifelong passion of mine. Music moves me because of its power to connect people across cultures, languages, and experiences. I sang in choirs from childhood through adulthood and performed in musical theatre when I was much younger.
I even had the opportunity to sing backup for a few professional artists — an experience that felt worlds apart from my work in healthcare. However, music mirrors leadership in many ways. Whether leading teams or performing in an ensemble, the goal is the same: to listen closely, contribute authentically, and elevate others toward a collective vision.
