Norma Padron

Norma Padrón is an entrepreneur and health economist with a strong focus on leveraging data and AI to drive innovation in healthcare. As the VP of Data & AI at Nayya, she leads a team of experts in data analytics, actuarial sciences, and healthcare analytics to revolutionize employee benefits through personalized, data-driven solutions. Norma also serves as Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Yale Ventures, where she supports healthcare innovation and entrepreneurship within the Yale community, helping to guide new ventures, many in AI, in the healthcare space.

Norma’s experience spans over a decade across academia, nonprofit organizations, and the private sector. She has served as a faculty member at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and as a Research Scientist at the New York Academy of Medicine. In her role as National Director of Applied Research & Data Analytics at the American Hospital Association, she led large-scale data initiatives that improved healthcare quality and safety across the nation. At Anthem's Digital Incubator, she played a strategic role in implementing digital health innovations to enhance patient care.

Norma holds a Ph.D. in Health Economics from Yale University, a master’s degree in economics from Duke University, and a master’s degree in public health from Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona, where she was a Rotary International Ambassadorial Scholar. She also earned her bachelor’s degree in economics and mathematics from the University of Texas, Rio Grande Valley.

Her journey from McAllen, Texas, to becoming a leader in data-driven healthcare initiatives is fueled by her commitment to improving healthcare access and equity. Norma is also deeply invested in advancing diversity in STEM fields and has served on various boards promoting education and technology, including her current role as a board member of Consilium Bots, a nonprofit focused on increasing educational access in Latin America through AI-powered tools.