About Us

Founder

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Katie us the Founder of Let's Talk Women, a fast-growing platform and event series working to elevate and amplify people and companies doing great work in women's health. Since launching, she has hosted more than a dozen sold-out events, draming national voices and local experts while convening executives, clinicians and investors around pressing women's health issues. Deeply embedded in Minnesota's healthcare, philanthropic and innovation ecosystems, she serves on the Board of Directors for Hennepin Health Foundation, and the Philanthropic Board for Community University Healthcare Clinic at the University of MN (CUHCC) She is actively engaged with Minnesota's vibrant health-tech and med-tech community, building bridges with venture firms, payers and corporate partners to accelerate investment in women's health innovation. Katie is both a Gopher and a Badger with an MBA from the University of MN Carlson School of Business and a BBA from the Wisconsin School of Business, University of WI Madison. Her past experience includes leading technology adoption, training and sales teams in hardware, software and consulting organizations.

Strategic Advisor

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Jennifer M. Olson, MBA is a transformational healthcare executive, award-winning strategist, operator and respected people-leader with over two decades experience driving enterprise-level impact in complex health systems and early and mid-stage healthcare companies.  

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Jennifer is the CEO-founder of BlueInnovo Advisors, a strategic advisory firm reshaping healthcare by bridging operational excellence with bold, future-focused strategy and innovation.  Her primary passion is within the women’s and children’s spaces, but her objective is to improve health care with curiosity, courage and transformation in the healthcare ecosystem. Jennifer’s superpower is making connections – across companies, network colleagues, and disparate ideas, to generate value and build unique collaborations.  She advises provider systems and startups in blue ocean strategies to accelerate growth.

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A former Chief Operating Officer and Chief Strategy Officer at Children’s Minnesota, Jennifer played a pivotal role in leading the $1.1B pediatric system operations.  “Intrapreneurship” is a hallmark of her career, with new program development in “The Mother Baby Center”, a denovo fetal intervention center, numerous physician partnership agreements and a groundbreaking bench research collaborative spin-off, to name a few. The foundation of Jennifer’s career was built on innovation and consultation, beginning with her work as a Management Engineer at the University of Wisconsin Hospital & Clinics, and much more deeply at Deloitte Consulting in the national Healthcare and Strategy Practice. 

Jennifer’s influence extends beyond the C-suite. She’s a fierce advocate and noted speaker for women in leadership and investment in the burgeoning field of women’s health. She’s served on national boards including AXIONs, the International Society for Pediatric Innovation (iSPI), and the advisory board for Daily Human.  She is mentoring faculty with the Creative Destruction Lab Health and Wellness track in Madison, WI, guiding numerous startups annually. Jennifer is also faculty for the Center for Professional Education and Development with the University of Wisconsin Madison School of Business. 

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Jennifer holds an MBA in HR and Management with a focus on Health Care, with a BBA in Finance, both from the University of Wisconsin – Madison.  A resident of Florida with a generous dose of Minnesota summers, she enjoys her free-time boating, downhill skiing, reading mysteries, exploring innovation and cheering on the Packers and Badgers with her husband Jon and golden retriever Tigger.

Strategic Advisor

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Chanda Smith Baker has spent her 25-plus year career at the intersection of philanthropy, business, government and community. An experienced CEO nationally renowned for her power and poise in leadership, Chanda has proven success leading complex organizations, recognizing and nurturing talent, and engaging and activating audiences toward racial equity and a broadened social impact. Smith Baker brings both her executive leadership experience in philanthropy and the credibility of a life and career spent advancing equity to Conversations with Chanda. Her interview style, rooted in her natural curiosity, love of reading and a deep knowledge of community issues, has struck a chord both locally and nationally.

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Chanda is the Founder and CEO of Smith Baker, LLC, Co-Founder in Residence with The Black Collective Foundation, serves on The Board of Directors of several high impact organizations and a Co-Curator of Portraits of Us: A Book of Essays Centering Black Women Leading Philanthropy. Chanda became the Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation's President & CEO in August 2025.

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Thank you, Chanda, for your strong leadership and hard work with Let's Talk Women.