Patty Hayward is the General Manager of Healthcare and Life Sciences at Talkdesk, where she leads innovation at the intersection of AI, technology, and patient experience for healthcare organizations.

Key Takeaways

• Deep Personal Motivation: Patty’s passion for patient experience stems from her family’s struggle navigating complex healthcare for her mother. This drives her mission to simplify and humanize patient journeys.
• Transforming Contact Centers: Talkdesk is applying AI to rethink traditional healthcare contact centers. By integrating electronic health records, smart routing, and agent assist tools, they aim to ensure every patient feels known, supported, and guided from their first call.
• Empowering Agents: The goal is to upskill contact center agents-reducing time-to-proficiency, increasing job satisfaction, and creating healthcare career growth. AI handles routine queries, while agents focus on complex, human-centered needs.
• AI for Patient Experience: Patty draws compelling analogies to Amazon and Delta, envisioning healthcare systems that anticipate patient needs and minimize frustration. She argues that a truly great patient experience requires patients never have to repeat themselves.
• Critical AI Adoption Considerations: The democratization of AI (especially LLMs) is making advanced solutions accessible to organizations without deep IT resources. Yet, Patty stresses the importance of rethinking processes-“don’t automate a bad process”-and keeping trust, privacy, and clinical care at the forefront.
• Balancing Innovation and Trust: Patty acknowledges that while rapid AI adoption is exciting, healthcare’s primary goal is always quality clinical care. Any patient engagement technology must build trust, ensure safety, and ultimately improve-not complicate-outcomes.

About Patty Hayward

Patty Hayward, GM of healthcare and life sciences at Talkdesk, has over a quarter century of industry strategy experience, including at organizations such as McKesson, Medicity, and Humedica. She is an expert in HIE, population health, pharmacy, process redesign for healthcare systems, and increasing access to patient information.

A "glow up" signifies a positive transformation, reflecting the journey of becoming a better, more successful version of oneself.

At The Glow Up, we humanize the startup and innovation landscape by focusing on the essential aspects of the entrepreneurial journey. Groundbreaking ideas are often ahead of their time, making resilience and perseverance vital for founders and product leaders.

In our podcast, we engage with innovators to discuss their transformative ideas, the challenges they face, and how they create value for future success.

If you're a founder or product leader seeking your own glow up, or a seasoned entrepreneur with stories to share, we invite you to join our guest list via this link.

Julie Smithson is the CEO of MetaVRse and co-founder of 6ix Ventures, a mission-driven family of companies building an ecosystem for the next generation of educational innovation. Recognized as a pioneering entrepreneur, Julie brings a unique blend of hands-on experience from launching 200+ immersive projects and a personal commitment to preparing future leaders to thrive in a world shaped by emerging technology.

Key Takeaways:

• Family of Purpose-Driven Ventures: 6ix Ventures unites MetaVRse, Unlimited Awesome, and a sovereign data solution, all under a mission to inspire and educate the next generation-to think and act with social, economic, and environmental sustainability, using cutting-edge tools.
• Immersive, Curriculum-Integrated Learning: Unlimited Awesome tackles the gaps left by traditional education: perseverance, teamwork, social impact, environmental literacy, and financial skills. Their curriculum is delivered through immersive, interactive digital experiences powered by MetaVRse.
• Experimental R&D, Powered by Clients: 200+ MetaVRse projects with global brands like Mars Wrigley, spanning healthcare training, consumer engagement, and gamified learning have fueled innovation and validated new models for spatial education and community.
• Technological Convergence: Julie’s vision fuses spatial computing, AI, and blockchain/Web3 to build learning ecosystems and commerce that mirror how youth already play, collaborate, and transact online-bringing game mechanics, digital rewards, and avatars into education and training.
• Digital Identity & Sovereign Data: Avatars become not just game characters, but digital identities, linking learning, collaboration, and commerce. Julie advocates for sovereign data ownership, enabling users to carry their credentials and assets across platforms while retaining control.
• Community-Building & Inclusion: Julie is also a co-founder of XR Women, building the world’s largest global network of women in spatial computing. She believes the future of education and commerce must be inclusive, collaborative, and values-driven.

About Julie Smithson

Julie Smithson’s personal mission is to ‘inspire and educate people to think and act in a socially, economically and environmentally responsible way’.

Julie is the Co-Founder and CEO of METAVRSE, a 3D creation platform the spatial web, akin to ‘Canva’ for immersive experiences. Julie Smithson is also Co-Founder of Unlimited Awesome, a venture focused on implementing success principles to drive digital innovation.

As Co-Founder of XR Women, Julie Smithson leads the world’s largest global community dedicated to empowering women in virtual platforms. Over the past four years, she and her team have organized more than 192 immersive events, featuring prominent women speakers from the industry and engaging a diverse, growing membership of over 1,200 women across 60+ countries.

A "glow up" signifies a positive transformation, reflecting the journey of becoming a better, more successful version of oneself.

At The Glow Up, we humanize the startup and innovation landscape by focusing on the essential aspects of the entrepreneurial journey. Groundbreaking ideas are often ahead of their time, making resilience and perseverance vital for founders and product leaders.

In our podcast, we engage with innovators to discuss their transformative ideas, the challenges they face, and how they create value for future success.

If you're a founder or product leader seeking your own glow up, or a seasoned entrepreneur with stories to share, we invite you to join our guest list via this link.

Ashley Coffey is the CEO of Coffey and Consult and host of the Coffey and Code podcast. She specializes in bridging the gap between technology and people, helping small and medium-sized businesses—especially in Oklahoma and the Midwest—leverage emerging technologies like AI for efficiency, profitability, and empowerment.

Key Takeaways:

• Making Tech Accessible: Ashley founded Coffey and Consult to bring innovation and technology consulting to businesses in Oklahoma, eliminating the need for local founders to seek coastal agencies for modern expertise.
• AI and Tech Adoption: She demystifies AI for business owners, focusing on practical adoption, minimizing “tech overwhelm,” and maximizing efficiency with the right tools.
• Industry-Agnostic Approach: Ashley works across sectors, emphasizing that technology and AI are universal enablers. She often finds companies overspending on fragmented, redundant software stacks and helps them consolidate and optimize instead.
• Education First—Teaching to Fish: Ashley’s consulting goes beyond tool recommendations. She teaches organizations how to critically assess their business problems and technology needs (not just “what’s the best tool?” but “what’s the best tool for our outcome?”), fostering sustainable, independent tech decision-making.
• Championing Human Connection: Despite AI’s rise, Ashley believes the “human touch” is at a premium—helping clients see technology as an enabler for more meaningful work, not a replacement for human insight.
• Impact-Driven and Iterative: She measures her success by how empowered her clients become—tracking increased efficiency, reduced software bloat, and improved confidence and independence in tech decision-making.
• Empowering with AI Literacy: Ashley highlights a knowledge gap: many business owners (and even younger generations) struggle to use AI effectively. She provides hands-on workshops to move clients from AI “search engine” users to strategic AI partners, emphasizing clear articulation and thoughtful prompting.

About Ashely Coffey

Ashley Coffey is an emerging technologies subject matter expert with over a decade of experience in the technology industry, including roles in both the public, private and non-profit sectors, and is recognized by the Journal Record in the 2022 Powerlist of Innovative Women in Oklahoma.

Ashley interweaves her lived experience and diverse background across industries to help companies achieve greater efficiency and profitability by leveraging technology in meaningful ways.

Ashley is a TEDx speaker and has presented professionally on emerging technologies nationwide, including Harvard and SXSW-EDU. She serves on the Boards of the American Marketing Association, Oklahoma Chapter, and SXSW Pitch. In addition, she volunteers as a mentor in the OKC community for young women pursuing careers in technology.

A "glow up" signifies a positive transformation, reflecting the journey of becoming a better, more successful version of oneself.

At The Glow Up, we humanize the startup and innovation landscape by focusing on the essential aspects of the entrepreneurial journey. Groundbreaking ideas are often ahead of their time, making resilience and perseverance vital for founders and product leaders.

In our podcast, we engage with innovators to discuss their transformative ideas, the challenges they face, and how they create value for future success.

If you're a founder or product leader seeking your own glow up, or a seasoned entrepreneur with stories to share, we invite you to join our guest list via this link.