Quinnipiac University faculty “bring their distinguished backgrounds and vital experiences directly into the classroom,” according to the university’s website. As a member of the Connecticut Association of Health Executives (CTAHE), nobody represents this better than Angela Mattie.
“I think it’s very important to develop partnerships with the field, because we don’t do this in isolation,” Mattie said. “Your professor’s contacts wherever you want to go will be useful to you, that’s why I do these things.”
“Your professor’s contacts wherever you want to go will be useful to you, that’s why I do these things.”
-Angela Mattie, professor of healthcare management at Quinnipiac University
Mattie is a professor of healthcare management and sciences at Quinnipiac and holds an appointment at the Quinnipiac medical school. She also belongs to four boards: the board at Trinity Health of New England, St. Mary’s Hospital Quality Committee, AcademyHealth Policy Committee and the CTAHE.
The CTAHE is a chapter of the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE), with the purpose of representing “professionals who manage business affairs of healthcare organizations throughout the state of Connecticut.”
Since joining the board over 10 years ago, Mattie has held a position on the regional advisory board and helped create an ACHE chapter at Quinnipiac (QU-ACHE).
Mattie understands that one of the biggest services she can provide her students is opportunities to connect with professionals in the field, one of the benefits that the Quinnipiac chapter provides.
“This is a wonderful opportunity for students to develop leadership skills, to network with all these wonderful people that we have a partnership with and to lead projects,” Mattie said. “Next semester we will probably have an alumni panel where we’ll bring in people from different sectors that are alums that are doing extremely well.”
One of the alumni, who has sat on similar panels to the one Mattie is referring to, is Mattie’s former student and Associate Director at the Berkeley Research Group Austin Potter.
“I would typically come back, meet with her classes, talk about the importance of having internships or getting involved with the chapter as a student and share with them the value of it, and how it can really help them get their career started,” Potter said.
These connections that Mattie has been able to provide her students has also led to internships in the field. Marissa Yulo, one of Mattie’s former students, not only got an internship, but also her current job thanks to Mattie.
“She can connect students to current members on the board, which she did with me and help to foster some networking through her students and really encourage that with ACHE and CTAHE,” Yulo said. “I think that’s really helpful with her sitting on the board and everything, that direct line to the students.”
“I think that’s really helpful with her sitting on the board and everything, that direct line to the students.”
-Marissa Yulo, associate hospital administrator at Prospect Medical
Yulo is currently the associate hospital administrator in training at Prospect Medical, where she was an intern in January. She was originally planning on interning at a different company, but because of the COVID-19 pandemic that opportunity fell through. This left Yulo with no internship in her healthcare internship class.
“Professor Mattie had eventually reached out to everybody who was registered for the internship class, and she said that she had knew some people on the board of CTAHE through some of her connections there who’d be willing to do sort of like a mentor/internship with some of her students,” Yulo said.
Yulo took Mattie up on that offer and sent out her resume, eventually getting an internship with Prospect Medical.
“During COVID it was very hard to create internships for people,” Mattie said. “But they’re people who were dealing with COVID patients, so I was able to pick up the phone and have conversations and people accommodated us.”
After Mattie assisted Yulo with her internship, Yulo joined QU-ACHE where she became the vice president of media, allowing her and many other students to connect with people in the field.
Much like Yulo, Potter also gained most of his connections while in college. He attended Quinnipiac for his masters degree in healthcare management from 2010 to 2012 and while there, he was active in the QU-ACHE.
“She introduced me to a lot of the executives that are professionally part of the Connecticut ACHE chapter,” Potter said. “Then as I got involved as a student, and then stayed involved, once I graduated and got into my career path, we continue to collaborate on opportunities within the chapter.”
Potter also nominated Mattie for the Quinnipiac Center of Excellence in Teaching Award in 2013, which she won, because of her guidance and student-first nature.
Now 10 years later, she is still putting her students first and adapting to the times. Mattie has been able to stay up to date with healthcare management of today, through her collaboration with her fellow members of the CTAHE.
“There’s nothing worse than having a professor who’s out of touch with the field,” Mattie said. “ So [I ask] will I learn from these people, will these people help keep me current, will I be involved in advice and counsel that will help me stay current so I can bring that back to our students.”