Accelerating Health Equity - Jonathan Kumar CEO of Samaritan
In this episode, Jonathan Kumar, the CEO of Samaritan joins host Kerry Amato and gives us a view of Samaritan's work to help homeless individuals access services.Jonathan begins with a description of the platform that Samaritan has created to match individuals in need with services and the support of giving individual samaritans who pledge their direct help, including a description of the organizations they partner with to reach the most vulnerable individuals. He continues with a success story from the first user of the Samaritan platform and what the definition of success really is when working with populations living on society's margins.The conversation then turns to Samaritan as a company and discusses a bit about their recent deal with United Healthcare and a bit about the economics that make Samaritan's business model possible. It then turns to leadership and some challenges and lessons from navigating Samaritan through the pandemic.The interview closes with a bit of advice from Jonathan about how to pursue an idea and the unique blending of not-for-profit and for-profit interests that make the Samaritan platform unique.