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Deena Fischer, MA, ACC

Vice President
| Business Development and Operations
Executive Coach
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Deena Fischer partners with healthcare CEOs, physician executives, and senior leaders to elevate leadership effectiveness, navigate uncertainty, and lead meaningful transformation. As an executive coach, Deena’s approach is built on one core belief: leadership growth must create real movement—for the individual, their team, and the organization. With deep experience in the healthcare industry, Deena specializes in guiding leaders through critical transitions, cultural transformation, system integration, and organizational change. She works across the healthcare continuum—from rural hospitals to multi-state health systems, integrated delivery networks, and healthcare- adjacent organizations—bringing clarity, confidence, and aligned action to every engagement.

Deena is especially passionate about developing rising executive stars—high-potential leaders preparing for expanded roles—and supporting organizations through succession planning and leadership transitions. Her coaching is rooted in meeting each leader exactly where they are on their leadership journey, honoring their unique experiences while helping them build their resourcefulness and resilience.

Deena’s approach goes deeper than surface-level performance coaching. Rather, Deena creates space for the kind of honest reflection that leads to breakthrough moments, helping leaders develop genuine self-awareness, emotional intelligence, and clarity about how they show up to others. Together, they explore the necessary shifts to lead more effectively and align with their leadership with their values and purpose. The result: authentic transformation that drives lasting impact.

Deena’s credibility comes from walking in her client’s shoes. Before coaching, she held senior leadership roles within a large healthcare system, leading strategic communications, brand alignment, and physician satisfaction initiatives. This firsthand operational experience gives her coaching a high level of credibility and practicality, especially in high-stakes, high-pressure healthcare environments.

Deena is a certified executive coach through the Hudson Institute of Coaching and holds an Associate Certified Coach (ACC) credential with the International Coaching Federation. She is also certified in Emotional Intelligence (EQ-i), DiSC, Driving Forces, and FEMA Incident Command. She holds a master’s degree in management and leadership and a bachelor’s in mass communications.

Outside of work, Deena adventures with her two children—horseback riding, lake days, and exploring new places together. She brings that same spirit of curiosity and connection to her work, helping leaders not only succeed professionally but thrive personally.

Whether coaching a C-suite executive, rising physician leader, or executive team in transition, Deena helps turn insight into action, and intention into measurable impact. Her work builds stronger leadership, aligned cultures, and more resilient healthcare organizations ready for whatever comes next.

What’s your coaching philosophy in action?
My coaching philosophy is grounded in the belief that sustainable leadership transformation starts with self-awareness. As a coach trained through the Hudson Institute of Coaching and aligned with ICF ethics, I create a space of trust and deep inquiry where leaders can slow down, reflect, and reconnect with their values and purpose.

I view each leader as naturally creative, resourceful, and whole—not broken or needing fixing. My role is not to direct but to partner, supporting and challenging clients around their own assumptions. Together, we explore the inner narratives, patterns, and behaviors shaping their leadership and the system around them. Through this process, clients gain clarity, confidence, and courage to lead more intentionally—especially in the complexity of healthcare.

Give us a window into your coaching style.
My coaching style is warm and direct, deeply intuitive but structured. I begin by getting clear on the outcomes that matter most to my client and their organization. Then, I help them uncover what’s really getting in the way. Often, it’s not just external challenges, but internal narratives or limiting assumptions.

I work systemically, helping leaders see how their mindset, behaviors, and presence ripple across their teams and culture. I incorporate tools from adult development theory, emotional intelligence, somatic awareness, and systemic team coaching. And I’m not afraid to name the “elephant in the room” or “shine a mirror”—with compassion.

In practice, this might look like pausing a client mid-conversation to explore their discomfort in real time or role-playing a hard conversation they’re avoiding. We may map their team’s dynamics or unpack how they’re unconsciously reinforcing the very culture they’re trying to change.

Having worked as both an executive within a large health system and as a consultant, I understand the uncertainty, complexity, and relentless pace of chance—plus the difficulty of creating movement fast enough when things evolve both quickly and slowly at the same time.

What’s the leadership challenge you’re known for solving?
I’m known for helping senior healthcare leaders successfully navigate complex transitions and transformational moments—both personally and organizationally. These are inflection points where pressure to perform intensifies, yet clarity, confidence, and alignment feel just out of reach.

Whether it’s a C-suite executive facing burnout, a newly promoted leader wrestling with imposter syndrome, or a physician shifting from expert clinician to strategic system influencer, I help them pause, reflect, and recalibrate. Together, we reconnect them to their core purpose, realign with their values, and build the mindset and capabilities needed to lead transformative change with clarity and courage.

So much of this work begins with self-awareness: understanding how past strengths may now be limiting, how trust and strategic relationships must evolve, and how leadership presence must stretch to meet a new mandate.

Describe your ideal coaching client.
The leaders who light me up are those in transition or transformation. They may be rising into a new role, recovering from burnout, leading large-scale change, or facing a moment of truth in their leadership. Regardless of title, they’re self-aware enough to know something needs to shift—and brave enough to do the inner work.

My ideal client is curious, open to feedback, and ready to be challenged with compassion. They’re often in healthcare because they care deeply about people and purpose, but they’re feeling the weight of systems that are complex and unrelenting. I help them rediscover their power and presence so they can lead with resilience and impact.

What would surprise people about your approach?
People are often surprised by how much inner work is involved in our coaching and leadership development, especially in high-stakes healthcare environments. I integrate somatic awareness and mindfulness in a grounded, practical way to help leaders tune into what’s happening in their bodies, not just their minds. This is particularly valuable for healthcare executives who are constantly navigating complexity, pressure, and emotionally charged decisions.

I ask the questions no one else will—always with respect and compassion, but unafraid to name hard truths. That combination of psychological safety and deep inquiry creates the conditions for meaningful breakthroughs. It’s where personal transformation meets leadership impact.

What’s your unique background and experience?
My professional background bridges the worlds of healthcare and leadership. I’ve worked inside health systems and alongside executive and physician leaders, giving me a deep understanding of the pressures, politics, and purpose that define this space.

As a coach who has guided leaders through mergers, culture transformation, burnout prevention and recovery, and systemic change, I bring a grounded perspective on what it takes to thrive in uncertainty and navigate complexity. I also know what it’s like to be in a room full of decision-makers, and what it takes to help others rise with integrity and presence.

These experiences shape how I meet each client: with empathy for their context and fierce belief in their potential.

What myth about executive coaching do you love to bust?
The biggest myth I love to bust is that coaching is remedial—only for leaders who are struggling. In reality, coaching is a strategic investment in high performers. The best leaders are always learning and seeking out growth.

Another myth: coaching is a quick fix solved with phone calls. Change occurs over time and requires putting theory into action. Deep self-awareness, deep dive sessions, stakeholder feedback, and goal alignment are all critical drivers of sustainable change.

A final myth is that coaches have all the answers. In truth, the power of coaching lies in helping clients discover their own answers and build on their resourcefulness. It’s not about advice or mentoring—it’s about insight, ownership, and sustainable change.

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