the Wond'ry

Victoria Mitchell serves as the Director of Strategy & Operations of Ori.ai, a B2B SaaS digital health startup in Washington, DC.

Established in 2016, Ori.ai has developed an AI (artificial intelligence) assistant for care teams who can handle administrative and patient-facing tasks. Ori uses messaging applications to communicate directly with patients to automate a variety of repetitive tasks such as scheduling, intake, patient surveys and more. Better yet, Ori is adaptable to customers’ needs and can fit into their existing workflow, so there’s no need to download an app or learn a new software.

At Ori, Victoria oversees a few areas of the business including:

• Implementation
• Integration
• Product Management
• Customer and User Experience
• Sales and Partnerships
• Market Research

Victoria is a biomedical engineer drawn to the complexities of the patient experience and healthcare infrastructure. Working at a healthcare startup, she is constantly reminded that most key stakeholders at the helm of hospitals, insurance companies, government, and digital health companies are men. Ironically, healthcare is the largest industry in the US, and women (who care not only for themselves but frequently also for children and family members) make 80% of healthcare decisions, yet only 4% of healthcare CEOs are women. Washington, DC is the center of policy and advocacy for healthcare, which lends itself to building a foundation as a digital health hub. Long term, Victoria wants to engage with the global tech community because this leadership distribution problem is not unique to DC, the healthcare industry, nor to gender. She believes that we must share, learn, and grow together to make tangible changes to our communities.

Prior to Ori, Victoria worked as a consultant at Accenture. She oversaw the QA/UAT and cutover phases for several SAP financial accounting software projects for both federal and commercial clients. Additionally, she managed off-shore development teams in Spain and Argentina.

Victoria is grateful for her Bachelor Degree in Biomedical Engineering from Vanderbilt University. She plans to pursue a graduate degree in the distant future. Her parents are both professors – she knows it’s in her blood to teach at some point in life. Victoria enjoys competing in triathlons and eating as much Vietnamese food as possible.

Q. What excites you most about the Wond’ry?

A. The majority of ideas don’t come to fruition. I’m thrilled that Vanderbilt University is infusing maker culture into its DNA. The goal: to increase the conversion rate of ideas to conversations to actions to results. As Vanderbilt’s hub for innovation and entrepreneurship, the Wond’ry provides both tangible and intangible resources for all members of the Vanderbilt community. I graduated from Vanderbilt with a degree in Biomedical Engineering in 2015. Go ‘Dores!

Q. What do you feel are the most important skills you have to offer in your role as a mentor?

A. Since undergraduate life at Vandy is still fresh in my mind, I can offer a shorter-term career perspective. I’ve had internships and full-times roles in research, engineering design, consulting, and software as a service (SaaS). I’ve worked for a company with 400,000 employees and am now at a company with 4 employees. Career development can be overwhelming, but it doesn’t need to be. I’m here to help students navigate that process.

Q. What has been your proudest moment in your career?

A. I took a risk and left corporate life at a consulting firm to join a digital health startup as “employee 1.”

Q. What has surprised you most about your job?

A. I am surprised to be in a leadership position at this stage in my life. It proves that you can manage people and offer guidance regardless of your age – the key is to listen and take in as much as you can along the way.

Q. If you could do everything over again, would you make the same career choices?

A. Nope! I’d like to think that the choices I’ve made have lead me to where I am today, and I am happy with that. It would have been interesting to go back in time and major outside of engineering – architecture and marketing have always appealed to me.

Q. In your opinion, what is the most important quality for success?

A. The ability to teach and help those around you. To share is to truly internalize information.

Q. When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

A. I wanted to be a herpetologist, someone who specializes in the study of reptiles and amphibians. Let’s just say I watched a lot of Animal Planet, Discovery Channel, and Travel Channel.