Jacobia Solomon is the President of Language Services at AMN Healthcare in a division responsible for providing multicultural interpretation and translation services in support of the healthcare journey, specifically for Limited English Proficient and Deaf and Hard of Hearing patients. With an educational background in engineering management, this is Jacobia’s first position in the healthcare industry after a 10+ year career leading engineering organizations. Outside of work, Jacobia loves to spend time with her husband, two sons, and mother; visit comedy clubs; swim; and, as a self-described “adrenaline junkie,” ride fast rollercoasters and cars. Jacobia has been a member of C200 since July 2023.
Eva Glassman: You are the President of Language Services at AMN Healthcare. What’s that like?
Jacobia Solomon: AMN Language Services is a division of AMN Healthcare and the largest provider of interpretation services exclusively supporting the healthcare market. We offer creative solutions that improve communication with a goal to yield better healthcare results within culturally- and linguistically-diverse communities.
The Limited English Proficiency (LEP) and Deaf or Hard of Hearing communities make up about 8.6% of the US population, which is about 27 million individuals that require language services. In 2023, we delivered 271 million minutes and supported 18 million patient encounters. We support the patient through the entire healthcare journey, collaborating with both providers and payers to achieve the ultimate goal of improving healthcare outcomes.
Enabling access and communication is important work when you think about the patient experience and health equity; the number one key determinant of health is access to information, but we often fail to reach the patients that are most at risk. We are in the business of telling engaging, insightful stories. The story we want to tell here is that patients and caregivers deserve the right to understand information regarding the screening, diagnosis of their ailment, the treatment strategy, and the anticipated outcome—which is sometimes life-or-death. Language access is foundational for equity.
EG: What is your day to day like?
JS: Internally, I make sure that we have a clear definition of our vision, and more importantly, how we are working to get there. A big focus for us is ensuring a clear path to value for clients and working with our healthcare partners to improve reliability, efficiency, and generating revenue.
We also focus on expecting future changes, because the healthcare landscape is constantly shifting, which means the needs of our clients and patients are shifting, too. While I am running the business now, I’m also trying to run the business five to ten years from now. Another big focus for us is how we will safely and responsibly use technology advancements such as AI in our business to improve access while aiding clinicians and bring joy back to healthcare.
My team is made up of great leaders who work well at the client experience and executing our strategy, all while adjusting as the landscape for our clients and competitors changes.
EG: I heard that your educational background is in engineering. So, how did you end up in healthcare?
JS: My current role is my first job in healthcare, so I have been in the industry for about a year and a half! I’m a mechanical engineer by trade. My path was partially planned, but I always thought methodically about the skillsets and experiences that I needed to be a great leader.
As a new graduate in engineering, I wasn’t sure where to start my career, so I joined Ford Motor Company’s college graduate program where I rotated through the company and got the chance to figure out what I was good at. I enjoyed my work at Ford and eventually started thinking about how I could grow and become a leader there. Ford supported me in getting my master’s in engineering management, which strengthened my ability to lead technical teams while aligning with business as a whole to ensure a greater impact.
I always thought I could still be who I wanted to be in the workplace, but just when I thought I could do it all, I quickly learned that was not the case. After about 10 years at Ford, they decided to close the facility in Michigan, where I was starting my family with my husband. I needed a support system and had nobody in Michigan, so we moved to Georgia where more of my family lived and could help us raise my kids, especially during the times my husband was deployed in the Army.
While I felt like I was a strong leader, I wanted to understand more about the business world from within a company. The opportunity to join Newell Rubbermaid came up, specifically a role in the Program Management Office. I got to learn other parts of the organization and started thinking about decision-making differently; for example, I started considering beyond the corporate landscape and into the global one, since some of my projects had a global scope.
I left Newell for similar reasons to Ford and pivoted to a smaller company called Mimeo as VP of Engineering. Because it was such a small company, I worked directly with the CEO and oversaw engineering—both product and manufacturing—supply chain, and shipping. I was three-fourths owner of the company and loved having that responsibility.
After Mimeo, I landed at Manitowoc in Texas, where I live today. I was interested in going back to a bigger company to spread my wings more and have a greater leadership scope. It’s funny—I had never been in construction, but I loved the experience of putting on my hardhat and boots and going to the site to see the realization of designs.
Eventually, Manitowoc split into smaller companies, which is why I left and landed at Siemens. They invested in me to get my executive MBA and made me CEO of Siemens Logistics Canada, which I did for two years. I worked the role from Texas because I had just started school and was flying to and from Canada every other week. My experience as CEO of Canada gave me a lot of confidence. I left Siemens because the company went through M&A restructuring, and I realized I didn’t want to be away from my family any longer.
This is when AMN called about my current role; I said, “Are you sure you’re calling the right person? You know I’ve never been in healthcare, right?” [laughs] They have been so supportive and great at giving me the space as President to lead, and they trust that I can deliver. When I think about a bullseye and what hits, this is where my passion and purpose are completely aligned.
Something I learned from my career experience is, as much as we like to think every company or industry is different, you will find more similarities between them and more transferable skills than you think.
EG: Let’s talk a bit about C200! How did you get involved? What drew you to C200?
JS: I found Stephanie Chung on Leadercast and loved her delivery. She lives in Texas like me, so I reached out to her. I said I was interested in connecting with women in Texas who are in similar situations, because the higher you get in business as a woman, especially as a woman of color, the lonelier it is. Sometimes, you just want to walk into a room and look at a person and communicate without any words. That is when Stephanie told me about C200—and the rest is history!
Last October, I went to the C200 Annual Conference in San Diego, and it was exhilarating meeting one powerhouse woman after another. It also made me do a personal inventory of my own accomplishments and feel proud to be among equals and inspired by how they can help me continue to grow. I kept thinking to myself, “If they’ve done it, I shouldn’t be so scared!” and, “They did that? I’ll do it now!”
Now, I am part of C200’s Financial and Investment Committee, which I’m really enjoying because I get to strengthen my relationship and connection to the organization by seeing the way things work and move within it.
EG: Have you had any female mentors throughout your career? What women are inspiring to you?
JS: I didn’t have many female mentors when I first started out, but it was something I sought outside of my workplace. I’ve always joined professional women work groups to learn from others. Early in your career, you think you can conquer the world, but eventually you look around and realize not enough conquering has happened in terms of women leadership.
As I matured in my career, it was important to me that I created not just mentorships, but what I call my “trust circle” of people who will hold up the mirror and tell me the truth (with love!). In that circle of trust, people play different roles, like mentor, sponsor, or supporter. I had both men and women in my circle because it was important for me to have both perspectives, especially since my male counterparts were the ones I was most likely trying to persuade or influence. I believe men and women communicate differently, so I thought it would benefit me to learn from both.
EG: I read that you have a philosophy that goes, “Call others into leadership with you. As you climb, it’s important to lift others with you.” How on theme for C200! How does being a woman in business impact the way you work? What does it mean to you?
JS: Being a woman in business is empowering. It’s all about what you can do to make your space much better than how you inherited it. Women have a natural affinity to go into a place and make it somewhere others want to be. I love seeing women in business because it sparks a feminine creativity in a masculine atmosphere. I think that balance of the feminine and masculine is interesting and exciting from a creative and innovative standpoint.
Women are natural problem solvers because of how we show up in life and positions not asked for; we can make something out of nothing. We’re envelope-pushers; we’ll continue to do it, even if it’s exhausting, because we understand the investment needed to get the result.
When I was younger in my career, I felt as though I always had something to prove; I don’t feel that way at all now. I know now that if there’s no space for me at the table, then I’ll build my own table—I don’t need to be invited. I love the saying, “It’s not about changing who you are, but where you are.” There are many times when you may not be valued, but that’s okay! It’s okay to go somewhere else where you are better valued—I think it’s important for women in business to understand that. When you begin to understand who you are, your worth, and your power, you can have a major impact.
EG: That leads me to my next question, which is: What is your advice to aspiring female business leaders to advance their own careers?
JS: It’s okay to have a career plan, but it’s also okay if that plan doesn’t work out. For me, what worked out was even better than my initial plan. Flexibility is important, because there are certain things about you that you may not give much importance, but someone else may see those things differently in you and give you an opportunity because of it. You don’t want to be clueless about those instances.
Move fearlessly—not without it, but in spite of it. Be courageous in what you do, who you are, and why you do it. Know that change is constant but be courageous in asking for what you want. We don’t ask for what we need all the time because we’re afraid of “No,” but it’s not going to kill us—it just means we didn’t ask the right person, the right way, or at the right time. Maybe it’s because I’m an only child, but “No” doesn’t deter me; it actually drives me!
If I could tell my younger self anything, it would be to protect and honor who you are as you would your loved ones. When you’re younger, it’s easier to take a risk on something new. We have these “guardrails,” real or perceived, that we’re always supposed to stay within and do what’s “right.” Valuing who you are as an individual and your impact when you walk into a room—it means something.
In a society where there is a significant focus on improving your weaknesses, it is equally crucial to handle and capitalize on your strengths. Occasionally, the qualities you excel in can be seen as drawbacks by others in terms of how they perceive and work with you. Moreover, the most intelligent individuals are aware of which flaws to improve upon themselves and which ones to delegate to others. At times, there can be particular aspects that will never become your strong points, and that is perfectly fine! It is advantageous to discover this information earlier and seek individuals whom you can rely on and who excel in those areas more than you do. It is important to invest effort in improving specific weaknesses, but it is also wise to delegate certain other weaknesses to external sources.
EG: Outside of work, what do you like to do for fun?
JS: I love spending time with my husband, two sons, and my mom who’s with us. I like old-school video games like Pac-Man, and I love to read. I love to laugh, so I go to comedy clubs a lot.
I’m a total adrenaline junkie; I love doing really adventurous, silly things that I’m a little scared of inside but do anyway. I love rollercoasters—I’ll go on every ride with you at the theme park. It’s one of my goals this year to skydive, and I’ve also signed up to learn how to be a pilot.
I also love fast cars; while the car definitely has to look good, I’m a horsepower and torque girl—it has to go fast! Even when my kids were little and I had a bigger car, it still had the horsepower and torque I wanted.
I’m also an avid swimmer and try to do that as much as I can. I used to be on a swim team, and I’ve even won a couple of state titles for Florida! Swimming has always been something I’ve really enjoyed; it calms my spirit.
EG: Why C200?
JS: For me, C200 stands for connection, aspiration, and sisterhood. I don’t know if I would have met the amazing women of C200 on my own. It’s a gathering of like-minded individuals that can feed into me as I can pour into them. I’m always looking for authentic and genuine relationships with people that are both similar to and different from me. There are probably things I wouldn’t know or consider if I didn’t have my C200 sisters to learn from.
I envision C200 and my fellow sisters as a multitude of beacons. We’re there to inspire, but also to align and strengthen the “beacons” in all of us into something bigger and brighter. Everyone has their own path, and C200 illuminates all our paths by reminding us that nobody truly does it alone.