The Power of Partnering (POP) is a half-day event where women entrepreneurs, business leaders, corporations and procurement professionals come together to train, network and create matchmaker opportunities to help create and reach procurement and business goals.
Each agenda includes educational resources from thought leadership and subject matter experts and the opportunity to showcase your capabilities statements in a meet the buyer setting or matchmaker sessions.
Dr. Tiffany Parr, President & CEO at Navana Health Agency, is a Public Health Practitioner at the core, Epidemiologist, Healthcare and Business Executive.
She has almost two decades of experience in medical epidemiology, quality improvement, population health, teaching, and developing responses to grants, cooperative agreements, and RFPs for local agencies and health management organizations such as The Georgia Department of Public Health, The Centers for Disease Control and Preventions, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, SciMetrika, CareSource, Kent State University, and The University of Georgia.
Dr. Parr is a nationally recognized Epidemiologist who focuses on improving health outcomes through geospatial intelligence and mixed-methods research, which has improved maternal and child health outcomes for at-risk minorities. Previously, Dr. Parr was the Associate Vice President of Quality Improvement at CareSource, a Managed Care Organization, and Section Chief of the Maternal and Child Health Epidemiology Unit at the Georgia Department of Public Health. In her spare time, she serves as an Adjunct Professor at Kent State University, teaching Epidemiology and Health Promotion.
She earned an undergraduate degree in Biology and Chemistry from Xavier University in Louisiana, a Master of Science in Public Health and Tropical Medicine from Tulane University, and a Doctor of Public Health in Epidemiology from The University of Georgia.
Connect with Dr. Parr on LinkedIn.
This transcript is machine transcribed by Sonix.
TRANSCRIPT
Intro: Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in Atlanta, Georgia, it’s time for GWBC Radio’s Open For Business. Now, here’s your host.
Lee Kantor: Lee Kantor here broadcasting live from the GWBC Power of Partnering event at Georgia Power Headquarters. I am so excited to be talking to Dr Tiffany Parr with Navana Health Agency. Welcome.
Tiffany Parr: Thank you. Thank you very much.
Lee Kantor: Tell us about Navana. How are you serving folks?
Tiffany Parr: So Navana was launched March 2023. And so far we basically have two pillars. Our one pillar is that we serve the federal and contracting services much more with the staffing services. Right now we have four contracts, one, some with the Department of Defense with the Army as well as the Air Force. We provide religious education coordinators positions.
Tiffany Parr: And at Navana, we are very, very much in support of making sure that we are wrapping mental health support and spiritual health support around individuals, especially with our military families.
Tiffany Parr: We also have another pillar which is around consulting. We do population health consulting, quality improvement, a lot of strategic planning. We also hire epidemiologists, statisticians, evaluators. So we really have a very narrowed focus. Our goal at Navana Health Agency is to really make sure we have a seamless process with onboarding. We actually onboarded an individual within two days of receiving the award. We are very much of making sure that that is the right person and the right fit for the position.
Tiffany Parr: We don’t just hire and then we’re gone. We make sure that we are taking that individual from onboarding through the process of being successful in that position. So the way that we do that is really making sure that the team’s on best boots on the ground have an opportunity to interview that individual as well.
Lee Kantor: Now, what’s your backstory? How’d you get involved with this line of work?
Tiffany Parr: So I am a medical epidemiologist by training, really – I really focus on the business development side as well. I did a lot of proposals with business development teams, and I found just a passion for making sure that organizations have the right person and the right people in the industry.
Tiffany Parr: I also serve as a consultant for strategic planning and quality improvement and most importantly, population health. So population health kind of includes the physical health, the behavioral health, the oral health and really bringing into that spiritual health as well. So I wanted to take a leap of faith.
Tiffany Parr: One thing I knew I had was grit. And I was very, very motivated as a corporate individual. First, I served at the Georgia Department of Public Health and then with care management organizations that executive leadership level. And then I said, you know what? Let me take a chance on myself. Let me go ahead and put this work in and see when I wake up at 3 a.m., can I do it for my own business?
Tiffany Parr: Now, what’s kind of my daughter, who’s eight years old, actually saw me doing that, and now she’s a published author at eight years old for two books, and then started her own company where she said, “Mom, I think I want to design some merch.” And I said, “Oh, okay.” So, you know, I tried to not just – I tried to be an example for others. And that’s where I’ve gotten into this.
Lee Kantor: Now, any advice for corporations when it comes to finding that right fit candidate? Like, what are some do’s and don’ts that you’ve kind of learned over the years?
Tiffany Parr: First, the do’s is to find the right coach. I have a coach for everything. Did that person – does that person have the outcome that I want to to to achieve? First and foremost. And do they have the strategy for it and do they – do we have a personality match?
Tiffany Parr: I find that – that’s been my key of making sure that I have the proper coach, as well as making sure that first year your business has the foundation that’s needed. The accountant that’s needed. The business transactions. Do you have a capability statement? What is your passion? And what I always truly love to do is how am I providing service to the community, because that’s what’s going to get you up. Yes, the money may be there, but if it’s not led by service, it’s going to be very hard.
Lee Kantor: Right. If there’s not a good why behind it, it’s hard to get fired up every day, right?
Tiffany Parr: Exactly, exactly. So that’s what I would also say if you – what I also like doing was going for. If you’re interested in federal government contracts, don’t go necessarily after the the big contracts such as the 15 million, 20 million unless you’re getting in there. I know that money sounds great, but you want to make sure that you can also fund that contract if you get it, because the government may not pay you as soon as you get that award. Therefore, you need to pay yourself.
Tiffany Parr: Navana Health Agency is 100% owned by a woman, myself, by minority owned, and we do not have investors or anything. This is fully funded through myself. And so making sure that any profit that you do have, you’re able to put it back into your company. Don’t go into there thinking that you’re just going to supplement your salary.
Lee Kantor: It’s not an ATM machine.
Tiffany Parr: Exactly. And I think we’re in that generation right now with that quick money. I just want to get that quick money real quick. And you see a lot of individuals on YouTube really thinking that federal governments and staffing and doing product and service will get you that fast money, when really you need to build your foundation first in your business and having the core individuals of that’s already done it in your circle is extremely important.
Tiffany Parr: What I’ve learned, even more importantly, is to ask the questions. Ask the questions. No question is basically unheard of unless you don’t ask it. A closed mouth doesn’t get fed.
Lee Kantor: Right. Now, why was it important for you to become part of the GW BBQ community?
Tiffany Parr: Well, I definitely wanted to make sure that I was certified as a woman-owned business, and I knew that this was a community that is a where basically empowered-women empower women. And I wanted to make sure that I was part of that movement.
Lee Kantor: And for your prospective clients, what is the pain they’re having where Navana is the right fit?
Tiffany Parr: So if you are having pain on finding that right individual that is right for your organization, the cultural fit that you’re looking for someone that is going to stay there for years and not leave, we are the company for you. If you are looking to better understand your community and you need a community survey, we are the company for you.
Tiffany Parr: What about population health? Do you have the effective interventions in place to truly move the needle with health outcomes such as maternal mortality, infant mortality, behavioral health issues? If you need a strategy and a strategic plan that is developed and that can work with your organization to develop this strategic plan and execute it. We are the company for you, and we want to be able to serve you because we first start with transparency, honesty, and most of all, we will be that organization that’s worth waking up at 2 or 3 a.m. for you if you’re a morning person.
Tiffany Parr: If you’re an evening person, I might have to send another staff. I’m more of a morning person, not an 11 p.m. person. But we are that organization that will put your needs first. And most importantly, listen and not speak all the time and just listen.
Lee Kantor: So if somebody wants to learn more, have a more substantive conversation with you or somebody on the team, what’s the website? What’s the best way to connect?
Tiffany Parr: Right. Please connect with me at www.navanahealthagency.com. Or you can also look for me at LinkedIn as Dr. Tiffany Parr. And we will definitely be able to get in contact with you. Please go to the website. Thank you so much.
Lee Kantor: Well, thank you so much for sharing your story today. You’re doing important work and we appreciate you.
Tiffany Parr: Well, thank you so much. Now this is my certification and media relations.
Lee Kantor: All right. Well, this is Lee Kantor. We’ll see you back at the GWBC Power of Partnering event.
