Alan Levine, the chair, president, and CEO of Ballad Health, visited Florida International University (FIU) to share his experiences and advice on leadership as part of the Presidential Speaker Series. Levine oversees a 20-hospital system serving Appalachia across four states and is also vice chair of the Board of Governors for the State University System of Florida, which manages all 12 public universities in the state, including FIU.
During his career, Levine has held cabinet-level positions as secretary of health agencies in both Louisiana and Florida. In these roles, he managed responses to 12 major hurricanes affecting those states and led initiatives that significantly improved child immunization rates in Louisiana from one of the lowest in the nation to second highest. He was also recognized for advocating healthcare reforms and addressing fraud within public programs.
In conversation with FIU President Jeanette M. Nuñez, Levine outlined several key lessons for students and professionals:
He encouraged taking on new opportunities outside one’s comfort zone: “The advice I always give students is, every opportunity that comes your way is an opportunity to get out of your comfort zone and to learn.” Reflecting on his own decision to enter public service under then-Governor Jeb Bush despite personal sacrifices, he said: “Getting into public service, it was a sacrifice. You sacrifice income, you sacrifice advancing in your career.” Still, he emphasized that each challenge provided valuable experience: “The twists and turns have been great. And every time I’ve gone into government and taken on a role, I’ve taken what I’ve learned and applied it to the next thing I was doing.”
Levine highlighted the importance of multidisciplinary approaches: “In today’s competitive world . . . everything’s multidisciplinary.” He discussed how Ballad Health responded to a severe nursing shortage during the COVID-19 pandemic by creating Ballad Health Academy. The program partners with high schools to engage students interested in science careers early on so they can gain work experience while still in school. Graduates receive degrees along with guaranteed employment at Ballad Health.
He stressed thinking ahead during crises: “Whenever you’re in a situation where you have a potential crisis, don’t deal just with what’s right in front of you. You have to think in advance of everything that’s going to go wrong next.” Recalling an incident involving H1N1 virus testing delays due to logistical oversights when he worked in Louisiana’s health department, Levine explained how anticipating consequences can be critical: “Think three-dimensionally… If I do this, what happens? What are the consequences? And then how do I deal with those consequences?”
On interpersonal relations within professional settings—even among those who may disagree—he advised: “You never know who you’re dealing with. So always treat people with respect, even if you’re not on the same side of something.” Speaking directly about his working relationship with President Nuñez through various stages of their careers—even when their goals conflicted—he noted mutual respect enabled productive collaboration.
Finally, Levine advocated honesty from leaders facing uncertainty: “If you don’t know something, just say you don’t know.” Citing former Governor Bush’s guidance for handling press questions transparently during uncertain times such as early COVID-19 developments or evolving CDC recommendations about masks or vaccines he added: “I would have preferred to have heard ‘I don’t know about masks or vaccines.’ I would have trusted that more.”
