Audrey Gregory married her high school boyfriend, who was in the military. She needed a career where she could be mobile and work anywhere. Her first nursing job was in a small hospital near Fort Stewart, Georgia, where her husband was stationed.

Soon after, as a young ER nurse in South Florida, she saw a lot of blunt force injuries and victims of car and motorcycle accidents. She also encountered patients with animal bites. “People and alligators don’t usually do well together,” she says.

Her nearly 30-year career spans health care leadership roles in Memphis, Detroit and Southern California. Along the way she picked up two master’s degrees and a doctorate. “When you’re a nurse, you do understand the business of health care. But I think advanced degrees always help.”

Now she’s executive vice president and CEO of the AdventHealth East Florida Division, which includes seven hospitals. She compares the job’s pace and intensity to being an air traffic controller. She’s focused on making sure doctors and nurses have what they need to give patients quality care. “I know what it is to work on a floor and not have enough resources.”