Growing up in farm country along the Florida-Georgia state line, Martha McGill always wanted to work with children. It was a calling, and she was also a bit of a workaholic. Her first job was as a pediatric nurse at a hospital in Valdosta, Georgia. “I worked 7 (days) on, 7 (days) off, and on my week off I got a job at a different medical center caring for children,” she says.

While working as a nurse at a children’s hospital in Atlanta, she earned an MBA and a master’s degree in health administration. “I could see how if I had a larger role in leadership, I could have a broader impact on the well-being of even more children.”

She became COO of Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Egleston, a 255-bed hospital, and then was COO of the 289-bed Miami Children’s Hospital. Today she’s president of the Central Florida Region of Nemours Children’s Health. Among other things, she helps oversee Nemours Children’s Hospital in Orlando. Her goal: No child should ever have to leave Florida to receive any kind of specialized medical treatment.

But she never strays far from her nursing roots: “The time I spent on the front line really shapes my perspective of the patient experience, how we’re engaging with them, and ultimately how we can walk alongside them in their care journey.”