Allison Ross has reinvented her career a few different times now. Economic development. Media entrepreneurship. Now, healthcare communications. And each time, she’s found the throughline connecting it all.

“For whatever reason, I have just invented a new career for myself about once a decade,” Ross said with a laugh.

Ross now serves as Senior Vice President of External Affairs and Strategic Communication at Huntsville Hospital Health System, where she oversees government affairs, communications and marketing, patient experience, and public funding and grants — the departments responsible for how the 15-hospital system connects with the communities it serves.

From storytelling to strategic communication

Before healthcare, Ross built a career in media — including previously owning YHN Media Group, where she also created the Women of Impact franchise years ago.

“What we did was help tell stories about Alabamians — the people, the businesses, the communities out there doing amazing things,” Ross said.

That instinct for storytelling followed her into healthcare, even though the industry itself was new territory.

“Healthcare may be the specific industry I have found myself in, but so much of what I do — and what the organization does — is very similar to economic development and media as well,” she said. “We care about the health of the communities we serve, the workforce development needs, the internal culture building.”

When she joined Huntsville Hospital Health System with no healthcare background, her CEO gave her a simple directive: sit down one-on-one with the organization’s leaders and learn from their perspectives.

“It was basically putting that interview hat on again,” Ross said. “Being able to ask open-ended questions and create context for their roles, their functions, their challenges — it really helped me come in and create a great picture of the size, scope and impact of the organization.”

Today, Huntsville Hospital Health System serves North Alabama and southern Tennessee across a 15-county territory, with roughly 22,000 employees caring for 1.5 million patients.

Building something that outlasts you

Watching Women of Impact continue to grow years after she stepped away from YHN Media Group has been one of the more rewarding parts of Ross’ career.

“Someone gave me the leadership advice that strong leaders every day try to work themselves out of a job,” Ross said. “If you can build something that can exist without you, then you’re truly building something that can last.”

“It’s extremely satisfying, but it’s more rewarding to look at the people doing the work now and know you had some impact in assembling that team and empowering them,” she said.

Role models who lead with hospitality and perspective

Ross points first to her mother, who didn’t have a career of her own but had what Ross calls a superpower: hospitality.

“There was never one person who came to spend time with us that wasn’t made to feel extremely comfortable, no matter who they were or where they came from,” Ross said. “I’m never going to be the smartest person in the room, but if I can approach relationships by trying to make people feel as comfortable as possible, we can identify our shared common goals and work towards those.”

She also credits the three female board members who help govern Huntsville Hospital Health System.

“There is not a meeting I am in with them that I don’t walk away with a refreshed and renewed vision of how to make the organization better,” Ross said.

Women make up 80% of the workforce

At Huntsville Hospital Health System, Ross said women make up roughly 80% of the workforce, and half of the system’s hospital presidents are women. The organization has invested in leadership development pathways, including a 10-month emerging leaders program designed to grow talent from within.

“It’s really important to make sure there are as many varying levels of opportunities for growth as there are individual job roles and functions throughout an organization,” Ross said. “The more we can pour into folks, the better it becomes to serve the mission.”

Redefining what impact means

When Ross created Women of Impact, she noticed a pattern: strong female leaders exist in every Alabama community, but they’re often more focused on promoting their teams than themselves.

“They’re typically more interested in sharing the greater stories — and it’s probably what makes them amazing leaders,” Ross said.

That observation shaped how she defines impact itself.

“Impact is not measured on a global scale,” Ross said. “I see nurses every day who make a significant impact in one person’s life that can last generations. In that circumstance, that’s the highest level of impact there is — because you’re truly changing someone’s life.”

Stay curious

Ross’ advice for women pursuing leadership traces back to her grandmother.

“My grandmother used to say, in any given situation, there is always infinitely more about a topic that you do not know than that in which you do,” Ross said. “Everything is an opportunity to learn — just stay curious about what that next thing is.”