What makes an organization truly worth the work? For Lisa James, it comes down to connection: connection to people, teams, clients, and the communities they serve.

In this episode of Worth the Work, Jason Dana Costa sits down with Lisa James, LCSW-C, Vice President of Behavioral Health and Social Work at Chase Brexton Health Care, to explore the experiences that shaped her approach to leadership and community care.

Lisa shares how growing up surrounded by a strong extended family taught her that caring for people is a community effort. She reflects on an early lesson from her track coach that showed her the value of knowing your role, contributing your strengths, and being comfortable working alongside people who may be better than you in different ways.

Their conversation explores how healthcare systems can become more flexible and responsive to the people they serve, from giving patients greater autonomy to addressing gaps in reimbursement, data interoperability, and access to behavioral health services. Lisa also shares how listening, curiosity, and learning to speak across disciplines can help leaders build trust and create meaningful change.
Lisa also opens up about navigating grief and loss while leading, and how seeing her team step forward reinforced the importance of building trust before difficult seasons arrive. Her experience has taught her that sometimes moving slower can ultimately help everyone move forward faster.

Ultimately, Lisa believes organizations become worth the work when they are truly people-centered and connected to the communities they serve. It is not enough to simply operate in a community. Meaningful organizations become part of it.

What does leadership look like when the plan falls apart?

On this episode of Worth the Work with Jason Dana Costa, Jason sits down with David Esposito, CEO of ONL Therapeutics, to explore leadership through success, failure, uncertainty, and organizational change.

David is a healthcare executive, biotech leader, West Point graduate, and combat veteran whose career has included successful company exits as well as bankruptcies, restructurings, and controlled wind-downs. Those experiences have given him a unique perspective on what it takes to lead when the stakes are high and the answers aren't obvious.

David shares how lessons from the military still influence the way he leads today: get clear on the mission, build a plan, and be prepared to adjust when circumstances change. He and Jason discuss why leaders need the humility to admit what they don't know, how trust can be rebuilt when something goes wrong, and why taking responsibility matters even when a problem happens far from the C-suite.

They also explore the often-overlooked importance of remaining calm during a crisis. Leadership isn't about pretending everything is fine. It's about creating enough stability for a team to understand the problem, make good decisions, and move forward.

David also shares one of the simplest lessons that has stayed with him throughout his life. Growing up, his mother would tell him to "keep your chin up." Decades later, that reminder still helps him face difficult moments and rally teams around problems worth solving.

The conversation closes with a look at the future of leadership, including AI and emerging technology. While new tools may make organizations faster and more efficient, David believes the human responsibility of leadership remains: finding purpose, building relationships, rallying people around a mission, and helping teams overcome obstacles.

This is a conversation about resilience, trust, purpose, and what it really means to lead when the work gets difficult.