Current Leadership

Gauri Binoy | President

MBA/MPH

Gauri is a third-year joint degree MBA/MPH student. With a background in healthcare consulting, Gauri's professional focus has centered on developing operational strategies for hospitals and health systems. She has also worked at a policy think tank, concentrating on market dynamics and pharmaceutical policy. Her long-term passion lies at the intersection of policy, public health, and business, exploring structural solutions to drive greater equity in healthcare. Over the past two summers, Gauri has deepened this focus through policy strategy and communications roles at both the National Pharmaceutical Council and Manatt Health.

At Yale, Gauri is involved in Yale Ventures, the SOM AI Association, and the Meng Impact Investment Fund. In her free time, Gauri likes to do all things creative as a freelancer: photography, videography, fashion, and design. She also enjoys spending time with friends and family.

As President, Gauri hopes to continue to build on HC+LS Club’s strong legacy, as well as create opportunities for new endeavors to bring the healthcare community at SOM closer together.

Isabel Essi | Vice President, Career

MPH (Healthcare Management)

Isabel "Izzy" is a rising second-year MPH candidate in the Healthcare Management program. She spent most of her life on the East Coast: growing up just outside of Boston, attending Bowdoin College in Maine (where she studied Biology), and living in New York City for three years after graduation. Before coming to Yale, Izzy worked in credit investing at Guggenheim Partners and Oak Hill Advisors, focusing on high yield bonds, leveraged loans, and private credit across the Industrial and Consumer/Retail sectors. By pivoting to healthcare, Izzy hopes to leverage the analytical skills she developed in finance to make a meaningful, tangible impact on individuals’ lives and well-being.

This summer, Izzy interned as a Summer Associate Consultant at Chartis in Chicago. At Chartis, she worked within the Strategic Transformation practice, focusing on heart and vascular service planning for a health system entering a new market. She is particularly interested in healthcare strategy, practitioner burnout, and life science innovation.

Outside of classes, Izzy loves to stay active, and is currently training for a half marathon! She hopes to return to tennis — a sport she has played throughout her whole life and at the NCAA varsity level at Bowdoin. She also enjoys reviewing restaurants and dining places (a huge foodie!) and listening to podcasts.

Nick Loxton | Vice President, Social; Budget Officer

MBA

Nick is a second-year MBA candidate. Before coming to Yale, he earned his medical degree in Cape Town, South Africa. He has also spent a few years working in the financial sector, primarily in private equity and venture capital. Nick has since transitioned to consulting, interning as a Summer Consultant at Boston Consulting Group's New Jersey office.

An accomplished track and field athlete, Nick continues to stay active as a member of SOM's Hockey Club and Yale Graduate Rugby. In his free time, he also enjoys audiobooks (especially sci-fi and fantasy), dining out, live music, and playing sports. Ever the outdoorsman, he is a fan of hiking, running, and practically any other outdoor activity.

As Social VP and Budget Officer, Nick is looking forward to building upon the excellent healthcare management ecosystem at Yale and strengthening this vibrant community.

Casey Ma | Vice President, Social & Career

MBA/MPH

Casey is a joint degree candidate at Yale, combining her MPH in the Healthcare Management Program with an MBA from SOM. She earned her undergraduate degree from UC San Diego, pursuing a degree in Business Psychology with minors in Marketing and Education.

Casey's professional background spans the United States and China, including roles at Merck, IQVIA, Yale New Haven Health, and Ascension. In these positions, she focused on healthcare strategy, operations, and consulting. This summer, she worked at BGI Genomics on commercial strategy development and key account outreach in the field of genetic synthesis and biology.

Casey is actively involved with Yale Ventures and Tsai CITY, supporting innovation and entrepreneurship initiatives across campus. As Social and Career VP, she is excited to build both community and career opportunities through the club this year!

Priya Palaniappan | Vice President, Education

MPH (Healthcare Management)

Priya is a second-year MPH student in the Healthcare Management program. Prior to Yale, she earned her BS in Health Science from Northeastern University, where her experience in direct patient care —coupled with her research across clinical, policy, and global health realms— sparked a deep interest in addressing systemic challenges in healthcare. Passionate about health equity and expanding access to high-quality care, Priya hopes to build a career at the intersection of healthcare operations, strategy, and leadership.

This past summer, she returned to Boston to complete her Graduate Administrative Internship at Massachusetts General Hospital. At Mass General, Priya worked on initiatives to improve operational performance, optimize resource utilization and financial sustainability, and advance strategic integration across the Mass General–Brigham network. In addition to serving as Education VP, Priya is a Second-Year Lead for SOM Women in Management, a Managing Editor of the Yale Journal of Health Policy, Law, and Ethics, and works part-time on the Patient Experience team at Yale New Haven Health.

Steven Schmidt | Vice President, Communications

MPH (Healthcare Management)

Steven is a second-year MPH student in the Healthcare Management program. He holds a BA in Biological Sciences from The University of Chicago, where he also completed minors in Russian & East European Studies and Romance Languages & Literatures.

This summer, Steven served as a Summer Fellow at Special Olympics Connecticut, where he focused on strengthening the organization's volunteer recruiting pipeline. He also continued his role as Operations and Outreach Advisor at the telemedicine start-up ZiphyCare Medical, working to improve contact strategy to reach hard-to-reach patients while reducing operational costs. Steven hopes to leverage his multifaceted academic background to work at the intersection of health and business, augmenting firms' capacity to deliver high-quality healthcare.

Steven is a long-distance runner who can often be found on the Canal Path or in East Rock Park. He competes year-round for the Yale Club Running Team, also leading group runs as a Practice Coordinator. In addition to his roles in Club Running and the HC+LS Club, he is a Student Fellow at Yale Law School's Solomon Center for Health Law & Policy, and has served as a Teaching Fellow for Yale College's introductory biology sequence. He is excited to continue his role as a Teaching Fellow across a variety of YSPH and SOM courses this year.

As Communications VP, Steven is eager to support engagement with HC+LS Club's social, career, and educational programming. He hopes HC+LS Club can continue bringing together students from across the Yale community.