Full Story
15 Years
in the
Arena
From graduate school to founding Carenodes, from payer negotiations to keynote stages — a career built on the conviction that healthcare can be both humane and high-performing.
"Strategy without execution is philosophy. Execution without strategy is chaos."
— Alex Yarijanian
Timeline
The Foundation
BA Psychology — UC Riverside
Graduated Summa Cum Laude with a deep curiosity about human behavior and systems. The seeds of a career at the intersection of people and healthcare were planted here.
Graduate Work
MS Healthcare Administration — CSULB
Finished in the top 2% of the program. Learned the machinery of healthcare — payer contracts, regulatory frameworks, network economics — and how to bend it toward better outcomes.
Early Career
Payer-Provider Relations
Spent years inside the system — negotiating contracts, building provider networks, and learning firsthand why the gap between payers and providers costs patients so much.
Leadership
Executive Strategy
Took on executive roles managing $500M+ in revenue across 50+ organizations. Developed a reputation for turning regulatory complexity into competitive advantage.
Founding
Carenodes — Founder & CEO
Founded Carenodes to pioneer the integration of social determinants of health into clinical workflows. Housing, nutrition, transportation — the factors that determine 80% of health outcomes but rarely appear in a care plan.
Recognition
Outstanding Leadership Award — Health 2.0
Recognized for leadership in healthcare innovation at the Health 2.0 Conference. Also received the Toyota Innovations Grant for Carenodes' approach to social care integration.
Media
VBCA Podcast — Host & Producer
Launched the Value-Based Care Accelerator Podcast. 50+ episodes, 10K+ listeners. Unfiltered conversations with the architects reshaping American healthcare — from CMS policy makers to health system CEOs.
Advisory
Strategic Consulting Practice
Formalized an advisory practice helping health systems, payers, and startups navigate their most complex strategic challenges. $3M+ in documented client impact in 2024 alone.
Now
One Mind Accelerator — Preferred Consultant
Carenodes selected as a Preferred Consultant Network partner for One Mind's Fourth Cohort, advancing mental health innovation by integrating behavioral health into value-based care models.
Read the AnnouncementPrinciples
Whole-Person Care
Health doesn't happen in a clinic. It happens in homes, neighborhoods, and communities. Every strategy I build starts from that truth.
Execution Over Theory
Strategy without execution is philosophy. I've spent 15 years turning complex healthcare challenges into measurable results.
Systems Thinking
Healthcare is a system of systems. Understanding how payers, providers, regulators, and patients interact is the only way to create lasting change.