Melida Akiti Named Among Modern Healthcare’s Leading Women for 2025

Melida Akiti Named Among Modern Healthcare’s Leading Women for 2025

Melida Akiti, a notable figure in the healthcare industry and Corporate Transformation Executive at Broward Health, has been honored as one of Modern Healthcare’s Leading Women for 2025. This prestigious accolade celebrates women who have made significant contributions to improving care delivery and advancing health equity.

Expressing her gratitude on receiving this honor, Akiti stated, ‘Enhancing access to care and improving health outcomes, especially tackling pressing primary and maternal healthcare needs, is my passion. This is an incredible honor, and I’m humbled to be recognized alongside this incredible class of leading women in healthcare.’

In her pivotal role at Broward Health, Akiti collaborates with executive management on strategic planning and partnerships for various health initiatives, playing a significant part in advancing the organization’s mission to enhance healthcare accessibility for underserved populations.

Mary Ellen Podmolik, editor-in-chief of Modern Healthcare, highlighted the importance of the 2025 honorees, noting, ‘The roles held by the honorees on our 2025 list of Leading Women and Rising Stars vary greatly, but they all share a commitment to helping their organizations achieve clinical, operational, and financial goals.’

Additionally, Akiti is instrumental in the ‘Better Together’ initiative, a collaboration striving to tackle health disparities and create sustainable healthcare solutions. Reflecting on the initiative, she remarked, ‘Orchestrating a collaboration between these two public healthcare systems that will ensure that people in every corner of the county have access to care feels like a culmination of my life mission to help vulnerable communities.’

A native of Panama and a resident of South Florida for over 30 years, Akiti holds a Master of Social Work from Barry University and an M.A. in Psychology from Saint Mary University. Her dedication to serving vulnerable populations is a cornerstone of her career.

Shane Strum, President & CEO of Broward Health, praised Akiti’s unwavering commitment, stating, ‘Melida has been a long-time healthcare champion for our community. She is a fierce advocate for the underserved, identifying ways to eradicate barriers to healthcare.’

Akiti and her fellow honorees will be celebrated at the Leading Women Conference & Awards Luncheon on June 5, 2025, at City Hall Events in Chicago.