Designing Belonging: How Radical Health Is Building a More Human System  

In this episode of Access Amplified, Ivelyse Andino shares how Radical Health is transforming care by blending tech with humanity. As the first Latina-owned public benefit corporation in New York, Radical Health isn’t just designing apps, it’s designing belonging. 

From rethinking how people navigate care, to creating trusted spaces for community-led conversations, Ivelyse unpacks how Radical Health is reaching people too often overlooked by traditional systems. Whether it’s shifting from a native app to a more accessible web-based experience, or paying community members to co-design solutions, her approach is reshaping what digital equity really means. 

When Ivelyse’s mother fell seriously ill, even their healthcare backgrounds didn’t help them navigate a system built without them in mind. That moment sparked the idea for Radical Health: a place where no one has to figure out care alone. Today, Radical Health uses conversation, technology, and community leadership to guide people through their most vulnerable health moments with dignity and support. 

Originally launched as a native app, Radical Health quickly pivoted after learning their communities often lacked space, data, or consistent device access. The result? A simplified, web-only platform, co-designed with community members who are paid and trained as partners in development. This isn’t tech for tech’s sake; it’s digital care people can actually use. 

Ivelyse sees trust as the real currency. Whether it’s through virtual “circles” or in-person recharge rooms, Radical Health connects users with clinicians and resources on their own terms. It’s a model that’s less about engagement metrics and more about human connection and helping users feel seen, heard, and supported far beyond the exam room. 

Ivelyse Andino dares to imagine and create the future of health for the people. Ivelyse Andino is a visionary healthcare abolitionist and health equity strategist building community at the intersection of health, equity, and tech. Ivelyse is using her platform to advocate for comprehensive healthcare fluency: an original concept created to bridge the gap between systemically marginalized communities and the medical system as we know it today. Ivelyse’s mission is to engage, equip, and empower all people to understand and advocate for their health. 

She plays an imperative role as the founder and CEO of Radical Health, the first Latina-owned-and-operated Benefit Corporation in NYC, that is building community at the intersection of health, equity, and tech. Since 2012, Radical Health has worked to activate healthcare’s most historically silenced, ignored, and underserved communities by pairing indigenous restorative circle practices with cutting-edge, person-centered innovation and technology. 

Ivelyse is a former commissioner at the NYC Commission on Gender Equity and serves on the board of BX (Re)Birth Collective, an advocacy organization that builds alternate solutions to protect birthing people in the Bronx. Ivelyse is also an external advisor for the American Medical Association’s Equity and Innovation Board. 

She was awarded the ‘My Brother’s Keeper’ Grant by the Obama Foundation to address Social Determinants of Health in NYC Community Schools and was recognized by Rock Health’s Top 50 in Digital Health Luminaries for 2021. She is a 2019 Roddenberry Foundation Fellow and a 2022 Aspen Institute Health Community Fellow. 

Ivelyse is always a passionate leader for her hometown of The Bronx and New York City. In 2022 she was named New York City’s Top 25 Whole Health Heroes by Empire BlueCross BlueShield and Crain’s New York. 

Her work has been featured in the Washington Post, Nasdaq, Crain’s New York, and Forbes, with bylines in Latina Magazine and Well + Good. She’s shared her radical vision for transforming healthcare at Aspen Ideas Festival, Harvard Intercollegiate Business Convention, and the inaugural TedX Bronx. When Ivelyse isn’t changing the game of the health industry, she is an avid runner; completing two half marathons, a dedicated playlist curator, and loves supporting new and emerging artists.