In this Employee Spotlight, meet Elana Zana, the Director of Legal and Compliance. Elana works every day to ensure all the regulatory compliance is met at Navigating Cancer. In addition to her day-to-day work, she has taken leadership roles contributing her time to the Seattle Jewish community. Elana won the Jack and Charlotte Spitzer Young Leadership Award. An award that is given to individuals in the Seattle Jewish community who have demonstrated exceptional commitment to service.
Sit down with Elana Zana to hear about her career path, her hobbies, and more!
What do you do at Navigating Cancer?
My title is Director of Legal and Compliance. Though the title sounds tough, in reality, I get the privilege of working across departments at Navigating Cancer and the opportunity to be involved with a myriad of projects. In my role, I help advise our teams on regulatory compliance (e.g., HIPAA, TCPA) as they design the NC products. I also serve as our Security Officer, working throughout our company to ensure that the information that we maintain on behalf of our customers remains secure.
Since you work remotely, tell us a bit about your workspace at home.
I have a pretty good office setup at home. Navigating Cancer gave me a new curved monitor and a standing desk. Though I have a window, the sad part is that I am working from my bedroom. On my desk, you’ll find legal pads (of course!), highlighters, and my favorite fidget – 2 different sized Slinkys.
I am very excited to be coming back into the office, and I am currently going in twice a week. It’s nice to see people in real life again!
What motivated you to start working with Navigating Cancer?
The people and the passion! The culture at Navigating Cancer is really mission-driven, we care about supporting cancer patients. This was evident when I had the pleasure of working as an outside counsel for Navigating Cancer. Sadly, many of us have loved ones traumatized by cancer, and with those people in mind every day we work towards making their lives just a bit easier and to help them better engage with their providers.
Importantly, I was gravitated by the enthusiasm and culture at Navigating Cancer. Despite the hardship of COVID and working from home, the team at Navigating Cancer remained motivated and passionate about their work.
What’s the most unique job you ever had before working here?
I was a director of an overnight camp. Not only was it the most unique, but a ton of fun – and very exhausting! We had 100+ campers and staff and we organized over two weeks of non-stop activities. I wore a lot of different hats as the director – as a sous chef, counselor for homesick kids, and overall party planner. It was a blast!
What can you be found doing outside of work?
You will find with me, my husband and kids. I really try to focus on quality time with them when I am not working. A couple of years ago we decided to explore our own backyard – the Pacific Northwest. We go on weekend adventures, doing easy hikes and experiencing what makes the Pacific Northwest magnificent – the views! I am also very active at my children’s school, which along with helping the school community has introduced me to terrific friends.
Why are you excited to attend HIMSS this year?
I enjoy HIMSS and seeing the people, booths, technology, and classes. This will be my fourth time attending HIMSS, and each time I have walked away inspired by the innovation and the communal desire to drive better healthcare outcomes. Though COVID-19 still looms large in our lives, I am hopeful that the smaller crowd will mean more opportunities to connect with each other and have vibrant discussions about patient care, technology, data, and security.
If you’d like to meet with Elana during HIMSS, you can schedule a meeting and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible. We hope to see you there!