Christine Bracamonte Wiggs

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona

“I grew up around healers,” said Christine Bracamonte Wiggs. Her dad was a nurse practitioner; her mom was a midwife, so Wiggs assumed she wanted to become a doctor. Then, she learned about public health.

“I was like, that’s my jam because instead of helping one person at a time, it is the opportunity to help multiple individuals and whole communities in order to have a bigger reach,” she said.

Wiggs began her career doing applied research at the University of Arizona. “Applied research is really embedding yourself in the community and finding out what the assets of that community are and what opportunities the community sees to promote health,” she said.

Today, as staff vice president for community & health advancement and president & board chair of Blue Cross Blue Shield Foundation, Wiggs leads the social responsibility efforts of an organization with resources to make a substantial philanthropic investment in the community. “Even though I moved from academia to healthcare, there’s a thread through what I’ve done, which is how we align and partner shoulder to shoulder with community members to drive health-related impact,” she said.

Through the foundation, Blue Cross Blue Shield targets some of Arizona’s most pressing health concerns, including mental health, substance use disorders, chronic health conditions, and health equity. “It’s not just giving to do good.

It’s can we measure what the good is? Are we moving the needle in the right direction?

It’s an important responsibility,” she said.

Wiggs points out that money is just one part of the equation. Equally important is the work to build meaningful partnerships. “Make sure that the focus is not just on the dollars, but on the relationship,” she said. “Because that is how the work gets done.”

That commitment to work continues to guide Wiggs. “My path to where I am has been a winding one,” she said. “I haven’t focused on the job or the title; I’ve focused on the work. My North Star has been waking up every day knowing that what I’m doing is making an impact.”