Jen Connelly-Rosati has recently been taking on a lot of new challenges. Six months ago, she joined Broward Health Medical Center as its new chief financial officer, and just two months ago she became a member and treasurer-elect for ACHE of South Florida.

“I’m still the new kid on the block,” she said about her tenure at Broward Health Medical Center, the largest hospital within the Broward Health System. “The last six months have been a bit of a blur—exciting and wonderful at the same time.”

Connelly-Rosati, who previously worked at Memorial Healthcare System, has spent the past six months getting to know the team at Broward and finding her way through a large onboarding process. “I’m at the point where I feel settled most days, though there are still a few times when I’m not sure what direction is up,” she laughed.

A CPA, Connelly-Rosati “fell into” healthcare, but wasn’t sure that it was the right path for her after graduating from the University of Miami. She started her career at Ernst & Young as an auditor, and ended up working with a healthcare client who owned and operated 70 hospitals across the country.

“Total transparency—at the time, I decided I did not like healthcare from an accounting and finance perspective,” she said. “I went into real estate and spent three months there as an auditor but then the market crashed.”

Connelly-Rosati returned to healthcare, and as she invested more time in it—and had “truly amazing” mentors who taught her the industry—she fell in love with it.

“I love being part of a team dedicated to the greater good,” she said. “I like the opportunity I get to partner with caregivers on the front lines who are taking care of patients and doing my part in the background to support them.”

Connelly-Rosati first became involved with ACHE of South Florida two months ago when she was asked to speak on a panel. “I had a great time with the other panelists, the moderator and the participants who stayed afterward, and it really caused me to take a step back and realize the value in networking with and learning from peers from different organization who oftentimes were facing the same challenges that I was,” she said.

Approached in the parking lot after the meeting, she was asked to join the board and to become the organization’s next treasurer-elect. Having attended only one event and one board meeting so far, she says that she is just starting to dip her toe in the water.

“So far, what has impressed me the most is the camaraderie of the group; despite many of us being competitors or approaching challenges from different angles, we all come together for the benefit of our patients and coworkers,” she said.

“Being able to learn from those around me who have more experience or different experiences or different perspectives enables me to be a better leader for my organization, for my team, and for myself.”