Hope Scott is vice president, deputy general counsel, chief risk and compliance officer at Blue Shield of California. She joined the plan in 2012 as the company’s chief privacy officer and privacy counsel. With 31 years of legal practice experience in the fields of health care and privacy law, Scott leads and oversees the operations of Blue Shield’s corporate integrity & risk management and health & regulatory law organizations. In 2019, she was named to Savoy Magazine’s Most Influential Women in Corporate America list.
Who are the women that inspire you?
My primary inspiration has been my mother. She was an incredible role model. She was a high school graduate, who was married at 18 and had six children, all while continuously learning. She was a proponent for constant learning and always being curious. I also look at Michelle Obama as an inspiration. She has incredible grace under pressure and it’s amazing to watch her be a role model for her own children. She is super smart and talented and doesn’t let the online trolls take ahold of her emotions.
What challenges do we still need to overcome to achieve equality?
We need to be fearless about raising our voices and not being scared about how we are being perceived. Personally, as a black woman, it’s easy for others to put stereotypes on me. What’s important is to find your voice and use it in a professional way while also speaking your truth.
How do you support the next generation of women leaders?
I try to provide support to everyone. For me, it’s important to support my direct reports’ professional development. I always tell them that they need to be constantly thinking of what they want to be doing next and taking time to reflect and ensure they feel like they are moving in the right direction. I also encourage them to look outside of their day-to-day to develop new skills. I remind them that it takes a lot of hard work and that it’s important to help others along the way.
Why health care?
I always knew I wanted to be an attorney and work in-house with businesses on the legal side. When I was in law school, I did an internship my second year in Boston in legal healthcare research where HMO’s were a new thing! After that introduction to healthcare law, I began working at a firm in Philadelphia where a partner wanted to pursue healthcare law and since I already had the experience from my internship, it was a great fit. Shortly after that, I went on to work at health insurance companies where I can directly impact people’s lives.