Profiles in Telehealth: Cecily Harris - Associate General Counsel

  • June 22, 2020

Our Associate General Counsel joined Wheel with hopes of planting roots in Austin and working on a breadth of healthcare issues in a fast-paced environment. Learn more about Cecily's journey from Philadelphia to San Francisco and now Austin.

What’s your role at Wheel?

I am the Associate General Counsel (AGC) at Wheel. As AGC, I handle all legal and regulatory issues facing the company, ranging from ensuring our consult matching is compliant to negotiating and drafting our client agreements. I love the variety of issues that I face every day, learning about telemedicine and the healthcare industry, and working with such motivated and intelligent coworkers.

What’s your background? What did you do before working with Wheel?

I was raised in Ann Arbor, MI - a wonderful place where I made lifelong friends. For college, though, I struck out for the east coast and enrolled at the University of Pennsylvania to study history and stayed two years post-graduation to work as a paralegal. As much as I loved Philly, I couldn’t say no to the opportunity to explore Northern California and get an amazing legal education, at the University of California, Berkeley. I thought I’d end up staying in San Francisco forever until I met my partner, who introduced me to the ease and joy of life in Austin, TX! Now, we’re loving life here in East Austin, raising our pup, Murphy, exploring local restaurants and music venues, and traveling to see family and friends.

Why did you join the Wheel team?

I moved to Austin only a few months before starting work at Wheel. The San Francisco law firm that I worked for allowed me to stay on as an Associate remotely, which was perfect for me as I settled in and transitioned to life in Austin. I quickly realized that I wanted to set down professional roots in Austin. I focused my job search on the healthcare industry, which I had significant experience working in and which I knew was ripe for technological disruption, particularly in the delivery of care.

Wheel immediately piqued my interest with the unique business model, passion and intelligence of the team, early stage of the company, and diversity of issues that I’d face as the only employee devoted solely to legal and regulatory issues.

I have loved every minute of my job!

What’s your recent Wheel Moment of Reward?

My most rewarding moments at Wheel come when I work with my colleagues to tackle a tough problem and find a solution. Luckily for me, these moments are not few and far between - they happen every day. One that sticks out is finalizing Wheel’s corporate structure such that our affiliated professional entities can offer care in every state. I know that this will make a difference in Wheel’s ability to impact patients in a myriad of ways. Perhaps most significantly, Wheel’s new business model opens up new partnership opportunities, pushing us to think outside the box and innovate in tackling the disparities and access issues inherent in our current healthcare system.

What do you think the future of healthcare holds?

I feel most passionate about the post-COVID regulatory landscape and how we can capitalize on the major changes the pandemic has wrought in healthcare generally, and telehealth in particular. Specifically, I look forward to participating in the conversation around which rules and regulations passed during the state of emergency should be made permanent, and which should not. There are areas of the law that have been stagnant for years, such as requirements surrounding Medicare reimbursement for telehealth services, which are suddenly on the table. It is an exciting time to be in this industry, and I look forward to moving the ball forward with my Wheel colleagues.

    Thanks, Cecily, for sharing your thoughts and being an essential member of the #WheelCareTeam!

    Interested in joining our team? Check out the latest career opportunities with Wheel.

    Learn more about our team in our staff profiles with Chris Norris, Chief Technology Officer, Gosia Cohen, Corporate Recruiter, and Buhr Duong, Senior Product Designer.