Career vs. Calling

Jonathan Liu, M.D., FACP (’26) Physician Executive | Investor | Becker’s Under 40 | Ex-Amazon | Scaling Healthtech and AI Host: Becky Wai (’26) CSO | Pragmatic Visionary | Healthtech Executive | Impact-Driven Health Equity

Dr. Jonathan Liu (EMBA ’26) is on a personal mission to alleviate suffering on a grand scale. Liu was named among Becker’s 100 Healthcare Leaders Under 40 in 2025. He’s a fellow of the American College of Physicians, former principal medical director for Amazon Global Benefits Health & Wellness, and a graduate of UCLA Anderson’s Executive MBA program.
As a child, he witnessed his father’s experience of end-stage renal failure, involving frequent medical equipment deliveries, countless calls to 911, commotion in his home, and the noise of the machines that kept his dad alive. Inspired by the resiliency of his parents and the first responders who brought his family hope in the middle of despair, Jonathan became an EMT at 16, volunteered with the Red Cross and later studied medicine.
His leadership experience encompasses the hospital, network, county and state arenas. He created a quality improvement department at the Los Angeles County jail, helping to modernize delivery of medical and behavioral health care in the nation’s largest jail system. As founder and managing partner of strategic advisory startup Bright Beyond Ventures, he’s now focused on leading collaborations to solve complex health and social services problems.
In conversation with him, EMBA classmate Becky Wai observed how Jonathan’s professional choices are still shaped by his early sense of urgency around his father’s health: “A career is what you build, a calling builds you — especially when life gets tough.”