President of PBS Radiology | Healthcare Executive & RCM Expert | Board Member | Creator of Owning It – Simplifying the chaos. Raising the energy. Leading with purpose from welfare to the boardroom
At ten years old, Nicole Jones-Gerbino did not measure time by a school bell or a television schedule. She measured it by the clock on a shelter wall. Every day, the doors opened at 4:00 p.m. Until then, she walked. Today, as the President and co-owner of PBS Radiology Business Experts, Nicole’s days are still long, but the exhaustion she feels carries a different weight. It is the fatigue of the builder, the strategist, and the executive responsible for the financial health of national healthcare practices. To Nicole, being tired from a business you chose to build is not a burden; it is a profound privilege. Her journey from the food lines of rural Florida to the helm of a premier revenue cycle management (RCM) firm is not a story of escaping her past, but of weaponizing it to lead with a clarity that others often lack.
Reading the Room Before the Book
Nicole’s leadership was not forged in a lecture hall; it was tempered in the fire of early necessity. Growing up in rural Florida within a family reliant on welfare, responsibility arrived early and stayed. By the age of 14, she was working full-time to pay her family’s bills while navigating high school. As a teenager, she stood as the primary caregiver for her father in a convalescent home, making life-altering decisions without the safety net most children take for granted. In those years, survival required a specific kind of intelligence. “I learned it in a family where instability taught me to read the room before I could read a book,” she reflects. This environment demanded a “mask”—a version of herself maintained to keep the household running and the people around her comfortable. While many would view this upbringing as a disadvantage, Nicole recognizes it as the very training ground that allowed her to develop an acute ability to read people and respond decisively to uncertainty. Her entry into the workforce was equally grounded. At 13, she was washing dishes for an hourly wage; by 15, she was learning the intricacies of medical billing. These roles taught her that work is about contribution and reliability, not image. When she finally completed her college degree later in life, it wasn’t a reinvention—it was a formal recognition of a leadership style that had already been battle-tested by decades of action.
Moving from Explanation to Action
Nicole’s professional rise in the healthcare industry is defined by her transition from tactical excellence to high-level strategic influence. Over a career spanning more than 25 years, she has held pivotal roles across physician practices, consulting firms, and health systems. She notably launched the third-largest Medicare ACO and clinically integrated network in California, representing over 1,500 physicians—a feat of operational complexity that required navigating the exact “chaos” she now helps others simplify. As the President of PBS Radiology, Nicole has become a vital advocate for providers in an increasingly squeezed economic landscape. Her expertise in RCM is not merely about numbers; it is about protecting the viability of the medical profession.
Brigette LaBar, a long-time colleague, notes that Nicole is a “superlative communicator and a data-driven, results-oriented advisor” who possesses an “unparalleled ability to pivot successfully from tactical to strategic objectives”. Ward Hinger, CAO of Alaska Radiology Associates, echoes this sentiment, highlighting her flawless execution during high-stakes transitions: “Nicole’s ability to develop a strategic plan and execute that plan flawlessly was most impressive and yielded positive results… First-class in all she does!”. Whether she is whiteboarding a new billing platform or leading enterprise initiatives for the largest radiology practices in the country, Nicole operates with a singular focus: helping organizations move from explanation to action.
Owning the Energy and the Outcome
Beyond the balance sheets and operational metrics, Nicole’s greatest contribution to the industry is her leadership platform, Owning It. This brand was born from a realization that many leaders hide behind consensus or process when the moment calls for a decision. Nicole’s philosophy is built on powerful convictions that demand radical accountability. She believes leaders must “own your seat at the table fully, then help someone else find theirs,” asserting that leadership starts with agency rather than waiting for permission.
This extends to the atmosphere a leader creates; she argues that “energy shifts when a leader shows up grounded, decisive, and willing to move things forward”. To maintain this momentum, she encourages her teams to “put the fish on the table,” meaning they must say the hard things clearly and with respect rather than allowing problems to fester in silence. Nicole’s impact is further felt through her service on the National Board of Directors for the RBMA, where she advocates for the professional development of the next generation of radiology managers. Her commitment to community extends to her role as a leader for Love Acts Ministries, where she directs outreach programs to serve the homeless and underprivileged families in San Diego—a direct reflection of her belief that leadership is only complete when it is used to help others rise.
Legacy Beyond the Metric
As Nicole looks toward the future, her focus remains on leaving organizations and people better than she found them. She continues to seek out board positions and advisory roles where she can champion provider advocacy and values-driven governance. Her message to the next generation of professionals—particularly those from backgrounds of instability—is one of radical empowerment: “Your starting point is context. It’s not your ceiling”. Nicole Jones-Gerbino has proven that you don’t need to clean up or hide your story to lead at the highest levels. In fact, it is the grit of the walk before 4:00 p.m. that gives her the strength to hold the room today.
Editorial Note
Nicole’s journey reminds us that true leadership is not found in comfortable environments, but in the willingness to carry responsibility when the path is unclear. Her story invites every leader to stop waiting for perfect conditions and instead, start raising the energy in the rooms they already inhabit.
