Problem-solver is ready to transform consulting
Emily Kraynek, MHSA ’26
Health Management and Policy
By Bob Cunningham
When Emily Kraynek walked into her summer internship at PwC in 2025, she brought a year of grad school training plus real-world experiences like performing blood draws in a clinical lab and engaging the community at the Houston Food Bank.
By the time her internship ended, that combination of experiences plus her stellar work over the summer earned a full-time job offer upon graduation.
This spring, Kraynek will earn her Master of Health Services Administration (MHSA) from the University of Michigan School of Public Health’s Department of Health Management and Policy. Soon after she crosses the stage at the historic Hill Auditorium, she’s heading to Chicago to join PwC as a full-time consultant in health transformation—a role that puts her right at the center of one of the most complicated industries in the country.
“I think so much of consulting is problem solving,” Kraynek said. “And that’s really where public health stands apart. It really forces you to think about things on a holistic level.”
Kraynek grew up in Sugar Land, Texas, a suburb just outside of Houston. From early on, she was drawn to healthcare. While majoring in public health at Texas A&M University, she worked in clinical settings, doing everything from patient care to phlebotomy. She loved the patients, but she kept noticing the problems she cared most about weren’t always ones that could be fixed one patient at a time.
“I realized I wanted to be on more of a systemic level,” Kraynek said.
After graduating from Texas A&M, she took a year off before applying to graduate school. She spent that time working at the Houston Food Bank, where she helped connect food resources to healthcare organizations through programs like “Food for Change.” It was a different kind of public health work—less clinical, more community-focused—and it helped sharpen her thinking about how different systems connect to shape people’s health.
“I’ve been a substitute teacher, I’ve done phlebotomy, I’ve done so many of these things,” Kraynek said. “And it's just been a wonderful opportunity to reflect and think, ‘OK, I’ve tried all of these things and this is what I think I want.’”
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I think so much of consulting is problem solving. And that’s really where public health stands apart. It really forces you to think about things on a holistic level.”
— Emily Kraynek
Michigan stood out for many reasons
Choosing Michigan came naturally. Both of Kraynek's parents attended the University of Michigan, as did her sister. Plus, her grandparents live about 20 minutes away, so coming to Ann Arbor felt like coming home.
But the decision wasn’t just sentimental. After getting accepted to several graduate programs, she looked closely at what each school offered. Michigan stood out, she said, for three main reasons: its powerful alumni network, its close ties to Michigan Medicine, and its culture of going above and beyond in the classroom.
“I think the alumni network is huge,” Kraynek said. “In Health Management and Policy particularly, there’s such a willingness to help out in any way possible.”
Michigan Medicine sits right next to the School of Public Health. That proximity creates opportunities that students at other programs simply don’t get, Kraynek said. She took part in an experiential learning project during her second semester of the program, working directly with a Michigan Medicine department on a real administrative challenge. It gave her traditional healthcare administration experience to balance out her consulting internship.
She also joined the Gail L. Warden Leadership Academy, a newer program through Health Management and Policy that offers intensive leadership workshops and one-on-one coaching.
“Emily is a talented and highly engaged member of the inaugural cohort of the Warden Leadership Academy, a co-curricular program designed to elevate leadership development,” said Cathy Killaly, executive director of the Griffith Leadership Center. “I think it is fair to say that she contributed as much as she gained from the sessions with her fellow students. Emily embraced the leadership opportunities that were provided and eagerly applied new ideas.
“Emily is poised to be a very effective leader and we can’t wait to see what she will do next.”
For someone heading into a fast-moving consulting career, that kind of professional development—offered right inside her graduate program—made a real difference.
“I’m very well-rounded because of those opportunities that were presented at Michigan Public Health,” Kraynek said.
“Emily is the kind of highly talented, hardworking and accomplished student who excels in the challenging and dynamic ecosystem of Health Management and Policy in the School of Public Health,” said Denise Anthony, the Rubin Department Chair of Health Management and Policy. “She is involved in many different organizations and activities and has taken classes across the institution. She is a leader who is as comfortable mentoring new students as she is engaging with healthcare industry executives. Emily embodies the Michigan ideal of Leaders and Best.”
READ MORE about faculty, students, alumni and staff.
Emily is poised to be a very effective leader and we can’t wait to see what she will do next.”
— Cathy Killaly, executive director of the Griffith Leadership Center
Making the most of PwC
Kraynek's internship at PwC placed her inside the firm’s health transformation practice, a team that helps hospitals, health systems and other healthcare providers navigate major changes—whether driven by policy, technology or shifting market forces.
One project she worked on during her internship involved analyzing how proposed federal legislation, known as the One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act, could affect healthcare providers—and how PwC could help those providers manage the impact. It was the kind of work that required someone to understand not just the numbers, but how healthcare systems operate.
Her master’s degree training gave her that understanding, and it showed.
“My role doesn’t necessarily require a master’s degree,” Kraynek said, “but because I had that level of expertise, I was really able to apply that to my internship. My background really helped me stand apart.”
By the end of the summer, she had her full-time offer. She’ll be based in Chicago, working in an environment that’s 50% in-office—including time spent directly at client sites. It’s the kind of flexible, fast-paced setup that drew her to consulting in the first place.
“I could work in a very fast-paced environment, try different projects, and see how so many health systems are doing things,” she said. “It just provides a great opportunity for learning.”
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Emily is the kind of highly talented, hardworking and accomplished student who excels in the challenging and dynamic ecosystem of Health Management and Policy in the School of Public Health.”
— Denise Anthony, the Rubin Department Chair of Health Management and Policy
Community first, always
Even while managing graduate school, an internship, and a job search, Kraynek made time to give back. She served two years on the executive board of the Michigan Healthcare Executive Student Association (MHESA), first as social chair and then as philanthropy chair.
As social chair, she focused on bringing people together and making sure students—especially newer ones—felt welcome in the Health Management and Policy program. As philanthropy chair, she pushed the group to engage beyond campus, connecting students with organizations and community members doing meaningful work in Ann Arbor.
“Being face-to-face with the community and providing our volunteer services has been really exciting,” she said. “Just meeting wonderful folks who are doing incredible things.”
She also found community in unexpected places. Through a university-affiliated board, she connected with families in Ann Arbor and began babysitting for physicians who work for Michigan Medicine, a small but meaningful reminder that the university and the city are deeply woven together.
“I feel like I really was able to find my place here,” she said.
As she heads to Chicago, Kraynek isn’t closing the door on anything. Consulting is the goal right now—but she’s keeping her options open for the future, whether that means eventually moving in-house at a health system, continuing her education, or even pursuing a doctorate in public health someday.
Whatever path she takes, she says the lessons from public health will stay with her.
“Public health is lifelong learning,” she said. “I always want to improve, always want to know what’s out there. That is something that is incredibly exciting for me, and I think that’s a lesson that will stick with me forever.”
