From Corporate to Care: Lessons from Robert Baker-Hargrove

While Robert Baker-Hargrove (He/Him/His) will be the first to tell you that he’s exactly where he belongs, the route he took to get here has been far from linear. Case in point: Robert’s education in human textiles at the University of Texas would lead a decades-spanning career with Disney, and eventually to his current post as 26Health’s Co-founder, Co-CEO, and Chief Operating Officer. Robert will also tell you that his life has been built on a series of lessons, so it only makes sense to share his story through the lens of each.

Lesson 1: Networking is How You Make Things Happen

When Robert began his 24-year career with Disney, he did so as an intern. “My professor at the University of Texas told me that I had a ‘Disney thing’ about me, and that I could find a home at Disney if I wanted.” On the advice of this professor, who had a connection at the company, Robert interviewed and subsequently won his spot in the Disney College Program. “While I was in the college program, I took an interest in performing,” Robert remembers, “so I applied for a show without telling them I was a part of the program.” (A no-no, it turns out.)

This new interest ended up being the opportunity of a lifetime and led to Robert wearing three sets of Mickey ears: performer, intern, and costumer as a senior in college. But membership in several departments was far from the norm at Disney, and department heads wondered how Robert’s arrangement would work. “All three departments and my university got on a call, not sure how (or if) they could share me, and I said, ‘I got it! I’ll write my senior thesis on costumes from both perspectives, the costumer, and the performer.” The connections and impressions Robert had already made were paying off –– and it all started with an observant professor and a little networking. To this day, Robert keeps every business card he receives with a brief summary of the associated interaction. “You never know when a casual conversation is really a seed of something much more.”

Lesson 2: Always Be Learning

After graduating from UT, Robert was offered a permanent position with Disney. “The job was full-time, and I made studying every single one of their development tools my other full-time job.” Robert found a home in a growing area of Disney’s business, forging relationships with non-Disney properties (see Lesson 1). Robert had honed his time management skills as an intern, but now he had a chance to develop his entrepreneurial side. “We wanted to make sure that these businesses provided the ‘Disney experience,’ and could authentically speak to our parks in conversations with guests.”

Growing this underdeveloped arm of the business and thinking strategically piqued Robert’s interest in business, ultimately inspiring him to enroll in an MBA program. “I was always looking for ways to learn, so I got my master’s, and immediately turned to mentors for advice on developing my career.” This included Disney’s finance manager, from whom Robert learned about the business of entertainment over the course of countless monthly conversations. Management, leadership, and speaking roles came next for Robert, and –– like his dual experience as a costumer and performer –– his knowledge of both the business and entertainment sides of Disney gave him an invaluable perspective.

Lesson 3: Experience is Transferrable

The idea for 26Health came to Robert and his spouse, Dr. David Baker-Hargrove toward the tail end of Robert’s tenure at Disney in 2011. “We knew we wanted to bring this idea for a nonprofit to life, so I was using up all my PTO at Disney to have extra time to launch it with David.” The two devoted their free time to building a strategic plan for the newly formed nonprofit, which was largely inspired by Disney’s own playbook. “They were an entertainment company at their core, but also a true business.” Robert specifically looked to how he had seen the company approach things like development and expansion in the past, as well as the way they embraced new technology when creating the model of what would become 26Health. This openness would come in handy –– 26Health was in the process of launching telehealth services when the pandemic hit and was able to continue providing important care with little interruption.

At a certain point after leaving Disney to devote all his attention to 26Health, someone asked Robert if he planned to turn the nonprofit into the “Disney of health care,” to which he answered, “You’re damn right I am!” No, there weren’t going to be any 26Health-branded Mickey ears, but he knew his Fortune 100 experience could (and would) translate across industries. “At Disney, we were always looking at trends outside of our industry, and those same trends very much inform what we do at 26Health.”

Lesson 4: Lead with Love

Because of the care they planned to bring to the community, Robert and Dr. David have faced their fair share of obstacles. “When we first looked for new buildings, we would get to the home stretch before someone would pull the plug because we were providing care to LGBTQ+ populations.” After experiencing this heartbreak several times, Robert and Dr. David took the fate of the nonprofit into their own hands. “It meant offering a 401k as collateral, taking on tons of debt, and maxing out multiple credit cards, but securing our location was our way of controlling our destiny.”

It was also a way for 26Health to ensure that its mission was untainted by hate. “From the start, we wanted 26Health to feel like someone’s home –– not just a healthcare organization.” With a space of their own secured, Robert and Dr. David could build a team of loving, dedicated professionals who shared the same passion.

It’s been seven years since 26Health was formed, and Robert, Dr. David, and the entire team continue to lead with love so that love may permeate both the organization and the community.

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Life has been anything but a straight line for Robert Baker-Hargrove. If you ask him, he’ll probably tell you it’s more like a circle –– chance conversations have been the start of decades-spanning careers, and redirection the foundation of an entirely new life. Robert’s path to 26Health wasn’t a direct one, but it’s the life he lived on the way that has helped the organization succeed in its mission to deliver the care the community deserves.