Karina Polanco

Karina Polanco joined the Commonwealth Fund in June 2025 as a program assistant for the Improving Care Delivery and Achieving Equitable Outcomes programs. In this role, she is responsible for a variety of duties, including grants management, administrative coordination, and research assistance across both program areas. Prior to joining the Fund, Polanco provided administrative and managerial support in various clinical settings, including private practices specializing in interventional cardiology and pain management, as well as an inpatient COVID-19 unit at a safety-net hospital. She also brings experience as a research assistant and lab technician in ophthalmology labs at Columbia University, where she contributed to studies on glaucoma and eye development. Polanco holds a B.A. in psychology from Columbia University.