Angela Reddix isn’t afraid of challenge or change. In fact, both inspire her—which is why she had the guts to found a health care management organization, ARDX, while pregnant with her third child in 2006.
As she built her company from the ground up, Reddix’s mastery of complex Medicare and Medicaid regulations and her success on highly technical projects eventually brought in multi-million government contracts. The personal stories she’s heard, though, always meant more.
“You learn about, say, a mother with cancer who couldn’t have gotten health insurance before the Affordable Care Act,” Reddix says. “Now we’re helping the nation help her, so maybe her kids can grow up with their mom. Or we’re helping the senior community get the preventive care they need to prolong their lives. Knowing we are in the eye of these things makes me want to skip to work every day.”
Reddix, a Virginia Beach native and James Madison University graduate, is founder, president and CEO of ARDX, which has grown into a 125-employee operation based in Norfolk. With the federal government as its major client, ARDX supports the Department of Health and Human Services, including implementation of the ACA.
The company has helped develop data management systems, policies, and operational procedures and systems to communicate that information to insurers, often via online publications and seminars. ARDX also works with commercial businesses on information technology and new business strategies.
Our job is to solve problems to help them all reach and sustain their goals,” Reddix explains. “No day is the same.”
She’s also passionate about the health of her community, where she returned after earning an undergraduate degree in business administration, a master’s in organizational development and a graduate certificate in healthcare compliance. She spent about 15 years working in the Washington, D.C., area, including at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
ARDX’s outreach programs offer literacy tutoring and fitness and nutrition education for young students, designed to fight obesity and self-esteem problems that can contribute to bullying. ARDX also works with women to improve their health and financial well-being.
With children ages 9, 11 and 19, Reddix credits her husband and extended family for backing her career ambitions even during the busy diaper and toddler years. “Nurturing a business is much like nurturing a child,” she says. “It just seemed natural to me!”
Frequently on the go, Reddix finds balance by reserving weekends for family and friends, leaning on her employees, strengthening her faith through prayer and using a Fitbit tracker to aim for 15,000 steps daily. These days, she likes to walk between her company’s two buildings instead of calling employees to her office. “That Fitbit is my new passion,” she says with a laugh. “It also helps that my husband is a healthy eating fanatic. I need that support.”
ARDX, too, continues to evolve and thrive. “We work hard, but we also have a lot of fun,” Reddix says. “It’s easy to find motivation because nothing is more important than our health.”
