Finding His "Why"

Entrepreneurship comes naturally to Triple Ram Adam Russo, BS ’96, JD ’00, MSF ’00. At age 26, while attending Suffolk Law School and living in his mother’s basement, Adam, alongside his best friend and fellow Ram Mike Branco, BA ’96, launched their own business with $4,000. Today, that venture, The Phia Group, LLC, a cost containment firm focused on reducing healthcare costs, is going strong, with over 300 employees and offices in the Boston area and Louisville, Kentucky.

Adam continues to steer Phia, and that isn’t his only pursuit: He’s also the founder, with India Minchoff, JD ’01, and managing partner of The Law Offices of Russo & Minchoff, an extension of Phia specializing in estate litigation, insurance reimbursement rights, and employee benefit law.

Adam is driven by a desire to help others. He combines his expertise in political science, law, and finance to support individuals and families navigating the often-unjust American healthcare system.

“There are cancer patients who undergo treatment but are then told, ‘You can't come back for your follow-up appointment until you pay up’ due to their inability to afford copays and deductibles,” Adam explains. “Can you imagine that? It's daunting enough to face a disease, let alone financial strain.”

Adam’s passion for altruism stems from personal experience. As a first-generation American, he witnessed the challenges his mother, Eva, encountered starting over in a new country.

“My mother immigrated from Poland. She was a single mom with two kids and held down three jobs. We grew up in Dorchester,” Adam shares. “I always felt my mother was getting the runaround due to her limited English. She spent a lot of time dealing with the court system, trying to understand her rights relating to child support and visitation. Seeing her struggle was a deeper reason for attending college and pursuing the right career.”

It is this same compassionate spirit that inspired Adam to establish the Russo Family Scholarship Fund to support students from Dorchester to attend Suffolk. Grateful for what Suffolk gave him, Adam now aims to ensure that other promising students have access to the same opportunities that he was afforded.

A bright, motivated student, Adam ventured to Suffolk after high school and immediately immersed himself in all the University and downtown Boston had to offer.

“I could get out of class at noon, walk three minutes to a prestigious law or financial firm, and have boatloads of opportunities for internships, co-ops, and full-time work in the summer,” Adam says. “That was a game-changer for me.”

Adam certainly had the smarts to excel in college. What he did lack, however, were the means to afford tuition. Aware of his potential, Suffolk nurtured Adam’s dreams—and paved the path to his success—by awarding him a scholarship. “Without it, I wouldn’t be who I am now. I know that for a fact,” he affirms.

Although Adam has come a long way from his mother’s basement, he doesn’t take any of his achievements for granted. As Adam reflects on his journey, he also looks toward the future.

“In my 20s and 30s, it was all about working as hard as possible and making as much money as possible,” he says. “What I realize now is that for the younger generation, there needs to be a deeper reason for attending college; there needs to be a cause. What is your ‘why’?”

Adam’s “why” is giving back: to his family, to his community, and to Suffolk.

“I take pride in my roots, in where I came from, and in my alma mater,” Adam asserts. Suffolk, he adds, “provided me an opportunity and I want to pay it forward—that's what it boils down to.”