When I finished undergrad, I wanted to take a year off and really focus on deciding with a clear head whether to pursue medicine or something else entirely. I still wanted to be intentional and ensure I learned something valuable in my time off. I asked myself, “What is something I’d be more interested in learning about?” My first thought was leadership and how I could be a better leader. Most of the physicians I had encountered were not very good leaders and if I did become one I wanted to be someone who knew how to lead and medical school, unfortunately, does not teach that. I started a position as a Program Assistant in the leadership and training umbrella of UM’s HR. The team led over 220 training executions for the university’s culture transformation project that aimed to create a culture of belonging and foster a value-based purpose driven organization for over 14,000 employees across all of UM’s campuses. I also contributed to the revamping of the global curriculum for the new employee orientation and the launch of the employee engagement survey. I enjoyed the fast-paced and diversity of collaborations from senior leadership to staff partners across all disciplines. It was during this time that I decided to pursue my public health masters. I also joined Junior League and the philanthropic work I did exposed me to the challenges women and children face in our community. When the project completed, I stayed on the team as a Program Coordinator and eventually Manager, while completing my capstone project with a federally qualified health center in the Quality Assurance and Process Improvement Department. Executing and implementing multiple process improvement projects with patients who had large care gaps, low literacy and in a low resourced institution was even more of a challenge than I expected, especially for the high-risk population. It was also the best opportunity and most rewarding experience to be able to provide strategic direction to improve operational efficiencies and clinical outcomes. A semester before completing my masters, I transitioned to an advisor and simultaneously managed a Health Mentoring Program with the College of Arts and Science at UM for students from underrepresented communities. Currently, I work with the American Cancer Society as a Health Systems Manager of State and Primary Care under the Cancer Control team. My territory covers all south west and south FL. In my role, like a consultant, I lead the cancer control, evidenced based interventions, and quality improvement initiatives for my clients. My portfolio consists of federally qualified health centers, rural clinics, large primary care networks, primary care organizations, and health plans.
