Executive Sponsor

Steve Sosland

Steven Sosland

Chief People Officer

My calling is to work with highly diverse teams to identify commonly shared core values and build a values-based coaching culture. We do this by being inclusive – learning from people with unique backgrounds and traditions. In my Jewish tradition, there is a story that says that after creating the world, God put his presence in a clay vessel and then deliberately broke the vessel, sending a spark of God into everything he created. God’s purpose for mankind is to repair the broken vessel. We can only do this by working collaboratively. Together, we will repair the world – “tikkun olam.”

Thoughts on Coaching…

I have been fortunate in my life to learn valuable lessons from Mike Brown, a Toyota-trained engineer; Tom, the bootblack; First Sergeant Frankie Glover; General Herb Lloyd; Kim Yaklin, the restaurant manager; Ed Murphy, the bell captain; and countless others. These leaders have coached me and inspired me toward positive change, to better serve others. Coaches allow each one of us to understand our current state, to set challenging goals for a better future and to identify growth opportunities. I believe that by changing one person, we change the world.

Biography

I joined the UNT Health Science Center Team in September 2013 with a burning desire to make an impact in helping us reach our vision to be the team of choice for education, discovery and health care.

I have leadership responsibility for working with all schools and departments to establish a values-based, people-centric coaching culture. The result of this work will be an environment that allows each team member to live his or her hopes, dreams and goals.

Higher education is my fifth career industry. After graduation from the United States Military Academy at West Point, I spent 11 years as an Infantry officer, where I had worldwide assignments in mechanized and Ranger units. After completing my master’s degree in business administration at Boston University, I spent six years in general management with PepsiCo and Brinker International and 13 years as a corporate recruiter focused on helping junior military officers find careers in corporate America. I traveled to U.S. military bases worldwide conducting interviews to select the top 10 percent of A-players for a competitive business development program. Prior to joining the UNTHSC Team, I served as the Chief Operating Officer of Hill Country Memorial Hospital in Fredericksburg, Texas.

I live in Fort Worth with Kelly, my wife of 29 years. We have two daughters. Rachel is a first-year urology resident at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville. Rebekah is an aerospace systems engineer on the Mars rover project at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. Kelly’s passion is traveling the United States to help build homes for Habitat for Humanity’s Care-a-Vanners group. Their love fills my cup.

Top 5 Talents – StrengthsFinder®

Teacher-Stimulator | Arranger | Learner | Responsibility | Self-Assurance | Belief | ISTJ