Valubility of the Month: July 2021
September 8, 2021 • VOTM
Lee Ann Embry – Institutional Advancement
Lee Ann is a lead and a champion for the Horseman Rand Golf Tournament. Lee Ann has spent countless hours, nights and weekends to make the Rand Horseman golf tournament a great success. Lee Ann not only coordinates all aspects of the tournament, she does so with a smile on her face. She led the charge in organizing leaders, donors and volunteers to raise monies for employees’ and their dependents to attend college. She led with positivity and honored each person who gave of their time, money and talents regardless of the amount. The scholarship continues to grow and the endowment is something that will serve the institution positively in perpetuity. She is relentless in her pursuit of excellence to assure that everyone else is happy and satisfied. She brings joy to every meeting she leads. She is gifted in identifying and utilizing others’ talents to engage a particular task. I know if Lee Ann has called a meeting that it has a greater purpose for the betterment of others. I enjoy working with her and find her thoughts and ideas refreshing. She is the living embodiment of our values regardless of where she is.
Nominated by Jessica Rangel and Jason Hartley for Meagan Perry for Collaboration
Anna Espinoza – Family Medicine
Dr. Anna Espinoza has been an amazing team leader within Family Medicine and NorTex. She has demonstrated countless of times the values UNTHSC holds, with faculty, staff, students and community members. Her genuine care for others, as if you are a part of her family is deserving of recognition. She will always be there with a helping hand, or provide guidance to resources, and goes above and beyond to make sure everyone around her feels supported. She is very selfless, and puts others before herself. Students love her, and feel comfortable talking to her not only about academic needs but also on a personal level. Dr. Espinoza still checks in with former students and continues that relationship into their professional field, being a form of resource, if need be. Faculty and staff value her opinions and knowledge, especially when it comes to healthcare needs. As a former physician she gives healthcare advice, provides connections to providers, follows up and provides assistance as best as she can. Dr. Espinoza is truly a role model and has amazing qualities that radiates off her the moment one interacts with her.
Nominated by Omair Muzaffar for Serve Others First
Kara Nichols – Marketing & Communications
Where others see a problem, Kara sees an opportunity to find solutions that include everyone.
This spirit of team work and collaboration makes us all feel like we are doing something positive. We typically respond to Kara’s queries with, “How can I help Kara?” For example, Kara is working to build a stronger HSC social media presence. To that end, she researches opportunities to engage students, faculty and staff in events or activities via Twitter, Instagram and other platforms. She seeks out our expertise in various areas to fine-tune her messaging – a practice that gives the entire team ownership of successes. For Pride Month, Kara asked us for ideas that might bring greater focus to an observance that is very meaningful to our HSC community. After some brainstorming, we developed two story ideas: “HSC Pride: Increased pronoun use is an emerging trend among health professionals” and “HSC student organization’s summer fundraiser focused on suicide prevention programs for LGBTQ+ youth.”
These stories came to fruition because of Kara’s initiative and drive. Kara was quick to say, “Thanks,” and compliment everyone for their help and contribution. Her work engaging, inspiring and recognizing others makes her a role model for living Our Values.
Nominated by Diane Smith-Pinckney for Collaboration
Deborah Turman – Microbiology, Immunology & Genetics
Deborah has been a valued employee in her various roles throughout her career at HSC. She has supported research and education mission of the institute and department in her different roles, but one thing has not changed. That is her calm demeanor and collaboration with faculty, students and staff. She is always willing to provide her hand and take care of what needs to be done. Sometimes it is hard to appreciate the value of someone when everything they do is quite efficient. You will take it for granted as to that is how it is supposed to be. We need to recognize the person who made it that way, and that is who Deborah is. She now supports a large and emerging department where the number of support staff has been reduced. However, no one notices because Deborah has made sure that nothing gets dropped.
Nominated by Dr. Jamboor Vishwanatha for Collaboration
Susan Libby – Classroom and Events Technology Support (CETS)
Susan Libby is the primary resource person for the events on our campus. She takes extra care and fulfills the needs of the HSC team members in conducting any event. Similar to many faculty members, I received help from her at several occasions. For examples, I had many occasions that I need technical support in a conference in MET, workshops in IREB and classes/presentations for the rooms LIB, RES and CBH buildings. Whenever I requested for help, she just showed up as if she is in the next door. If I start naming the events that I and the people I know who received her help, I need to fill up pages and pages. Susan is the best example for the persons who adhere to values and serve the people without expecting any return.
Nominated by Dr. Riyaz Basha for Serve Others First
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