OUR VALUES

Valubility of the Month: June 2021

July 20, 2021 • VOTM

Gabrielle Saleh – Center for Diversity & International Programs

It is highly unusual to nominate a temporary employee for Valubility of the month. I am delighted to nominate Gabrielle Saleh to the Valubility of the Month award. Gabrielle was hired on a temporary basis to handle the social and digital media for the National Research Mentoring Network since the previous full time employee had left for another position. A recent graduate who just received her Bachelor’s, Gabrielle joined us and immediately made such a fantastic mark in every aspect of our work. She is a delight to work with, highly enthusiastic, highly collaborative, a visionary and always there to give a helping hand. I have never had so many of my HSC colleagues and my outside colleagues from NIH and Vanderbilt University asking me “is there any possibility of keeping Gabrielle as a full-time employee”!  We are in the final stages of organizing the 16th annual Texas Conference on Health Disparities. I can honestly say we could not have organized this virtual conference without Gabrielle taking over and making all the arrangements. She is very respectful to the invited speakers and is collaborating with NNLM, other staff and Spanish language interpreters to make this conference a success. I can go on and on, but with the limitation of space, I will conclude by stating that it is just such an honor for me to nominate Gabrielle for Valubility of the month. She may be with us for a short time as a temporary employee, but has demonstrated how valued an employee she is in such a short time. As she moves to graduate school for her higher studies, her values and enthusiasm will make her a huge success.

Nominated by Dr. Jamboor Vishnawatha for Collaboration

Claudia Garcia, Tiffany Gardner & Veda Womack – Physician Assistant Studies

When the PA Studies program changed from a 34 month program to a 30 month program, we had an overlap of classes on clinical rotations. It’s hard enough to find rotations for one class of 75 students, much less two classes (~150 students), during a time when many rotation sites were not accepting students due to COVID. Our clinical team persevered through the overlap, during the pandemic, and all students graduated! They overcame many barriers and obstacles, persevered through stressful situations, handed out a myriad of PPE to keep the students safe when rotation sites couldn’t provide it, and was always able to pivot at the last possible second when needed. Without their top-notch collaboration, this would not have been possible. They worked long, hard hours to accomplish this task and deserve Valubility of the Month.

Nominated by Kim Williams for Collaboration

Blair Chappell – Marketing & Communication

I have had the pleasure of working with Blair for almost three years and observe her consistently living our values. Recently, the Office of Culture & Experience reached out to Blair to help with campus signage to recognize colleagues returning to campus and offer messages of appreciation. This poster request required a quick turn-around and Blair rose to the challenge by helping coordinate graphic designers to create the layout, and an external print shop to produce the posters. Blair lives the value of Be Visionary by creating unique ways to provide remarkable service. She listened to my request, sought to understand my need, and delivered solutions in a way that got the job done…and always with a smile on her face. There are numerous other examples where Blair connects me with the right vendors for products as well as internal campus resources. Her quick response and willingness to always help make her a great candidate for Valubility of the Month!

Nominated by Stacy Boe for Be Visionary

Dr. Shane Fernando – Pediatric & Women’s Health

Dr. Fernando is an excellent colleague and dependable collaborator. He is an epidemiologist and helps all faculty in our department who are in need. Motivated and takes the initiatives to recruit and train students in short-term and long-term programs. Dr. Fernando is an helping hand to both clinical and non-clinical faculty. He introduces innovation in education and training, has designed, and developed very informative modules for training the students and providing hands-on experience. Committed to diversity and involved in the programs helping the underserved population, especially children.

Nominated by Dr. Riyaz Basha for Collaboration

Loren Rowland – TCOM Clinical Education

Loren is a truly outstanding part of the TCOM Clinical Education department. She and I started working together in TCOM last summer and helped to guide each other through the trials and tribulations of beginning new positions at a new place virtually during the middle of a pandemic. It didn’t take long to realize that Loren’s upbeat, positive, and collaborative spirit would help to make the transition easier for all involved. Recently, I took a position in a different department on campus, and in the interim until my position in Clin Ed is filled, Loren is taking on a lot of my responsibilities. She has done so without complaint, but rather with excitement to learn and a willing and can-do attitude that permeates everything she does. She is undoubtedly one of the most genuine, caring, and wonderful team members one could have.

Nominated by Meagan Perry for Collaboration