Class X honored at graduation ceremony

Health Leadership Program Class X fellows celebrated their graduation from the six-month leadership development program on March 25 at Sierra Health Foundation. The 29 graduates were joined by family, friends and colleagues as they were recognized and celebrated for their achievement.

The commencement speaker, David Carlisle, M.D., Ph.D., former director of the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development, spoke to the class about the impacts of health care reform. He also recognized the good work the graduates are doing, and called them to action to step up to challenges that create opportunities in order to make positive change. Warren Daniels (Class II) and Wendy Petko (Class IX) welcomed Class X into the HLP Alumni network and shared their stories of impact through the tools gained from HLP.

A special honor was bestowed on Class X graduate Brian Broadway and his children, Annisse and Brandon. Brian’s father, Grant, passed away during the program, and the class contributed to a scholarship in Grant Broadway’s name for Annisse and Brandon. In a touching tribute, fellow graduate Kimberly Biggs-Jordan recited two beautiful poems she had written for Annisse and Brandon.

Class X members showed their appreciation of the collaborative work of Sierra Health Foundation and the University of Southern California by planting an orange tree at Sacramento Loaves & Fishes to provide fresh fruit to the hungry and homeless served there. A lovely reception followed the ceremony.

Visit Sierra Health's web site to read Class X reflections.

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Leadership Engagements challenge, inspire Class X

Piloting Leadership Engagements during Class X was a great success. The two-part format enabled fellows to learn from strong leaders and create their own engagements. We witnessed fellows collaborate around the ambiguity of this process, which enabled them to create their own clarity — a key element for leaders. Fellows learned to take the tools given in the sessions and apply it to their own engagements. Everyone was required to share their engagements, which meant no one could hide behind group work.

Interviewing and learning from great leaders during the first section (see Winter 2010 e-newsletter) gave the fellows an opportunity to work in teams, reflect on key elements of the leader and share them with their peers. This inspired the class and taught fellows how to identify the leadership attributes discussed in the classroom.

The sharing of individual leadership engagements at the end of the program created a peer learning environment and enabled fellows to focus on their own ability to continue developing as a leader by focusing on a real-life dilemma.

Visit Sierra Health's web site to read an Example and Reflection on Leadership Engagement by Michael Petersen, Director of 24 Hour Programs, Sacramento Children’s Home.

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Health Leadership Program transitions after 10 successful years

In March, Sierra Health Foundation learned that Rich Callahan was completing his service at the University of Southern California. As the director of leadership programs at USC's State Capital Center, Rich co-developed the Health Leadership Program and was an integral part of the program throughout the past 10 years. We offer our heartfelt appreciation to Rich for his dedication to the program and to each class member, which significantly contributed to the success of this respected leadership development program. We wish him well in the future as a faculty member at the University of San Francisco.

During this transition in the program's leadership, we put the program on hold and did not continue with Class XI recruitment efforts this year. The foundation remains committed to the development of individual leaders and capacity building of organizations that work to make our communities healthier for all. We will make any future leadership program announcements on our web site and in our Partnerships e-newsletter.

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A message from Rich Callahan

I announced earlier this year that I have accepted a faculty position at the University of San Francisco. For more than 150 years, as a Jesuit school of higher education, USF has been committed to the values of service and contribution through undergraduate and graduate education. I will be joining their faculty in the School of Business and Professional Studies. The focus of my work will be teaching and research in the public administration graduate programs to help with their national accreditation and building their national reputation.

I will be joining a school with faculty that pioneered the development of one of the first graduate degrees in nonprofit management, as well as outstanding faculty committed to graduate degrees in the public sector and business sector. I welcome the opportunity to contribute to USF’s mission of teaching and service, as well as building their research presence.

In announcing my appointment, School of Business Dean Mike Duffy wrote the following, “Rich brings very broad experience from a leading public administration program, research and teaching on governance issues and leadership that span the public and private sectors, as well as non-profit and government work … with a lifelong appreciation of the Jesuit mission originating during his undergraduate days at Georgetown.”

While I will teach and work in San Francisco, I will remain connected to the Sacramento community through the USF program in Sacramento, and through my ongoing commitment to the fellows who have gone through the Sierra Health Foundation Leadership Program.

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Alumni members continue to create, develop deeper connections

On May 16 and 17, more than 60 alumni members participated in the Spring Alumni Program. Day one started with class reflections and alumni members sharing their impact successes and challenges. After reflections, Grantland Johnson, former Secretary of the California Health and Human Service Agency, spoke about the political process and politics. He emphasized the importance of framing issues and figuring out how to have value-based conversations. Grantland’s presentation was a great transition for the next topic on Creating Deep Social Connections presented by Rich Callahan and Class X fellows Elaine Abelaye, Carol Noreen and Michael Petersen. We always talk about networking and in this session we focused on ways to create deeper connections to impact social change. The day ended with a great celebration for Rich Callahan, the USC team and HLP faculty. Alumni members and HLP friends shared stories and words of appreciation for Rich’s dedication to the program.

Day two was focused on Leadership Effectiveness presented by Rick Culley, president of the Institute for Executive Development. Rick started the session by asking, “What’s your biggest leadership struggle?” He also asked the class to reflect as a leader, “Do you want to be right or be effective?” He presented the class with tools to be more effective in their leadership.

Save the date for the next HLP Alumni program to be held Oct. 6 and 7, 2011.

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Alumni members impact communities

Thank you to several Health Leadership Program Alumni members who submitted stories about the positive impacts fellows are making in their communities. Visit Sierra Health's web site to learn about their inspiring work.

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Leaders on the move

Ana Acton (Class VIII) is now Chief of the Independent Living & Disability Access Section of the California Department of Rehabilitation.

Jane Atkins (Class VII) is the Public Health Emergency Preparedness Contractor for the Meagher County Public Health Department in Montana.

Melinda Carson (Class II) has joined Sacramento Habitat for Humanity as Fund Development Director.

Teri Duarte (Class III) became Executive Director of WALKSacramento, a nonprofit that promotes walkable communities, achieving her dream of improving public health through changes in urban design and land use and transportation planning.

Daniel Hahn (Class VII) recently was named Chief of Police for the City of Roseville Police Department.

Joe Hejl (Class VIII) was promoted to Chief Operations Officer with the Boys and Girls Clubs of the North Valley.

Jeff Henderson (Class IX) is the owner of ComforCare Home Care–Texas Hill Country, in Lakeway, Texas.

David Husid (Class IX) has returned to Sacramento Cottage Housing, Inc. as Vice President of Community Development.

Maureen (Pierce) Price (Class I) was named Chief Executive Officer of Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Sacramento last summer.

Jennifer (Savin) Souza (Class VII) received her Master of Arts in International Human Rights from Sacramento State and will be dividing her time between Sacramento and her husband's native Brazil.

Petra Stanton (Class III) is now an Associate with MKS Consulting in Sacramento.

Randy Tryon (Class V) is Out Client Coordinator for Sierra Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence.

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Faculty Spotlight: LaVonna Blair Lewis

Health Leadership Program faculty members share their diverse knowledge and experience with fellows in the classroom and beyond. This article highlights the work of one faculty member and how she continues to engage with HLP alumni.

LaVonna Blair Lewis, Ph.D., MPH, is a Teaching Professor at the USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development (SPPD), and the Director of the USC Diversity in Healthcare Leadership Initiative. Dr. Lewis joined the USC faculty in 1996 and she was selected Professor of the Year at SPPD in 1998 and 2001. Dr. Lewis’ areas of research and professional interests consistently focus on cultural competency and the health status and health care needs of underrepresented groups. As such, she feels she has a two-fold mission in life—to make the invisible visible (if people are unaware of problems for a particular group or in a particular community, you have to find ways to get these problems on their radar screen), and to make people uncomfortable (she believes that if people are always comfortable, they aren’t being challenged or they have quit learning and growing).

In an effort to address cultural competency, Dr. Lewis established the USC Diversity in Healthcare Leadership Initiative in 2002, with initial funding provided by The California Wellness Foundation. Its signature program is the Summer Enrichment Program, which is offered in both Los Angeles and Sacramento, and introduces career options in healthcare management to graduating baccalaureate students and undergraduates who may have an interest in health, but are unaware of the scope of opportunities available in healthcare management. The initial goal of the program was to increase the number of students from underrepresented groups applying to and enrolling in programs in health management, public health and health policy, but it has since been expanded to all students.

She currently is involved in projects that address racial and ethnic health disparities in cardiovascular disease (CVD), diabetes and infant mortality. Since 1999, she has been working with a Los Angeles-based community-based organization (CBO), the Community Health Councils, Inc., on the African American Building a Legacy of Health Project. The project, funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, explores individual, organizational and community support for (and barriers to) healthy living, a key factor in reducing CVD and diabetes. In her work with the Pasadena Birthing Project, another Los Angeles CBO, she is exploring these same multi-level factors and their contributions to positive birth outcomes. She also is working with colleagues at USC on a project that uses travel data to examine individuals’ patterns of shopping and physical activity as ways for us to analyze neighborhood and social effects on decisions to live a healthier lifestyle. Finally, she is working with Sierra Health Leadership alumna Wendy Petko at the Sacramento Center for Community Health and Well-Being on the Leadership Academy for adolescent African-American girls.

Her work has appeared in the American Journal of Public Health, the Journal of General Internal Medicine and other health management and policy journals. Moreover, all of her work to date has employed a community-based participatory research framework that partners with the relevant stakeholder groups in developing the research questions.

She is a member of several professional associations and organizations, including the American College of Health Executives, Community Campus Partnerships for Health, Academy Health, the Pasadena Birthing Project, N.I.C.E. (National Institute of Community Enlightenment) and Memorial Hospital Gardena. However, the association she gets the most joy from is being married to Reverend L.L. Lewis, pastor of the Southern Baptist Church of Southeast Los Angeles.

If you have questions, please contact LaVonna directly at llewis@sppd.usc.edu.

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Contact us

Sierra Health Foundation
1321 Garden Hwy, Sacramento, CA 95833
916.922.4755
info@sierrahealth.org
www.sierrahealth.org

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