Leading an Empowered Organization (LEO) Facilitators

Theresa Pak a.k.a. Tpak is a nurse with over 30 years of experience who has worked in many different states and clinical areas from ER to ICU. Her roles have ranged from bedside nurse to nursing supervisor, as well as inpatient manager in various units at UC Davis Health. She has led her units through transitions, such as adopting the care of pediatric patients into the adult care arena and transforming mixed level acuity unit to cardiology ICU. She also supported MSICU Gold to Gold Beacon designation of critical care excellence for the past 9 years.

Tpak is also one of the original Re-Igniting the Spirit of Caring facilitators, the Relationship Based Culture (RBC) anchor program started in 2004. In 2017, in support of developing RBC based on values of Love Compassion Integrity and Courage, she helped adopt two more Creative Healthcare Management programs, See Me As A Person (SMAAP) and Leading An Empowered Organization (LEO). Additionally, in 2010 Tpak helped make RBC more inclusive and reached out to other disciplines outside of PCS. She has helped grow the program from 4 nurse facilitators to 31 facilitators from different disciplines. At UC Davis Health, Tpak is a champion of Wellness throughout. Most recently, Tpak completed the TNT fellowship through Peter Yellowlees M.D., C.W.O. and has collaborated with others to bring meditation practices to UC Davis Health. She has also taken on facilitating the DEI workshops, working with School of Nursing and the DEI council to provide education, training, and resources to nurses. Tpak is a trained facilitator for all three programs, RSC, LEO, and SMAAP, and currently manages the LEO course load.

Melissa is an RN and has been Executive Director for UC Davis Transplant Center since 2016. She has been involved in aspects of organ recovery and transplantation since 1999, of which the last 18 years have been in leadership at UC Davis and at Mayo Clinic. Undergraduate was completed at Lynchburg University in Virginia and graduate school at Clemson University in South Carolina. Melissa is a reluctant graduate of Southside Virginia Charm School for Girls which her mother taught and who she credits for teaching the often overlooked skill of playing well with others. Melissa has been a LEO Facilitator since November 2022 and considers LEO the adult version of playing well with others. Melissa is a living kidney donor. Her right kidney lives in a different time zone and state in the abdomen of a friend who enjoys excellent health. Melissa is an avid reader, an occasional illustrator of comic strips and believes humor is THE antidote to Adulting.

Darrell joined UC Davis Health in 2002 as a student nurse extern. He earned his ADN from Sacramento City College, then a B.S.N. from CSU Chico and M.S.N. from the University of Phoenix. He won the Daisy award in 2005 and became oncology certified in 2008. He graduated from the Rising Nurse Leader Co-hort and served as clinical faculty for CSU Sacramento for over 7 years. Darrell worked as an Assistant Nurse Manager for Davis 8, until he left to become the Nurse Manager for East 4 Accelerated Access and Renal Services. He is an active member within the Electronic Medical Record workgroup since inception, most recently serving as a lead for the 2015 CPM upgrade. He formerly served as the chair of the Nursing Recognition Committee, is active in numerous hospital wide workgroups/committees and vice chair for African American Faculty Staff Association (AAFSA). He also serves his community as Mentor for High school students through the Betty Irene Moore Mentor program. Darrell has also attended the Wharton School of Business for Nurse Executive leadership training. He mentors Master’s Degree candidates as well as various other nursing students. He is an active participant in several Diversity and Inclusion events and Schwartz’s rounds and currently facilitates LEO classes and continues to evolve as a nurse leader and change agent.

Lisa has been with UC Davis Health since 2003. Her career started as a new graduate on E5 Acute Rehabilitation. She then transitioned to Tower 8 for a couple years and then returned to East 5 and became ANII. In April 2016 she accepted the Nurse Manager position for both East 5 Neuroscience and Acute Rehabilitation. She is the Co-Lead for Safe Patient Handling, and in 2018 had the opportunity to grow and develop and become a Leading an Empowered Organization (LEO) facilitator. This has been a beautiful development in her professional career to both grow and emulate the power of Relationship Based Care and how we show up in every situation as our best selves.

“I lead people and manage operations” is one of Barbara’s core philosophies and is in alignment with the LEO training at UC Davis Health. She leads by example to promote a beneficial work environment. Barbara has over 30 years of nursing experience. This includes bedside nursing, clinical education, and the past 11 years in Management. She promotes teamwork and collaboration as evidenced by increased staff and patient satisfaction scores. She is devoted in cultivating her staff and leaders alike by taking a supportive role in professional development. As a LEO facilitator, she finds this rewarding and enjoyable by supporting leaders as diverse individuals who truly aspire to be the best they can be.

Angelica Lewis, Executive Director of Financial and Administrative Systems at UC Davis Medical Center since 2011. Married for 25 years to her college sweetheart, mother of 3, “Tia Angie” to 2 nieces and 3 nephews. After completing RSC and LEO, Angie realized that self-care, living her values at home and work, and leading from the heart were non-negotiable for her well-being.

Jessica is inspired by mindfulness, positive psychology, sociology and wellness and their intersections in healthcare professional development. She excels at guiding professionals toward creating and thriving in relationship-based cultures. Jessica is a skilled facilitator and collaborator. She brings complex science to life with clear tools for application and usually manages to integrate a bit of humor and reality along the way. She has provided mindfulness and wellness consult and program development for health care organizations and Fortune 500 Companies privately. Jessica has served both the public and private health care sectors as an educator and administrator serving low-income populations, health care and fire professionals and C-Suite executives at the California Department of Public Health. At the County level, Jessica served on multi-disciplinary teams to provide equal access to care for newly diagnosed clients needing HIV/AIDS and Communicable Disease services. Jessica has a vast array of health and wellness experience and works collaboratively with health care professionals to offer broad perspectives and create “a-ha moments” for course participants. Jessica manages and oversees Relationship Based Culture and Wellness at UC Davis Health and is a trained facilitator for SMAAP, RSC, and LEO.

Annette is the Transplant Quality Manager here at UC Davis Health and a Leading an Empowered Organization (LEO) facilitator. She has been in the field of transplantation for over 22 years working in various roles such as kidney and living donor transplant coordinator, transplant nurse practitioner, and transplant nurse manager. She now manages quality, data, regulatory, compliance, and research for the transplant program and works closely with the rest of the transplant leadership team to ensure that the program runs smoothly every day. Annette has been a board member of the Organization for Transplant Professionals, NATCO for the past 3 years and has been on the living donor committee for the United Network of Organ Sharing (UNOS). Although she is a licensed Advanced Practitioner, she prefers to spend her time as a manager using her experience and organizational skills to provide leadership to the organization. Being a LEO facilitator allows Annette to extend leadership and experience throughout the UC Davis system by working with staff attending these wonderful classes.

Tracy’s chapter of her nursing career here at UC Davis started in January of 1999 in outpatient Obstetrics and Gynecology. Her formal role in management started in 2010. She is currently the Nurse Practice Manager in ambulatory for the Pulmonology specialty. Tracy is passionate about supporting leaders, staff development, leading by example and promoting a healthy work environment for the team. Her dedication is evidenced by exceptional staff engagement and patient experience scores. Tracy has a practical leadership style that applies the LEO principles within the UC Davis environment. Tracy is delighted to facilitate the Leading an Empowered Organization workshops where she can support leaders in this complex healthcare environment. In 2022, Tracy was awarded the Daisy Nurse Leader award for her leadership in action.

Stephanie has been facilitating Re-Igniting the Spirit of Caring since 2020 and recently joined the facilitator team for Leading an Empowered Organization. Stephanie strives to integrate humor and mindfulness with all of the groups she leads and adventures she takes in life.