Nurse Executive Team

Andrew Bresnahan, MS, BSN, NEA-BC
Vice President of Oncology Services and
Cell & Gene Therapy at the UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center

Andrew Bresnahan, MS, BSN, NEA-BC, serves as Vice President of Oncology Services and Cell & Gene Therapy at the UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center. He provides strategic and operational leadership across inpatient and outpatient oncology programs, infusion services, and the Cancer Care Network, while guiding the growth of UC Davis’ Cell & Gene Therapy service line.

Bresnahan brings over 15 years of progressive leadership experience, previously serving as Director of Oncology at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where he led cell therapy operations, oncology services, apheresis, and the cell lab, and helped develop advanced programs including CAR T-cell and TIL therapies.

He holds a Master of Science in Nursing with a focus in Health Systems Leadership from Lewis University and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Toledo. He is board-certified as a Nurse Executive Advanced (NEA-BC) and has been recognized with the Illinois Nurses Foundation “40 Under 40” award.

Jane D. Peña, RN, M.S.N./Ed, N.E.A.-B.C.
VP, Associate Chief Nursing Executive
Patient Care Services

Jane’s nursing career began as a nurse in Alaska prior to joining the Float Pool at UC Davis Health in 2001. Her clinical experiences include ER, ICU, Med/Surg, Post-Partum, PACU and GI Lab before assuming her leadership roles on T8 Transplant in 2007 as an ANII and then Nurse Manager.

Jane led T8 in the achievement of two PRISM Awards for care of Telemetry and Medical/Surgical patients with expanding care responsibilities in Kidney Transplant, Kidney-Pancreas Transplant, Liver Transplant, Primary Pulmonary Hypertension, and Oncology. She is a co-creator of the pre-op and post-op kidney transplant education that are now translated in multiple languages. In addition, Jane has been instrumental in her roles as a Project Manager for our Nursing GRASP Acuity, Project lead for Cipher Health Rounding, and as an Epic Manager Champion.

Jane has attended the Wharton Nursing Leaders Program in 2016, is currently a Board of Director of the Philippine Nurses Association California Capital City (PNAC3), a member of the International Transplant Nursing Society, Infusion Nursing Society, Northern California Vascular Access Network (NORVAN), American Nurses Association and the American Academy of Family Medicine.

Jane is a recipient of several awards including a Daisy Nurse Leader Award, Team Daisy Award, and Quality and Safety Department Good Catch Recognition. She holds certification as a Nurse Executive Advanced-BC.

Jane graduated from Quezon City Medical Center & Colleges (Philippines) in 1992 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing and went on to obtain her Master’s of Science in Nursing/Education in 2014.

Rupy Sandhu, B.S.N., M.S.
Vice President, Emergency Services

Rupy Sandhu, B.S.N., M.S., is a senior healthcare executive at UC Davis Health, providing strategic and operational leadership for Emergency Services, Express Care, and Connected Care. She oversees a high-acuity portfolio spanning adult and pediatric emergency care, access and integration, virtual/urgent care delivery, and systemwide patient flow. Her work centers on enterprise strategy, clinical operations, throughput, and initiatives that strengthen safety, quality, capacity, and patient experience—ensuring care is delivered in the right place, at the right time.

Before joining UC Davis Health, Rupy held progressive leadership roles across major academic health systems. She spent a decade in ICU and acute care nursing and later served as Chief Flight Nurse overseeing high-acuity air medical transport, establishing standards that improved safety and survival. She also served as Chief of Disaster Preparedness, leading statewide emergency readiness and interagency coordination, and as enterprise EMR lead for UW Medicine and Harborview Medical Center, guiding complex digital transitions and workflow redesign.

Rupy has a longstanding record of impact in trauma program development, regional referral optimization, and multidisciplinary performance improvement, with particular distinction in advancing patient flow across complex systems. At Seattle Children’s, she served as Director of Emergency & Urgent Care Services and patient flow operations, strengthening access, throughput, and coordinated care for pediatric patients across the region.

At UC Davis Health, she led the organization to its first Emergency Department Lantern Award, positioning the ED as a national model for culture, innovation, and patient-centered care. She continues to drive integrated access and flow strategies that align urgent, emergent, and virtual care, reduce inefficiencies, expand capacity, and elevate outcomes across the continuum. Rupy serves on the California Hospital Association and the State EMS & Trauma Systems Board, contributing to statewide policy and emergency care strategy, and is an active member of the ENA and ANA.

She earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Washington and a Master’s in Leadership and Organizational Strategy from UCSF, reflecting a deep commitment to high-trust teams, integrated care systems, and improving access, flow, outcomes, and value for diverse populations.

Shannon Romero, M.H.A., B.S.N., R.N.
Associate Chief Nursing Executive, Ambulatory Care Division

Shannon Romero is the Associate Chief Nursing Executive for the Ambulatory Care Division at UC Davis Health. She oversees nursing practice and clinical operations across ambulatory services, with responsibility for safety, accreditation, and regulatory readiness.

Romero leads key initiatives in workforce development, clinical transformation, and patient-centered care, with a strong focus on safety, innovation and continuous performance improvement. She works collaboratively with clinical, operations, and physician leadership to enhance patient outcomes and ensure alignment with regulatory standards.

She also serves as the executive representative for the Ambulatory Nurse Governance Council, helping to align nursing practice with organizational strategy and professional standards.

With nearly two decades of experience at UC Davis Health, Romero has held several leadership roles, including the Director of Ambulatory Clinical Operations and Division Nurse Practice Manager for the Pain Clinic. Her leadership has been instrumental in preparing the Ambulatory Division for Magnet recognition and in advancing nurse mentorship and succession planning

She holds a Master of Health Administration and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. She is a recipient of UC Davis Health’s DAISY Award for extraordinary service.

Brenda Chagolla, RN, Ph.D., C.N.S., F.A.C.H.E.
Associate Chief Nursing Officer

Brenda has over 20 years of healthcare leadership experience and a Ph.D. in nursing science and healthcare leadership from the Betty Irene More School of Nursing. Over the last eight and a half years Brenda has managed daily operations of four cost centers at UC Davis Medical Center including Davis 3 and Tower 3. During Brenda’s time as the nurse manager for Davis 3 and Tower 3, she worked to obtain national Baby-Friendly certification, Best Maternity Hospital award from Newsweek, and Center of Excellence award from the Society of Obstetric Anesthesia and Perinatology for UC Davis Health Prior to coming to UC Davis Medical Center, Brenda was the Program Manager for Patient Safety and Clinical Risk at Dignity Health managing systemwide perinatal programs and projects at over 30 hospitals in California, Nevada, and Arizona. Additionally, Brenda has participated as a consultant and expert panel member on several state-wide projects to improve women’s health and decrease maternal mortality.

Amy Doroy, RN, Ph.D., M.S., N.E.A.-B.C.
Intensive Care Unit

Amy first joined UC Davis Medical Center in 1998 as a Nurse Intern in the Medical ICU. In the Medical ICU, she has held the CNI, CNII, CNIII, and ANII positions. Since 2010, she has served as the manager of the Medical ICU.

Throughout her career at UC Davis, Amy has participated in several key hospital projects, such as Epic go-lives, ICU throughput initiatives, and numerous quality and safety projects. Amy is currently the co-chair of the code blue committee, co-facilitates the Critical Care New Graduate Fellowship Program and is the co-lead of the ICU early mobility program initially started through grant funding from the Gordon and Betty Irene Moore Foundation in 2012. Amy is also a graduate of Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing MS-L program in 2012 and PhD in 2016.

Amy has received several awards including a Leadership Award from ACNL, Dean’s Team award and a Daisy Nurse Excellence Award. She is a member of several professional societies including the American Association of Critical Care Nurses, American Nurses Association, American College of Healthcare Executives and HIMSS.

Haydee Garcia, D.N.P., A.C.N.P.-B.C.
Heart and Vascular Center

Haydee Garcia, D.N.P., A.C.N.P.-B.C., currently serves as the Executive Director of the Heart and Vascular Center at UC Davis Health. In this role, she provides administrative and clinical oversight for several departments, including the Cath/EP Labs, Structural Heart Program, Vascular Access Lab, Pre/Post CV Care, Noninvasive Cardiology, Comprehensive Heart Attack Program, Heart Failure and VAD Program, Data Registry Management, and Advanced Practice Providers. Her responsibilities include developing policies and procedures, managing budgets, and leading initiatives to enhance patient care, safety, and quality outcomes. Before her current position, Haydee served as the Director of Nursing and Chief Cardiac Cath Lab Nurse Practitioner at Mount Sinai Heart Hospital in New York, NY. In her prior role, she streamlined operations for the Cardiovascular Service Line and developed practice standards and operational policies to ensure excellent quality outcomes. Haydee holds a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree from Grand Canyon University in Arizona and a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) with a specialization in Acute Care Nurse Practitioner from Rutgers University in New Jersey. Her educational background, along with her extensive professional experience, provides her with a comprehensive understanding of cardiovascular healthcare management and a commitment to delivering high-quality patient care.

Joleen Lonigan, DNP, RN, N.E.-B.C., F.A.C.H.E.
VP, Associate Chief Nursing Executive
Patient Care Services

Joleen Lonigan received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Dominican College of San Rafael in 1999 and her Master of Science in Nursing degree from Holy Names University in Oakland, California in 2004. Joleen attended the Wharton Nursing Leaders Program in 2012, FEMA Health Care Leadership Training in 2015, and the AONL Director Fellowship in 2020. She completed her Doctorate in Nurse Practice in Executive Leadership in May 2024 from Old Dominion University.

She is a member of the American Nurses Association, American Organization of Nurse Executives, American College of Healthcare Executives, and California Association of Healthcare Leaders. Joleen was an active board member of CAHL from 2017-2020 and remains a member of the Clinical Leaders Council post her board activity. She was invited to serve on the regional ACHE RAC in 2023-2024. Joleen is a Sacramento native who started her new graduate nurse career at UC Davis Medical Center in Pediatrics. Joleen worked in Pediatrics inpatient nursing for ten years. She transferred to Patient Care Resources in 2009 as assistant nurse manager and then in 2010 she accepted the nurse manager position for the department. In 2016 she accepted her current VP and ACNE position in Patent Care Services.

She is active in organizational-wide initiatives such as Length of Stay Reduction, Patient Flow Improvements, Care Management & TOC, Governance, Magnet Designation, Suicide and Ligature Workflow and Succession Planning, and Sustainability. She actively disseminates the outcomes of the work she has led and shares the findings in regional and national level venues.

Wendy Willson, RN, M.S.N., N.E.A.-B.C., C.N.O.R.
Executive Director Perioperative Services

Wendy Willson oversees: All Perioperative Services which includes hospital and outpatient based Operating Rooms, Pre & Post-op Anesthesia Recovery Units (PACUs), Sterile Processing Departments (SPDs), the GI Endoscopy Lab and Interventional Pulmonary Services, the Extended Recovery Unit, and the Pre-Anesthesia Clinic (PAC).

Responsibilities include the day-to-day operations of 50 ORs, with over 31,000 surgical cases per year. Wendy joined UC Davis Health in May of 2017 after relocating from Chicago where she was in a similar position overseeing Surgical Services at Northwestern Memorial.

Wendy’s career has focused on Perioperative Services, and she has progressed through leadership positions from staff nurse, team leader, clinical nurse specialist, manager, and director. She graduated with her Nursing Diploma in Toronto, Ontario, Canada where she worked in an academic medical center. She spent several years working in an active trauma center at King Fahad Hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia prior to relocating to Chicago.

Wendy received her Master’s in Nursing from Loyola University in Chicago. She maintained her advanced practice status as a Clinical Nurse Specialist focused in Perioperative Nursing for many years. She holds certifications in OR nursing and Nurse Executive Advanced Certification. Wendy is a member of the following professional organizations: American Nurses Association (ANA), American Association of Nurse Executives, the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses, and the American College of Healthcare Executives and California Association of Healthcare Leaders.