Nurse Executive Team

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.

Carla S. Martin M.S.N., RN, C.N.L., C.I.C.
Associate Chief Nursing Officer
Patient Care Services

Carla’s COVID-19 Leadership Experience: https://health.ucdavis.edu/nursestories/
Carla-Martin.html

Carla Martin is the Executive Director for Patient Care Services with oversight of Medical/Surgical specialty inpatient units including Oncology, ENT, Transplant, Neurology; Hospital Service Departments; PICC, Interventional Radiology, and specialty programs including Infection Prevention and Control; Quality and Safety and the Center for Professional Nursing Practice (CPPN). Ms. Martin is also the lead on the UC Davis Medical Center sepsis mortality reduction committee and Career Ladder.

Carla has been a nurse since 1992. The first half of her career was spent at the bedside caring for patients primarily in Adult Cardiac Critical Care and Emergency Medicine. In 2002, Carla transitioned from bedside nursing into nursing leadership and has had the opportunity to manage and/or direct many patient care areas and various programs within the acute care setting including; Adult Medical and Cardiac ICU, Emergency medicine, Interventional Radiology, Interventional Cardiology, and Infection Prevention and Hospital Epidemiology, eventually joining the Infection Prevention team at UC Davis in 2015.

Carla graduated from Seminole State College in 1992 with an Associate’s Degree in Nursing, went on to obtain a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from California State University-Sacramento in 2006 and a Masters of Nursing as a Clinical Nurse Leader (CNL) from the University of San Francisco in 2014 and was a recipient of the Deans Award from the USF School of Nursing and Health Professionals (SONHP) in 2014. Her capstone project was focused on reducing blood culture contamination rates to stem the rising costs associated with inappropriate or unnecessary antimicrobials and was accepted as a poster presentation at the 26th Annual National Forum-Institute for Healthcare Improvement in 2014. Carla is pursuing her Doctoral degree at USF in Executive Leadership with an anticipated completion in 2023.

Carla holds two professional certifications a Clinical Nurse Leader (CNL) and in Infection Prevention (CIC) and has affiliations with several professional organizations including; Association of Clinical Nurse Leaders (ACNL), American Organization for Nursing Leadership and the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE).

Carla feels that it is incumbent on healthcare leaders to always question the status quo and find new ways to deliver care that is timely, efficient and above all patient centered.

Diane Woods, M.S.N. RN, N.E.A.-B.C.
Associate Chief Nursing Officer
Ambulatory Nursing Practice and Regulatory Compliance

Diane is responsible for the administration of nursing practice and standards of registered nurses, licensed vocational nurses, medical assistants, and technicians who practice within the Ambulatory Care Division. The Ambulatory Care division, a fully integrated and accredited Academic Health Center, has expanded to 36 locations providing care to over one million patients annually in over 30 specialties for the entire lifespan: pregnancy and prenatal, adults, pediatrics, and geriatrics: Primary Care and Family Medicine, Medicine Specialties, procedure services, and the current Centers of Excellence: MIND Institute, Heart and Vascular, and Women’s Health.

Diane’s current responsibilities include:

• Supervisory oversight, evaluation, competency, staff development, training and education
• Monitoring and provision of patient care
• Policy and procedure, infection prevention, disaster, and emergency preparedness and management
• Clinic and staff implementation and continued compliance of and to The Joint Commission Standards, and other state and federal regulatory bodies

Diane’s 38 year nursing career includes the past 15 years at Emory Healthcare, an AMC in Atlanta, GA, initially in Cardiology Services, and then in Administration as the leader for ambulatory clinical operations for 250+ physician practices, 11 ASCs, and various procedure-based clinics for 4+ million annual patient visits. She was the architect for Emory’s patient–practice communications program, the centralized RN triage and LPN Rx Management teams, and the MA/LPN progression program. Transformational leadership, expanding top of RN license practice, determining staffing resources, ambulatory Magnet activities, and walking with the TJC surveyors are just a few of the things Diane enjoys about her role. Before her Emory tenure, Diane spent almost a decade in an interventional cardiac cath lab, Critical Care and L&D. She belongs to the American Academy of Ambulatory Care Nursing (AAACN), the American Nurses Association (ANA), and ANA California. Diane has presented nationally on Telehealth Nursing and participated on two national taskforces for RN Triage education and resource development, while also teaching future nurses about Telehealth and Virtual Care Nursing as an adjunct instructor at Emory’s School of Nursing.

She has presented nationally on progression programs for non-RN staff. She was also part of a team that published an article on the medical home model of care. She was a Georgia Nurse Leader of the Year finalist in 2018 and 2019.

Diane has two daughters, a math teacher and a screenwriter, and two adorable grandsons in ATL. Diane enjoys acrylic painting and is an avid reader, too.

Joleen Lonigan, DNP, RN, N.E.-B.C., F.A.C.H.E.
Associate Chief Nursing Officer
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 ACNO & Executive Director 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.

Melissa Soderlund, RN, M.S.
Clinical Director of Oncology Services
UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center

Melissa Soderlund has been a nurse for over 25 years and during this time has been a nurse leader for over 11 years. The last 15 years she has served the outpatient oncology population and has a passion for mentoring new leaders and team members, program development, and bridging cancer care services throughout the health care system. Melissa earned her BSN at Chico State University and a Masters in Nursing Leadership at the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing. She joined the UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Team in January 2021 as the Adult Clinic Nurse Manager and looks forward to continuing to support oncology operations in the her new role as the interim clinical director.

Rupy Sandhu

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

Wendy Willson oversees: All Operating Rooms (ORs) and Pre-op and Post-Anesthesia Recovery Units (PACU) in the main Pavilion, Children’s Surgery Center and the Same Day Surgery Center, as well as the Surgical Admissions Center, Central Sterile Processing functions, the GI Endoscopy Lab and Interventional Pulmonary Services.

Responsibilities include the day to day operations of 34 ORs, with over 25,500 surgical cases per year. In spring 2021, we will open six additional ORs with 27 PACU bays in the University Tower Surgery Suite. Wendy works in a collaborative model with the Perioperative Medical Director.

Wendy joined UC Davis Health in May of 2017 after relocating from Chicago where she was the Director of 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 advance 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.

Leah Mejia, M.P.A., P.H.R.
Director, Business Operations
Patient Care Services

The Business Office handles the financial, budgetary, and business related operations for the Patient Care Services Division. This includes development and oversight of operating expense and revenue budgets, financial analysis and reporting, census and budget analysis projections, as well as development of FTE, budget control, and budget implementation procedures.

The Nursing Unit Support Services department coordinates, maintains, evaluates, researches and corrects any issues that pertain to safety, medical products and environment for all departments within Patient Care Services. This includes procurement of complex or highly technical supplies, capital and non-capital equipment, capital improvement projects, equipment inventory, and development and renewal of vendor contracts.