The members of Texas Health’s pilot R.I.S.E. (Readying Inspiring Leaders with Skills to Promote Equity) cohort graduated Friday with a capstone experience and ceremony.
“My expectation is that you will utilize your skills to expand your own cultural frame of reference, to incorporate these learnings into your role to impact your teams and colleagues and ultimately, to advance diversity, equity and inclusion in all facets of the Texas Health culture and community,” Texas Health CEO Barclay Berdan, CEO, told the graduates.
R.I.S.E., a leadership development program, is a key component of the system’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiative. The 25 participants were chosen from 150 applicants for the pilot.
“This was a safe space for me to learn,” said Lucky Denenga, director of rehabilitation services, a participant from Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas. “I really enjoyed it and gained so much I’d want to do the program again and again.”
Carla Dawson, chief people officer, said in her closing remarks, “A common thread that I heard is that each of you learned something new and has a new perspective on DE&I. Recently, a member of my team shared with me a simple but yet so powerful quote: ‘Diversity is a fact; inclusion is an act.’ I think this quote succinctly describes what inclusion is all about, each of us taking action to make our workplace, our communities, our world a better place. One person at a time. Your desire to act and apply your learnings is inspiring.”
The name R.I.S.E. was inspired by a part of Martin Luther King’s speech April 3, 1968, at Mason Temple in Memphis: “Let us rise up tonight with a greater readiness.”
The program is a collaboration between Texas Health Government and Community Affairs, and People and Culture. Program organizers are evaluating when it will be offered again.
Program graduates are:
- Lupe Alvarado, nurse practitioner, Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Denton
- Heba Abu-Maizar, therapist, Behavioral Health, Texas Health Arlington Memorial Hospital
- Catherine Bywaters, retention specialist, Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Plano
- Julie Cecil, chaplain, Texas Health Resources
- Tiffani Coblentz, consultant, Talent Acquisition, Texas Health Resources
- Lucky Denenga, directory of therapy services, Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas
- Hazel Edwards, director, Care Transitions, Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Hurst-Euless-Bedford
- Brianna Foulkrod, director, Credentialing, Texas Health Physicians Group
- Marva Goins, director, Pharmacy, Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Southwest Fort Worth
- Deborah Grambling, director, Specialty Care Operations, Texas Health Physicians Group
- Janet Hicks, coordinator, Quality Improvement, Texas Health Arlington Memorial Hospital
- Annette Jacobs, director, Care Transitions, Texas Health Arlington Memorial Hospital
- Peter Kim, strategist, Digital Experience, Texas Health Resources
- Andrea Lafreniere, consultant, Strategic Employee Relations, Texas Health Resources
- Patricio Lopez, senior human resources generalist, Texas Health Arlington Memorial Hospital
- Christine Maywald, practice manager, Texas Health Physicians Group
- Judith McAnally, program manager, Community Relations and Physician Outreach, Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Fort Worth
- Sarah McClellan-Brandt, lead specialist, Social Media Content, Texas Health Resources
- Gift Nelson, nursing manager, Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Hurst-Euless-Bedford
- Erin Pelton, unit secretary, Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Allen
- Nichelle Stevenson, manager, Patient Access Services, Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Southwest Fort Worth
- Hannah Tupper, director, Product Portfolio, Texas Health Resources
