Three BIDMC employees chosen for The Partnership Inc. program
Year long leadership program for professionals of color
Date: 2/16/2010
BIDMC Contact: Kelly Lawman
Phone: 617-667-7305
Email: klawman@bidmc.harvard.edu
BOSTON- Three Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center employees were honored at a Feb. 11 ceremony announcing this year’s BIDMC’s selections for participation in The Partnership, Inc., a year long leadership program designed to facilitate career growth and networking for professionals of color in greater Boston.
Stephanie Huang, Director of Development Operations, and Nebiye Woldehaimanot, Manager of Patient Transport, joined the Fellows Program, and Lisa Wong, Senior Staffing Partner, Human Resources, joined the Associates Program. Both programs help participants build upon a foundation of skills to advance their careers.
Since 1987, The Partnership has worked with more than 250 regional institutions to more effectively attract, develop and retain multicultural professionals. The Partnership’s programs involve interactive discussion, hands-on learning, networking, personal brand evaluation, and small group discussions that cross industry, racial, cultural and ethnic lines.
BIDMC has been a sponsoring organization since 1990, sending 33 professionals through the Partnership program.
“This year we had more applicants to the program than ever before, making it a tough selection process, said Joanne Pokaski, Director of Workforce Development, “but we feel these three employees will be able to take great advantage of this opportunity and lead BIDMC into the future.”
A graduate of Georgetown University Law Center, Stephanie Huang spent three years in private legal practice before becoming a staff attorney for CareGroup, Inc., which serves hospital members including BIDMC. Experience at CareGroup with hospital corporate governance lead Huang to the BIDMC Office of the President. In 2003 she became the Chief of Staff, where she was responsible for staffing the Board of Directors and Board Committees. She joined the BIDMC Development Office in 2008 and currently manages the Development Operations team.
During the ceremony, Huang shared a defining experience from early in her career when she was interviewing for jobs during law school. A potential employer asked her, “As an Asian woman, do you think you can be tough in a courtroom?” “For the first time ever,” said Huang, “it occurred to me that others may perceive me as a stereotype, rather than the sum of my character, my strengths, my ambitions, my potential.” This incident and other professional experiences fueled Huang’s desire to apply for the program. Two sessions in, she says she already feels inspired. “The program is putting me in constant contact with wise and dedicated professionals at every turn who are willing to share their rich experiences and the lessons that come along the way.”
Huang was nominated for the program by her manager, Morgan Herman, Executive Director, Institutional Giving.
Nebiye Woldehaimanot began his career at BIDMC in 1998 as a supervisor for Environmental Services. Fluent in five languages including English, Italian, Tigrina, Amharic, and Arabic, Woldehaimanot began working in patient transportation and advanced to his current position of Patient Transport Manager. He is responsible for the overall planning, organizing, managing and controlling of the hospital’s Centralized Transportation Department. Woldehaimanot is proud to be a strong role model to his four children and an active volunteer with the non-profit Eritrean Cultural Development Center.
With an educational background in economics, Woldehaimanot is looking forward to the program’s professional development opportunities, particularly in the areas of patient demands, new technologies and evolving cultural diversity issues. “I hope to enhance my skills and give back to a hospital that has given so much to me over the years by becoming a better manager and a better colleague,” said Woldehaimanot.
Woldehaimanot was nominated for the program by his supervisor, Michael Kennedy, Director, EVS and Clinical Transport.
Lisa Wong joined BIDMC in 1997 as a part-time registration assistant in the Emergency Department, while working full time as an MBTA Employee Relations Representative. While working both jobs, Wong completed her undergraduate degree in Business Administration from Emmanuel College in 2002 and went on to obtain her master’s degree in Human Resources in 2006. In 2007 Wong was hired by BIDMC as a Senior Staffing Partner in Human Resources where she hires all non-licensed staff for inpatient nursing units and the operating rooms, as well as assisting with research lab recruitment. In the summer of 2009, Wong also mentored high school students interested in pursuing careers in health care as part of BIDMC’s Summer Health Corps program.
Wong says she is ready to embrace the opportunities for growth that the Partnership program offers. “As a life long learner, I am always up for new challenges,” said Wong. “As a Senior Staffing Partner in Human Resources and a woman of color, I am challenged daily with the task of being the best I can be, bringing my best self to work every day and seeking new ways to be extraordinary.”
Wong was nominated for the program by her supervisor, Laurie Peck, Human Resources, Director of Staffing.
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center is a patient care, teaching and research affiliate of Harvard Medical School, and consistently ranks among the top four in National Institutes of Health funding among independent hospitals nationwide. BIDMC is clinically affiliated with the Joslin Diabetes Center and is a research partner of Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center. BIDMC is the official hospital of the Boston Red Sox. For more information, visit www.bidmc.org .
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