Patient Experience Business Partner, Division of Health Experience Excellence

Here is what Marlene’s nominator had to say about her:   

“Amy is an incredibly dedicated member of the UCSF community. She was my manager several years ago when I first started at UCSF, and she supported me in my professional growth and development, which has led me to an amazing role now. Years later, I still think back to my time reporting to her and how fortunate I was to have her as a manager and mentor. UCSF is most certainly a better place because Amy is here, and I hope her hard work, commitment, and incredible work ethic are recognized across the institution. Not only is Amy an incredible employee, but she is also an incredible woman with so much to give. She puts others - especially her staff and patients! - first and is an inspiration to so many, especially. To boot, she's a great baker and lots of fun. :)” 

Nominator: Sara Beck 

Amy's Bio:

My journey at UCSF started in Patient Relations and I have a strong belief that were it possible to do so, every single employee should spend 2 weeks to a month in that department. It’s a HUGE learning experience about what matters to patients and their families, and how we can do better at delivering those “must haves”. I often think of the funny, the challenging, the heart wrenching conversations I had in that department, and the support of a very close set of colleagues who were also doing what some have called “the hardest job at UCSF.” I enjoyed it so much, I stayed 10 years and grew from analyst to director during that time, taking on more and more challenges along the way. My own background is as a project manager and I’ve managed all sorts, so I suppose I am what you would call a jill of all trades, and I am told I have even mastered a few. I now work in a patient experience role and am enjoying the variety there as I support BCH San Francisco in their work to provide the very best experience to our families and children. In terms of accomplishments in my career? I’d have to say being at the birth of over 200 babies during my years as a doula wins out over pretty much anything else. 

What advice would you give yourself early on in your career to a woman entering your field today?  

Allow yourself to look beyond a single area or role that you “think” is right for you, but rather think about what skills you really enjoy exercising and then look for roles that allow you to exercise those skills! I talked to people in a lot of different areas at UCSF before I found a department that was right for me and then I waited for the opportunity to join. I was lucky that I was in a position to do so, but that, too, was self-created.  

What brought you to healthcare?  

I was diagnosed with diabetes when I was 9 years old, and I remember that conversation with the physician to this day. It was terribly wounding to me as a child, the way that he tried to use fear to motivate me, while at the same time telling me I wouldn’t not live past 35, “even if I did things perfectly.” Yes, wow! After some years of struggle, I took hold of my own path and became a good and articulate advocate for myself and I think, after years of doing other types of work, drew me back to healthcare and the strong desire to make a positive difference in the healthcare journeys of others.  

Can you tell us about your professional journey?  

I started my professional journey working for my parents at the Marin Center Box Office and then for my father in his vending machine company. Candy, cokes and cigarettes, folks, all the things that UCSF does NOT endorse! From my parents I learned to work hard and do the right thing for customers. Then I was awarded Bachelor’s in English at Mills College and really didn’t know what to do, so I got a job working in a regional symphony organization raising money, writing grants and letters. There I learned that what I liked doing was managing projects, end-to-end, and worked for the next 15 years in various types of project management, mostly in the event & theatrical production business. From sets and lighting to trade show booths and parties, I did them all. I was out on my own for some of those years, working with different producers and production companies and eventually I slid into the world of technology, as so many in this area did in the mid-90’s. I worked for a blue-sky technology research lab in Palo Alto and there supported a lot of different folks doing really interesting work. Managing work done by brilliant researchers, helping them make their visions a reality, was great! I once did a project in Florence, Italy, helping produce a documentary video about some work we were sponsoring at Stanford involving the David, by Michelangelo. I spent 3 weeks in Florence, supporting the shoot and the highpoint was that I got to climb up the scaffolding in front of the David to look him right in the eyes. Talk about amazing!  

Early in the 2000’s though, I had a lightbulb moment and realized I wanted to do work that I could see, that would affect one person’s life in a positive way. That led me to a good bit of soul searching, and eventually I became a Birth Doula. A real left turn! The timing was perfect, though, because as the dot.com bubble burst and floated away, I found myself in this world of amazing joy and personal fulfillment. What job could be better than supporting a family in becoming a family, whether it be for the first time or the fourth, etc. My stories about birth are endless and I am told I light up when I tell them. I could tell a lot of stories about my experience at UCSF, with the wonderful midwives, physicians, nurses, and others at UCSF and when I was ready, after 10 years, to move away from Doula work, I looked to UCSF for a potential landing spot. Given my background, Patient Relations turned out to be the right place for me, and that led to Patient Experience, which will likely be my final landing spot at UCSF Health. I take great joy in focusing on BCH SF, in partnering with the team I’m lucky enough to be part of, and in supporting our families and patients in their own journeys here as I work with leaders to address what are often system gaps related to the delivery of care in all that word means.  

What is your favorite movie or TV Show you have watched recently?  

 I loved “Jury Duty”, but my all-time favorite TV show is “Firefly”. It’s perfection.  

If you could go anywhere for a day, where would you go?   

I think I’d choose to visit Kenya in the 1800’s and see the amazing elephants ruling the land, as well as all the other animals that shared that beautiful place.   

Meet other outstanding women of UCSF through Our Spotlight.