EOTQ

Department of Anesthesiology – FAS Employee of the Quarter: January 2024

Kelsey Arends is a member of the Marketing & Communications team within the Department of Anesthesiology at WashU Medicine. With a Bachelor of Journalism from the Missouri School of Journalism, Kelsey thrives on the art of storytelling and content creation, crafting captivating stories that bring her colleagues’ work to life.

Prior to transitioning to the Medical School, Kelsey served on the Danforth Campus in the Office of Undergraduate Admissions as a marketing and communications strategist. During this time, she pursued her MBA part-time at Olin Business School, graduating in 2023. She has enjoyed using this new skillset in her role at WUDA.

In her free time, Kelsey enjoys being outside, whether that’s running, walking her dog, Willa, traveling to places where she can hike, reading a good book, or spending time with the people she loves in the sunshine. She is running 50 (half or full) marathons in every state, so you can find her running the perimeter of Forest Park on any given morning.

Kelsey is so thankful to work with such amazing colleagues and is honored to be the Q2 2024 Employee of the Quarter. She is looking forward to many more years at WashU!

Department of Anesthesiology – FAS Employee of the Quarter: June 2023

Amira Hodzic has been named the 2023 Q3 Employee of the Quarter! Her nominator couldn't speak more highly of her, stating, “Amira has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to mastering every aspect of her job, always asking the 'why' behind our processes and driving innovative solutions to improve accuracy and workflow. She is a true asset to our team.”

Since joining the Department of Anesthesiology in 2022 as a fellowship coordinator for Pediatric Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Amira has made a remarkable impact. She was chosen to serve as one of the department's nine Equity Champions, where she spearheads discussions and provides training on anti-racism culture change and leadership.

Originally from Bosnia, she immigrated to upstate New York as a child but has spent the last eight years in St. Louis. She is an alumna of SLU’s College for Public Health and Social Justice, and just recently completed her Master’s in Health Leadership from WGU. Outside of work, Amira enjoys hanging out with family and friends, thrifting, writing poetry, and playing with her dog, Julie.

Amira humbly attributes her success to her education team, “Lauren, Erin, Shirley, and Tegan are some of the greatest colleagues. While I am so appreciative to be acknowledged as Employee of the Quarter, this acknowledgment would not be possible without the mentorship and guidance of my wonderful team!”

Department of Anesthesiology – FAS Employee of the Quarter: September 2022

Meredith joined the Department of Anesthesiology, and Washington University, in January 2022. Hired as an executive secretary, she supports the Vice Chair of Pediatric Anesthesiology and the Division Chief of Perioperative Medicine. Prior to coming to Washington University, she worked as an executive assistant at Saint Louis University, and as an archaeologist for a private St. Louis firm (ask her about some of her favorite digs!). She has immensely enjoyed her time at Washington University thus far, and is looking forward to working on future projects.

Outside of work, Meredith enjoys seeing live music, bird watching with her husband, Kevin, and hanging out with her Green Cheek Conure, Zuzu.

Department of Anesthesiology – FAS Employee of the Quarter: January 2022

Karen is a Business and Technology Applications Analyst II in the IS group and just celebrated her 14th anniversary with the department. She manages the remaining departmental servers as well as KnowledgeLake and SharePoint support. Karen also handles Epic training role assignments and general access and training questions. Technical support of clinical issues has been recently added to her responsibilities and she looks forward to gaining a more in-depth knowledge of the clinical side of our department. She has been married for 30 years and has one child who is a REACH teacher in the Kirkwood school district. In her spare time, she enjoys working on her Lego city, New Brickmoore, which recently opened a new hospital, WUDA Memorial.

Department of Anesthesiology – FAS Employee of the Quarter: March 2024

Tiffany started working at WashU in 2009 at the Barnes-Jewish West County Pain Management office and in 2012 transferred to Pediatric Anesthesiology where she is currently the Senior Administrator of Department/Division Operations. Some highlights of her job include creating the faculty call schedules, onboarding new faculty, helping with daily scheduling, and making sure the office is running smoothly. Her favorite part of her job is working with her “Peds Family” and helping facilitate all the moving parts in the division.

She is married to her husband Tom and they have 3 children, Kennedy, Kayla, and James. She has two very spoiled fur babies (Gnocchi & Penne). She loves to travel, try new restaurants, go to Battlehawk games, read, and spend time with family and friends.

Tiffany hopes to continue growing in her role and to continue advancing her leadership skills.  She is honored to work for such a supportive department!

Department of Anesthesiology – FAS Employee of the Quarter: January 2020

Jean was born and raised with her three siblings in St. Louis before moving to Los Angeles to pursue her degree in Neuroscience at the University of Southern California. After 10 sunny years of living the California dream, she decided to move back to St. Louis and now resides in the city with her boyfriend, Scott.

Jean is a life-long musician having played the piano, cello, and violin from the age of four which led her to be a competitive pianist for 15 years. This experience taught her the importance of dedication, hard work, and attention to detail which has proven to be quite helpful in her position with the department.

Jean helps to build and manage the department faculty and CRNA schedules and works closely with the division chiefs, individual providers, business directors, and credentialing team to efficiently staff the adult ORs and ICUs for Barnes-Jewish Hospital, Barnes-Jewish West County Hospital, Progress West Hospital, and Missouri Baptist Medical Center and 8 other ICU only locations.

In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her amazing & supportive boyfriend, cooking, discovering new restaurants, rooting for the Cardinals & Blues, snowboarding, yoga, and re-watching Parks & Recreation.

Department of Anesthesiology – FAS Employee of the Quarter: January 2023

Ann has been named the 2023 Q3 Employee of the Quarter! Her nominator says, "Ann is always a pleasure to work with! Her attitude and wiliness to facilitate the credentialing process while educating providers and colleagues is invaluable! She is consistently supportive, responsive, and knowledgeable. She is proactive and willing to “find” the answers/solutions!"

Department of Anesthesiology – FAS Employee of the Quarter: March 2021

Erin was born and raised across the river in Southern Illinois and has enjoyed a varied educational and career background that has led to; out-planting federally endangered orchid species in the Hawaiian islands, gaining an MS in Plant Pathology from the University of Florida, and a rewarding career in nonprofit communications upon first returning to the Midwest. Ultimately, Erin joined the Department of Anesthesiology as a Residency Program Coordinator in 2018. In her words, “It’s both a challenging and rewarding position – it’s certainly never boring!”

Erin currently resides in Old North St. Louis where she and her fiancé James are working to restore their historic home (124 years and counting!). When not working on the house, she loves cycling, hiking, working in her extensive backyard garden, and enjoying dinner parties with her neighbors.

Department of Anesthesiology – FAS Employee of the Quarter: September 2023

Linda is a clinical research professional with experience in project management, clinical trial feasibility review, trial design, as well as study start-up and execution. She began her WashU tenure as a clinical research coordinator (CRC) in Radiation Oncology. Since joining the Division of Clinical and Translational Research (DoCTR) in 2018 as a CRC, Linda has grown into an administrative management role as the division manager of clinical trials and operations. She supports the DoCTR research faculty and staff on a variety of research studies, collaborates with division peers and leaders, as well as works closely with the research business and financial teams on staffing and allocations.

In addition to her core responsibilities as the clinical trials manager, Linda is also a graduate of WashU’s Institute of Leadership Excellence’s inaugural Leadership Excellence and Development Program, a member of the Women of WUDA Steering Committee, and an incoming member of the Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity in Anesthesiology Task Force.

Prior to starting at WashU, Linda spent nearly ten years on the West Coast, and then five years living abroad. She spent a month backpacking around Europe before returning to her family and hometown. Since returning to St. Louis, she has spent her time re-acclimating to Midwest weather (she says it's a long-term work-in-progress that may never end!), and eating lots St. Louis favorites like toasted ravioli and Imo’s. In her spare time, Linda enjoys trying out overly ambitious cooking recipes, reading mystery/thriller novels, and Olympic weightlifting.

Linda hopes to continue her ongoing journey of developing her leadership skills, as well as promoting equity and safe space culture in the division. She is grateful for the awesome colleagues, leaders, and mentors around her who provide the support and guidance to achieve success in her role! She gives the greatest thanks to all those in anesthesiology for nominating her as the Employee of the Quarter in October 2023!

Department of Anesthesiology – FAS Employee of the Quarter: September 2020
Department of Anesthesiology – FAS Employee of the Quarter: March 2022

As the Director of Marketing & Communications, Patrick has dedicated over a decade to WashU, with prior experience at University College (now WashU CAPS). He joined the department in 2019 and in his current role, he leads comprehensive communications and marketing strategies designed to enhance the Department's visibility and reputation across its clinical, educational, research, and cultural missions.

Outside of his professional endeavors, Patrick is a devoted family man who enjoys spending time with his wife and three children. His hobbies include playing competitive volleyball, gardening, cycling, tackling home improvement projects, and grilling. He has also developed a passion for the St. Louis CITY MLS team and is a music aficionado who frequents live concerts whenever possible. Fun fact: he once dabbled in concert photography—initially as a clever way to secure front-row seats.