Better Leadership. Better Outcomes.

Decades of research on organizational effectiveness is evident: effective leadership is the linchpin to meaningfully engaging employees, driving cultural transformation, and improving productivity, processes, and strategic outcomes. Our office provides tools and training to allow leaders and the teams they direct to enhance their ability to collaborate and be successful.

Leadership: Foundations for Success

We are equipping leaders and their teams to handle conflict effectively while managing change and driving strategy for UAB. Our team offers intensive training programs for leaders at all levels and individualized executive coaching for participants in our signature programs. The Leadership Development Office offers support and momentum when and where you most need us.

Who We Serve

 The Leadership Development Office seeks to equip leaders in the Heersink School of Medicine and the UAB Health System with the leadership skills that drive high-performing work cultures. As leaders develop essential skills, they foster successful outcomes, which betters our organization. This type of development helps UAB sustain its success as an Academic Medical Center of the 21st century.

Our Approach

Every leader and every team has unique needs, dynamics, and contexts. Because of this, the Leadership Development Office partners with each client to fully understand their challenges and aspirations before devising a customized strategy. We emphasize the latest in leadership development knowledge. We will be your partner in your journey to becoming an effective leader. Our content is tailored to build high-performing teams and is adapted for a wide range of formats. Leadership development must be comprehensive and strategic to be effective; this is a task we take seriously.

Our Programs

High Impact Leadership Series (Senior Leadership and Executive Teams)
For intact leadership teams, the goal of the High Impact Leadership Series is to allow senior leadership and executive teams to apply customized leadership knowledge and practices to their specific broad challenges while allowing them to learn and develop skills as a leadership team.

UAB Medicine Institute for Leadership (Senior/Mid-Level Leaders)
The goal of the UAB Medicine Institute for Leadership is to enhance existing personal, leadership, and management competencies while leveraging current leadership strategies and trends. Guest speakers from executive-level leadership positions at UAB, including former Institute for Leadership graduates, complete the dynamic curriculum by demonstrating skills-to-practice experiences. This program is offered in the fall and spring.

S.A.I.L.
Sharing Authentically to Inspire and Lead (Junior Faculty Leadership Program)
The purpose of the S.A.I.L. program is to offer a leadership development opportunity for a small cohort of Junior Faculty in order to help them navigate the challenges unique to assistant professors in medicine. This program is offered in the fall and spring.

L.E.A.D.
LEading Advancing Developing (Mid-Level Faculty Development Program)
The purpose of the L.E.A.D. program is to build ongoing faculty leadership capability, help retain key faculty, and ensure sustainable faculty success. This program is designed for associate professors and is offered in the fall and spring. 

H.P.C.C.
High Performing Care Collaborative (Functional Leadership Teams)
The purpose of the High Performing Care Collaborative is to submerse intact (clinical) leader teams with the key management and leadership principles that drive outcomes while forming their own collaborative action plans. The program participants include a variety of leadership teams in order to promote collaboration across departments and entities, as well as creativity and problem-solving. 

E.L.S.
Emerging Leaders Series
The purpose of E.L.S. is to offer a leadership development opportunity for a cohort of emerging leaders at a manager, director, or similar level who currently do not have direct reports but are serving in or poised to serve in leadership capacities. This program is offered in the fall and spring.

Our Team

Jean Ann Larson, Ed.D., MBA, BSIE, FACHE, FIISE, LFHIMSS

Chief Leadership Development Officer

Dr. Larson serves as the Chief Leadership Development officer for UAB Medicine. She has more than 25 years of experience as a senior leader, organizational and leadership development expert, and process improvement consultant in healthcare. She is board-certified in Healthcare Administration (FACHE) and in the Institute for Industrial Engineering (FIISE). In addition, she is lifetime board-certified in the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (LFHIMSS). She is a Fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives and in the Institute for Industrial and Systems Engineers. She has authored and edited several books, including Organizational and Process Reengineering Approaches for Health Care Transformation, which was named the 2015 HIMSS Book of the Year. She is the winner of the SHS-HIMSS Excellence in Healthcare Management Engineering/Process Improvement Award. In addition to serving as a certified facilitator in multiple assessments and offerings, including DISC, EQ, TLC, 5 Behaviors, Seven Habits, and Crucial Conversations (as well as others), she is a Lean Black Belt, Certified ASQ Six Sigma Green Belt. She has been the keynote presenter at national conferences. Her background not only includes serving as the Chief Leadership Officer of an award-winning healthcare-based corporate university, but also extensive national experience as a writer and presenter. Dr. Larson earned her undergraduate degree in Industrial Engineering, an MBA in International Management, and a doctorate from Pepperdine University in Organizational Change and Leadership.

Kellie R. Carter, Ph.D.

Senior Leadership Development Specialist

Dr. Carter joined UAB Medicine and UAB Health System in 2021 as a Senior Leader Development Specialist in the Leadership Development Office. Before joining the LDO team, Dr. Carter worked in the UAB Graduate School for 21 years, and most recently held the title of Director of the Professional Development Program. During her tenure in the Graduate School, she created the Mentoring & Leadership Certificate, along with the curriculum and associated courses. Prior to this position, she worked with graduate students, postdocs, and faculty as the Director of Communications and Events for the Graduate School. Dr. Carter earned her Bachelor of Arts in Art Studio with a concentration in graphic design from UAB. She earned her Master of the Arts in Education in Educational Leadership from UAB and her doctoral degree in a dual Educational Leadership program from UAB and the University of Alabama. She is a certified facilitator in DISC, Emotional Intelligence (EQ), Stress Quotient (SQ), and LPI 360.

Matt Sherrer, M.D., MBA, FASA, FAACD

Clinical Consultant to the Leadership Development Office

Dr. Matt Sherrer is an associate professor in the UAB Heersink School of Medicine Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine and serves as the Clinical Consultant to the Leadership Development Office. Dr. Sherrer has 16 years of clinical experience in private practice and academic health care settings. He served as President of Anesthesia Services of Birmingham, P.C., for five years. He has also served as Vice President of the Medical Staff at Brookwood Baptist Medical Center, President-Elect of the Alabama State Society of Anesthesiologists, Physician Liaison of the UAB Anesthesia Care Team Optimization Committee, and Certified Team Coach for the Center for Executive Coaching. He earned his MBA from the Samford University Brock School of Business and his medical degree from the Heersink School of Medicine. His specialties include collective intelligence and teaming, team coaching and mentoring, and incivility in health care.

Rokeia Westbrook, MPH

Program Director

Rokeia Westbrook has more than 13 years of dedicated experience in Healthcare and Higher Education Administration, and she is the current Program Director for Leadership Development at UAB. In this role, she serves as the program oversight manager and event planner. Simultaneously, Rokeia is the Executive Assistant to the Chief Leadership Development Officer, Dr. Jean Ann Larson. Rokeia earned her undergraduate degree in Health Education from UAB and holds a master's degree in Public Health from Samford University. Her specialized skills encompass program management, program planning, hospitality management, and administration.

Danny Mendez

Program Coordinator II

Danny Mendez specializes in event coordination, event planning, manual/guide binder documentation, and customer service. He has more than six years of customer service experience, mainly in restaurant and hospitality, and four years of event coordination in academic areas at the University of Alabama. His experience includes serving as Co-Director of the Audio/Video Department for a non-profit pop cultural convention, Kami-Con, President for the Philosophy Club and Evolutionary Studies Club at the University of Alabama, and Patient Encounter Specialist for Chronic Kidney Disease - Nephrology at The Kirklin Clinic at UAB. Danny also created the CKD Manual for the Department of Nephrology and assisted in the creation of the PES binder for the front desk. He earned his bachelor's degree in Business Management from the University of Alabama.

Are you interested in partnering with the Leadership Development office or want to learn more? Contact ldo@uabmc.edu.

Do you want to nominate a colleague for one of our programs? Please email your colleague’s name, title, email address, your name and contact information, and which program (if applicable) to ldo@uabmc.edu.