by Brooke Carbo and Nicole Strickland
Nominations for fourth-quarter 2024 are open through Oct. 9; submit a nomination online.Peter Bosworth, program director II for the Office of Interprofessional Curriculum; Lakesha Johnson, patient services coordinator II in the Sparks Center for Development & Learning Disorders; and Lee O’Neil, senior director of advancement operations support for the Office of Advancement Services, are the third-quarter 2024 honorees for the UAB Values in Action Program.
The UAB VIP Award honors employees whose work exemplifies and embodies one or more of the We CARE Shared Values outlined in the Forging Ahead strategic plan: Collaborate, Act with Integrity, Respect All and Excel. All three honorees have made a lasting impact on the fabric and culture of UAB by exemplifying the university’s shared values.
Honorees are nominated by their colleagues and selected by a committee of individuals from across the campus and UAB Hospital. Nominations for fourth-quarter 2024 are open through Oct. 9; submit a nomination online. One of the 2024 VIP honorees will be selected for the annual President’s Award for Excellence in Shared Values.
Meet this quarter’s UAB VIP Award honorees:
Peter Bosworth
The mission of the Office of Interprofessional Curriculum, or OIPC, is to support educational experience across the UAB campus, creating learning experiences for both faculty and students to share the importance of collaboration and education. As its program director, Bosworth has developed a reputation for doing his job well, doing it with integrity and doing it collaboratively.
OIPC Director Allison Shorten, Ph.D., has worked alongside Bosworth since she arrived at UAB in late 2016, when the OIPC was a newly established office.
“I was amazed by his ability to connect and communicate with everyone across our campus,” Shorten said. “The reason we established the OIPC so successfully was that Peter is the ultimate collaborator and a genuinely stellar human being. He approaches his work with a smile and a ‘no problem, we will figure it out’ attitude.”
Looking back on the OIPC’s first year in operation, Shorten credits Bosworth with ensuring their team met not only all of its strategic goals for that year, but most of the strategic goals set for the first five years.
“I firmly believe that, without Peter and his collaborative spirit of leadership and service to UAB, OIPC would not be where it is today, delivering over 10,000 interprofessional learner hours each year across UAB for students and faculty,” Shorten said.
Perhaps his most remarkable quality, according to Assistant Director of Program Implementation Penni Watts, Ph.D., is Bosworth’s knack for identifying and executing innovative solutions to complex problems.
“His strategic thinking and creative approach have resulted in the successful implementation of numerous projects,” Watts said. “He is often managing multiple groups of health professions students, often 300 or more, for our interprofessional team training or working to ensure our annual IP Symposium runs flawlessly.”
Bosworth was actively involved in the development of the UAB Interprofessional Leadership Fellows program, which provides training and support to faculty who champion the importance of interprofessional education, as well as an interprofessional scholarly activity program for students interested in becoming educators. He is currently working with a team of health care members across campus to provide joint accreditation for continuing education units for professional development opportunities.
Bosworth’s “positive attitude and collegial demeanor are crucially important in working across disciplines,” added William Meador, M.D., associate professor in the Department of Neurology. “He brings experience from his work, a willingness to hear everyone at the table, and an earnest desire to build consensus and develop meaningful ways forward.”
Lakesha Johnson
As a patient services coordinator for the Sparks Center for Developmental and Learning Disorders, Lakesha Johnson has navigated many changes and challenges while continuing to provide excellent care and compassion to patients and their families.
In the last two years, Johnson has faced transitioning to a new role, a new electronic medical record system and an unplanned leadership change, during which time she never stopped striving for excellence for herself and her colleagues, says Pediatric Human Resources Manager Jason Turner.
“She is not intimidated by change, but rather embraces that change with grace,” Turner said. “She is open to new and innovative processes and will champion these in the administrative realm, offering vital input, training and advice to her colleagues.”
Johnson joined the Sparks Center team just as a number of the center’s staff were retiring or leaving for other positions, recalls Sarah Ryan, Ph.D., a Sparks Center psychologist. From day one, Johnson readily stepped in to cover a variety of duties, Ryan said — “and excelled in all of them while continuing her own. Our division would not have functioned without Lakesha’s flexibility and willingness to work in various roles during the fluctuations in staffing levels.”
Ryan adds that Johnson has used her knowledge of these many roles, and the communication and leadership skills she has demonstrated along the way, to mentor fellow staff members and help them problem-solve around their own job duties.
Colleagues and patients alike have taken note of Johnson’s compassion and commitment to respectfully and collaboratively finding solutions.
“She listens to patient caregivers, acknowledges barriers to scheduling appointments, and works with her colleagues to create a solution that provides each patient with increased access to care,” said Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrician and Assistant Professor Karlene Walker, M.D.
Associate Professor Kimberly Stringer, M.D., added, “Some of my patients make it their priority to call Lakesha, because they are confident she will ensure their inquiry is handled.”
In addition to her invaluable contributions and well-earned reputation, Johnson is the first to celebrate her colleagues’ achievements, and her positive energy around the office is contagious, said Walker: “She approaches every challenge with a can-do attitude and a smile on her face, inspiring us all to do the same.”
Lee O’Neil
Despite her brief time with the Office of the Assistant Vice President for Advancement Services, Lee O’Neil has had a profound and positive impact on the unit — as evidenced by her acceptance of its Champion of Advancement Award in March, along with multiple Advancement Applauses, or peer recognition notices, since her arrival in 2022.
“Lee has been an incredible teammate and collaborator since her first day at UAB,” said Prospect Research and Management Assistant Director Kate Harris. “Her first response to a question is never ‘no’ but ‘let’s see what we can figure out.’”
Earlier this year, O’Neil was promoted to senior director of Advancement Operations Support, a role that benefits from her ability to “connect dots that other people don’t see,” said Katie McDowell, senior director of Advancement Communications. “This approach ensures we’re thinking through how potential changes affect all advancement units, rather than just a specific team.”
McDowell recently worked with O’Neil on a project to improve how endowment data was viewed and updated.
“She took the time to listen to our needs, ask smart questions, and identify the best ways to
enter and display the data,” McDowell recalled. “We came to her with specific ideas of what we wanted to accomplish, but she went above and beyond our expectations.”
O’Neil brought to the team’s attention updates she had encountered with similar projects and helped identify potential processes and communications breakdowns before they became an issue. The result, McDowell says, has been a fundamental change in her team’s ability to steward and engage with donors. It is no wonder, McDowell added, that “people literally beg to have (O’Neil) assigned to their projects.”
In addition to her reputation for delivering high-quality results, O’Neil’s collaborative approach motivates her colleagues to achieve greatness as well, says Marylyn West, assistant vice president of Advancement Services.
“She consistently brings people together, encouraging a spirit of teamwork and open communication that drives our collective success,” West said.
O’Neil is also committed to mentoring leaders on a number of boards, including the Momentum Board, Unity Ability Board and the UAB Employee Emergency Assistance Program Committee, West added: “Her mentorship and guidance on these boards has been instrumental in shaping future leaders and advancing critical initiatives and speaks to her underlying desire to help others.”
