UC Spotlight: February 2025

Becker’s Hospital Review has named Tatyana Popkova, UC Irvine Health chief strategy officer and senior vice president of ambulatory services, a chief strategy officer to know. She is currently also serving as the community volunteer chair of the 2025 Orange County Go Red for Women movement, which raises awareness of women’s heart health.

Kendra Dority, director of graduate student and postdoc professional development at the UC Santa Cruz Teaching and Learning Center, received the campus’s 2024 Outstanding Staff Award for her “profound impact on our campus, the UC system, and the broader field of educational development.”

UC Irvine Health recognized Johanah Carrera, Margaret Desierto, Tricia Fernandez, Alyssa Torreflores and Mindy Vuu with DAISY Nurse Leadership Awards, which honor nurses who represent the best of their professions. Medical Assistants Kevin Columbo and William Londono each received a Sunflower Award for exemplary patient care.

UCLA’s Stephen Commins, an expert in global disaster response, answered questions facing local and state-wide legislators and civic leaders in the wake of the Los Angeles-area fires. 

UC San Diego Health CEO Patty Maysent shared her 10-year vision to unite academic medicine with accessible community health. 

UC Irvine Health Chief Operating Officer and Senior Vice President Nathan Shinagawa has been recognized by Becker’s Hospital Review as one of its COOs to Know.

UC Santa Barbara Chief Information Security Officer Jackson Muhirwe and Chief Technology Officer Shea Lovan participated in a robust Q&A about the Secure UCSB plan, a comprehensive plan to mitigate threats, cybersecurity incidents and data breaches.

UCLA Customer Relations Agent Ebony Moore shared how her therapeutic background as a certified transpersonal energy healer informs her hands-on, gentle approach to helping Bruins in distress with facilities issues.

In honor of National Data Privacy Week in January, Systemwide Chief Privacy Officer Al Lavassani shared his vision for establishing a privacy framework for the UC system.

UC San Diego Natural Reserve System staff hosted a 20th-anniversary celebration for Love Your Wetlands Day — an event dedicated to bringing awareness to the UC Natural Reserve System, and the preservation and restoration of vital wetland ecosystems — with more than 1,300 attendees.

The UC Irvine Office of Inclusive Excellence launched a yearlong campus climate initiative, the U.C.I. Experience — aka Understanding a Culture of Inclusion — to fully support all student, staff and faculty members in their learning and professional journeys.

UC Davis Health pioneered a first-in-the-nation program called PATH (Promoting Accessibility To Healthcare) to improve health care experiences for neurodiverse children and their families.

The California Child and Adolescent Mental Health Access Portal (Cal-MAP) — through which UCSF psychiatrists and psychologists consult with primary care providers on treating young patients with mental health concerns — expanded to licensed providers statewide.

The UCOP Ethics, Compliance and Audit Services (ECAS) team partnered with employee resource group Veterans Among US to bring holiday joy to military families across the country.

UC Davis Facilities Management welcomed students, staff and local residents for the annual UC Davis Campus Safety Lighting Walk, which assesses campus lighting and identifies areas in need of improvement. 

UC San Diego Community Health Workers for Advancing Public Health Within Immigrant/Refugee and Native American Communities Program (CHWAP) staff are working to train 200 San Diegans from refugee, immigrant and Native American populations as community health workers.

The UC Irvine Police Department received accreditation by the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators, recognizing team members’ professionalism, accountability and safety, and placing it in the top 10% of university police agencies nationwide.

UC Riverside Facilities Services completed a new roofing system for the Orbach Science Library.

UC Berkeley Exercise is Medicine On Campus program staff shared how they support students in building healthier habits and fitness routines.

Several UC San Diego staff, graduate students and faculty members were recognized with the inaugural Student Centeredness Awards for going above and beyond to put students first, being innovative in their approach to center students, and championing diversity, equity and inclusion across campus.

The Paul Merage School of Business at UC Irvine joined the Forte Foundation, an organization dedicated to advancing women into impactful roles in business leadership.

The UCSF Transportation and Enterprise’s Commute team has been organizing regular Vanpool Mixers to help attendees meet other vanpoolers, learn about the program, and start new vanpools. 

The UC Santa Barbara Early Academic Outreach Program team hosted their 12th annual Education and Careers Conference to promote college-going culture and increase enrollment rates in California higher education systems.

Led by Chief Experience Officer Lesley Wilson, UC San Diego Health care teams are transforming patient care with new human-centered experiences, including ‘sleep menus’, pet therapy, birthday celebrations and more.

The UCOP IT Client Services team received top-notch scores from internal clients on their recent customer satisfaction survey.

UC San Diego researchers and staff hosted an event to help campus researchers learn how to advocate for their work and field of study on Capitol Hill.

The UC Davis Student Health and Counseling Services’ Health Education and Promotion and the Center for Educational Effectiveness teams launched an award to recognize instructors and teaching assistants who prioritize student well-being.

The UC Irvine Paul Merage School of Business team celebrated impactful donors, mentors and advocates during their annual “Thanks for Giving” event.

San Diego Supercomputer Center leaders formed a new Stack Science division to leverage innovative cyberinfrastructure and technical expertise.

UCLA became the first campus in California to receive a Green Grounds Certification from the environmental nonprofit Re:wild Your Campus.

UC Berkeley welcomed local Indigenous leaders, campus administrators and staff members, and city of Albany officials to celebrate xučyun ruwway, Berkeley’s newest housing for graduate students.

About 600 UC Riverside students, faculty, staff, and community organizers celebrated the 10th-anniversary of the Basic Needs R’Pantry with speeches, recognitions and a delivery-truck ribbon cutting, complete with pantry essentials.

UC Santa Cruz students, faculty and staff raised more than $135,975 during their Second Harvest Holiday Food and Fund Drive. These generous donations will make it possible for 373 people to enjoy three healthy meals every day, all year long.

UC Davis is marking the 35th anniversary of its Principles of Community through a 10-month-long commemoration that honors the principles’ impact throughout the campus community.

UCSF Mission Bay Hospitals celebrated 10 years of impact and care. The university transformed 20 acres of railroad tracks and vacant lots into a home for world-class care and health-sciences research.

UC Irvine celebrated the grand opening of the Outreach, Access & Inclusion Student Hub, which will provide a place for students, staff, faculty and community members to come together to share ideas.

UC Davis Children’s Hospital raised $27,740 during its Virtual Toy Drive, with an additional 300 toys and other wish list donations fulfilled by donors. Toys are provided to all children’s hospital patients, as well as to kids in programs supported by the hospital.

UC Santa Barbara celebrated the opening of the Sara Miller McCune Arts Library, culminating a multiyear effort to unite library collections and services in a central, state-of-the-art space.

UCSF Health was named the official health care partner of the San Francisco Giants baseball team for a 10-year term.

UC Davis unveiled the Maria Manetti Shrem Art District — a vibrant hub designed to expand creativity, innovation and collaboration on campus and beyond. 

UC Irvine Medical Center, UC San Diego Health and UCSF Health were recognized by Vizient, Inc. with the Bernard A. Birnbaum, MD, Quality Leadership Award. The study measured performance and identified leaders in the areas of safety, mortality, effectiveness, efficiency, patient-centeredness and equity. 

UC San Diego achieved a top rating in the global Sustainability Tracking Assessment and Rating System (STARS) and is currently third in the nation among Platinum-rated institutions.

UCSF Health was included in Money’s 2025 Best Hospitals. The ratings recognized hospitals for billing and pricing practices that emphasized transparency in the cost of care.

The UCI Health Comprehensive Spine Center has been recognized as one of the nation’s leading spine programs by Becker’s Hospital Review.