Staff spotlight: Stephanie Santos

BACKGROUND

Stephanie Santos, MHA grew up in the coastal plains of Oxnard, California, or as she calls it, "the home of strawberries and musician Anderson Paak." She graduated from UCLA with a degree in Physiological Science and gained practical experience through an athletics training internship with UCLA Athletics and working as a physical therapy aide.

Her passion for service and community impact can be seen early in her career, starting from her position at a health services consulting firm partnering with hospitals in California and Washington. There, she implemented and oversaw programs that offered hands-on patient care experience to future health professionals in their communities.

Stephanie considered a career in either physical therapy or sports medicine before finding her true calling in healthcare administration, where she could “combine my administrative experience with my desire to make an impact in healthcare”.

After obtaining her master’s in healthcare administration through the UW's Executive MHA program, Stephanie took on her first position in General Internal Medicine, marking the start of her career at UW.

WORk

Stephanie juggles two vital roles for the division, in which she enjoys the opportunity to work in both operations and strategy.

“This allows me to utilize my experiences and skills in different ways that contribute to both short-term impact and long-term planning,” she said. “Working in a large department like DOM expands the opportunities to get involved and allows me to contribute towards initiatives that are important and exciting to me.”

As an Occupational and Environmental Medicine (OEM) program manager, Stephanie partners with OEM faculty and the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences to operate the program's residency, clinic, and outreach efforts. She manages finances and works with program leaders in strategic planning and meeting program goals to best serve patients and the community.

As the manager of educational programs, Stephanie oversees the medical education training programs for the Occupational and Environmental Medicine residency, Addiction Medicine Fellowship, Academic Hospitalist Fellowship, and Clinical Investigator Fellowship. She works directly with program administrators in managing budgets, ensuring compliance with ACGME and grant requirements, and supervising recruitment and appointments of incoming residents, fellows, and postdoctoral scholars.

Stephanie enjoys working with each of the residency and fellowship programs to streamline the many processes in their operations, and is particularly focused on the recruitment of trainees and postdoctoral scholars. She is excited to help increase awareness of these specialized programs by identifying ways to partner with other training programs within UW and reach more interested trainees.

“Stephanie is a highly skilled leader who supports teams to accomplish both day-to-day goals while ensuring progress toward longer-term visions,” said Dr. June Spector, Stephanie’s mentor and former supervisor. “Her inclusive, thoughtful, and deliberate approach is appreciated by all who work with her.”

Outside of her usual work, Stephanie serves on several Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) workgroups in support of the department's Strategic Plan. Within GIM, Stephanie is a DEI champion who helps create goals and implement DEI initiatives at the division level.

“I am enthused to work on creating tools and having resources available to support DEI initiatives that aim to transform how we approach aspects of our jobs and create a safe, inclusive environment for every member of the department.”

Dr. Geetanjali Chander, professor and head of General Internal Medicine, added, “Stephanie is not only integral to the educational mission of General Internal Medicine, she is also a true champion for diversity, equity and inclusion in GIM and for the department. We are so fortunate to have her in the division”

HOBBIES/PERSONAL

Outside of work, you can find Stephanie outdoors admiring the area's natural beauty or taking in Seattle's vibrant arts and culture scene, taking advantage of the city's many live musicals, theater, sporting events, and trivia nights.

She loves to travel and has made it a goal to visit all 50 states. (Currently at 18!)

At home, Stephanie unwinds with yoga, reading, NYT crossword puzzles, and playing Wordle, at which she boasts a 99% winning percentage.