UCSF School of Medicine

Vice Dean's Office at ZSFG

Autumn 2024

Greetings from the Vice-Dean’s Office. Here we find both change and stability. After celebrating Dr. Elena Fuentes-Afflick and Margaret Damiano, who transitioned to new roles, the office welcomed me as the Interim Vice-Dean and Laurae Pearson as the UCSF SOM Associate Dean for Administration and Finance at the General. In turn, we welcomed Carmen Coffey as the Office Adminstrator for our group and Dr. Lucy Kornblith, Professor of Surgery, as the inaugural Director of Research for the General. 

Just as a tall tree, deeply rooted in a forest, turns its leaves in the fall, to be renewed in the spring, the Vice Dean’s Office is grounded by a team with vast experience and knowledge, surrounded by colleagues of tremendous ability and spirit across the General.

In our newsletter, we will celebrate the people who bring life to UCSF at ZSFG. Your ingenuity, persistence, and empathy bring stability and new possibilities amidst a world of ceaseless change. With your partnership, the Vice Dean’s team will continue advancing the General’s missions to provide outstanding clinical care, train the next generation of leaders in healthcare, spark discovery,and bring advocacy to point the way for justice and equity. 

The General’s work with HIV/AIDS, from its earliest day to the global embrace of the SF Model of HIV care, is a powerful legacy for us today. The decade before highly active retroviral therapy was a dark time. Throughout the 80’s fear, stigma, and bias characterized much of America’s understanding of HIV-AIDs and those touched by the disease. Yet, at the General, the epidemic’s uncertainty inspired novel approaches to clinical care, crafting partnerships across the city with diverse groups, groundbreaking scientific discoveries, and effective advocacy with policymakers and elected officials. We can draw on this and other accomplishments across our teams for inspiration. As a collective, the General embodies wisdom, fortitude, and courageous innovation.  

I encourage you to read on, hoping you will learn a bit more about the Vice Dean’s office team and colleagues at the General. In future newsletters, we look forward to highlighting your stories and activities - the people and spirit of the General. Together we are formidable.  

Jeff Critchfield, MD

Interim Vice Dean

UCSF School of Medicine, ZSFG

jeff.critchfield@ucsf.edu

Recognize a UCSF colleague today!

Director of Finance

Jake Blackshear, MBA

 The length of time you have been at ZSFG and in the ZSFG Dean’s Office:

ZSFG/VDO 7 years UCSF 17 years.

A fun fact about yourself:

“Jake” is a common name. A few years ago, to differentiate between me and a kid with the same name, a friend’s young daughter started calling me “Jake the Dad”. The name stuck and now I’m called “Jake the Dad” around town by kids and adults alike. 

 Something you’ve recently read or heard that influenced your work at ZSFG:



2024 CommonSpirit Health Annual Report.

Pretty sure I’m going to win the contest for most boring resource! I sometimes like to read annual financial reports for a few reasons:

To improve my fluency in reading and writing about financial performance To get ideas for better data visualization (table formatting, charts, metrics to use, etc.) To better understand the healthcare industry. This one was particularly interesting because this is the parent company of Dignity Health that sold St. Mary’s and St. Francis hospitals to UCSF.

Director of Operation

Ronald Campbell, MSM

The length of time you have been at ZSFG and in the ZSFG Dean’s Office:

5 years.

A fun fact about yourself:

I know how to catch crawdads. 

Something you’ve recently read or heard that influenced your work at ZSFG:



“Guidance is needed for Flex Room reservations” (source: Building Community Council meeting) This impacts me because as the chair for the BCC we are continuously identifying areas of improvement. The Flex Rooms are heavily used by our occupants and other guests, improvements to the process will help to make room scheduling and the process for optional services a better experience for all.

GME Site Director

Esther Chen, MD

The length of time you have been at ZSFG and in the ZSFG Dean’s Office:

I've been at ZSFG since 2009, so 15 years. I've been in the dean's office since 2017.

 A fun fact about yourself:

My superpower is I can sleep anytime anywhere and when I was a teenager, I could fall asleep standing up on the subway.

Something you’ve recently read or heard that influenced your work at ZSFG:



 I love reading about how to be more efficient with administrative tasks and recently heard that batching tasks related to a specific role or project reduces wasted time from task shifting. 

Interim SOM VIce Dean

Jeff Critchfield, MD

The length of time you have been at ZSFG and in the ZSFG Dean’s Office:

First on campus as a medical student in 1989.

Then a medical resident 1994 - 1996

Joined full time faculty based at the General in 2001.

 A fun fact about yourself:

I grow heritage dry pole beans, their myriad colors, with stories of diverse origins and movement around the globe, are endlessly fascinating. They’re also tasty.

Something you've recently read or heard that influenced your work at ZSFG:

Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds & Shape our Futures

by Merlin Sheldrake

In Merlin Sheldrake's "Entangled Life," he writes of organismal symbiosis, highlighting how lichens are a prime example of a complex, intertwined relationship between a fungus and algae, where neither organism can truly exist without the other, essentially blurring the lines between individual entities and creating a "whole" that is more than the sum of its parts. That is the General.



Director of Clinical Practice Group

Grace Fernandez, CHC

The length of time you have been at ZSFG and in the ZSFG Dean’s Office:

31 years at ZSFG and 18 years at ZSFG Dean’s Office.

A fun fact about yourself:

I like to read magazines from back to front.

Something you’ve recently read or heard that influenced your work at ZSFG:



I was reading an article from the Mayo Clinic about the flu and COVID-19 vaccines, and it prompted me to reflect on how it's been just over four years since the COVID-19 lockdown. I’m reminded of the way our community at ZSFG came together with compassion and thoughtfulness, and how resilient we were during those unprecedented times.

Director Of Faculty Engagement

Starr Knight, MD

The length of time you have been at ZSFG and in the ZSFG Dean’s Office:

I have been working at ZSFG for 12 years and within the ZSFG Dean's Office for 4 years.

A fun fact about yourself:

A fun fact about myself is that I was a collegiate basketball player and I am a huge Golden State Warriors Fan.

Something you've recently read or heard that influenced your work at ZSFG:

I recently completed the AAMC Restorative Justice Facilitator Training, and it has profoundly impacted my personal and professional life. I last read "The Little Book of Race and Restorative Justice".

Director of Research

Lucy Kornblith, MD

The length of time you have been at ZSFG and in the ZSFG Dean’s Office:

ZSFG since 2009, so 15 years.

2 months at ZSFG Dean's Office.

 A fun fact about yourself:

 I was raised in the restaurant business, and some of my most valuable lessons in leadership came from watching my father as the chef, and my mother who ran the ‘front of the house.

Something you’ve recently read or heard that influenced your work at ZSFG:

 I recently read, “Trauma Research Funding: An Emergency in Emergency Care” https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11421867/, which highlights two critical things that influence my work at ZSFG as an injury researcher. First, it highlights that despite injury being a leading cause of death for people who are 1-44 years old in the United States, costing our nation about $671 billion per year, it remains one of the most critically underfunded areas of medical research (<5% of NIH funds). This fuels my own focus on pushing forward injury research agendas in the face of a paucity of available funding. Second, it highlights that of the limited funding for injury research, California maintains the most out of all states, a reminder that with our resources and environment we have a duty to focus on improving trauma care through injury research.

Director of Administration

Roger Mohamed, MS

The length of time you have been at ZSFG and in the ZSFG Dean’s Office:



ZSFG – 13 years. 

Dean’s Office – 10 years.

 A fun fact about yourself:

Visited 41 countries to date.

Something you’ve recently read or heard that influenced your work at ZSFG:

Recently read Lovely One by Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. Justice Jackson’s reflections on resilience, justice, and lifting others deeply resonate with my work as an administrator in the UCSF Dean’s Office at ZSFG. Her memoir reinforces my commitment to advocate for equitable healthcare access and inspires me to foster an environment where our patients, trainees, and staff feel valued and supported. This impact is personal, driving me to lead with empathy and purpose, especially when our future may feel unpredictable, knowing that each small act can make a profound difference in our community and City. 



Associate Dean for Administration & Finance

Laurae Pearson

The length of time you have been at ZSFG and in the ZSFG Dean’s Office:

30 years at ZSFG and 4 months in the ZSFG Dean's Office.

 A fun fact about yourself:

I have attended more than 1,000 live concerts.

Something you’ve recently read or heard that influenced your work at ZSFG:



From Mary Oliver's Morning Poem, "Every morning the world is created. Under the orange sticks of the sun the heaped ashes of the night turn into leaves again." This poem is a good reminder that each day at ZSFG, especially in my new role, brings unknown and exciting opportunities for learning and growth.  

Pride Hall's Spooktacular Halloween Celebration!

Pride Hall Costume Contest

Congratulations to the 4th floor!

The "Nightmare Before Christmas" theme clearly made an impression.

Sounds like a well-deserved win!

Donuts for Democracy

On Election Day particpants showed off their "I Voted" stickers or other official voting confirmation and received and tasty treats.

A fun and impactful way to emphasizing the importance of voting as a civic duty.

Día de Los Muertos

(Day of the Dead)

The holiday is a time to honor loved ones who have moved on from this life and support their spiritual journeys in the next one.

Those who celebrate this occasion are welcoming their loved ones for a short visit.

ZSFG Gratitude Gallery - Recognize Healthcare Super Heros