Valerie lives in Madison and has two sons, Andy (17) and Aaron (15).

Valerie Mack is mother to two teenage sons and a nurse care team leader in UWHC’s busy adult and pediatric emergency room. Val says, “Supporting all employees — not just working parents — is something UW Hospital makes a priority.” In her more than 30 years at the hospital, she's appreciated the support and flexibility she's had both before she had kids, and throughout all phases of motherhood.

Val really loves her part-time (70 percent) schedule. She also appreciates the added flexibility of being able to freely trade shifts with other nurses so can she can balance responsibilities at both home and work. A perfect example of how Valerie keeps her work and family life in balance is her attendance at her sons’ sports events. “I never miss an opportunity to see my sons’ baseball games. My oldest son made it into a tournament that took place out-of-state, and I was able to get time off at the last-minute. Being there to see him play meant the world to me.”

Being able to commit to her family also allows Val to commit to her work. Val adds, “The organization encourages us to teach others, and share our knowledge with others. I take it upon myself as a mother with older children to provide guidance and be a mentor to mothers with young children or staff thinking about starting a family. I do this by not only reminding them about all the great resources and family-friendly benefits and programs UWHC provides its employees, but also by telling them about my successes as a working parent at UWHC.”

 

Elizabeth is from Stratford, CT, and Mom to Julia (4).

Elizabeth Locke is an inspirational working mother who is also a mentor to all. She is actively involved in the Parent Advisory Group at her daughter’s day care center and finds time to attend numerous events there. She is also a role model to other parents and reaches out to other parents often speaking and listening empathetically to the balance of child care and work. She faces challenges with creative solutions.

Elizabeth is an integral part of the team of Volunteer Services at Yale-New Haven Hospital. She is a Volunteer Program Coordinator and although she interviews and places volunteers of all ages, she is the coordinator who is responsible for the college volunteer program. Elizabeth meets with each student, helps them focus on what they would like to accomplish and works to find an appropriate area within the hospital where they can fulfill their goals.

Elizabeth is the perfect person for this role, as she is bright, articulate, and genuinely interested in helping each student find their niche. She works closely with the students throughout their time as a volunteer. She is an exceptionally inspirational mentor to other young women beginning their careers and thinking, or worrying, about the balance of home and career.

Elizabeth is a mentor and role model for several new mothers in her department. She is unflappable as she manages to juggle an extremely demanding professional role with her home life and her personal life. She does both with a smile and a kind word for everyone.

 

 

Sheryl hails from Cissna Park, IL, and is mom to Carter (6) and Libby (3).

Sheryl Spohn has the most important characteristic of a mentor  — a genuine concern for other people. Sheryl is a talent-seeker. This assistant VP in compliance sees in a friend or colleague the potential and capacity the person may not see in herself or himself.  She has the uncanny ability to become involved in the life and interests of the other person in order to build a relationship of trust and confidence.

Because of these relationships, Sheryl has developed as a mentor. She has the ability to gain a deep insight into someone’s personality, to understand how best to coach and nurture the gifts of each individual. She is warm and caring; no matter how busy she is, Sheryl takes the time to listen. She is truly interested in seeing others reach their full potential and live fully.

Sheryl is honest and is forthright in her mentoring, which allows others to be confident in her direction and or encouragement.

Sheryl has great empathy and a positive view of life that is very contagious. She is a dedicated wife and mother who juggles everything beautifully.

Gauri is from Richmond, VA, and mom to Rohan (6), Shaan (4) and Shiv (14 months).

Dr. Gauri Gulati Agarwal is a true “Master Mentor.” As the Associate Program Director for the VCU Health System Pediatric Residency Program and assistant professor of the Department of Pediatrics, Gauri is one of the first points of contact that young doctors have with VCU Health System, which is a large, urban academic medical center located in Richmond, Virginia.

Gauri is an advisor and mentor for undergraduate medical students who want to pursue pediatrics as a specialty field. And once the students come to VCU Health System for their residency training, she is thrilled to be a role model for them. Young physicians can become overwhelmed by the requirements of completing their residency training.

That’s why Guari enjoys showing residents that it’s entirely possible to accomplish what they want professionally while still having time to spend with their families. A mother of three young sons, Gauri says she loves the culture and programs at VCU Health System that help employees integrate their work and personal lives, including flexible scheduling, the onsite child care center and back up care.

In addition, Gauri continues to be the driving force behind programs that support breastfeeding moms, especially those at VCU Health System. (Several private lactation rooms featuring breastfeeding amenities like pumps, rocking chairs and iPod docking stations are located throughout the medical campus.) A certified lactation consultant, Gauri’s goal is to teach all young physicians about the value of breastfeeding so that they can pass the knowledge along to their patients and use it in their personal lives.

Using herself as an example, Gauri demonstrates to young physicians that they can truly have it all: a successful career and a happy, healthy family.

 

 

Jane is from Cincinnati, OH, and mom to Jennifer (37), Jeanine (34), Grover (32), Jaime (31), Jillian (30), Jeffrey (27) and Jaclyn (18).

They call her “Mom.” Jane Davis has earned that title not only with her own seven children, but with dozens of young nurses she mentors on the night shift of her Good Samaritan Hospital medical-surgical unit. A staff nurse since 1974, Jane is the person other nurses seek out to manage complex interpersonal conflicts or to provide guidance with challenging patient issues. She volunteers as a clinical coach and mentor to newly hired nurses and helps students transition to clinical practice. Jane also is a member of a Shared Leadership Committee, which empowers bedside nurses to make improvements on their unit.

By day, Jane and her husband have been raising their 13-year-old grandson since he was 2 years old, and have helped him overcome speech development issues and attention deficit disorder. When her grandson’s school is in session, Jane volunteers daily. She helps with numerous tasks, from copying worksheets to assisting the school nurse with flu vaccines as well as vision and hearing screenings. Jane also assists with the afterschool Math Club her grandson attends. Her simple philosophy is, “When you give, you receive so much more.”

 “From the time I was in grade school, I wanted to be a nurse,” Jane says. “I want to treat people how I want my family to be treated — as a person, not as a condition or disease.”

Her nursing director describes her outstanding contribution: “Jane demonstrates great humility and grace, and I am truly blessed to have witnessed the impact she has had on staff members, patients, their family members and the community.”

 

Sandy is from Lakeside, CA, and mom to Careth (36), John (31), Josh (30), Christopher (29), Scott (26), Zack (26), Heather (22), Ana (15), Karla (13), Vanessa (10) and Yessenia (9).

After raising seven children of their own, Sandra Boller-Bilbrey and her husband, Chris, felt coming home to an empty house every day was “boring and uninspiring,” so last March the couple made a life-changing decision to adopt four children. Now their lives are filled with constant chaos — and they love it!

The Bilbreys decided to adopt four sisters  — Ana, 15; Karla, 13; Vanessa, 10; and Yessenia, 9 — after seeing them photographed with San Diego Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers in a calendar put out by San Diego County Adoptions.

Early on in the 18-month adoption process, Sandra shared her decision to adopt the girls with her supervisors and colleagues and was thrilled with the abundance of support she received. The organization offered up an array of services, including a $2,000 adoption credit, extended leave, and an adoption support group. But importantly, the 25-year employee was given the flexibility she needed with her job as the director of the Scripps alcohol and drug treatment program to juggle her new family commitments.

“Everyone one I worked with at Scripps was incredibly supportive and excited for us. It felt like Scripps had adopted the girls, too,” recalls Sandra.

In addition to working a full-time job, Sandra’s days are now filled with softball practices, homework, and trips to the pediatrician, dentist and orthodontist. Sandra credits her success as a working mom to her caring husband and the extra support she receives from her extended family. “We have gotten really good at hand-offs and communicating daily activities to each other.”

Despite the extra work — and oftentimes mayhem —that fills her waking hours, Sandra says she wouldn’t have it any other way: “Now have 40 extra fingers to help me around the house and I get extra good night kisses every night.”

 

Cynthia is from River Forest, IL, and mom to Rebecca (23) and Daniel (18).

Cindy Barnard, who celebrated her 25th year at Northwestern Memorial in 2011, is a role model for all working mothers and mentor to all who know her. In her role as Director of Quality Strategies, Cindy embodies the true spirit of balance between the world at home and the world at work.  With more than 15 years leading quality improvement, Cindy’s expertise in the field has helped to advance patient care and patient safety both at Northwestern Memorial Hospital and nationally. 

When her children were young, Cindy faced the challenges of single motherhood, balancing life at home with a career she loved.  Her drive and commitment to give 100 percent in everything she does is an inspiration to all who know her.

Through the years, Cindy has mentored numerous women. Cindy views mentoring others as a privilege, extraordinarily rewarding and part of her job that creates a solidarity among women.  For the many women who have worked for Cindy, they say that she immediately began mentoring them in both work and family life.

“When I was having some trouble managing a care situation for my children, or my daughter was going through a tough stage, Cindy was always there for me to give advice,” says one mentee.

Another co-worker shares her admiration for Cindy. “‘I have worked with Cindy for almost 20 years. Through those years, we both became mothers, juggled childhood events and family issues with work events and professional issues and worked hard to continue to advance professionally. Cindy has mentored me both as a healthcare professional and as a mother. I believe that I am better at both roles because of her expertise, her compassion, and her ability to recognize important priorities in life. She is a mentor and a friend.”

Sophie is from Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, and mom to Bruno (2).

When most fourth grade girls were concerned with friends, school, gymnastics and sleepovers, Sophie Dessureault’s life revolved around chemotherapy, radiation, doctors’ appointments and blood tests.

At 11, Sophie was diagnosed with aggressive fibromatosis. Multiple reoccurrences of her cancer, along with treatments and surgeries, left Sophie’s left leg paralyzed, and the need to walk with the assistance of crutches. For some, cancer is the worst possible thing that can happen in your life. But for Sophie, her experience with cancer exposed her to the world of health care and motivated her to persevere through medical school and become a skilled surgeon.

Sophie is a natural teacher, mentor and leader to the surgical oncology fellows, medical oncology and general surgery students, nurses, physicians and faculty who work alongside her every day. She mentors women in the community, encourages medical students to pursue surgical residencies and nurses to pursue advanced degrees and is a key contributor in the medical student orientation program at Moffitt Cancer Center.

Even more importantly, Sophie makes her patients feel safe and they trust her. Her dedication to her patients goes beyond expectations. It’s not unusual for her to call her patients after hours to check on them. Not only is Moffitt where she’s worked for 12 years, it’s also where she’s a patient. Her personal struggles with cancer enable her to truly understand and care for the unique needs of her patients, their fears and concerns.

Sophie wears many hats at work and has received numerous academic and medical awards. But there isn’t a job more rewarding and challenging than being a single mom to her adopted 2-year-old son, Bruno. Caring for patients, mentoring students and raising an active toddler while taking care of her own illness seems like a daunting task for anyone.

But for Sophie, it’s what she loves.

 

Kim is from Fulton, WI, and mom to Sam (14) and Dana (11).

Director of marketing Kim Hesgard is the epitome of the giving volunteer. She volunteers at about 50 events annually — almost one per week!

Here are just a few of her projects. Kim serves as:           

• A director on the Crime Stoppers board and helps organize its annual golf outing.

• A House of Mercy Homeless Center Charity Ball committee member. (She joined in 1996, when the center opened.) The event raises enough to cover the majority of the shelter’s annual operating expenses, keeping its doors open to those in need.

• A Relay for Life participant and an active American Heart Association volunteer, helping annually with the Heart Walk, Go Red Day events and multiple fundraising  initiatives.

• A “Docs Who Rock” fund raiser to help the local United Way cover shortfalls in desired community funding. For this new event, Kim single-handedly recruited physicians and hospital executives to “rock” in this performance fundraiser, one of the most successful ever and now an annual event.

• An organizer of a “Day of Compassion,” which featured free health screenings, dental checks and children’s bike helmet fittings.

* Leader of a 4-H dance group, a volunteer with the Leadership Development Academy, and more!

Kim has two wonderful children and is a loving partner and caregiver to her husband of 21 years, who was tragically paralyzed in an on-the-job accident. Kim often takes her children with her to volunteer, and they are similarly giving and kind.

Kim is truly an inspiration. She has so much on her plate, yet you will never catch her rushing anyone or failing to stop by to say a kind word and give a hug. The organizations she helps are extremely lucky to have someone like her in their corner. She makes Mercy Health System and her community a much, much better place.

 

DeNisha is from St. Louis, MO, and mom to Heavyn (4).

DeNisha Robinson started with March of Dimes nearly seven years ago and has become an invaluable part of the Missouri Chapter staff.

As the senior data manager, DeNisha helps the fundraising staff stay organized, efficient and successful. As a single mom of a four-year-old, she is an unceasingly positive role model and a loving parent.

DeNisha teaches her daughter, Heavyn, the value of hard work and determination. Whenever Heayvn has the chance to come into the office, she knows her mom works here to “help the babies.”

It is inspiring how DeNisha is always willing to go the extra mile and take on additional tasks. If any staff member needs help, DeNisha is always the first to offer her time and talent to the cause. She recently began going back to school to further her education, and somehow manages to balance work, school, family and motherhood with grace. She is a true example of a leader.