August 25, 2021

When did you join UTHealth? What brought you here?
I originally joined UT in the fall of 1987, in the Department of Radiology as a secretary in the MRI clinic at (then) Hermann Hospital.  I had worked at Baylor College of Medicine in the Ob/Gyn department previously and really enjoyed the excitement of academic medicine, so was thrilled when I was hired at UT.

Tell me about your work history here.
I transferred from Radiology to the Ob/Gyn Department at some point (memory is a little foggy on the exact date) and went to work as a support staff member in the Administrative offices, working with Linda Hartfield and Dana Boatman.  I left UT in 1992, but quickly returned back to UT Ob/Gyn in 1994 as I missed the thrill of academic medicine!  I went back to work as a support assistant for the Maternal-Fetal Medicine (MFM) division supporting the physicians.  I loved working with them and after a few years, I was asked to support the MFM Division director, Dr. Edward Newton.  I was also supporting the MFM fellows, which was great working with the young minds of fellows.  Dr. Newton left UT to go to East Carolina Medical School as their chairman, and Dr. Susan Ramin came on as MFM Division director, and I remained as her support person.  I starting becoming very interested in anything computer-related and around 2001, and I was fortunate enough to convince the department administration to let me start working with Dometrius Wilson, who was running our own department server providing network/email systems (Netscape and Eudora) and supporting computer users.  Back then, there was no centralized IT at UT, so each department used whatever system they chose!  I was promoted to a systems coordinator, and I was in heaven learning all the new technical systems as they came along!  Around 2005, the Ob/Gyn Department and the Division of MFM invested in an ultrasound reporting system called Babe, which ran from a department server.  There were limitations as to what Babe could provide, so the MFM Division made the decision in 2008 to invest in a GE ultrasound reporting product called Viewpoint.  Viewpoint is still used to this day, and I have provided support for it the entire time.  The number of Viewpoint workstations has grown exponentially since; going from 12 workstations to over 230 workstations currently.  I am so grateful to Dr. Sean Blackwell (Ob/Gyn chair), Kevin Mersmann (Ob/Gyn DMO), and Rita Willis, (Ob/Gyn clinical VP) who have all been so supportive of me over the years.  I have also been very fortunate to be a member of MSIT/UXS since 2007 under Bassel Choucair, who has been incredibly supportive of me and all the MSIT/UXS members over the years.

What are you most proud of accomplishing?
I am most proud of my work with supporting Viewpoint over the years and playing a role, albeit tiny, in helping women with high-risk pregnancies.  It has been at times the most frustrating, but also the most satisfying!

What do you enjoy most about your work?
I love learning new things, figuring out ways to resolve issues, and helping people get back to work!

Why have you stayed?
I think most everyone who is a long-timer at UTHealth feels the same — your co-workers here are family.  This is my second family.

When you are not at work, how do you spend your time?
Anyone who knows me well, knows I am an animal lover.  My husband and I have a dog, a cat, and five parrots.  I love watching home renovation shows and hope to do my own renovations once I retire!