Cultivating the Next Generation of Health Care Leaders
The administrative fellowship at the University of Chicago Medicine serves to foster future health care leaders through opportunities to strengthen their understanding of hospital operations and management at an academic medical center. In this two-year program, fellows are mentored by and report to the chief operating officer. Fellows will also be assigned to a past fellow to connect with as an additional resource and guide throughout the two years.
Administrative Fellowship Structure
In the first year, fellows are each paired with members of the senior leadership team for approximately one to three weeks at a time to receive mentoring and guidance within their respective departments. In these rotations, fellows are also partnered with directors who will meet with them on a one-on-one basis to review project work, communicate feedback on their experience and help navigate within the organization. In addition to the rotations, the fellows have flex weeks built into their schedule to get extra experience in the rotations that interest them most. Furthermore, the fellows will participate in performance improvement, financial management and standing senior leadership and organizational meetings.
In the second year, fellows will develop a detailed understanding of area-specific operations and become active members of a local management team. As a result, fellows will gain direct exposure to employee relations issues and have substantial opportunity for project specific work that ties to strategic goals within the selected department.
Application Process
UChicago Medicine will consider applications from all qualified candidates, but we do not sponsor work visas for administrative fellows. Qualified applicants will either have a master’s degree from an accredited MHA, MPH, MBA or a related program, or be completing a residency requirement and have completed all academic coursework; have a strong interest in health care administration; and demonstrate high leadership potential. Learn how to apply to the fellowship.
2020 Informational Webinars
Join current and previous UCM fellows to learn more about our fellowship program:
August 11, 2020
Noon - 1 PM CST
Register
September 2, 2020
1 - 2 PM CST
Register
September 17, 2020
11 AM-Noon CST
Register
Learn more about the 2020 informational webinars (PDF)
Meet Our Current & Past Administrative Fellows
Alban George (2020-2022) is from Columbia, Maryland and has completed the didactic portion of the Masters of Health Administration program at The George Washington University. During his graduate program, Alban completed an administrative internship at Cleveland Clinic in Regional Operations where he managed a workstream to complete the business plan narrative for an emerging micro-hospital. Alban additionally created an enterprise-wide intranet length of stay community to improve network-wide collaboration related to patient flow. Today, this platform helps the exchange of internal and external best practices within Cleveland Clinics NorthEast Ohio Region. Prior to his graduate studies, George completed a B.A. in Economics at The University of Maryland, Baltimore County with a minor in Management of Aging Services. His professional interests include service line management, operational excellence, and patient experience.
Jaime LaChapelle (2020-2022) is from Merrick, New York and earned her MPH in Healthcare Management from Boston University School of Public Health. During her time in Boston, she completed administrative internships at Massachusetts General Hospital, Department of Urology and Ambulatory Management. Jaime participated in optimization projects that focused on call center decision trees, patient self-scheduling, and provider template redesigns. Additionally during COVID-19, she volunteered to schedule sick patients into temporary respiratory clinics so that patients could be seen by a medical professional as soon as possible to be tested. Her professional interests include tackling how social determinants of health impact health equity, population health, and improving the patient experience.
Lindsey McDermott (2020-2022) is from Downers Grove, IL, a suburb of Chicago. She received her master’s degree in health administration from The Ohio State University in 2020. While in graduate school, McDermott worked as a Graduate Administrative Associate in the Neurological Institute at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. She contributed to initiatives such as Joint Commission survey preparedness for National Patient Safety Goals and epilepsy surgery service line growth. In addition, McDermott interned at Cleveland Clinic in their children’s hospital where she created a marketing strategy for enhanced patient navigation and satisfaction across 40 sites in northeast Ohio. Prior to graduate school, McDermott completed her B.S. in Community Health with a concentration in Health Administration from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and worked as a program coordinator at the National Center for Healthcare Leadership. Her professional interests include clinical operations, facilities design, and quality improvement.
Danielle McKenzie (2019-2021) is from Chicago, Illinois. She earned her master's degree in health administration from the George Washington University in 2019. During her time in graduate school, McKenzie completed an internship at Cleveland Clinic in the Respiratory Institute where she performed data analyses that contributed to decisions that increased access for patients. Additionally, she served as a project manager for Cleveland Clinic’s advance directive initiative, where she created a robust dashboard dataset and helped develop a new workflow for the institute’s inpatient units. McKenzie also served as an intern for both the Patient-Centered Outcome Research Institute (PCORI), and the George Washington Hospital, where she conducted a LGBTQ institutional assessment and contributed in LEAN management projects. Prior to her graduate studies, she served as a performance improvement specialist for the Greater Elgin Family Health Center and as a community health coordinator for Advocate Trinity Hospital. McKenzie received a B.S. in health administration at Northern Illinois University. Her professional interests include population health, finance, and health policy. McKenzie enjoys water sports, traveling, volunteering and spending time with family and friends.
Jordan Wirtz (2019-2021) is from Lockport, Illinois, a southwest suburb of Chicago. She received her M.S. in health systems management from Rush University. While in graduate school, Wirtz worked in Rush University Medical Center’s Cardiac Service Line and Human Resources, as well as interned at Cleveland Clinic in the Imaging Institute. Prior to her graduate studies, Wirtz completed her B.S. in health systems management at Loyola University Chicago with minors in bioethics, biology and business administration. Her professional interests include strategy, quality improvement and operations.
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Current Position |
Brianna Brooks, |
Boston University |
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Rush University | Business Manager, Community Health and Hospitals Division - UChicago Medicine |
Brianna Solola, |
Rush University | Strategy Manager, Women's and Children's Services - UChicago Medicine |
Kristyn Acho, 2017-2019 |
University of Michigan | Assistant Director, Heart and Vascular Service Line - UChicago Medicine |
Emily Perish, |
University of Chicago |
Director of Operations and Business Development, Comprehensive Care Program - UChicago Medicine |
Victoria Ng, 2016-2018 |
Yale University |
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Brad O'brecht, 2015-2017 |
Washington University |
Director, Population Health - Oak Street Health |
Marcus Paschall, 2015-2017 |
University of Chicago |
Director, Cancer Network Development and Program Operations - UChicago Medicine |
Nico Aguilar, 2014-2016 |
University of Iowa |
CEO - Speeko |
Ruch Kumbhani, 2014-2016 |
Columbia University |
Executive Director, Neurosciences Service Line - UChicago Medicine |
Elizabeth Cozzi, 2012-2014 |
Rush University |
Director of Operations, Cancer Center - Rush University Medical Center |
Sheila Shankar, 2012-2014 |
Rush University |
Division Administrator, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology - Northwestern Medicine |

How to Apply
Learn more about how to apply for the administrative fellowship, including necessary materials, important deadlines and contact information.
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