Professional News

WELD Program Participants Announced

LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 2, 2018) — The Women’s Executive Leadership Development (WELD) program at University of Kentucky has announced the following faculty and staff members have been selected to participate in the third cohort of the program. 

  • Tomi Akinyemiju, associate professor and assistant dean for inclusive excellence, Department of Epidemiology, College of Public Health
  • Kimberly Applegate, professor, Department of Radiology, College of Medicine
  • Katie Ballert, associate professor, Department of Urology, College of Medicine
  • Tiffany Barnes, associate professor, Department of Political Science, College of Arts and Sciences
  • Kristen Brown, associate director of Ambulatory Operations, UKHealthCare
  • Michelle Butina, program director and associate professor, Medical Laboratory Science Program, College of Health Sciences
  • Karen Butler, professor and assistant dean of academic operations, College of Nursing
  • Jennifer Cramer, associate professor and director of undergraduate studies, Department of Linguistics, College of Arts and Sciences
  • Amy DiLorenzo, senior lecturer and assistant dean for educational innovation and scholarship, Department of Anesthesiology, College of Medicine
  • Jennifer Edwards, assistant director of communications and strategic planning, Information Technology Services
  • Sally Foster, director of the Center for Personal Development, Lewis Honors College
  • Beth Goins, co-director of communication, College of Education
  • Tamra Langley, director of advanced practice provider critical care fellowship, Critical Care Medicine, UKHealthCare
  • Jessica Lee, associate professor, Department of Neurology, College of Medicine
  • Anne Lichtenberg, director of annual giving, Office of Philanthropy
  • Sarah Lyon, associate professor, Department of Anthropology, College of Arts and Sciences 
  • Barbara Nikolajczyk, associate director for translational research in diabetes, Barnstable Brown Diabetes and Obesity Center, and associate professor, Department of Pharmacology and Nutritional Sciences, College of Medicine
  • Margaret Rintamaa, associate professor, Department of Instruction and Administration, College of Education
  • Karen Roper, associate research director, Department of Family and Community Medicine, College of Medicine
  • Lumy Sawaki Adams, associate professor, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, College of Medicine
  • Elizabeth Seelbach, associate professor, Department of Pediatrics, College of Medicine
  • Sara Shahid Salles, professor and vice chair, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, College of Medicine
  • Megan Sizemore, chief of staff, College of Communication and Information
  • Therese Smith, director of the Community of Concern, Office of the Dean of Students
  • Alison Woodworth, associate professor, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, medical director, Clinical Chemistry and Point of Care Testing, College of Medicine
  • Sadia Zoubir-Shaw, associate professor and executive director of KFLC: The Language, Literatures, and Cultures Conference, Department of Modern and Classical Languages, Literatures, and Cultures, College of Arts and Sciences

“It is with great pleasure that I welcome the 2018 cohort to our WELD program," said WELD Director Hollie Swanson. "I look forward to guiding them on this next phase of their leadership journey. The high caliber of this group is a testament to all of the highly qualified individuals who applied, the strong support of their sponsors and the dedicated work of our WELD Advisory and Selection Committees.”

The eight-month WELD program is designed to develop the next generation of University of Kentucky leaders through retreats, monthly meetings, conversations with upper level administrators and a group project. The upcoming WELD Kick-Off Lecture Thursday, April 26, will feature Lori Gonzalez, vice chancellor of academic, faculty and student affairs at the University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center and former dean of the College of Health Sciences at the University of Kentucky. The lecture will begin 4 p.m., April 26, at the Hilary J. Boone Center.