Leadership

Elena Fuentes-Afflick, MD, MPH is Professor of Pediatrics and Vice Dean of the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) School of Medicine at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center (ZSFG). As Vice Dean, Dr. Fuentes-Afflick leads the UCSF schools at ZSFG in their mission areas of education, research, clinical care, and community; as well as manages the partnership between UCSF and the San Francisco Department of Public Health. Dr. Fuentes-Afflick joined the UCSF faculty in 1993 and prior to her appointment as Vice Dean served as Chief of Pediatrics (2009-2022) and Vice Dean for Academic Affairs in the School of Medicine (2012-2022).

A pediatrician and epidemiologist, Dr. Fuentes-Afflick's research has focused on issues of acculturation, immigrant health, and health disparities. Her scholarship has also focused on the importance of diversity in academic medicine and academic pediatrics.

After completing her undergraduate and medical education in the Inteflex Program at the University of Michigan, Dr. Fuentes-Afflick came to UCSF for her residency training in Pediatrics, followed by a fellowship in health policy at UCSF, and earning an MPH in Epidemiology from UC Berkeley. She has served in several important national leadership roles, including President of the Society for Pediatric Research, President of the American Pediatric Society, and service on the Council of the National Institute for Child Health and Development. Dr. Fuentes-Afflick was chair of the UCSF Academic Senate from 2009 to 2011. She was elected to the National Academy of Medicine in 2010 and elected to membership in the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2020.

Publications

Margaret Damiano is responsible for managing the financial, capital, and personnel aspects of the affiliation agreement between UCSF and ZSFG. She overseas business operations, personnel management, and strategic planning. Margaret plays a lead role in assessing processes which support UCSF mission-critical research and academic operations while strategizing to create greater efficiencies in all areas of finance and operations at ZSFG. She is interested in faculty and staff engagement and is trained in Lean Management.

Margaret joined UCSF in 2006 and has served in her current role since 2017. Prior to her current role, she was the Associate Dean of Administration and the Director of Operations in the ZSFG Dean's Office. Before joining the ZSFG Dean's Office, she held leadership roles in the UCSF Department of Radiology and the Department of Medicine based at ZSFG. Her career prior to UCSF included work at various consulting firms and industries in the Bay Area.

Margaret received her BBA degree from the University of Michigan with concentrations in Finance and Organizational Behavior and received her MBA from the University of San Francisco. She completed a Carol Emmot Fellowship in 2018 and received the 2019 Lloyd Holly Smith award for Service at UCSF.

Jake Blackshear works with university, hospital, and public health leaders to build financial sustainability and ensure this partnership can continue delivering world class patient care, education, and research for another 150 years. He oversees the $250 million Affiliation Agreement budget on behalf of all UCSF Departments located at ZSFG with a focus on transparency and collaboration. He works closely with hospital partners on annual budget negotiations with the City and County of San Francisco to ensure adequate support for clinical services at the hospital and trauma center.

Jake is interested in staff engagement projects and received a SOM UCSF Morale Grant to support a virtual wellness retreat for the Vice Dean's Office Staff. He led planning efforts for the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Event: 2021 Spring Event- Community Engagement to Meet Community Needs. Jake serves as a mentor for the UCSF Administrative Management Professionals Mentorship Program.

Jake previously worked as Department Manager for UCSF Oral Surgery and in various roles at the UCSF Center for Health Professions. He received his MBA from Presidio Graduate School and Master and Bachedor of Music degrees in Jazz Studies from San Diego State University.

Ronald Campbell Jr. is responsible for strategic leadership, coordination, and administrative oversight to all UCSF operations on the ZSFG campus. Ron's responsibilities include oversight for construction project management, facility maintenance operations, UCSF technology at ZSFG, transportation and security concerns, as well as space management. He supports managers in Lab Medicine and Biomedical Engineering. He provides oversight to bring outsourced custodial services in-house for UCSF and is instrumental in ongoing construction and change management efforts for future occupancy of the new UCSF Research and Academic Building at ZSFG.

Ron came to ZSFG after serving as Assitant Director and Senior Program Manager in the UCSF Program Management Office where he provided oversight for the campus-wide training rollout for the Chart of Accounts and Financial Reporting Implementation, Campus and UCSF Health Space and Lease Management System Implementation, and the campus wide Asset Management tracking and reporting tool.

Ron received an MSM in Management from Baker University and an Undergraduate degree in Visual Communications fro the University of Kansas. He participates on several committees, including Security Leadership, RAB Governance, Capital Operations Security, and the Transportation and Parking Task Force.

Grace Fernandez has been serving the UCSF School of Medicine Dean's Office and the Zuckerberg San Francisco General (ZSFG) since joining the UCSF Clinical Practice Group (CPG) in 1992. As Administrative Director of the CPG, she is responsible for overseeing and managing revenue cycle operations, financial reporting, and healthcare compliance. Most recently, she led the implementation of EPIC Professional Fee Billing Resolute across multiple UCSF departments at ZSFG.

In addition to ensuring the CPG follows best practices on billing and collection, she has been at the forefront in recommending cost reduction measures. Her priority is to always be ready to learn and adapt to new government regulations impacting healthcare practices; thus allowing for ZSFG and UCSF to continue to provide the best patient care to the San Francisco community and beyond.

Grace served as CPG Finance/Practice Management Coordinator in 1994 and Operations Manager in 1998. Prior to joining CPG, she worked for the UCSF Medical Group Business Services (MGBS) from 1991-1994. In her role as Billing Coordinator in MGBS, she served as the liaison with Medicare, Medi-Cal, and commercial insurance companies.

Grace is a Certified HealthCare Compliance Officer and is currently working on a certification program with EPIC. She has a Bachelor's degree in Economics.

Roger Mohamed directs Dean's Office units involving the School of Medicine Administration at ZSFG, including Risk Management, Privacy, Training and Regulatory Compliance, Education and Research Administration, and the Dean's Office Administrative team.

Roger co-led the design and implementation of Hydra, a database capturing UCSF at ZSFG employee and trainee data elements via selected upstream UCSF and DPH database feeds. He created and leads the UCSF Staff Career Journey Storytelling Event at ZSFG. Roger is a passionate advocate for our UCSF at ZSFG faculty, staff, and trainees; ensuring university-wide initiatives occur at ZSFG. Outside of his university role, Roger is actively involved with his board service at a San Francisco Community Center which supports the children and families of San Francisco with programs designed to reduce the many disparities faced by African-American, immigrant, and other low-income communities.

Roger previously worked for UCSF at ZSFG as the Dean's Office Operations Manager and Division Administrator of Infant, Child, and Adolescent Psychiatry at ZSFG. Before joining UCSF, he worked as a Business Manager at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and in the nonprofit industry advocating for immigrant and refugee rights and against sexual assault and domestic violence.

Roger received an MS from Boston College and a BA from Harvard University. He is an alumnus of the School of Medicine Leadership Development Program and a member of the UC Black Administrators' Council and the Association of American Medical Colleges Group on Business Affairs. 

Esther Chen, MD is a Professor of Emergency Medicine and Associate Residency Director within the Department of Emergency Medicine and based clinically at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital (ZSFG). She is also the inaugural Director of Graduate Medical Education at ZSFG, focused on improving the clinical learning environment and wellbeing for residents and fellows. In this role, she collaborates with other institutional GME leaders to improve the education and training for residents and fellows. She joined UCSF in 2009 from the University of Pennsylvania, where she completed her emergency medicine residency and was the Assistant Residency Director and EM Clerkship Director.

Dr. Chen serves on the UCSF Committee on the Status of Women and the ZSFG Warm Hearts (Women's Advancement and Recognition in Medicine) leadership council.

She is committed to caring for the traditionally underserved patients who come to ZSFG and maintaining a safe learning environment for trainees. She is most proud of instituting the hospital-wide quality improvement program that engages residents and fellows in projects that improve the care of patients at ZSFG.

Starr Knight, MD is the inaugural Director of UCSF Faculty Experience at ZSFG, advancing UCSF's commitment to an enriching, supportive work environment where faculty, staff, and trainees can flourish. She partners with the UCSF departments at ZSFG, the ZSFG Dean's Office, ZSFG Care Experience Team, and UCSF Health to identify opportunities for improvement.

Dr Knight is an Associate Clinical Professor in Emergency Medicine at ZSFG where she is Ultrasound Director and Director of Diversity & Inclusion. She is a UCSF DEI Ambassador Trainer and Faculty Equity Advisor. A 2016 John A. Watson Scholar, she has received numerous teaching awards, including a 2020 UCSF Academy of Medical Educator's Excellence in Teaching Award.

She is committed to the community and the mentorship of underrepresented learners by widening the educational pipeline for high school and undergraduate students, medical students, residents, clinical fellows, and faculty.