After a successful run that spanned five decades, the final Impact was published in January 2020.  Impact was UTMB Health’s employee newsletter. It evolved from a one color printed tabloid newspaper to a full color magazine with a digital component. We’ve archived the past several years on these pages for your review and enjoyment.

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Impact is for and about the people who fulfill UTMB’s mission to improve health in Texas and around the world. We hope you enjoy reading this issue. Let us know what you think!

PhileshaEvans

Spotlight on Philesha Evans, HR Corporate Administration

Feb 18, 2016, 10:18 AM by KirstiAnn Clifford

PhileshaEvans
Philesha Evans with her daughters, Arielle (left) and MaReia (center), on Arielle's 18th birthday.

Philesha Evans has worked at UTMB her entire adult life and has taken on a number of roles and projects since starting off in the Transportation Department and transferring to Human Resources in 1996. She currently serves as assistant vice president for Human Resources’ Direct Entity Services, providing leadership and strategic direction for several divisions, including Correctional Managed Care Human Resources, the Employee Assistance Program, Employee Health, Employee Injury/Illness Management, Employee Relations and Leave Management. Prior to her current role, she served as director of Employee Relations.

Evans earned her bachelor’s degree and an MBA from Texas Woman’s University and holds the Senior Professional in Human Resources certification. She took the time to talk to us about her first impressions of UTMB as a child and the future of UTMB, as well as her extensive shoe collection.


What does the Road Ahead look like for you?
UTMB has been a constant in my life having grown up in Galveston and worked at UTMB for over 20 years. As a child, my mom brought my siblings and me to the pediatric clinic that was once on the first floor of Research Building 6 for our health care, and we would accompany my grandmother when she came for appointments with her long-term physician, Dr. Richard Rahr. Over the years, UTMB’s physical landscape and personnel have changed. That’s not what the Road Ahead is about; rather, it’s about transforming the way we operate as an organization. Certainly, such a transformation involves upgrading our facilities, making better use of our space, and hiring and retaining the right faculty members, leaders and staff. Successful organizational transformation is heavily dependent upon executing strategic objectives and improving organizational effectiveness. UTMB is positioned better than it has ever been to achieve this.

What is your favorite thing about working at UTMB?
I’ve worked at UTMB for my entire adult life, and, by far, my favorite part of working here is interacting with the many people that make UTMB great. Throughout the years, I have come into contact with great people and built some lifelong relationships. My role allows me the privilege of interacting with employees at all levels in the organization. In some cases, it’s not under the best circumstances, but I believe that it is my duty to treat all employees with respect and compassion. I try very hard to ensure that, even if the person doesn’t get the desired outcome, our interaction ends with that person knowing I heard his or her concern and feeling that he or she was treated fairly. I have the best job in the organization—taking care of our people so that they can take care of our students, patients, research and institutional operations.

What do you like to do outside of work?
I love to cook and bake. I cook almost every day, so my family is pretty spoiled. I get excited about finding recipes and making them my own, and I enjoy the challenge of learning a new technique. If I didn’t love my position at UTMB so much, I would probably be a chef.

What was your first job?
My first job was at Foot Locker in Galveston’s old Galvez Mall. (Yes, there was once a shopping mall in Galveston.) This is probably when my obsession with shoes began. I worked there after school and on weekends during my senior year of high school. Today, I have almost 250 pairs of shoes, and I have worn them all. I don’t own any high-end shoes, but I do have some that people might consider “different.”

If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?
My list is pretty long because almost all of my travel has been work-related. I would love to visit New Zealand, France, Greece, South Africa, the Seychelles, New York, Napa Valley and, of course, Disney World. Now that my daughters are older (18 and 15), I plan to mark something off the list every year, alternating each year between domestic and international destinations.

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