Test Accordion
Leadership Starts Here: Everyday Actions That Shape Team Success (Welcome and Program Introduction)

Karen Clark, MS
Director of Supportive Care Research and Training
Department of Supportive Care Medicine
City of Hope

Matthew Loscalzo, LCSW, APOS Fellow
Founding Executive Director, Couples Coping Together Against Cancer
Emeritus Professor Supportive Care Medicine
Professor Population Sciences
City of Hope
Leadership is not defined by a title, it’s demonstrated through action. In health care, leadership can and should emerge at every level of an organization. This session explores how individuals, regardless of formal authority, can lead through behaviors that foster collaboration, trust, and a shared commitment to excellence. Participants will examine how leadership shows up in everyday interactions, through clear communication, proactive problem-solving, modeling empathy, and supporting team cohesion. We will challenge traditional definitions of leadership and highlight how inclusive, behavior-based leadership empowers all staff to contribute meaningfully to team and organizational success. This session is grounded in Our Values and their Associated Behaviors, which guide how we lead and work together:
- Trailblazing – Bold, Exceptional, Agile
- Compassion – Empathetic, Respectful, Kind
- Inclusion – Cohesive, Collaborative, Learning
- Integrity – Honest, Accountable, Rigorous
Participants will explore how these values can be embodied in daily leadership behaviors to strengthen team dynamics and improve outcomes.
- Identify and practice key leadership behaviors such as active listening, constructive feedback, and initiative-taking.
- Apply communication strategies that promote psychological safety and shared decision-making, thereby demonstrating how to influence team dynamics positively regardless of role or title.
- Recognize values-based leadership: Trailblazing, Compassion, Inclusion, and Integrity, in daily clinical and administrative settings.
Building a Staff Leadership Model Based on Courage and Compassion

Juee Kotwal, MBS, PMP
Senior Business Manager
Department of Supportive Care Medicine
City of Hope

Joanna Luna, MSN, FNP-C, ACHPN
Nurse Practitioner
Supportive Care Medicine
City of Hope
- Identify nuts and bolts on how to create staff leadership models that actively maximize diverse contributions of all colleagues as leaders.
- Apply Team-Based Interventions to enhance team engagement and empowerment
- Develop systematic strategies to sustain cultural infrastructures to nurture leadership potential within teams
Interactive Workshop: Applying Staff Leadership Skills to Real-World Challenges

Karen Clark, MS
Director of Supportive Care Research and Training
Department of Supportive Care Medicine
City of Hope

Juee Kotwal, MBS, PMP
Senior Business Manager
Department of Supportive Care Medicine
City of Hope

Eleana Liou, EdD, MPA, PHR
Program Director, Supportive Care Training
Department of Supportive Care Medicine
City of Hope

Matthew Loscalzo, LCSW, APOS Fellow
Founding Executive Director, Couples Coping Together Against Cancer
Emeritus Professor Supportive Care Medicine
Professor Population Sciences
City of Hope
This session will equip participants with practical tools to lead more productive, inclusive, and outcome-focused meetings, driving excellence in patient care and team performance:
- Apply effective small group meeting strategies that promote collaboration, accountability, and efficiency in multidisciplinary health care teams.
- Enhance communication and conflict resolution skills to foster trust, creativity, and alignment with core team values.
Imposter No More: Rewriting Your Leadership DNA

Joan Chan, BS
Associate Project Manager
Department of Supportive Care Medicine
City of Hope

Alejandro Fernandez, MS, CCRP
Project Manager for the Couples Research Program
Department of Supportive Care Medicine
City of Hope

Rita Ta, BS
Clinical Research Associate II
Department of Supportive Care Medicine
City of Hope
Join us for an intimate and thought-provoking discussion featuring two distinguished health care physician leaders as they explore the often overlooked and personal challenges of leadership, specifically the loneliness that comes with guiding teams and complex health care organizations. The conversation will delve into how leaders must strategize, cope, and manage their responsibilities in ways that are seldom openly discussed. These renowned leaders will share their personal insights on how they maintain resilience, cultivate support systems, and develop practices to sustain themselves and their teams. This session will provide a rare glimpse into the internal workings of leadership at the highest levels in health care, offering valuable lessons for leaders at all stages of their careers.
This conversation is designed to evolve organically, allowing the physician leaders to take the discussion into unexplored territory as they share their unique experiences and insights.
This conversation is designed to evolve organically, allowing the physician leaders to take the discussion into unexplored territory as they share their unique experiences and insights.
- Recognize the emotional and psychological challenges of leadership in health care.
- Examine strategies for resilience and responsibilities to oneself and others as a leader.
- Explore insights into building supportive networks, mitigate the loneliness of leadership, and strengthen organizational effectiveness.
From Vision to Action: How Cancer and Aging Research Group (CARG) Leads Through Collaborative Leadership

William Dale, MD, PhD
Professor and Vice Chair of Academic Affairs, Dept of Supportive Care Medicine
George Tsai Family Chair in Geriatric Oncology in Honor of Arti Hurria, MD
Director, Center for Cancer and Aging
Co-Lead, Cancer and Aging Research Group
City of Hope

Vani Katheria, MS
Senior Scientific Program Manager
Center for Cancer and Aging
Department of Supportive Care Medicine
City of Hope

Heidi Klepin, MD, MS, FASCO
Professor, Department of Cancer Medicine
Wake Forest University School of Medicine
Associate Director, Cancer Research Training and Education Coordination Program
Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Comprehensive Cancer Center
Co-Lead, Cancer and Aging Research Group (CARG

Supriya Mohile, MD, MS, FASCO
Wehrheim Professor of Medicine and Surgery
Wilmot Cancer Institute
University of Rochester Medical Center
Co-Lead, Cancer and Aging Research Group (CARG)
This session will explore the leadership journey of the Cancer and Aging Research Group (CARG), highlighting how its leaders have built and sustained a team of leaders through intentional infrastructure, staff leadership, team empowerment, and collaborative processes. Attendees will gain practical insights into the nuts and bolts of operational leadership and strategies for cultivating leadership at every level.
- Identify and apply strategies for leading a team of leaders within a collaborative research environment.
- Understand the infrastructure, systems, and processes that support effective staff leadership and team empowerment.
- Explore practical tools and approaches for fostering leadership development and succession planning within multidisciplinary teams.
Multidisciplinary Leadership Panel: Realities of Leadership in Everyday Health Care Roles

Natalie Schnaitmann, LCSW
Executive Director
Department of Supportive Care Medicine
City of Hope

Heather Bitar, DO, FACOI
Assistant Clinical Professor, Palliative Medicine
Supportive Care Medicine
City of Hope

Leana Chien, MSN, RN, GCNS-BC, GNP-BC
Nurse Practitioner (M.S.)
Center for Cancer & Aging
City of Hope

Jeanelle Folbrecht, Ph.D.
Clinical Professor, Division of Psychology
Department of Supportive Care Medicine
City of Hope

Lucia Lemus, MSW, LCSW, ACHP-SW, OSW-C
Clinical Social Worker Lead
Department of Supportive Care Medicine
City of Hope

Dhruti Ramchandani, MPH, MASM, MCHES
Program Manager
Patient, Family and Community Education
Department of Supportive Care Medicine
City of Hope
This forum will reinforce the key leadership skills and methods highlighted throughout this series. Panelists will share personal experiences, best practices, and insights into navigating the complex challenges of health care leadership. The session will provide real-world examples and actionable strategies for developing, harnessing, and nurturing leadership capabilities across an organization. Participants will have the opportunity to send in questions, engage with the panel, and reflect on how to apply these principles within their own teams.
- Reinforce essential leadership skills covered in sessions 1-5
- Explore and discuss case scenarios utilizing staff leadership and high performance team skills
