Vera Fefelov grew up in rural Alaska. After graduating from a high school with just twenty students, she headed east to attend Georgetown University. While studying business and working at a D.C. cancer center, she became passionate about improving underserved healthcare systems.

Last summer, Fefelov returned to Alaska to intern at a critical access hospital in her hometown. She put her MHA skills into practice while implementing a brand-new service line. Fefelov is determined to use her analytics and leadership background to address the myriad barriers faced by rural communities, including physician shortages and transportation hurdles. Post-graduation, Fefelov will begin a fellowship at Spokane Providence. 

“My passion is in rural work. After I work in some big hospital systems and learn as much as I possibly can, I’d love to apply those ideas to smaller rural hospitals in need,” she said.

Born in Seattle, WA, Allen Henderson’s path into healthcare began in high school through exposure to the field from his mother, a healthcare administrator, and his father, who worked in orthopedics at Harborview Medical Center. Both of his parents, along with other mentors in the medical field, left a profound impression on his desire to pursue a career in healthcare.

Mr. Henderson graduated from the University of Washington with a Bachelor of Science in Public Health–Global Health. Afterwards, he took a gap year and worked as a program administrator for a nonprofit organization that helped underserved students access college education.

He was drawn to the MHA program because it directly aligns with his desire to become a healthcare leader who serves diverse communities, builds meaningful relationships, and collaborates with a team of healthcare professionals dedicated to improving the well-being of others.

Post-graduation, Mr. Henderson will begin his administrative fellowship at MultiCare Health System in Tacoma, WA. This fellowship serves as a unique opportunity to gain hands-on experience in strategic, system-wide healthcare initiatives. What excites him most about MultiCare’s fellowship is the chance to learn directly from executive leaders, administrators, and alumni fellows.

Mr. Henderson credits the MHA faculty, alumni, and mentors whose expertise, guidance, and support played an instrumental role in his professional growth and in preparing him for the next stage of his healthcare leadership journey.

Katie Litwinski has worked at hospitals up and down the West Coast. While providing data analysis and admin support for Rady Children’s Hospital-San Diego, she faced myriad roadblocks to connecting kids with services. 

“It pushed me in the direction that I want to take my career, which is addressing fragmentation of care and continuity of care,” Litwinski reflected.

Her proudest achievement was analyzing patient outcomes data “to paint a picture of why we should be responding to a certain patient need.” She’s drawn to working at flagship institutions where she can maximize her impact, so it’s only fitting that she was awarded a fellowship at Providence Health & Services. Litwinski credits her MHA faculty mentors for advising on applications, running mock interviews, and providing insider tips on workplace culture.

Aline Roland seeks to combat inequities in health care. For her, this mission is personal: growing up in a low-income immigrant household, she watched her family members struggle to access care. Roland has channeled that passion into volunteering for refugee-serving community health organizations, helping UnitedHealthcare members develop personalized health plans, and supporting Spanish-speaking caregivers through UW’s Caring for Caregivers Online (COCO) Health.

She lauds the MHA for their support of first-generation students with mentorship, career guidance, and advice on everything from dressing for an interview to combating impostor syndrome. 

Her next chapter? A fellowship at SCA Health, a 300+ network of ambulatory surgery centers. UW’s MHA program combines public health and business principles, and she’s eager to bring that multidisciplinary viewpoint to SCA.

“It’s so important for healthcare administrators to have this background so when they’re making a tough budget decision, they’re thinking about population health and equity and social determinants of health,” Roland reflected.

Fumie Watanabe got her start as a business student. But while interning at The Queens Medical Center in Hawaii, a non-profit that still carries out the humanitarian mission of its founder, Queen Emma of Hawaii, she became passionate about health care operations.

“With my business background, I focus on bringing data to healthcare fundamentals,” she reflected.

She was drawn to the UW MHA program for its extensive mentorship network and opportunities to learn from guest speakers, including CEOs and consultants. 

“You wouldn’t think that a CEO would connect with you, because they have such busy schedules, but [the MHA program] opens that door to build those relationships,” said Watanabe.

She is eager to begin her post-graduate fellowship at SCA Health’s San Diego office, where she’ll focus on streamlining and improving care for patients.

“And I’ll be back in the sun,” she said, with a laugh.