Executive Placements

Bláz comes to us from the University of Colorado, School of Medicine where he served as the Manager of the Office of Diversity and Inclusion’s Program. In this role, Bláz developed customized training on DEI topics, from workplace bullying to LGBTQ+ affirming healthcare, facilitated restorative circles for students, faculty, and staff, and advised the GME residency programs on best practices for recruitment and retention of trainees.  Read More

Previously, Bláz served as the Director of the LGBT Center at the University of Louisville School of Medicine, where he designed a series of annual didactic sessions and patient simulation training on LGBTQ+ affirming healthcare, and Director of Care Coordination at the Callen-Lorde Community Health Center in New York City, a 19,000-patient LGBTQ+ Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC). Bláz also worked to triple their grant portfolio to $4 million for wrap around social support services focused on those living with HIV and individuals who are transgender or non-binary.

Bláz completed his Bachelor’s at the University of Oklahoma, majoring in theatre with a minor in psychology. He received a Professional Certificate in Restorative Justice Facilitation from the University of San Diego and completed a Master’s in Education at the University of Oklahoma.

In his new role, Bláz will bring multiple stakeholders from inside Stanford Medicine and beyond to further build our LGBTQ+ Health Program, a collaborative effort between the School of Medicine, SHC, LPCH, and key stakeholders, including clinical experts from Primary Care, Ob/Gyn, Pediatrics, Urology, Endocrinology, Psychiatry, Plastic Surgery, Dermatology, OHNS, and other clinical specialties. The program will transform Stanford’s delivery of care, research, and teaching related to LGBTQ+ health and help make our institution a national model for LGBTQ+ health.

In his free time, Bláz enjoys playing with his cats, Vivi and G'reyha Tia, is an avid board and video gamer and loves a good sci-fi/fantasy book. He most looks forward to living amongst the redwoods and visiting the sea otters near the bay area.  

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Adam received his MPA and JD from the University of Washington and previously served as Assistant Dean for Academic and Faculty Affairs at Harvard Law School, where he oversaw the operations, budget, and strategic direction of the Office of Academic Affairs, as well as provided leadership and supervision for staff who manage the school’s faculty information system.  Read More

In his new role as Associate Dean, Adam will be a strong partner with the School of Medicine, department, and university leadership, build strong collaborative relationships with departments and help to develop a long-term strategic view for the Office of Academic Affairs that is aligned with the strategic vision for Stanford Medicine.  

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Elisabeth previously worked as a Program Manager for Faculty Affairs at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle. She worked closely with the Executive Leadership Team to evaluate faculty policies and Center-wide processes to ensure a supportive environment, removing administrative burdens where possible.  Read More

Elisabeth led a cross-departmental review of faculty onboarding with the implementation of a new system, and she has designed databases to track faculty information. At Stanford, she will work closely with the Associate Dean and the Office of Academic Affairs team to lead and direct strategic planning and perform the full range of the project management cycle. 

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After working at Georgetown University for four years where she ran residency programs for both departments of Plastic Surgery and Surgery, Wajhma began her career at Stanford in the Department of Surgery in 2011. She started as the division manager for Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery and in 2014, Wajhma transitioned to the division manager role for Vascular Surgery, and then later concurrently assumed the Abdominal Transplantation role, managing both divisions. Read More

Wajhma has worked tirelessly to help plan, lead, and implement the strategic growth initiatives for operations, administration, and finance for these three divisions while participating in mentoring, LEAN, DEI, and other Department of Surgery and School of Medicine committees.

Last year, Wajhma doubled down on her professional development journey and began an Executive MBA program, which she'll finish this coming winter. In addition to a BA in Psychology with a Chemistry minor she received at the University of San Diego, she received an MD from the Universidad Iberoamericano Dominican Republic. 

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Samantha Kerath previously worked as the Director for Sponsored Programs at the San Jose State University (SJSU) Research Foundation. While at SJSU, she fostered a supportive environment for the University research community, developing and  implementing programs to increase external funding for faculty. She was also responsible for research communications, proposal  Read Moredevelopment, grants compliance, awards management, and self-support programs.

Prior to joining the SJSU Research Foundation, Samantha worked for the Institute for Bioelectronic Medicine at the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research, the research arm of the Northwell Health system, the largest healthcare provider in New York State. Samantha provided administrative leadership for the Institute in pre-and post-award operations, financial management, compliance, and project implementation.

Samantha is certified in Research Administration, and holds a Master’s degree in Biomedical Anthropology from Binghamton University, and a Master’s degree in Research Administration from Johns Hopkins University.  

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Katie will lead all human resource operations and strategy within the Stanford Cancer Institute (SCI) and partner with administrative leaders across its many business units including the Cancer Clinical Trials Office (CCTO),  Center for Cancer Cell Therapy (CCCT), Cancer Health Equity and Community Engagement (CHECE), and all others.  Read More  

Katie brings to the SCI over twenty years of experience developing HR strategy and building teams. She is a highly motivated and collaborative leader with significant hands on experience managing all areas of HR and particular expertise with high growth organizations, coaching, performance management, recruitment, benefits, organizational development and internal communications. Katie will join the SCI from Angaza Design in SF, where she is the VP of People Operations, and prior to her current role she served as the HR Director for the Public Library of Science in SF for seven years. Katie holds a Masters of Business Management, majoring in Training and Organizational Development, from Victoria University in Melbourne, Australia. 

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Over the past three years, Ben has been instrumental in preparing for the new Department of Health Policy.  He has concurrently managed the administration and finances for two Stanford Centers focused on Health Policy: the Center for Read More  Primary Care and Outcomes Research Center (PCOR) under the Department of Medicine and the Center for Health Policy under the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies. As Associate Director/Division Manager for these centers, he has provided leadership and oversight for financial operations, strategic planning, human resources, grant and contract administration, academic affairs, and facilities/space planning. Ben first joined Stanford in 2012 and served six years with the Cancer Clinical Trials Office in the Stanford Cancer Institute. There he performed a variety of roles that utilized his expertise in interventional clinical research operations and management, specifically in cancer trials.

Ben’s interest and career in public health began in the field of Parkinson’s Disease research. He spent six years working on epidemiological studies at The Parkinson’s Institute in Sunnyvale, CA. He received his MPH from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and his BS in Cognitive Science from University of California, San Diego.

Ben currently resides in Sunnyvale. He is passionate about functional fitness and has previously coached adults and volunteered as a judge at local competitions. He enjoys zipping around campus on his foldable kick scooter, which he has been accused of ‘borrowing’ from his three kids (he assures they have their own). 

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For the last five years, Milan served as the Division Manager in two divisions in the Department of Medicine: the Stanford Center for Biomedical Informatics Research (BMIR) and the Division of Endocrinology. In these roles, he supported faculty, directed  Read More 

administrative staff and division finances, and oversaw the deployment of several new process improvements projects including a robust post-award management tool. He also served on several lean process teams across the Department of Medicine, addressing issues related to Human Resources and Student Affairs. Prior to joining the School of Medicine, Milan was in the Decision Support Finance team at Stanford Health Care and worked closely with senior SHC leadership and clinical DFAs to support Funds Flow transfers.

Prior to Stanford Medicine, Milan was a healthcare consultant, working with rural California hospitals on assessments and improvements in reimbursement and quality.  Milan holds Bachelor’s degrees in Mass Communications and Legal Studies from UC Berkeley.

Outside of work, Milan enjoys gardening, coaching soccer, playing table tennis, and tackling the occasional home improvement project.

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In his previous role as the DFA in Ophthalmology, Bryant partnered with Dr. Jeffrey Goldberg during his inaugural term as chair to build the department infrastructure for rapid growth in the clinical, education, and research missions.  Prior to Ophthalmology, Bryant served in a number Read More  of business and professional positions of increasing responsibility in clinical business operations at Stanford Health Care, New York-Presbyterian Healthcare System and NYU Downtown Hospital. Bryant earned his M.P.A. from the Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service at New York University and his B.S. from the University of California, Berkeley. 

In his new role as the DFA for the Departments of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Bryant will partner with both department chairs to advance the success of the financial, operational and administrative management of the three mission areas and ensure compliance with school, university, and government policies and regulations.  Bryant will continue to collaborate with the other DFAs and the Dean’s Office on cross-departmental improvement efforts where his expertise in process improvement has been invaluable.  Additionally, Bryant will foster and promote a productive, effective, and respectful workplace which builds diversity and inclusion aligned with the values of Stanford Medicine.

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