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Health Care Leaders

Kevin Diebel, PhD

Regional Campus Dean | University of Minnesota Medical School

Influence: Students I have had the privilege to teach have made the biggest impact on my career. Every time I get the opportunity to teach I get the opportunity to learn more about the world and even myself. Educating students has allowed me to directly impact the future of health care through guiding passionate individuals through their medical journey and supporting their growth and dedication to serving their communities.

Leadership: It hinges on staying calm under pressure, which fosters trust and stability. Listening actively ensures that team members feel valued and understood. Clear communication is essential for aligning goals and expectations. Being adaptable allows leaders to navigate challenges and seize opportunities. These elements create resilient and responsive leadership, inspiring and empowering teams to be their best.

Alisa Duran, MD

Women’s Health Medical Director  | Minneapolis VA Health Care System

Influence:  I have been strongly influenced by other female leaders who mentored me, including Drs. Christine Wendt, D Karyn Baum and Anne Joseph. They taught me the importance of being a vocal and supportive leader and being an advocate for those that I serve. I have also been influenced by those I have had the pleasure to teach. My students and residents keep me grounded, humble and motivated to remain a lifelong learner.

Leadership: The principles of servant leadership ask you to listen with empathy and understanding. Stay focused on service to others, whether that be veterans, colleagues or other members of the team. Strive to lift up and celebrate your team and their achievements. Advocate for others, your care team and your patients.

Tenbit Emiru, MD, PhD, MBA

Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer | UCare

Influence: My parents had the biggest influence. They encouraged, supported and expected me to value the power of education, curiosity and hard work. I owe my success to them because of the values of hard work and a commitment to life-long learning they instilled in me. My dad was always reading and I credit him for my love of reading. My mom is a retired nurse, and from a very young age, I was exposed to her work in the clinic.

Leadership: There are three important elements. First, emotional intelligence through continuous reflection. Knowing your strengths, opportunities and how you emotionally recharge. Second, the ability to communicate, motivate and inspire others. Third, collaboration valuing teamwork focused on promoting open discussion and bringing stakeholders into the decision-making process.

Lisa Erickson, MBA

President and CEO | Medica

Influence: My father was the first to instill the belief that I could do anything I set my mind to. Each of my mentors believed in me, had very high expectations and wasn’t shy about providing constructive feedback. They pushed me to take risks and try things when I wasn’t confident of success and that’s when the real growth happens. 

Leadership: It involves genuine, honest and direct communication. It’s important to listen and encourage curiosity through open discussion and debate. One must be willing to change course and admit when you’re wrong. Define the most important priorities — I call them the Big Rocks — and consistently use them to make decisions. Analyze options based on facts and have the confidence to listen to personal intuition.

Randy Farrow, MBA

CEO | Mankato Clinic

Influence: I began my career in financial roles. My comfort zone was in analytics – working with spreadsheets and financial statements versus management and leading people. One of my early supervisors recognized a potential to lead and pushed me to challenge myself. He gave me the opportunity to take a Dale Carnegie course on public speaking. Looking back, that training was pivotal. 

Leadership: It is all about people and building strong working relationships based on transparency, collaboration and trust. People do their best if they feel respected and valued. A leader’s role is to create a culture where everyone is pulling in the same direction. At Mankato Clinic, our patients are the focus of everything we do. Across every department, we are all supporting patient care.

Cindy Firkins Smith, MD, MHCI, FAAD

Vice President Medical Education | CentraCare

Influence: Maria Hordinsky, MD, recently transitioned from 23 years as chair of the department of dermatology at the UofM. She ignited my interest in dermatology, championed my student research, and cast a leadership shadow characterized by vision, commitment, integrity, authenticity, fairness, tenaciousness, steadiness and strength. Like Ginger Rogers, she did it in an era that often required dancing backward in high heels.

Leadership: Listen, to your people, your leaders and the world. Listen with your ears, eyes and heart. Leaders often spout the necessity of adaptive change and target change/resistance yet fail to recognize personal recalcitrance. Help future leaders grow. Watch for it in your team and point it out, frequently and publicly. Grow leaders, and when they’re ready, step aside and let them fly.

Vivi-Ann Fischer, DC, FICC

Chief Clinical Officer | Fulcrum Health

Influence: My biggest influence is the first doctor I practiced with, Therese Tomanek, DC. As a talented leader, she taught me a lot, from wearing a smile to listening to others. She provided the support to take chances and be safe, and kept me at my best. She lead by example and was decisive, a lifelong learner and able to be vulnerable. Her time to mentor me inspires me to do the same for others.

Leadership: It’s not about rank, it’s about elevating and empowering those around you. It requires kindness, grace during tough times and building loyalty and trust. It takes passion, motivation and vision. It takes accountability for goals to be met, assuring the whole team is working together and celebrating their successes. 

Timothy A. Garvey, MD

President | Twin Cities Spine Center

Influence: The biggest influence on my career journey was/is mentorship from my fellowship, as an “Eismont” fellow. Frank E. is a continued lifelong friend, and role model as an educator. All questions were to benefit, never demeaning, and were passed only “upward academically,” so as never to belittle.

Leadership: It sounds like corporate speak and trite, but it actually encompasses the embracement of “The Servant Leader.” Whatever organization/practice you exist within has a mission. Know it, and labor to achieve it, which almost always means facilitating your team to perform at their peak. Truly, it is about the patient, not you. 

Bill Gassens

President and CEO | Sanford Health

Influence: My greatest inspiration and encouragement are from my faith and my family, including my wife, Jill, who serves as a PA-C, my mother, who spent her career as an RN, and my father, who, in addition to his military service, led the state’s most impactful hunger relief organization. Working in health care is an unassailable calling, and it’s a privilege to get to play a small role in serving others during their most challenging time.

Leadership: Integrity, humility, transparent communication, an unwavering dedication to mission and a strong work ethic are among the leadership traits that have served me well throughout my career. They are also the traits that I value in other leaders, especially those with whom I work closely. 

Marc Gorelick, MD

President and CEO | Children’s Minnesota

Influence: Dr. Steve Ludwig was an early and important influence. He was a brilliant man, one of the founders of the field of pediatric emergency medicine, but he never acted like it. He taught me that no matter how much you know you should never flaunt it, you can always learn more, and you should always use your expertise to help and develop others.

Leadership: One of the most important elements of leadership is authenticity. An authentic leader is one who is relatable and can inspire people to their best. Conversely, people can sense when you don’t mean what you say, and it undermines the trust that is necessary to leadership. Another is humility: a good leader works to learn and grow every single day.