Jessica Halterman

Jess is an indispensable member of our team, and this year she really stepped up big. Jess manages both the Clinical Informatics and the Public Health Informatics fellowships in addition to general support for myself and Dr. Finnell. This year, on top of her normal duties, Jess also covered for Ashley Wiensch who was on maternity leave for three months. She made sure all of the non-COVID research projects made progress, and external team members had the information they needed. No matter what I needed, she was there for me. Despite the fact our teams loaded her up with tasks, she rose to the challenge. She also helped our teams re-think how we communicate and came up with solutions for how we could work better as a team. Her ideas helped us streamline tasks and communication so that she can keep her sanity, and we are aware when she is overwhelmed. She can also give the faculty tasks and track them through MS Teams. Although overwhelmed at times, she communicates her needs which I appreciate. Because the faculty sometimes need to be reminded the staff are human and we all need to take breaks. Further, we are not perfect and need to continue to look for better ways to manage our work together. I appreciate her many efforts to support the teams while also looking out for our trainees who are the future leaders of the field. The trainees dealt with a lot this year, too, and she helped make sure they had access to the faculty as well as books, supplies, software, etc. She onboarded our many interns and helped them have a great remote experience. When I took time to reflect on her many accomplishments and obstacles she overcame I am reminded again why she is just a phenomenal asset to Regenstrief and a valuable member of our team. For these many reasons, I believe she deserves this year’s One Regenstrief Award.