Dear UCSF Community,

‌We are pleased to announce that we have selected Laura Dannels, PhD, MBA, SPHR, as UCSF’s next chief human resources officer. She will serve as Associate Vice Chancellor of Human Resources for UCSF and Senior Vice President of Human Resources for UCSF Health. In this role, she will serve as a member of the Chancellor’s Cabinet.

Laura brings nearly two decades of human resources experience across energy, professional services, and health care, including at Kaiser Permanente and most recently at Wellstar Health System. Her background positions her well to support our staff across UCSF and UCSF Health, who are central to advancing our mission.

‌She has launched a nationally recognized career pathways program that builds predictive pipelines for health care’s most in-demand clinical and technology roles while ensuring upward mobility for participants. She has led transformative efforts to strengthen how organizations attract, grow, and support their people — modernizing HR systems and practices to make them more connected, equitable, and data-driven. Laura is especially passionate about leadership development and career mobility, ensuring that employees at every level have the opportunity to learn, advance, and contribute to the organization’s success.

‌Laura’s Bay Area roots stretch back generations, including several family members who were born at what is now UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland. She holds a PhD from Pepperdine University and an MBA from the University of Houston.

‌Laura will start at UCSF on Dec. 15. You can read more about her career and background on UCSF.edu.

‌This was a competitive, national search with several outstanding candidates, and we would like to thank the search committee for their work in the recruitment process. We also want to thank David D. Jones for serving as the interim Associate Vice Chancellor of Human Resources throughout this year.

‌Sincerely,

‌Erin S. Gore 
Senior Vice Chancellor 
Finance and Administration  

‌Suresh Gunasekaran
President & CEO
UCSF Health