San Francisco native Kisha Mickels wants to help people. When the former Housing Assistant in Campus Life Services was looking for an opportunity to grow professionally, she utilized a workforce training program available at UCSF like the one that helped her start her career here. Kisha had previously been involved in the Excel (excellence through community engagement learning) workforce-development program. Excel is a work-based learning program that uses classroom and on-the-job training to prepare for career path jobs in healthcare, designed to lift up those who need it most in the SF community. “The Excel program got me in the door with UCSF which gave me the opportunity to have a career position; it gave me the tools to be successful, network and build relationships within UCSF," Kisha says. "It created the opportunity to become a member of the Anchor Institution Initiative Committee and it gave me many speaking engagement opportunities." She recently gained the certifications needed to become a medical assistant by completing the 3n1 Medical Assistant Program.
Development programs like Excel and 3n1 help address systemic inequalities, says UCSF Chief Learning Officer Nancy Duranteau. “While the terms equity and equality may sound similar, the implementation of one versus the other can lead to dramatically different outcomes when striving to create an anti-racist environment. Equity and justice are needed when equality falls short of fairness.” We talked with Kisha about the path to her new career.
Tell us about your path from Housing to Medical Assistant.
I started as a Housing Assistant in 2017. I loved working with and supporting the tenants. They become special people in your life. Housing staff are like their family away from home. I kept wanting to make a difference, but I was feeling stagnant. I started getting serious about what skills I could build to grow faster. UCSF stands for redefining possible. This was my time to redefine my possible. I invested in building my skills by completing a nine-and-a-half-month 3n1 Medical Assistant Program in 2022. I graduated in January 2023 with three certificates. Becoming a Medical Assistant 3 allows me to use all three certifications. Now I have a career position in Primary Care at China Basin.
Why are workforce development programs important?
I appreciate the meaning of the UCSF Pride Values and how UCSF makes sure that all staff have the opportunity to have their voice heard. I am proud to say that UCSF has given me a voice for others who look like me. Most single parents spend more time at work than with their children so when I am away from the ones I love the most, I need to know that I am valued at the place that gets most of my time. It’s meaningful that UCSF values its employees by providing the tools and education needed to grow and succeed. A seat was made for me at tables I never thought were possible. I am proud to be an African American single mother soaring through UCSF.
