In 2023, Laona LeBeouf, Employee Experience lead, UCLA Health IT, was a nominee for the UC Tech 2023 Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Leadership Award based on her work supporting DEI education at UCLA Health IT. Learn more about her extensive dedication and impact by reading her UC Tech Awards 2023 DEI Leadership Award application/nomination.
Summary Statement
Laona LeBeouf has led UCLA Health IT diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts to help transform the organizational culture into a welcoming and inclusive environment for all. Her leadership efforts include planning and hosting monthly Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Listen and Learn sessions and partnering with UCLA Health Talent Acquisition to develop and implement EDI recruitment best practices.
Nomination Description
After the murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, UCLA Health IT employees were horrified and angry, as much of the country was, and wanted to take action to make a difference. Through this upsurge, the organization created various mechanisms for employees to engage including EDI Listen and Learn sessions, the Black Advocacy Workgroup, and Patient Advocacy Through Technology team. UCLA Health IT also created an Anti-Racism plan in conjunction with HEDI (Health EDI). After the initial groundswell, participation and involvement started to wane, and LeBeouf searched for ways to keep employees engaged in DEI. In Winter 2022, she created an annual content schedule for the monthly Listen and Learn sessions, and increased communication on the department EDI Teams channel to promote each session and encourage attendance and participation. LeBeouf worked with the team to ensure that the learning content was relevant and valuable, and identified various ways for attendees to interact before, during and after each monthly session. LeBeouf continues to create opportunities for Health IT to get actively involved in DEI efforts by encouraging employees to develop a “call to action” which are shared in the monthly Listen and Learn sessions. Other DEI efforts include:
- In March 2022, LeBeouf led efforts to finalize and implement the new recruitment model and created and delivered training to our management team on DEI recruitment best practices.
- In October 2022, LeBeouf led the initiative to create training for Health IT managers and supervisors so that they would feel more comfortable leading DEI conversations with their teams.
- When UCLA Health rolled out the Transforming Our Community training, LeBeouf ensured that the organization was successful in reaching participation goals for the training. As a result, Health IT achieved over 99% completion rate for all Health IT employees by the first due date of January 31, 2022.
- LeBeouf has a passion for helping others, and this enthusiasm is exemplified in her leadership role for UCLA Health IT summer internship programs, including Allied Turner Internship program which is designed to address workforce shortages and offer career education for students from under-resourced communities.
Through her commitment to DEI and the many initiatives that LeBeouf has headed, UCLA Health IT’s organizational maturity with DEI has grown and expanded. LeBeouf ’s leadership and partnership with teams such as JEDI (Justice, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion) ensure that DEI will not only remain top of mind but will also be sustainable over time.
About the UC Tech Awards Program
The UC Tech Awards program will open shortly for the 2024 season. The season, including applications and judging, will culminate with an awards ceremony to be held at the UC Tech Conference around October 28, 2024 (TBD). Learn more about the UC Tech Awards program.
Author
Kyrie Bass
Organizational Effectiveness Manager
UCLA Health IT
Contact
Laona LeBeouf
Organizational Experience Lead
UCLA Health IT