Nominator 1:
Kasey Upchurch has brought innovative thinking and creativity to our community of practice work. She has been key to expanding the way our team thinks about engaging community members. Since joining the Global Health Informatics team in 2020, Kasey has brought new ideas for engaging IU resources and students to spread awareness around Regenstrief and the GHI program itself. These ideas improve the way we work within our local community.
Nominator 2:
Kasey joined GHI during the throes of COVID as the Associate Community Manager. Not only was she able to learn quickly about OpenHIE, which is often a difficult concept for many unfamiliar with the community to grasp, she immediately started tackling its complexities and challenges and began implementing ways for the OHIE community to strengthen its existing communications as well as expand its capabilities to reach others and make it easier for them to become engaged in the community. Kasey began hosting regular virtual “Community Coffees,” open to anyone, where new OHIE learners can ask questions about the community and learn about the resources available to begin tackling their eHealth needs. Attendance for these sessions grew quickly and created a gateway of sorts to make it easier for people to orient themselves within the OHIE community. Kasey also successfully planned and led the virtual OpenHIE community meeting in 2022 and is actively planning for the in-person 2023 meeting. She displays excellent leadership qualities, approaches problems with a positive attitude, and is open to integrataing ideas from others into solutions.