The Embrace Change (EC) Network Team explores growth through adversity and investigates strategies for staff to learn how to build resiliency and lead during times of change
View the Embrace Change Team charge.
View the Member Profiles on this page to learn more.
The Embrace Change team is continuing its work on an app to help support mental health, a proposal for communication norms, and more.
To learn more about the EC team, see their 2024 project poster.
Janet Michoski is the administrative assistant senior for financial operations. Her primary responsibilities include managing complex calendars, preparing a comprehensive range of financial reports, and processing invoices. In her spare time, she loves spending time with her kids, watching her son play hockey and her daughter play soccer or swim. She also enjoys getting together with friends to play board games and going camping.
Jeannine has been an Annual Giving officer at Michigan Medicine for almost 3 years now, supporting the Cancer teams focusing on donor engagement and growth of gifts under $25,000. She has over 10 years non profit fundraising experience and is on the VOC team because she is motivated to positively impact the employee experience.
John leads the operations team for LSA Facilities & Operations. A licensed architect, he works diligently to advance initiatives that improve accessibility, contain costs, and improve the overall user experience on campus. Prior to joining LSA in 2021, he spent over twelve years at Oakland University in the Department of Capital Planning and Design. In addition to his expertise as an architect and project manager, John has also demonstrated his commitment to higher education over the past decade, by teaching as an adjunct faculty at Lawrence Tech and Ferris State. Beyond the office, John volunteers with Michigan Adaptive Sports as a ski instructor and enjoys sailing whenever time allows.
Kristie Luther is a Lead Preschool Teacher at the Health System Children’s Center. She has been with UMHSCC for 5 years. She has a B.S. in Child and Family Development from Western Michigan University and is currently working on her Masters degree in Early Childhood Education at Eastern Michigan University. She has over 15 years of early childhood education experience prior to joining the University. In her free time, she enjoys reading, crocheting and spending time with her husband and two children.
Leah is a clinical social worker who works in primary care at the Ypsilanti Health Center as well as a contingent social worker with Childrens Emergency Services at Michigan Medicine. Leah has been with Michigan Medicine since 2016. Prior to working at Michigan Medicine and getting her MSW, Leah worked in community outreach and program development with the American Cancer Society. Leah enjoys spending time with her family, watching her daughters play volleyball, golfing, and reading.
Liese has spent the bulk of her career as an academic and prehealth advisor and at times has had the honor of teaching as well. Her dedication to student academic well-being is of long standing and as a lifelong learner she is happy to be in a setting that is intellectually stimulating as well as challenging in its ever changing landscape. Liese enjoys walking, Zumba, and most of all reading - wherever she is there is a book along for the journey. She loves her family in all of its forms as well.
Margaret Liu (she/her/hers) is a program director for the Standardized Patient Instructor Program at the U-M Dental School. She has worked at the University of Michigan for 27 years, first as a research scientist for the 15 years before her current role at the Dental School. She is passionate about student learning, creating a diverse, welcoming, and positive working environment for everyone, and advancing DE&I. She serves on the APID/A work group and the executive committee as the VP for Finance for ASPE, the Association of Standardized Patient Educators. Her favorite pastime is binge-watching K-drama, reading, crafting, cooking, eating, gardening, walking, and photography- enjoy life as it is for the moment!
Matt is a Patient Services Associate with the Post Anesthesia Care Unit(PACU) at University Hospital(UH) and Cardiovascular Center(CVC). He works the Surgery Reception, pre-op and recovery desks at both hospitals. Main duties include: being a liaison between families and surgeons and assisting the charge nurses in pre- op and recovery with the running of the unit. He also enjoys history, Star Wars and being frustrated by his sports teams.
Paul Wiklanski is the Senior Associate Director of Prospect Development at the University of Michigan; he is a problem-solver who leverages analytics, creativity, and experience to develop actionable and compelling strategic insight. Paul is dedicated to increasing frontline fundraiser effectiveness by integrating information and fundraising intuition. He is focused on improving the user experience with data; visualizing that data; transforming it into actionable insights and amplifying donor-centric practices. Prior to joining Michigan Paul worked in the corporate sector with an emphasis on international markets.