Growing up in southwest Virginia, Katherine Browder, assistant dean of Strategic Initiatives and chief of staff of the UCR School of Medicine, frequently saw friends and neighbors who were unable to access quality medical care for their families. The experience awakened her strong sense of fairness. “Anything I can do to level that playing field to help build more fairness is important,” she said.

Browder worked toward improving healthcare throughout her career in academic medicine, including at Oregon Health and Science University and UC San Diego, but felt that her efforts could do more to increase health equity. Her desire for more purposeful work brought her to the UCR SOM in January 2025. “As a really mission-driven, community-based medical school, it was really apparent from the first interaction that everyone was really driven by the values and the goals of, how can we improve the health and lives of the people in the Inland Empire who have been historically underserved,” Browder recalled. “You can go to large organizations and be a small part of the change, or you can come somewhere like here and really be on the forefront of seeing the change that you're helping to drive.”

Two roles, one mission

Browder knew to expect a wide variety of responsibilities in her two SOM roles of chief of staff and assistant dean. “In the chief of staff community, we joke that if you've seen one (chief of staff), you've seen one… essentially it’s just working in whatever capacity is needed for that particular day,” she said.

In the SOM’s version of chief of staff, “I’m really just here to remove barriers, get out of the way of these professionals, and provide direction and guidance on what to prioritize,” Browder explained. On a daily basis, this may include project initiation, writing letters or speeches, or strategic planning. “It’s also developing a strategy for external relations, how we can continue to grow, and expanding the breadth of ways that we're able to support the organization,” she continued. “That tends to be my strengths; where I'm happiest is looking at strategy.”

Browder, whose position also includes serving as assistant dean of Strategic Initiatives (SI) following Linda Reimann’s retirement from the role, said she was impressed by the team’s strength. “A positive surprise was just how great everyone is,” she said, noting the team’s expertise in digital communications, event production, external relations, strategic planning, and more. “It's just this wide spectrum of things that really allow this group of senior professionals to one, be excellent, and also amplify excellence across the school,” she added. “I don't think that we would be nearly as effective as a school if it wasn't for the strengths and the skills of Strategic Initiatives.”

“I equate it to, if a tree falls in the forest, does anybody hear it?” Browder continued, referencing the SI team’s behind the scenes, yet pivotal, work. “If it goes really well, you're not even going to know we're there; it's only when we're not there that if something goes wrong it’s like, ‘Oh, what happened?’” she said. Without the team, she pointed out, the school would have no publications, announcements, town halls, strategic planning, or events. “Both the chief of staff role and also Strategic Initiatives is that connecting fiber that really amplifies the effects and impact and outcomes of what everybody is doing across the school,” Browder said. “We're not going to get the credit or the kudos, but we're certainly going to recognize that if something just happened that was profound, we probably had a part in it.”

Browder added that the team also advances the SOM’s mission through community-facing events. “We're out on the forefront of leading the community advisory board, hosting open house, developing those relationships and connections and building that community, both internally but also externally,” in addition to planning significant annual events like commencement and White Coat. “There are so many ways in which we drive our mission forward, be it through developing relationships with legislators to allow for more funding and revenue, or helping students to celebrate Match Day,” Browder said. “I don't think you can have a School of Medicine without the teams that we have.”

Behind the scenes

While the SI team serves as an unseen force behind many SOM operations, the team has its own invisible driver behind it: Allie Mosby, executive assistant to Browder. “You can hand her anything and know that it's done,” Browder said. “As our business officer for strategic initiatives, she, through all of the administrative and financial and accounting processes, really allows us to work at the top of our placement,” from obtaining reimbursement and scheduling travel to other tasks.

When Browder organized a chairs retreat, for instance, Mosby “gathered all the materials and she scheduled everything and she ordered all the food--she made it happen,” Browder said. “I just had to worry about the programming and the detail and facilitating, because I could trust that Allie was going to work the magic of making sure the actual day went well.”

On the SI side, Mosby assists with managing projects and deadlines, drafting memos and letters, identifying and obtaining needed data, coordinating tasks with other units, arranging travel and itineraries for event speakers, and more. “What attracts me to it is the coordination, project management aspect, and being a great resource for the team; I feel like I get a sense of satisfaction out of that,” Mosby said. “There are complex problems that come up, and I have the tools and resources and experience and knowledge to solve it.”

Mosby previously worked at UC Irvine and came to UCR in part because of the SOM’s mission to improve access to healthcare in the community. “My brother is disabled and so my family has to go out of the area for specialists for him, so I can understand the need for more doctors in the region,” she explained. “Whether I assist the team with communications, events, or community relations, my doing these tasks helps make it easier for them to contribute to the mission.”

She also praised Browder’s dedication to increasing the SOM’s effectiveness in fulfilling its mission. “As someone new, she's brought a lot of, ‘Hey, how does this work? How can we make it better?’” Mosby said.

Continuously learning and sharing knowledge

Outside of Browder’s SOM role, she serves on the Association of American Medical Colleges’ Group on Institutional Planning. Browder presented on navigating budget constraints and institutional uncertainty at the group’s Learn Serve Lead 2025 conference and recently gave a presentation on integrating change management into strategic planning. Describing herself as a “continuous learner,” she has a passion for learning new things herself as much as she enjoys sharing knowledge with others. “I enjoy working with and learning from everyone; everybody does something or knows something that I don’t know,” she said, a mindset that has served her well on the SI team and its variety of specialties.

Browder emphasized that she’s here to help the SI team, which in turn serves to help the school. “We are a collective of professionals that can help you amplify your message, work, impact, outcomes, in so many different ways that will really help drive your mission or priorities forward,” she said. And just as the team “amplifies excellence” at the SOM--Browder’s recent tagline for SI--she contributes the same for the team. “When I think about my personal mission,” she said, “it's always been to learn as much as I can so that I can mentor and coach others to be their best.”