Torrick Taylor, pictured here with Dr. Henry Sanchez, is one of four Great People being honored this quarter for their outstanding contributions to the school. Alan Bostrom, Chris Hall, Katrina Pon were also honored.
© Mary Bunker, 2004

Alan Bostrom
Alan Bostrom is an Academic Specialist in the Biostatics Consulting Unit. This Unit provides UCSF researchers with a full range of biostatistical expertise and service, including advice on statistical methods, performance of data analyses, interpretation of results, help preparing presentations and publications and help revising publications and dealing with referees.

An appreciative co-worker, who met Alan three years ago when she had just graduated from school and was starting her career as a statistician, said that Alan helped her make the transition successfully. She noted that he took the time to share his experiences with her, which helped her to become a better statistician. “His brilliant suggestions have allowed me to think about the problem at hand in an entirely different way.”

Alan is a dedicated UCSF employee who loves his work and who has developed an excellent reputation both for his statistical consulting work and for his kind and gentle manner.

Christopher L Hall
Chris Hall wears many hats as the Office Manager at the AIDS Health Project Services Center. The clinic, located on Market Street, operates 12 hours a day, has approximately 40 providers, and has community meeting rooms as well as client services. To quote one of his nominator’s descriptions of his job, Chris “…ensures that the front desk is well trained to respond to our complex client populations needs, that the building is well tended to and experienced as a comfortable place to be for clients and staff, that schedules are maintained to help avoid mix ups, and that respect is given in each direction from clinical staff to administrative staff to clients.”

He has been with the agency since April 1998, and says that what keeps him going is the wide variety of work – he would add “bouncer” and “security guard” to the description of his job. He performs these tasks, in the words of other nominators, “with incredible humor and aplomb,” and “with an ease and skill that appears magical.”

“Our organization enjoys a very positive reputation in the community, and Chris' managerial skills, community-relations talents, and easy going nature are key elements of this success.”

Katrina Pon
Katrina Pon, Assistant III, is one of the key players in the Division of Endocrinology/Metabolism. “Our patients frequently comment on how pleasant it is to interact with someone who can make things happen while they are made to feel special and important.” She works with caregivers “to prioritize appointments for those with more urgent problems; understands the importance of relationships with the referring physicians; gently prods us to keep on schedule and being acutely aware of patient's special needs; obtains records and organizes information before the visit; and so much more!”

She does all of this with a great sense of humor – an especially valuable trait when times are hectic and tempers are short. Katrina is referred to as “the dynamo that runs our endocrinology/metabolism clinical operations.”

Torrick L Taylor
Torrick has been with UCSF, in the Department of Pathology, for fourteen years. As Program Representative II, he is the course coordinator for the basic pathology course. He said he loves working with faculty, learning about science and working closely with 1st and 2nd year students.

His advice to his staff is to do the best they can in their job, find ways to learn new things and to work together to provide superior customer service and support. He is an inspiration to his staff; so much so that one employee has returned to school to obtain a bachelors degree in business “because of him.” When we asked about memorable experiences, he said he had been in the army at the Presidio and really wanted to work for UCSF, so that when the job offer finally came, he was thrilled!