Our Community Building & Belonging Council is committed to strengthening connections across our different clinical and research sites through grassroots efforts, led by our Site Champions. With the support of our Council, our Site Champions will take the lead in helping to build community and promote a sense of belonging in collaboration with CRNAs, trainees, staff, and department leadership.
Dr. Paige Keasler, one of our Obstetric Anesthesiologists and Obstetric Anesthesiology Fellowship Director, will lead community and belonging efforts at the University of Washington Medical Center – Montlake in partnership with Drs. Preetma Kooner and Wendy Suhre. When asked what it means to be a site champion, Keasler’s response was “my hope is to enrich our already thriving community. I have been on teams my entire life, both in the sports world and professional, and my goal is to be approachable and sociable, for trainees, CRNAs, and attendings, and among our staff.”
Keasler also plans to focus on building morale at work to improve teamwork. “We are all working towards a common goal—insight into how to navigate that more efficiently and make it more enjoyable is crucial. The anesthesia division at UW Medical Center – Montlake is widespread, delivering important clinical care across the hospital, and my goal is to improve job satisfaction across the board.”
As the Obstetric Anesthesiology Fellowship Director, she sees this as an opportunity to increase learning by initiating “more inter resident-class camaraderie and communication,” encouraging residents to lean on their peers to build community.
To successfully foster community, Keasler made it clear that it is important to create a plan. “Summer is here, and I would like to start building community by hosting activities and events outside of work, kicking off with a BBQ on May 31. I also want to hear what those in the department have to say. We have wonderful junior faculty and those who know the system well. There are achievable opportunities to improve work life balance and morale. I plan to host open-agenda listening sessions with Dr. Suhre and Dr. Kooner” to produce tangible ideas or recommendations that can lead to positive outcomes across the department.
Keasler fully embraces the uniqueness of her site. “Montlake houses many subspecialties with lots of opportunities for multidisciplinary discourse and camaraderie. We share common spaces with others in the department, but they are in different divisions.” Residents spend a substantial amount of time at UW Medical Center – Montlake during their subspeciality rotations, and Keasler wants to use this role to capitalize on that by creating more opportunities to collaborate and build community in the process.
Over the last two months, Dr. Theárd and the Community Building & Belonging team met with members of our department at Seattle Children’s Hospital, Harborview Medical Center, UW Medical Center – Montlake, UW Medical Center – Northwest, and VA Puget Sound Health Care System. This provided an opportunity to understand the experiences of our department members and the culture of our respective hospital sites. The listening sessions included perspectives from attendings and CRNAs, anesthesia techs, and fellows who spoke to the local and broad experiences in Anesthesiology & Pain Medicine. Based on these discussions, our new Site Champions are well equipped to lead the charge and create spaces for all members of our department.
Community Building & Belonging Council highlights
Congratulations to Dr. Murali Sivarajan on his retirement at the end of June! He’s been a member of our department for 47 years and is an inaugural member of the Council for Community Building & Belonging. We greatly appreciate Dr. Sivarajan’s dedication to an inclusive department, his endless energy for educating young learners, and the wealth of experience he contributed to our mission.
Dr. Theárd and the Community Building & Belonging Council are working hard to identify Site Champions to improve engagement for colleagues, residents, CRNAs, staff, and families. If you are interested in becoming the site champion for Seattle Children’s Hospital, please reach out to Dr. Theárd.
Interested in being a speaker, mentor, or WISH volunteer with the Edmonds College postbaccaluareate program? Reach out to apmcbb@uw.edu. We’ll begin matching with new students in Fall 2026.
June is a celebration of Juneteenth and Pride Month – Check out upcoming events and resources!
Juneteenth – Friday, June 19
June 18, 12:00 PM: Join our colleagues for the Juneteenth Flag Raisings at all hospital campuses.
Celebrate Juneteenth Week with the Northwest African American Museum.
Get outside for a Juneteenth Discover Pass Free Day. On June 19, a Discover Pass is not required to park on any land managed by the Department of Natural Resources, Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission, or the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Juneteenth events in Seattle.
Pride Month
Trans Pride Seattle on Friday, June 26, from 5-10 p.m. in the Volunteer Park Amphitheater.
Seattle Pride Parade on June 28, at 11 a.m. in downtown Seattle. Sign up to march with UW Medicine (space is limited to 200 employee participants).
UW Medicine employees share: Being Our Authentic Selves (UW NetID required)
Browse books about and by the LGBTQ+ community at the UW Q Center’s library.
Learn about UW Medicine programs including the LGBTQ+ health pathway for medical students; and the Transgender and Gender Non-Binary Health Program; plus, for UW employees, transgender resources.
Names and pronouns matter. Learn why proper pronouns are important to inclusion and check out the Office of Healthcare Equity’s new training on pronouns for UW Medicine employees.