Welcome Tajalei Willard!

Please join us in welcoming Tajalei Willard, Assistant Clinical Research Coordinator to the Division of Geriatrics!

Tajalei started this past Monday morning and will be supporting Dr. Stephanie Rogers and Dr. James Harrison on the MemoryWell project, as well as Dr. Candace Kim on her Mt. Zion Health Fund project. Tajalei earned her Associate of Science degree in Analytical Chemistry, as well as two Bachelor of Arts degrees in World Literature and Clinical Psychology.

Prior to coming to UCSF, Tajalei was an End-of-Life Care Consultant at the Tiba Foundation.  There, she searched for culturally competent applications for the Mortuary services of the Matibabu Hospital, secured funding for micro-lending for widows in their grief work and recommended Advance Care Planning, End-of-Life Care, and other resources and support to the vulnerable community. She also worked as COVID-19 Screener at the West Oakland Health Center to ensure the Center’s compliance with health protocols and encouraged people to get vaccinated and addressed patient concerns and needs. Tajalei is deeply interested and passionate about patient-centered care and geriatric research and also worked as a Community Health Coordinator & Intern at Maitri Compassionate Care, a transitional living facility. There, she helped orient the residents and assess their goals for their stay. Tajalei organized the art therapy group and facilitated group activities, such as visits to museums (hmmm…I smell a strong candidate for the Social Committee. 😉). Last but not least, Tajalei was a Lab Coordinator in the Gibbs Lab working under Dr. Pat Samermit on a study on embodied cognition. Tajalei was in charge of running the pilot studies, transcribing study data, and quality control/improvement.

Tajalei’s background in social-emotional care and family systems makes her an excellent addition to our team! In her new role as Assistant CRC, Tajalei will coordinate multiple projects (something she is already familiar with), help prepare research protocols and study implementation, manage study data and support various research operations. We’re very excited to have Tajalei and already impressed with the experience and skillset she brings. She can be reached at [email protected] if you need to get a hold of her, OR just to welcome her to the team!