Carrying the Baton Forward: Honoring Leadership and Legacy
Leadership transitions mark an important milestone in the life of any organization. This summer, the Institute entered such a moment as Dr. Sharon Hamill, our Executive Director, retired after 35 years in higher education. Under her leadership, the Institute strengthened its academic mission, expanded its reach across the CSU system with four new campus partners, and secured two new grants to advance our work. Her leadership built a strong foundation, and we are deeply grateful for her vision and commitment to palliative care education and the Institute.
I’d like to thank Mckenzie Blake, Cynthia Runge, Sarah Guadarrama, and Carolyn Yonda for their commitment and dedication to the Institute during this transition time. I’ve had the privilege of working with the Institute for over seven years as the CSUSM President’s executive leadership designee – this means that I work to support the Executive Director and the team in various ways to achieve their goals. When I took on this role, I never expected the depth of leadership and education transformation I would experience – like many people, I had little personal experience with palliative care. Over the years of my affiliation with the Institute, I’ve had three different experiences with palliative care teams as I’ve been deeply involved in bidding farewell to my father and two brothers-in-law. All three experiences took place at different times during the COVID-19 pandemic, which impacted how we worked with healthcare teams. I am forever grateful for the incredible teams and the support they provided. I truly don’t know if my family would have weathered each experience as well as we would have without them. At the same time, I developed a deeper understanding of the vast potential of palliative care and the systemic gaps that support and constrain palliative care implementation.
My work with the Institute shaped how I was able to support my family through each of these experiences. I felt privileged to put my knowledge into practice and to advocate for my loved ones. In her final blog post Dr. Hamill reminded us that, “Sometimes we are meant to cross the finish line and sometimes we are meant to carry the baton for a while and then pass to the next person.” I’m deeply grateful for the opportunity to carry the baton of leadership for the Institute, even for a time.
Indeed, our dedicated team of staff and faculty collaborators are proudly carrying the baton forward, advancing the Institute’s original academic mission and vision. The strength of the Institute has always been in its people, whose expertise ensures that our work not only continues but grows.
In June 2025, we hosted our National Symposium for Academic Palliative Care Education and Research welcoming 164 participants from fields including nursing, social work, medicine, chaplaincy, psychology, and more. We are excited to keep this tradition going in 2026 and reconnect with the amazing presenters and attendees we met last year. Keep an eye out for more information soon!
Beyond the Symposium, the Institute continues to champion interprofessional education (IPE) as a cornerstone of palliative care across the CSU system. With support from the Hearst Foundation, we are integrating IPE initiatives at CSU San Marcos and CSU Fresno. Building on this momentum, and with support from a PaCE Accelerator Grant, the Institute is collaborating with faculty at CSUSM to design an online stackable certificate in the foundations of palliative care that unites perspectives from nursing, social work, psychology, and speech-language pathology.
While the search for the next Executive Director is underway, the Institute remains firmly rooted in its founding mission: to provide high-quality education to healthcare professionals and students, build advocacy, and promote research to advance the care of those living with serious illnesses and their communities. With dedicated staff, strong campus partnerships, and the support of our community, this is not a moment of pause, but a moment of momentum.
Together, we are building on the legacy of those who came before us and embracing the opportunities that lie ahead. We invite students, faculty, healthcare professionals, and the community to stay engaged with our programs and upcoming events and help us carry the baton forward.
By Dr. Patricia Prado-Olmos, Chief Community Engagement Officer (CSUSM) and Mckenzie Blake, MA, Associate Director of Educational Programs (The CSU Shiley Haynes Institute for Palliative Care)
