Dear Colleagues:

I am pleased to announce the appointments of two key leadership positions: Won Ha as vice chancellor for Communications and Francesca Vega as vice chancellor for Community and Government Relations.

Won and Francesca will lead teams that formerly made up the Office of University Relations. As I previously announced, the accelerated growth of the University and its associated community impact highlighted a need to create two robust units – the Office of Communications and the Office of Community and Government Relations. Staff in these two offices will continue to work closely together to strengthen our relationships and to raise the visibility of UCSF’s excellence across our enterprise.

Won Ha joins UCSF from the Energy Foundation, where he is currently vice president of Strategic Communications, setting the strategic vision and communications objectives for policy and public engagement regarding the foundation’s climate change advocacy programs. A graduate of UC Berkeley, Won is deeply rooted in the health care industry, having previously worked at Kaiser Permanente for many years. At Kaiser, he successfully led national issues and brand management for the integrated health care system – hospitals, health plans, and physician groups – in eight states and the District of Columbia. He also advised leadership amid evolving competitive and legislative changes during health care reform and the passage of the Affordable Care Act. Won’s broad experience building and leading strategic communications and managing complex issues in large, decentralized organizations like UCSF positions him well to serve as vice chancellor for Communications. ...