Laura Dannels, PhD, MBA | Associate Vice Chancellor, Human Resources

Laura Dannels is the chief human resources officer at UCSF, bringing nearly two decades of experience in leading human capital strategy across health care, energy, and professional services. She serves as the Associate Vice Chancellor of Human Resources for UCSF and Senior Vice President of Human Resources for UCSF Health. 

A Northern California native with deep Bay Area roots, Dannels specializes in workforce development and helping organizations adapt to change. Most recently, she served as the Chief Talent Officer for Wellstar Health System in Atlanta. Dannels has held HR leadership roles with organizations including Kaiser Permanente and has been recognized nationally for innovation in workforce transformation and talent management.

At Wellstar, she launched CareerCare, a nationally recognized career pathways program that builds predictive pipelines for health care’s most in-demand clinical and technology roles while removing barriers to entry and ensuring upward wage mobility for participants. She also led the modernization of HR systems and practices, advancing automation, analytics, and employee experience design to create a more seamless, data-driven, and equitable workplace. In partnership with Microsoft, she helped prepare teams for the future of health care by building both AI and human-centered skills while expanding access to programs that support learning, inclusion, and growth.

Dannels’ work has been honored by Forbes, Fortune, the Obama Administration, and the Tony Hsieh Award for innovation in workforce transformation. She serves as an adjunct professor at Columbia University in the graduate Human Capital Management program and as an HR Venture Advisor with SemperVirens Venture Capital. She is also a certified executive coach through the University of California, Berkeley.

She holds a PhD from Pepperdine University and an MBA from the University of Houston.

Visit the UCSF Human Resources website.