Division Manager

Katherine Li joined the Division of Palliative Medicine in 2022. Prior to DPM, she served as the Assistant Division Manager for Hospital Medicine at UCSF Health. She was previously the residency coordinator for the UCSF Division of General Internal Medicine and received her undergraduate degree in Sociology from the University of California, Davis.

In her spare time, Kat enjoys baking sweets and traveling to eat.

Mia Atienza

Fellowship Coordinator

Mia Atienza serves as the Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellowship Coordinator. Mia graduated with a BA in Psychology and an MA in Education from CSU Sacramento. While her initial path was headed towards teaching and research, she realized that her true passion was in student affairs as she saw its transformative nature and she eagerly switched. She has worked with students and trainees undergoing medical education through the lens of AOA and ACGME because of her previous experiences in Undergraduate Medical Education (Touro University of California) and Graduate Medical Education (Department of Pediatrics at UCSF). Prior to coming to the Division of Palliative Medicine, Mia managed the Nephrology and Cardiology Fellowship Programs along with the Visiting Fellow Rotators at Kaiser Permanente San Francisco.

Outside of work, she enjoys reading, hiking, and traveling.

Program Manager

Andrea Benavente serves as the DPM Program Manager working on division related projects/programs such as education support and staff engagement/professional development. Andrea joined UCSF in August 2020 and started her career with the School of Nursing Office of Clinical Placements where she supported multiple nursing specialties and students. Andrea also brings several years of experience in health care administration, having worked in a variety of settings prior to moving to the Bay Area.

Andrea moved to San Francisco during the pandemic, so she is still exploring the area. She enjoys the outdoors and trying new restaurants.

Sherry Chen, MPA

HR & Operations Administrator

Sherry Chen, MPA serves as the DPM HR and Operations Administrator and is responsible for managing staff and academic HR processes, as well as coordinating the operations of the division such as IT, communications and facilities. 

Sherry started her UCSF career in 2015 at the Division of Hospital Medicine, and held roles ranging from administrative analyst, to fellowship coordinator, to the operations manager for the St. Mary's DHM service line. In 2019, she relocated to Hong Kong due to her husband's job, and worked at The University of Hong Kong's medical faculty as a manager for the Health System team, where she helped build and lead the Emergency Medicine department. 

Outside of work, she likes to test out new recipes, watch documentaries, and spend time with family.

Gayle Kojimoto

Program Manager, MERI Center

Gayle Koimoto serves as the Program Manager for the UCSF Division of Palliative Medicine, where she manages the UCSF MERI Center, UCSF Practice-PC, and UCSF Palliative Care Leadership Center. 

In addition to being passionate about palliative care, Gayle enjoys crafting and DIY projects.

Finance Manager

Ben Loo serves as the DPM Finance Manager. In this role, he is responsible for managing the division finances and post-award financial administration for research and other program funds.

Ben has fours year of experience here at UCSF. He began his career at the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences as their Research Finance Analyst (RFA) and managed the Pre-Term Birth Initiative’s $50M gift. Prior to joining DPM, he served as a floater RFA with the Department of Medicine Central Administrative team and supported multiple divisions, including Hematology and Oncology, Infectious Diseases, Division of General Internal Medicine, Nephrology, and the VA.

During the pandemic, Ben started running and continues to run three to four times a week. He has completed two half marathons during that time too.

Practice Manager, Symptom Management Service (SMS)

Administrative Coordinator & Executive Assistant

Morgan serves as the Executive Assistant/Administrative Coordinator for the Division of Palliative Medicine. She provides executive assistance to Steve Pantilat, Division Chief. Morgan will be responsible for providing overall administrative coordination of operational and administrative activities for and across the Division.

Morgan has three years of experience at UCSF. Prior to joining DPM, she worked at the Pediatric Access Center as a Practice Coordinator. Morgan received her undergraduate degree in Psychology from the University of Puget Sound.

In her spare time, Morgan enjoys traveling, music, and outdoor exploration.