Testimonials
"My first exposure to Diane was in her position as the Administrator for the Childrens Orthopaedic Center. She managed hospital, medical group and endowment budgets in excess of $16 million/yr and 40 clinical and clerical staff. She wrote the Division's initial business plan and worked closely with the CHLA Foundation to raise over $8 million toward a critical $10 million campaign, funding several endowments. She dealt with many levels of patient care delivery and hospital administration, as well as the University of Southern California. Diane expertly navigated this world of often competing interests and was promoted to the position of Executive Director for the Department of Pediatrics & the Office of Academic Affairs.
Diane is someone you look forward to seeing every day. She is enthusiastic, a pleasure to work with and effective. She is highly intelligent and is one of the first to "get it" when others in meetings may not. I highly value her ability to read people and situations. She has a genuine sense of wanting to make the world a better place and has volunteered her time in support of the hospital and other causes. Diane shows appropriate respect for co-workers and is a real team player. Diane is of the highest moral character, and her word can be trusted implicitly. She gives her honest and thoughtful opinion when asked, even if it is not popular at the moment. She is a tireless worker who rarely complains and is eager to shoulder additional responsibilities when appropriate. Diane Zeoli combines a wealth of on the ground experience in many aspects of health care with outstanding personal abilities. Any employer would be lucky to hire her." - David L. Skaggs, MD, Endowed Chair of Pediatric Spinal Disorders; Director, Childrens Orthopaedic Center, Childrens Hospital Los Angeles
"Diane was superb at organizing and running the broad responsibilities of the Department of Pediatrics and the Office of Academic Affairs. The Department has about 280 faculty on three campuses, CHLA, HSC, and UPC. The Office of Academic Affairs at CHLA includes responsibility for all departments at CHLA (about 350 faculty), all trainees (nearly 1000), and the research institute. Only someone with Diane's background and executive skills could have covered such a large scope of activities, and covered them so well. The interface between the School of Medicine and Childrens Hospital is unique and requires considerable knowlege of the culture and regulations of both institutions and the skill to negotiate between them. Diane worked well with those below and above her. She brought energy and passion to the position and we were all sorry to see her go. She left behind many friends and colleagues who appreciate the many strengths that she built into our programs." - Roberta G. Williams, M.D., Professor and Chair of Pediatrics, Keck School of Medicine at USC. Vice-President for Pediatrics and Academic Affairs, Childrens Hospital Los Angeles
"I write this letter of reference for Diane Zeoli with no reservation and high regard. I have known Diane for eight (8) years. She reported to me when she joined Childrens Hospital Los Angeles as the Administrator of our Orthopaedic Center of Excellence.
Diane hit the ground running, bringing to bear her vast experience in academic medicine, group practice issues, and excellent physician relationships. Her solid grounding in business practices (as evidenced by her educational background and targeted experience) proved invaluable in moving forward the business planning for the then-fledgling idea of creating a center of excellence around orthopaedic services. That center is now one of the core service lines of Childrens Hospital Los Angeles.
Diane then moved on to work with the new Department Chair for Pediatrics. She has brought a mature and calming influence to that structure, which had been known to be somewhat “loose” in terms of operation and organization (not unusual for an academic practice).
I would be pleased and honored to respond to more specific questions about my experience working with Diane. Please contact me at (323) 361-4569 if you require additional information." - Paul A. King, MHA, CMPE, President and Chief Executive Officer, University Childrens Medical Group
"It is my distinct and great pleasure to recommend Diane Zeoli. I have known Diane for more than seven years and have had the privilege of working with her as a volunteer and as a dedicated Director at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles. Diane's great organizational and leadership skills are well known throughout our institution. She is highly regarded. I have had unique experience with Diane as a volunteer on a $10 million campaign fundraising committee. Her thoughtful deliberation and ability to articulate the importance of what would be accomplished as a result of funds raised has been a benefit of one and all and has inspired donors to join her in supporting this great cause."- Claudia A. Looney, Senior Vice President, Development.
"While working as the Director of the Orthopaedic Center, Diane assumed a leadership role, inspiring and motivating other employees. The physicians and staff all held the highest respect for Diane. She tackled all her responsibilities with dedication and a smile. Even at her busiest moments, she remained calm and was always mild-mannered. On the interpersonal side, Diane gets along extremely well with the physicians, staff under her supervision, colleagues at her own level, and anyone she comes in contact with. She is highly respected by all. I found her to be consistently pleasant to everyone, be it the CEO or the maintenance personnel. Diane is kind, sincere and humble - a rare quality in someone of her stature. Diane is highly intelligent, diligent, a team player and would make a great asset to any organization. I truly cannot say enough good things about Diane. I have not met anyone quite like her again."- Maita V. Samson, Executive Administrative Assistant to the Chairman of Orthopaedics (currently EAA to the Chairman of Neurosurgery), Childrens Hospital Los Angeles.
"Diane was an asset to our firm and performed with poise, professionalism, and enthusiasm. Diane would be an excellent asset for any company hiring her as she possesses a willingness to work hard and a keen intellect." - James H. Dezart, formerly Partner in Charge, Valuation Services Group, PriceWaterhouse.
"Ms. Zeoli willingly assumed another executive's responsibilities in addition to her own when the Department's Admin Services Officer retired without warning due to disability. During the initial eight months thereafter, she completed critical tasks and remedied long-standing problems that had not been addressed by her predecessor. Despite the tenebrous atmosphere, Diane has done a marvelous job, effecting the following transformations:
- Implemented and trained billing staff on the new Transaction Editing System (TES) to produce clean claims in the IDX professional fee billing system, and oversaw design modifications and implementation of a new front-end charge capture system to interface with IDX;
- Cleared over $500K in prior year account deficits that had been ignored by the previous administrator;
- Designed and implemented a Grants Management database to manage and analyze over 500 extramural and intramural fund accounts;
- Spearheaded implementation of the IL372 policies with the faculty;
- Designed and implemented monthly P&Ls and executive summaries for each of the 13 divisions within the department, including individual charge and collection data for 97 faculty;
- Restructured job responsibilities for the fiscal support staff and created a functional and meaningful organizational structure;
- Reclassified all administrative and nursing personnel (approximately 100 classified staff) to transition to newly restructured job descriptions;
- Initiated and completed the transition of the entire pool of these classified employees from the old anniversary date review system to the March merit cycle;
- Eliminated inefficient coverage of departmental HR functions by redefining responsibilities and recruited a superb manager to more effectively serve a growing department of 200 faculty and staff FTEs.
Most importantly, Diane established excellent relationships and the respect and confidence of the Division Directors and individual faculty members; this, in itself, has been a Herculean accomplishment. In summary, Ms. Zeoli has done a terrific job, and has responded superbly to some extraordinary challenges."- Charles M. Ginsburg, MD, Sr. Associate Dean, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center; Marilyn R. Corrigan Distinguished Chair in Pediatric Research (previously, Chairman, Dept of Pediatrics at UTSW & Chief of Staff, Childrens Medical Center at Dallas).
