A warm welcome to the new Children’s Miracle Network at UC Davis director
It was 2003 when Michelle Tafoya joined UC Davis Health as a program assistant for Children’s Miracle Network (CMN) at UC Davis. Little did she know where it would take her. Now, a decade and a half later, Tafoya’s health career has come full circle. She is now the new program director of CMN at UC Davis.
“Being a program director for CMN is my dream job,” Tafoya said. “When I started 16 years ago, I immediately fell in love with the job and the people I worked with. At that time, I also had a newborn. Seeing how children persevered through trauma or illness had a huge impact on me. I saw the power of philanthropy and wanted to do more to help patients.”
Tafoya used her initial experience with CMN as fuel for her fundraising passion. She went on to become the first-ever Grateful Patient Program coordinator and an endowment and gift manager at UC Davis Health. Most recently, Tafoya was named Giving Programs director in 2011. Even though her career had satisfied many of her goals, Tafoya says CMN remained near and dear to her heart and was something she longed to be part of once again.
“I knew then that one day I wanted to be the CMN program director,” Tafoya said. “I love making a difference and feeling good about what I do every day. Working for CMN does that.”
Tafoya replaces long-time director Jacquelyn Miller, who held the position for 17 years and is retiring.
“We are excited to welcome Michelle Tafoya back to Children’s Miracle Network at UC Davis Children’s Hospital,” said Tony Hazarian, executive director of development, UC Davis Medical Center. “Jacquelyn Miller and her team built an outstanding program with a lot of momentum. Michelle’s experience and passion for the hospital will help us grow and support our amazing clinicians and staff. I can’t wait to see what Michelle and the team will do and have no doubt her contributions to CMN at UC Davis will be tremendous.”
Although she knows she has big shoes to fill, Tafoya is looking forward to helping to grow the program even more.
“I know that’s saying a lot, but it’s definitely something I’d love to accomplish,” Tafoya said. “I have a lot to learn but am really looking forward to it. I can’t wait to give back and pave the way for our future generations.”