When I heard our CNO, Gwen, would be retiring, I was immediately anxious. I had worked for Gwen for two years and had only then begun to unwind and gain confidence and momentum as a leader and a real part of the HFH leadership team. Gwen had been an important mentor and support. Who would be replacing her? Was there any chance that the person after Gwen would create as safe and supportive a place for me to grow as a leader? Enter Denise.

I had worked peripheral to Denise for several years and knew a few things about her. She has an eye for quality. She won’t shy away from voicing what needs to be said. She expects excellence. She has a fairness and neutrality about approaching a situation such that she will be clear and direct about expectations but remain impressively understanding, open-minded, and avoidant of bias as she assesses the factors involved. The professional in me appreciated this. The imposter in me was intimidated. I have learned time and time again that, even though I fantasize about being someone who may not need it, I function best at work with positive reinforcement. I’ll admit that an “attaboy” probably goes farther than it should with me. I knew enough to see that if I was going to get such praise from Denise, it would darn well be substantially earned.

Fast forward these past 4 months, and I can say confidently that my hopes for the period I would work under Denise were cast far short of what I found she could actually provide as a leader. That is to say, just hoping to garner a little acknowledgement and not fall short of Denise’s high expectations was a woeful failure to realize what Denise could do for me and for HFH as a leader. Denise is astoundingly communicative. Even while incarcerated in what she sighingly refers to as “email jail”, hoping to keep her inbox under several hundred, I was surprised and impressed at how I always heard back from Denise promptly and never needed to wait for her counsel, consideration, or communication. She always had time for me.

Denise demonstrates grace in the face of sometimes immense bureaucratic tedium. She models equanimity in times of unprecedented stress and emergency. Whenever I expected even defensible histrionics, Denise was calm, thoughtful, open-minded, and on-task. Not only does Denise provide the kind of leadership needed for the moment, but in so doing, she also provides an ever-present example for the next generation of leaders privileged to work with her.

Denise deserves to be named DAISY Nurse Leader for taking on the CNO role with seamless effectiveness. She deserves it for never letting the mandate feel like the work was just being kept afloat, but instead moving it forward with uninterrupted momentum. For being approachable, reachable, responsive, thoughtful, and engaged. For staying cool and promoting safety during this hospital’s terrible and unprecedented tragedy in August. For demonstrating empathy and responsive action in the aftermath. For leading with a balance of poise and professionalism, combined with simultaneous friendliness and dynamic rapport. For showing us all what it looks like to balance a demand for quality with an understanding of how hard it is to produce. And, speaking as someone who had the privilege and benefit of direct access, Denise deserves this award perhaps most primarily for helping to create a new generation of leaders at HFH by showing them an example of superlative guidance, unwavering support, and uncompromising excellence just by allowing us all to witness her leadership in action.