Program Fellows
Meet the Executive Management Fellows at Washington University School of Medicine.
Hermenia Faith Ricks, MBA
2022 – 2024 Fellow
Hermenia Ricks, MBA, is the most recent fellow to have joined Washington University School of Medicine. During the fellowship, she has been involved in several projects and rotations that support and shadow central administration functions, clinical departments, and hospital partners.
Hermenia earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Texas at Tyler in Health Sciences and a master’s of science in Business Administration. Before coming to Washington University, Hermenia worked as a Senior Consultant. Hermenia is an active member of the American College of Healthcare Executives and the National Association of Health Service Executives. Her passion for health and wellness is evident in her being a CrossFit Level 1 Trainer and Certified Health Education Specialist.
“The Executive Management Fellowship program at Washington University in St. Louis has exceeded every expectation I had. From day zero, you have the full support of the previous fellows, the executive leadership team, and everybody at WashU School of Medicine. Regardless of your professional, personal, and academic background, you will gain the foundational knowledge that sets you up on a path to success. This fellowship provides the space for you to step out of your comfort zone through proper mentorship from experienced leaders, feedback, and guidance. You will be able to leverage your expertise as you partake in various project work that fosters freedom of inquiry and expression of ideas in research, teaching, and learning.”
Jesseca Leggett, MBA
2023 – 2025 Fellow
Jesseca Leggett, MBA, is the most recent fellow to have joined Washington University School of Medicine. During the fellowship, she will be involved in several projects and rotations that support and shadow central administration functions, clinical departments, and hospital partners.
Jesseca earned her undergraduate degree from Quincy University in Healthcare Studies and a master’s of science in Business Administration from Washington University’s Olin School of Business. Prior to joining the fellowship, Jesseca worked as a Clinical Program Manager on a project focused on improving the Emergency Room experience for people living with Alzheimer’s and dementia and their caregivers. Jesseca is an active board member of the Down Syndrome Association of Greater St. Louis.
Previous fellows
Brandon Oluyede, MSHA
2020 – 2022 Fellow
Senior Project Manager, Orthopedic Surgery
Through the course of the fellowship Brandon Oluyede, MSHA, was involved in several projects and rotations that support and shadow the functions of central administration, clinical departments, and hospital partners. Brandon is the first fellow to successfully complete his first year remotely.
Brandon earned his undergraduate degree from Georgia Southern University in business administration, and a master’s of science in health administration. Prior to coming to Washington University, Brandon supported the Pediatric Residency Program at Morehouse School of Medicine where he served as an administrator.
Brandon is an active member of American College of Healthcare Executives and National Association of Health Service Executives. His passion to address health disparities through service is evident in his participation in the Urban League and NAACP.
“The fellowship experience at Washington University School of Medicine is phenomenal. I have learned and grown immensely during my time here. This fellowship is unique in the fact it offers exposure to a plethora of projects and rotations between finance, medicine, research, executive leadership, and more. Washington University is an amazing institution with faculty and staff that encourage professional development with the resources to support that effort.”
Amanda Wilkins, MHA, CPA
2018 – 2020 Fellow
Special Project Administrator, WUSM Admin
Amanda Wilkins, MHA, CPA, has been involved in a number of projects in central administration of the School of Medicine and the affiliated faculty practice. With a special interest in pediatrics, she has worked closely under the mentorship of previous fellow, Kashwayne Williams, to open a new pediatric outpatient clinic at St. Louis Children’s Hospital.
Amanda earned her bachelor’s degree in accountancy from Miami University and master of health administration (MHA) from University of Pittsburgh. She holds an active license as a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) in the State of Illinois.
Amanda previously worked in public accounting and regularly utilizes her finance and accounting background to complete project work as a fellow. While completing her MHA, she worked as an administrative resident at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC. She is a member of the Healthcare Financial Management Association and the National Association for Health Service Executives, St. Louis chapter.
Nygel Williams MHA
2018 – 2020 Fellow
Manager, Education Administration
During his role as a fellow, Nygel Williams MHA, participated in high level projects working with key executives at both the School of Medicine and its hospital partners, Barnes-Jewish Hospital and St. Louis Children’s Hospital.
“The fellowship experience at Washington University School of Medicine is phenomenal. I have learned and grown immensely during my time here. This fellowship is unique in the fact it offers exposure to a plethora of projects and rotations between finance, medicine, research, executive leadership, and more. Washington University is an amazing institution with faculty and staff that encourage professional development with the resources to support that effort.”
Nygel earned his bachelor in health science from Saint Louis University, and a master in healthcare administration from the University of Maryland College Park. Prior to Washington University, Nygel served as the Villers Fellow for Healthcare Justice with Families USA in Washington DC where he advocated for healthcare policy changes on a national level working with both state and federal organizations.
Nygel is an active member of the National Association for Health Service Executives, St. Louis Chapter, where he serves on the communication committee. He is also a member of the young professionals’ board for Urban Harvest, and participates actively in the effort to improve faculty diversity and the student experience at the School of Medicine through the Commission on Equity in Clinical Grading.
Sobia Shahab, MHA
2016 – 2018 Fellow
Manager of Business Operations, Department of Pathology & Immunology
“The fellowship experience here is phenomenal. During the fellowship term, I worked on a number of projects covering a multitude of functions. The ability to be part of day-to-day discussions related to various facets of the organization helped me gain invaluable insights into how everything comes together to ensure the operational success of the medical school. The level of access to top leadership and their wealth of knowledge is unparalleled.”
Kashwayne Williams, MBA, MHA
2014 – 2016 Fellow
Executive Director Business Affairs & Strategic Planning, Emergency Medicine
“The experience I gained from the fellowship completely surpassed my expectations going in. I was able to have a broad and meaningful exposure across the entire spectrum of a complex organization. Such exposure provided invaluable and unique experiences only the Washington University School of Medicine Executive Management Fellowship Program can provide.”
Andwele Jolly, DPT, MBA, MHA
2012 – 2014 Fellow
CEO, St. Louis Integrated Health Network
“Unlike other academic medical center fellowships, our fellowship is on the school of medicine side of the relationship, where there’s a strong emphasis on higher education, research and clinical administrative management. Second, our fellowship offers an unparalleled level of exposure to senior- level management, differentiating our fellows in terms of the breadth and depth of work-level experience.“
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