Valerie Holzberger brings a passion for education and health care to project manager role for QPSi.
As a project manager for the UF College of Medicine’s Quality and Patient Safety Initiative, Valerie Holzberger works to support QPSi’s commitment of transforming the health care landscape and improving patient care.
The Wisconsin native works to keep projects on track, including for the QPSi Academy, which will soon offer new online courses centered on improving patient safety and quality of care to the college and health community.
Meet Holzberger and learn more about her in the Q&A below:
Valerie Holzberger
Q: Tell us a little about yourself.
Valerie: I was born and raised in Wisconsin, where I also attended the University of Wisconsin – Oshkosh. Before moving to Gainesville, I was an elementary school teacher for four years. I learned so much from my role as an educator and found it to be incredibly rewarding. In 2023, I moved to Gainesville and began my role as a project manager for QPSi shortly after.
Q: What aspect of QPSi interested you and made you want to join the team?
Valerie: Growing up in a family of several health care professionals, I was always inspired by the impactful and empowering work they achieved. I hoped to make a difference or influence in other’s lives in a similar way they did. When I first learned about QPSi, I remember being very fascinated with the mission and vision. It felt exciting, innovative, and like something that could make a major impact across health systems and patient care.
Q: What’s your position and what kind of work do you do?
Valerie: As a project manager for the College of Medicine’s QPSi, a large part of my role involves supporting the progression and development of courses within the QPSi Academy. Additionally, I work toward QPSi’s commitment of transforming the health care landscape and improving patient care.
Q: What’s the most interesting aspect of your position?
Valerie: An interesting aspect of my position is that I get to collaborate with and meet people across UF and UF Health. Our QPSi Academy team works closely with the E-learning, Technology, and Communications team at the College of Education, and with every course we develop, we have had the opportunity to meet a new subject matter expert from UF and/or UF Health. The passion, knowledge, and dedication of everyone involved in our course development process is evident. I am looking forward to the launch of the QPSi Academy in 2025.
Q: What do you love the most about working with QPSi?
Valerie: I love working with such a dedicated team! Every single person brings a unique skill set and background knowledge to their role. QPSi is innovative and has big goals, but we have just the team to achieve them. The collaboration and innovative ideas across the team is powerful. I think that the mission of QPSi really helps to drive us as a team, knowing that the work we do every day has an impact.
Q: What do you enjoying doing in your free time?
Valerie: In my free time, I love traveling to new places with my boyfriend — Iceland and Thailand are just some of the places at the top of our list. I also enjoy spending time outdoors, practicing yoga, reading, and cooking — especially trying new and unique recipes.
About the author:
Damarys Santacoloma, M.S.
COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER, QUALITY AND PATIENT SAFETY INITIATIVE
Damarys Santacoloma, M.S., graduated from Florida International University with a B.A. in philosophy and an M.S. in marketing. Before joining the University of Florida’s College of Medicine as the communications manager for the Quality and Patient Safety Initiative, or QPSi, she worked in a variety of fields, including the nonprofit sector, the startup space and in higher education, previously serving as the communications manager for UF Online. Her skills range from email marketing and customer relationship management, or CRM, to digital and print content creation and website maintenance. Now in her current role, Damarys assists in creating a communications strategy for the QPSi with an omnichannel approach in order to increase the initiative’s reputation and brand awareness.
