Margaret Wei - May 2015 Employee of the Month

As the financial analyst for General Medical Disciplines (GMD), Margaret Wei is in charge of finances for the Department of Medicine’s largest Division, processing reimbursements, managing multi-million dollar grants, preparing the annual budget, and ensuring financial compliance with Stanford University and the IRS. “Overall, anything related to a dollar sign in this Division is my job,” she joked. As John DiMario, a computing information systems analyst, explained in a nominating letter: “Margaret is responsible for many of the financial accounts for the GMD—which is impressive by itself, given the Division’s size and diversity. This comes with incredible responsibility and requires strong knowledge and understanding.”

Wei joined the Department of Medicine in 2003, shortly after receiving her MBA from California State University, Sacramento. She enjoys the challenging aspects of her work as well as the camaraderie of the Division. “I really love what I do and I love the people I work with,” she said. “We are like a big happy family, and we always have great leadership.”

Wei’s resilience and positivity have garnered her the admiration of many. Mark Cullen, MD, the division chief of GMD, praised her proactive work ethic. “Margaret epitomizes ‘can do’ work—she is proactive in every one of her accounts, yet responds immediately to any issue or surprise. She is very resourceful in addressing the complex budgetary issues that arise, especially in grants management. And if that were not enough, she is a pleasure to work with, making everyone around her feel special even when I know we have driven her totally crazy!”

Gita Dehnad, assistant to the GMD chief, described Wei as “a gem.” “When I first started she was one of the first people to greet me and offer to help me settle in,” Dehnad explained. “She is ALWAYS available to answer questions and concerns and does so with a smile AT ALL TIMES. While she manages so many different aspects of the finances for GMD she never hesitates to lend a hand.”

Stephanie Harman, MD, clinical associate professor of medicine (GMD) echoed these sentiments, adding: “Margaret has a very challenging and behind-the-scenes job managing the finances of the division including all the grants, sub grants, and internal funding sources. She will routinely make it a point to deliver budgets and documents to sign and make it super easy for me. And she is always pleasant despite dealing with lots of paperwork. Margaret does her job without fanfare, quietly and excellently. She deserves this award!”