Everyday excellence: Meet the newest Strauss Award honorees
Congratulations to the latest recipients of the Diana and Richard C. Strauss Service Excellence Awards!
The winners for the fourth quarter of 2025 were celebrated Feb. 27 during a virtual event hosted by Jonathan Efron, M.D., Executive Vice President for Health System Affairs.
Each quarter, six Health System team members are nominated by their peers for exemplifying excellence and professionalism on the job.
Three things define Strauss Award winners:
- They excel at their jobs.
- They serve as role models for the next generation of employees.
- They share a spirit of volunteerism that strengthens our community.
Watch: Dr. Efron honors the winners during the virtual event.
Laurie Boutte
Senior Quality Improvement Analyst
Health System Quality and Operational Excellence
“Laurie brings both technical mastery and humanity to her work. She creates an environment of psychological safety where colleagues feel valued and supported, enabling open dialogue and collaboration that strengthen our collective pursuit of quality and reliability.”
UTSW career: A veteran IT professional with 20 years of experience, Mrs. Boutte transitioned to medical coding for a career change. That unique combination of experience led her to UT Southwestern – seven years ago this May.
In her role: She serves as UTSW’s Tableau analytics software guru, ensuring that the data visualization and reporting platform is working properly, helping users create reports, and training site administrators.
What she loves most about her job: “My absolute favorite part is helping people when they have trouble. They’ll run into a roadblock, I’ll jump on Teams, and we’ll sit there and work through it. When that happens, I feel like I really accomplished something.”
Keeping score: One of her most significant contributions was serving as the driving force behind the development of the Health System Balanced Scorecard – work that has transformed how leaders access, understand, and act on performance data.
All grown up: Mrs. Boutte helped transform Tableau from a small base consisting of a few team members to a mighty group of more than 5,000 participants, enabling widespread access to data-driven insights. She also led the push to transform Tableau from on-site servers to the stability of the cloud, which helps maintain continuity and compliance.
Off the clock: “I’m a nerd at heart. I discovered gaming during COVID-19, and I like games like Animal Crossing where you can sort of have a little bit of fun and relax. I also like knitting and crocheting – creative crafts like that.”
She’ll have plenty of time to indulge her hobbies as well as spend more time with family, including her grandchildren in Georgia. She’s retiring March 31.
Liz Moore
Senior Administrative Assistant II
Nursing Administrative Support
“This quintessential team member is widely respected for her get-it-done mindset, unwavering kindness, and readiness to step in wherever she is needed. Liz constantly helps others feel supported, valued, and set up for success.”
UTSW career: Inspired by a friend to apply, Mrs. Moore has worked at UT Southwestern for three years. She believes that she was called to work at UTSW, where she finds great job satisfaction and feels like she makes a difference.
In her role: Her work includes supporting Nurse Director Cynthia Hill and all the managers at Zale Lipshy Pavilion in inpatient therapy, the Medical-Surgical Unit, and on the patient floors by helping employees navigate their workspace, seamlessly coordinating complex meetings, and locating critical resources at a moment’s notice.
What she loves most about her job: “The thing I love is that my office is on the fourth floor near the therapy gym, so I get to see all the people who are having therapy as they’re getting better. That and just being able to be a part of the team, helping people get the things they need to do done.”
Calm and collected coordinator: When Zale Lipshy reopened additional medical units and an ICU, Mrs. Moore expertly navigated highly complex scheduling needs to coordinate meetings among medical directors, nurse leaders, and other stakeholders. Her efforts were essential in finalizing workflows that support efficiency while maintaining the highest level of patient care.
Innovation and modernization: Mrs. Moore has proactively invested in bettering herself and her team. One example is applying artificial intelligence (AI) tools to enhance efficiency and time management. She supported program managers in obtaining AI training, contributing to improved productivity and more streamlined workflows within the Inpatient Rehabilitation Unit. Her commitment to innovation is further demonstrated by her willingness to pursue additional training to maximize efficiency and continuously improve her own work.
Off the clock: “My husband and I started dating when we were in high school, and we’ve been together ever since we were 14 or 15. After our second child was getting ready to graduate high school, we started riding motorcycles. We travel on trips that are anywhere from 1,500 to 4,000 miles and last from two to three weeks. We’ve gone to national parks and taken back roads, seeing parts of the country you’d never see otherwise. It’s so calming and relaxing to be out there in nature, seeing the world.”
Manuel Phillip, D.N.A.P., M.S.N, CRNA
Interim Assistant Chief Nurse Anesthetist
Anesthesiology
“Manuel is a clinically extraordinary CRNA, often stating that ‘our commitment is about service, not status.’ His genuine, proactive style and sincerity – as well as his contagious humor, delivered with his signature poker face – sets him apart as both an approachable mentor and a trusted guide.”
UTSW career: Years ago, Dr. Phillip saw an announcement that a new hospital was being built in Dallas – William P. Clements Jr. University Hospital – and he told his wife: “I’ll be working in that place someday.” He celebrated his 11th anniversary at UT Southwestern on Feb. 15.
In his role: He practices in a high-volume operating room, supporting more than 65,000 cases a year while comanaging more than 100 CRNAs, precisely coordinating their staffing assignments through meticulously detailed tracking logs.
What he loves most about his job: “I think it’s the challenges you experience on a day-to-day basis. It’s very interesting to me. I also enjoy the learning experiences. You continue to grow every day, and there is so much to learn, depending on what you do.”
Pivotal performer: As Clinical Staff Coordinator for our expanding cardiac core team, he played a key role in shaping a high-performance program that directly improves patient care and clinical outcomes.
Turning standards into results: Under his guidance, the CRNA group has made meaningful gains across key performance areas, including more efficient operating room workflows.
Off the clock: “I have two girls at home, Katie, 10, and Anaya, 7. So I like to spend any extra time I have at home with them. We go to the movies, and as we drive around, we sing along with Disney princess songs.”
In between work and playtime, Dr. Phillip is completing his M.B.A. degree.
Lisa Sara
Senior Quality Improvement Analyst
Health System Quality and Operational Excellence
“Lisa’s default code is to say ‘yes.’ She listens carefully, asks the right questions, and treats every team member with respect.”
UTSW career: Mrs. Sara celebrated her ninth anniversary with UT Southwestern in January, initially joining the academic side as an analyst before moving to her current team about a year and a half later.
In her role: Her job includes organizing and scrutinizing complex data in search of trends and evidence that can be used to make meaningful changes in hospital effectiveness and productivity as well as Quality Improvement initiatives to enhance patient outcomes.
What she loves most about her job: “We get to be super analytical and creative while problem-solving. One of my favorite things is to put puzzles together and play games. That really translates into my work, and I think it’s why I love my job so much.”
High-quality collaborator: Mrs. Sara collaborates closely with clinical safety teams, nurses, physicians, and data reviewers to make certain that tools meet complex workflow requirements while remaining user-friendly. Colleagues describe her as kind, thoughtful, and someone they are excited to work with.
Data with purpose: Among her many contributions, Mrs. Sara developed a mortality dashboard that streamlined reporting and replaced a costly and inefficient system. She also established a data platform for reviewing perioperative deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolisms, as well as post-op sepsis, hemorrhages, and hematomas.
Off the clock: “I love animals. I don’t have any pets right now, but I love to go places where I can see animals. I also like to decorate and read, and my guilty pleasure is to watch sci-fi stuff on TV.”
Patricie “Patty” Stephens, M.P.A.S., PA-C
Physician Assistant
Obstetrics and Gynecology
“Her professionalism and teamwork are evident in her daily interactions with attending surgeons, residents, fellows, nurses, scrub technicians, and advanced practice provider colleagues. Her strong convictions, collaborative approach, and positive attitude have helped create a high-functioning gynecologic surgical physician assistant team that supports safe, efficient patient care.”
UTSW career: Mrs. Stephens has worked at UT Southwestern for six and a half years, five of them served as the sole gynecologic surgical physician assistant (PA), playing a key role in building and sustaining the Obstetrics and Gynecology Department’s robotics program. Following her graduation in 2018 from the PA program in the School of Health Professions, she worked briefly in an outpatient Ob/Gyn office before being recommended by a former preceptor for a job back at her UTSW home.
In her role: She provides bedside assistance in the Ob/Gyn operating room during procedures – including those that use robotic technology.
What she loves most about her job: “My favorite thing about my job is the team aspect of what we do. It’s really not a solo sport. It takes a whole team to have safe and efficient surgeries for our patients. Just working together toward the same goal, that’s what I love the most.”
Pursuing perfection: She is deeply invested in process improvement and patient safety. Mrs. Stephens is solution-oriented and works to understand system errors so they can be prevented in the future.
Shaping future clinicians: Mrs. Stephens is exceptionally dedicated to education. She runs the PA student program in the operating room, serving as a lead clinical preceptor for Ob/Gyn in gynecologic surgery. She takes extra time to orient students to the OR environment, explain team dynamics, and teach surgical skills.
Off the clock: Since her student days, Mrs. Stephens has devoted her spring breaks to medical missions, traveling to the remote fishing village of Sarstún, Guatemala, where she helps run women’s health, family medicine, and pediatric clinics.
Lily Tredemeyer, B.S.N., RN
Operating Room Assistant Nurse Manager
Surgical Services Department at Clements University Hospital
“Lily is one of the most integral surgical scrub nurses on our neuro, spine, and ortho team. Her abilities and professional knowledge are inspiring, and her co-workers depend greatly on her. Lily’s problem-solving skills are unmatched, and so is her ability to think outside the box to assist the team and provide excellent care to her patients.”
UTSW career: After spending the previous decade in a similar role at Parkland Memorial Hospital, Mrs. Tredemeyer will reach the milestone of four years at UT Southwestern in May.
In her role: She participates in complex spinal surgeries, including intradural tumors and intercranial or scoliosis cases and is often scheduled for the most challenging instances. The neuro, spine, and ortho surgeons all regularly request her presence in their rooms.
What she loves most about her job: Amazingly, Mrs. Tredemeyer’s first calling was not nursing or even health care: She previously designed air handling systems for buildings. She describes being an operating room nurse as a “dream job,” and adds that she loves the teamwork and the satisfaction of helping patients so much that she often says, “I can’t believe I get paid to do this!”
On loan: Because she is so versatile, Mrs. Tredemeyer is often requested to scrub in with other service lines. The neurovascular, neuro-oncology, and vascular teams frequently “steal” her to help with their most complex brain cases.
The secret of her success: “Studying cases, anticipating what the surgeon is going to need and collaborating with them, hearing them say, ‘Yeah, that’s a good idea,’ and having them lean on you a little bit is another level. It’s rewarding and nice to have that.”
Off the clock: “My husband and I are relatively new empty nesters, so we’ve been living our best lives. We went on a cruise last year for our anniversary and now we’re planning for another cruise.”