Jena Hausmann ’93 is the President and CEO of Children’s Hospital Colorado, one of the top ranked children’s hospitals in the nation. “I fell in love with it,” she says. “It has been an absolute blessing of a career to serve children and families and really be an intricate part of a community.”
During her time at CC, Hausmann was fortunate to have Glenn Brooks, the father of the Block Plan, as her advisor. “I was amazed from the beginning by how humble he was and how kind he was to the students,” she says. “He gave me confidence and belief in myself…and helped me to think about what success looks like at Colorado College.”
Hausmann believes much of that success came from CC’s small class sizes. “That interaction with faculty…is where I think really important communication skills were formed, relationship skills,” she says. Hausmann remembers a lot of work was assigned to her in small groups, which helped develop team-building skills. “We learned to rely on others, trust others, and leverage each other’s strengths,” she says.
In addition, Hausmann was the president of numerous campus organizations and clubs. “When you are given an opportunity to lead a group, you learn organizational skills, inspirational skills,” she says. “Those were building blocks for my confidence and helped me visualize that I might be good at leading. I might be a good people manager. I might be a good leader in making decisions with challenging and complex problem sets.”
“There’s this interesting opportunity in college today to continue to create an environment where there’s an ability to create belief and confidence in yourself. What I hope CC can do is to continue to be a place that brings hope, vision, and optimism to the future.”
Jena Hausmann ’93
Her unique leadership style may have sprouted at CC, but it flourished when Hausmann entered the field of healthcare administration. “When you graduate in 1993 with a Poli Sci degree, you are either going to law school or working in Washington, D.C.,” she says. “Healthcare was part of the 1992 presidential election, and the Clintons were making that a big part of their platform. So, my entrée into healthcare was through the health policy political lens.”
After earning her master’s from the University of Minnesota, Hausmann worked for a decade in the Fairview Health System in Minneapolis, first as an administrative fellow, and then in several senior management positions at the University of Minnesota Medical Center where she honed her skills and formed an incredible sense of how to leverage high-functioning teams. “Where do you know your leadership is best served, and where do you know you need to rely on others and strengthen the whole team,” she says. “This is where I think I learned most of the beautiful gifts that I have had on my leadership journey.”
As a leader, Hausmann advocates for pediatric mental health. “I see a lot of the mental health issues and the heaviness that weighs on our younger generations,” she says. “There’s this interesting opportunity in college today to continue to create an environment where there’s an ability to create belief and confidence in yourself. What I hope CC can do is to continue to be a place that brings hope, vision, and optimism to the future.”
At the end of 2024, Hausmann was named one of Fierce Healthcare’s 2024 Women of Influence.