New leadership in human resources, community relations

Lisa Abbott, M.B.A., S.P.H.R., will join Penn State Hershey on June 3 as associate vice president for human resources for health affairs for Penn State and chief human resources officer for Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center. In this role, she will be responsible for overseeing all human resources functions for the Medical Center, Penn State Hershey Health System and Penn State College of Medicine.

Abbott comes from Cornell University, where she has served since 2008 as senior director, human resources, for Weill Cornell Medical College. Prior to taking her current position, she served as director of human resources for Cornell's School of Industrial and Labor Relations from 2005 to 2008. Abbott previously held a series of progressively responsible human resources positions at New York State Electric and Gas Corporation.

At Weill Cornell Medical College, Abbott has been responsible for all aspects of human resource strategy and operations related to management of Weill Cornell's New York City and Doha, Qatar campuses. She earned her bachelor of arts in biology from the State University of New York at Cortland and a master's of business administration in international business from Binghamton University.

With Abbott's arrival, Charles Wilson, who has served as chief human resources officer for the Medical Center since 2002, will move into the new role of chief community relations officer on an interim basis.

This new role was created to improve the coordination and impact of community engagement activities, traditionally shared by multiple individuals and teams at Penn State Hershey, by having a single individual responsible for oversight of the organization's community engagement strategy and community benefit reporting.

“Community service has always been a vital component of Penn State Hershey’s identity, and our faculty, staff and students view service to the community an important part of their calling to work in health care,” said Dr. Harold L. Paz, chief executive officer of the Medical Center and Health System, Penn State's senior vice president for health affairs, and dean of the College of Medicine. “While the collective efforts of individuals and groups within our organization have made important contributions to our service mission, a more coordinated approach will enable us to better meet the health needs of central Pennsylvania and better fulfill our role as a responsible community partner committed to improving the quality of life in the region.”

Wilson has served in various community service-oriented roles during his tenure with Penn State Hershey, including several turns as chair of the annual United Way employee giving campaign and the Chocolatetown Challenge community fitness effort.  He holds a bachelor's degree in business administration from Penn State.

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