By: Tammy Allison
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
West Unity native, Leslie Hausmann, PhD, daughter of Paul and Linda Merillat, was recently selected for the Veteran Affairs’ Secretary’s 4th Annual Diversity and Inclusion Excellence Awards Program for achieving outstanding results through leadership and innovation in the VA workplace. It was through a combination of her research activities, mentoring efforts, and service-related endeavors that led to her being nominated and selected by the VA Office of Diversity and Inclusion. Her nomination for this national award was approved by the Secretary of VA, Robert A. McDonald.
Leslie R. Hausmann, who now resides in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, has small town roots in West Unity, a close-knit, family oriented community. She was a normal teenager, involved in marching and concert bands, academic league, and a cheerleader. In 1995, she graduated as valedictorian of her class and headed to BGSU, ready for her future. She chose a major in psychology and continued her education at the University of Pittsburg where she obtained her doctorate degree in social psychology.
After graduating, she found herself at the Center for Health Equity Research and Promotion, otherwise known as CHERP, which is a Veterans’ Affairs Health, Science, Research, and Development Center of Innovation. The mission of CHERP is to promote the quality and equity of health and health care for vulnerable Veteran populations, often times lower income individuals as well.
Leslie began her career in a training position and received a Career Development Award. This award provided for protected time to take classes, research, and work on clinical skills with the goal to become a full-fledged Independent Researcher for the VA focused on the healthcare of veterans. During her Career Development Award time, her research focused on issues pertaining to interrelationships of groups and explored issues of perceived discrimination and how it impacts health related behaviors.
“Coming from a small town like West Unity, I didn’t realize that research could be a career option,” Hausmann stated.
Throughout this time, Leslie not only engaged in research studies but also in mentoring and teaching activities. Her mentoring efforts to promote diversity in the VA workplace have included mentoring junior faculty as well as high school youth from minority populations. In addition, she was instrumental in promoting diversity within the VA workforce and served as a founding member of the Civility Initiative Committee at the VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System formed to cultivate a more civil working environment. Leslie values the VA’s interest in not only the veterans they serve but also their employees who are providing these services. She also has the opportunity to teach future physicians at the University of Pittsburg where she teaches medical students on health disparity.
Outside of work, Leslie also gives selflessly of her time to promote health-related initiatives. In 2005, diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, she took her avid love of biking and decided to raise money for the American Diabetes Association. Alongside her husband Robert, she participates in the annual Pittsburg Tour de Cure, and her team, “Type 1 Hype, was recently rewarded as a top fundraiser.
Leslie recently transitioned from her Career Development Award to an Independent VA Investigator, meaning her “protected time” was at an end. “I am now responsible for covering my own salary through independent research and quality improvement projects,” she explains.
As a CHERP Core Investigator and Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh, Leslie Hausmann, PhD, has already accomplished much in her short ten years with the VA as a health equity researcher. She is extremely deserving of this prestigious honor and is thankful to her BGSU professors who mentored her in her early years of research.
Tammy may be reached at
publisher@thevillagereporter.com