Congratulations to Lisa Johns, JABSOM's former Office of Environmental Health and Safety supervisor, who is moving on to the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Office of Research Compliance as the new system biosafety program manager.
Johns started at JABSOM in 2017, but prior to that, she conducted research with our Tropical Medicine Department. On her very first day as EH&S supervisor, Lisa was welcomed with a power outage.
"The power outage affected the MEB, so we put on our safety vest, directed people not to use the elevators, and Dean Hedges came up to me and said, 'so sorry this is your first day, but welcome to JABSOM, you're doing a great job.' That was my first day," Johns said. "It's pretty much been a surprise every day. Maybe not quite as dramatic, but always surprises."
Along with that power outage, Johns calmly and confidently navigated JABSOM through many other ordeals.
" Any one of our floods in the BSB or any kind of emergency like that would probably be my biggest memories," she said.
As Johns moves to the Mānoa campus, she says she will miss all the people she's worked with here in Kakaʻako.
" I've made such great friends here and in all honesty, I wouldn't have the opportunity that I have now without the people supporting me here," Johns said. "The administration, my peers, everyone really helped build me up to be able to have this opportunity.”
While Johns will miss JABSOM, many on the campus will miss her.
“Lisa Johns will be missed here at JABSOM and as a member of our Finance & Operations (FINOPS) Team,” said Coco Seymour, JABSOM Interim Chief Financial Officer. “We have had so many fun times in our weekly FINOPS meetings sharing good and sometimes not-so-good news. Regardless of the updates, you can rest assured Lisa will always be calm and willing to help everyone work toward a solution. Personally, I will dearly miss Lisa, but wish her the very best in her new role at the Mānoa campus. She will always have a home here at JABSOM. A hui hou, Lisa!”
“JABSOM is pretty much my ʻohana. It's sad to leave, but I am excited about this new opportunity,” Johns said. “I will still serve many of our researchers here in my new role, so they're not rid of me just yet!"
Rozalia Laczko steps in as interim EH&S supervisor.
