Page 46 - BusinessWest September 1, 2021

Xiomara Albán DeLobato
Associate Director of Diversity Recruitment and Enrollment, UMass Amherst; Age 33
Xiomara Albán DeLobato had to pack up a lot of things for her 40 Under Forty photo shoot. She wanted to tell her story visually and explain what’s important to her.
That’s Brody the boxer, her best friend,
on the other end of the leash. That’s the Ecuadorian flag to the left; her parents emigrated from there to the U.S. And that’s the LGBTQ flag to the right, which represents who she is and symbolizes a core driver of the work she does.
The pennants? They explain where she works (UMass Amherst), where she worked previously (Elms College, Springfield College, and the University of New Hampshire), and where
she’s earned degrees (Elms and UNH). There’s also signage for Girls Inc., which she serves as
a board member and Development chair, and also as sponsorship chair of the agency’s annual Spirit of Girls event, as well as for Veritas Prep Charter School, which she’s a trustee, and the Springfield Public Forum, where she sits on the board of directors.
As for the books, they represent some of the reading she’s been doing when it comes to her work, which has also become ... a passion.
Indeed, DeLobato is the first person to hold her job title at UMass Amherst — something that speaks volumes about the growing
effectively and succinctly sums up what she does.
Sort of.
There are many responsibilities attached to this position, but she smashed it all down to a simple and powerful sentence. “We want to create a sense of belonging.”
As she explained, “universities are seeing the need for their communities to be inclusive. It does take intentionality — you can’t just
say, ‘we’re a diverse place and an inclusive place’ without mindfully and very intentionally creating spaces that are inclusive for all our students. We need to do our very best to make people understand that this is a place where they belong.”
This is the real meaning of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and the foundation of all of her work, which includes everything from developing strategic DEI goals to actively shifting the culture within the enrollment- management division to focus on DEI.
Yes, DeLobato had to pack up the car for her photo shoot. But, by doing so, she helped explain who she is — and why she’s a member of the class of 2021.
—George O’Brien
importance of this role — and it’s a title that
Lindsey Gamble
Director of Nursing, Mercy Medical Center; Age 35
Lindsey Gamble doesn’t have any trouble recalling the time and the circumstances when she first decided she wanted to be a nurse.
She was 12 years old, and her mother was pregnant with her fourth child. Lindsey made up her mind that she wanted to witness the birth of that child, and successfully lobbied those at the hospital for the right to be in the room. She’s very glad she did.
“It was the best day of my life,” she said. “I immediately knew I wanted to become a nurse and hopefully deliver babies at one point — but definitely nursing. It was a really positive experience.”
She used it to propel herself into a career in nursing, one that eventually did include a stint as a labor and delivery nurse before she made the transition to management roles within the Nursing Department at Mercy Medical Center.
Today, Gamble is director of Nursing, a broad role that carries with it many responsibilities, including staffing, budgeting, training, and ongoing education of the nursing staff. And that list became even longer during the past 14 months of COVID-19.
Indeed, at the start of the pandemic, Gamble implemented a daily huddle to keep the day and night shifts up to date on the changing protocols and testing for the virus, while also collaborating with the departments of Respiratory Therapy and Education
to cross-train nurses to perform certain duties to relieve the workload for respiratory therapists. She also coordinated ‘resiliency rounds’ to allow frontline staff to decompress and take care of themselves, and worked with the Philanthropy team to coordinate the many food donations and deliveries to frontline workers.
She also played a key role in the opening of Mercy’s Innovation Unit, designed to ensure that families
of COVID patients stay connected with the patient and the care team during their hospital stay — a connection that became especially important when the hospital could no longer allow visitors.
Gamble is also active in the community, especially
at the school her children attend, Enfield Montessori. There, she’s a volunteer — handling everything from reading in the classroom to teaching gym to working in the cafeteria — and also serves on the advancement committee.
Meanwhile, at Mercy, she has been instrumental
in the hospital’s annual holiday campaign to collect hygiene products and clothing items for the homeless.
In other words, she’s a true leader — in all aspects of her life.
—George O’Brien
A22 SEPTEMBER 1, 2021
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