New Executive Director of Palliative Care Institute

Dr. Sharon Hamill has been named executive director of the CSU Shiley Haynes Institute for Palliative Care. 

Hamill’s deep experience and knowledge of palliative care combined with her decades of service in the California State University system make her the perfect leader for the institute as it enters the next phase of its development and serves as a model in palliative care education across the nation. She is an active advocate at the federal, state and local level. The institute’s success includes more than 32,000 professionals trained, 49 countries served, 195 courses provided and over 51,000 students and future health care professionals reached.

Hamill begins her work as executive director after more than a year serving in an interim role. She brings a wealth of expertise in curriculum development, assessment, accreditation and research. She has been involved in the institute since it was founded at CSUSM in 2012 through her work as the inaugural faculty director of the campus partner institute. In that role, she implemented educational programs such as the “What Gives Your Life Meaning?” campaign on advance care directives that has developed into a trademarked campaign available for educational purposes across the nation.

Hamill assumed the role of interim executive director at a time of transition as the institute sought to elevate activities to support its academic mission and to attain the vision that was established by its founders: to leverage the depth and power of the CSU in becoming the national leader for integrating palliative care education in health care-based degrees across the system.