Monica Lesane’s institutional knowledge a bonus for coworkers
If there’s a question that needs answering or a task that needs to get done, Monica Lesane is the person to go to. Lesane is the business officer in Adams School of Dentistry’s Dental Faculty Practice and has a wealth of institutional knowledge and a can-do attitude that permeates everything she does.
Lesane’s career at ASOD started in 1999, working at the front desk, where an all-hands-on-deck approach was encouraged. She learned more than just how to run a front desk, she also got experience in dental assisting, accounting and other tasks that came her way, often when people left and positions didn’t get filled.
Lesane considers DFP a “big family.”
“If it needs to be done, I ‘ll do it,” Lesane said. “I’m that person; whatever I can do, I’ll go ahead and do it. If I don’t know, I’ll figure it out.”
Lesane’s hard work and dedication were recently recognized when she was honored with a H.E.A.R.T. award. The H.E.A.R.T (“Helping Everyone Achieve Results Together”) award, recognizes staff whose contributions to the ASOD community have been substantial and who embody the shared values of service and teamwork.
Lesane was on a cruise, one of her favorite pastimes, when she got the news about the award. She was getting text message after text message congratulating her, but it wasn’t until she checked her social media accounts that she realized she had won.
“I was surprised and very shocked,” she said. “It’s a great feeling to be acknowledged for what you do and who you are. I feel like if you ask anyone that I work with, they say ‘Monica is one person you can go to and get an answer, or she’ll find out. I’m a go-to person.”
Lesane was a valuable member of DFP from the get-go. She started at the front desk, then got her bachelor’s degree in business administration, planning to make a career change. But the team in DFP didn’t want her to leave. An accounting position opened up, and she applied and was hired.
“I liked office work, and working at the first desk was an administrative step to get me in the door. I didn’t intend to stay here, but the positions came open and I learned as I went,” she said.
Lesane considers DFP a big family, and she wants to see the practice thrive. “I’d like to see DFP get back to what we were. A family-oriented atmosphere, and fully staffed and filling the vacant positions.”
She said one of her strengths is getting along with people, and learning new things, something she often combines in her current position. She taught herself EPIC during Covid and often trains others on the system.
“I enjoy working out new systems and seeing how they work,” she said. “I want to know how to do it correctly. If there are fewer mistakes, there are fewer things I have to go back and review.”
Lesane is an avid traveler when she’s not in the office, and she often goes on trips with her 15-year-old son and her family members. “He’s been traveling since he was 6 weeks old!” she laughed.
They like to go to all-inclusive resorts in the Caribbean, and she’ll be traveling to St. Lucia in the coming weeks. Lesane also loves baking, and her specialties are pound cakes. She’s been cooking since she was 11, and culinary arts are in her blood, as some of her family members are chefs.
“I create my own recipes, and I’ve been doing it since high school,” she said.
Lesane loves traveling to Caribbean resorts.
