Hospitals/Large Healthcare
Leadership Academy
Ideal for:
Independent Clinics
Business Community
About WHA Leadership Academy
Cost-effective, High-quality Education
Often times staff will have to travel far for expensive classes while managing busy schedules. WHA has been providing leadership education for over 15 years. We listen and respond by providing leading experts in relevant topics for today’s leaders.
Leadership Academy focuses on different areas geared toward improving performance and motivating staff to be the best they can be. Classes are based on attendee feedback and suggestions.
Newly appointed and existing leaders with high potential for future leadership roles or those looking to hone their skills and re-energize their role in the workplace. Featuring full-day in-person classes, webinars, and multi-day virtual webinar series, these classes are guaranteed to take your leadership skills to the next level.
Communication Skills
Focusing on effective communication that is essential to great leadership, management, and patient safety.
Management Skills
Supporting managers as they transition from transactional work to strategic managers who execute the vision of the organization while empowering staff.
Contact
Bobbie Orchard
Marketing & Program Development Director
970.683.5223
bobbie.orchard@wha1.org
“The course was very beneficial to the needs of leaders! I would recommend this class to all leaders!”
Joe Schierlinger
Aspire Rural Health System
“Honestly this was one of the best courses I’ve done for leadership. As a newer manager the instructor gave me real tools to implement in real time to make an impact. She was a great educator, and I loved how she had examples because it really made it relevant and relatable.”
Kelsey Gilbert
Southwest Health System
“I really enjoyed the positivity and engagement and appreciated the number of resources mentioned and diving into some of the change theories in a way that was easy to understand and not overly condescending, it was refreshing.”
Brittany Sours
San Luis Valley Health
“This was so insightful and practical! I can put skills to use right away.”
Denise Dawson
Community Hospital
“I appreciated the direct, no-nonsense way of the course and the tools provided. It wasn’t the same content as many other leadership courses I have done.”
James Wirta
UCHealth Yampa Valley Medical Center
Connect, Inspire, Lead: Emotional Intelligence for the Modern Leader
February 3, 2026
12:00 – 1:00 pm MT via Zoom
Taught by Marcella Wright, DNP, MS, RN, Director of Care Coordination & Lean Consulting, HealthTech
Free Registration
Emotional Intelligence for Healthcare Organizations, Next Steps
February 10, 2026
12:00 – 1:00 pm MT via Zoom
Taught by Marcella Wright, DNP, MS, RN, Director of Care Coordination & Lean Consulting, HealthTech
Free Registration
Managing Conflict:
Skillful Conversations to Build Trust
Six-part Virtual Series Beginning March 2, 2026
8:15 – 9:30 am MT via Zoom
Taught by Angelina Salazar, CEO, Western Healthcare Alliance
Members: $200 per person | Non-members: $300 per person
Member Registration
Non-member Registration
Tips & Techniques to Tackle Difficult Conversations
April 14, 2026
12:00 – 1:00 pm MT via Zoom
Taught by Jennifer Law, Chief Human Resources Officer, Vail Health
Free Registration
The Fred Factor Mindset: Elevating Hospital Culture & Patient Experience
April 28, 2026
12:00 – 1:00 pm MT via Zoom
Taught by Kyle Wren, Chief Executive Officer, Rangely District Hospital
Free Registration
Win-win Delegation: Growing Them While Helping You
Two-part Virtual Series Beginning May 19, 2026
8:15 – 9:45 am MT via Zoom
Taught by Corrie Searles, MPT, Leadership Development Educator, Rural Wisconsin Health Cooperative
Members: $200 per person | Non-members: $300 per person
Member Registration
Non-member Registration
Time Management: Prioritization, Procrastination, Distractions, & Email
Three-part Virtual Series Beginning June 2, 2026
8:30 – 10:30 am MT via Zoom
Taught by Corrie Searles, MPT, Leadership Development Educator, Rural Wisconsin Health Cooperative
Members: $200 per person | Non-members: $300 per person
Member Registration
Non-member Registration
Leading on Empty: The Unseen Side of Burnout
June 18, 2026
12:00 – 1:00 pm MT via Zoom
Taught by Jenna Kauppila, MHA, ACC, Leadership & Organizational Development Specialist, Montrose Regional Health
Free Registration
Communication: Connecting with Intention & Respect
Three-part Virtual Series Beginning August 4, 2026
8:30 – 10:30 am MT via Zoom
Taught by Corrie Searles, MPT, Leadership Development Educator, Rural Wisconsin Health Cooperative
Members: $200 per person | Non-members: $300 per person
Member Registration
Non-member Registration
Employee Wellness: From Stress to Strategy
September 22, 2026
12:00 – 1:00 pm MT via Zoom
Taught by Dan Panzarella, LPC, LAC, Inpatient Behavioral Health Manager, Delta Health
Free Registration
Discover the Seven Levels of Energy
Two-part Virtual Series Beginning October 6, 2026
12:00 – 1:00 pm MT via Zoom
Taught by Angelina Salazar, CEO, Western Healthcare Alliance
Members: $100 per person | Non-members: $150 per person
Member Registration
Non-member Registration
Manipulators at Work: Reclaim Your Power
Three-part Virtual Series Beginning November 3, 2026
8:15 – 9:30 am MT via Zoom
Taught by Angelina Salazar, CEO, Western Healthcare Alliance
Members: $200 per person | Non-members: $300 per person
Member Registration
Non-member Registration
Reality-Based Leadership
Six-part Virtual Series Beginning December 1, 2026
8:15 – 9:30 am MT via Zoom
Taught by Angelina Salazar, CEO, Western Healthcare Alliance
Members: $200 per person | Non-members: $300 per person
Member Registration
Non-member Registration
Do you have a need for onsite education, customized just for your team? WHA can help!
Custom courses are taught by Angelina Salazar, Chief Executive Officer of WHA.
Learn more about Angelina Salazar
“Angelina did a great job and the class was just what I needed at the right time. Thank you!”
– Brian Heersink, IT Director
San Luis Valley Health
Reality-Based Leadership Philosophy: Ditching The Drama & Turning Excuses Into Results
The Reality-Based Leadership Program is founded through research which proved that a tremendous hit to any organization’s bottom line is waste – more specifically, the emotional waste of drama. Emotional waste shows itself as resistance to change, entitlement mentalities, complaints about workload, over-dependence upon management, lack of nimbleness and adaptation, and using circumstances or the environment as excuses for missed goals.
Emotional waste erodes business cases for new implementations, slows growth of organizations, and drains much of the margin on even the best business concept. And yet, most financially-minded leaders and investors ignore the incredible opportunity to reduce emotional expenses in favor of more concrete reductions in spending on expenses.
As with any waste, the best way to reduce that waste is through implementing great processes and engaging great people. Reality-Based Leadership provides leaders with the competencies necessary to change the mindsets of their teams, teach great mental processes that eliminate emotional waste of drama while ensuring top engagement and accountability. This philosophy isn’t just about raising morale, but about turning talent into productivity. The philosophy truly captures the value that leaders can bring to the organization and ensures that value is visible throughout the organization.
The learning objectives of the Reality-Based Leadership Program offerings are to help leaders become fluent in proven techniques and strategies to:
- Conserve team energy and direct leadership resources to issues with the highest possible ROI
- Reduce stress and conflict in their own life and the lives of their teams
- Enhance engagement and accountability of human resources
- Utilize development opportunities to enhance the capabilities of their talent
- Avoid the most common things leaders do to create barriers to their own change efforts
- Understand the new employee value equation – the way in which employees truly add value in the workplace
- Understand and be able to use a new metric for assessing talent based upon the value the employee adds to the organization as a whole, including emotional expensiveness
- Enhance the leaders’ ability to hire, coach and reward those who can truly impact the mission of the business
- Learn simple yet powerful strategies to help employees move from a mentality of learned helplessness to personal accountability
- Understand the key elements of development and coaching along with many strategies for fast-tracking the development of future and diverse leaders
- Build a performance expectation of “thrivability” for each employee
- Gain fluency in strategies to rally teams to align willingly to organizational goals
- Learn to utilize a variety of Fast Track tools of to move through resistance and begin problem-solving
Managing Conflict: Skillful Conversations To Build Trust
Do you struggle to manage your frustration or avoid difficult conversations entirely? Do you know how to effectively reach a resolution when approaching a conflict? This workshop focuses on common challenges people have with communication like being assertive, speaking with clarity, managing emotions, reflective listening, and more. This course will lead participants through the skills needed to tackle conflict and difficult conversations.
Participants will learn to do the following:
- Self-assess for discovering your natural “conflict style”, exposing you to potential new styles for different situations.
- Recognize “triangulation’’ and how to avoid it.
- Implement tools to improve “A-to-B’’ communication.
- Help others improve their conflict resolution results.
Mind Matters: Managing Perceptions For Better Interactions
Your subconscious holds the beliefs or programs that ultimately create the reality that you live every day. Do you look outside of yourself to explain what’s wrong with your life? Would you like to increase your confidence, improve your communication, handle conflict, dispel anxious feelings, create rapport with others, understand and use body language, and overall, be more effective in your life? Change the program and you change the result. Learn how to view yourself from the outside in and use your perceptions to be a conscious leader.
Angelina is the Chief Executive Officer of Western Healthcare Alliance and its affiliated companies. Working with the Board of Directors, key stakeholders, and the executive management team, she establishes long-range goals, strategies, plans, and policies for the overall benefit of rural healthcare in Colorado, eastern Utah, and the Thumb Region of Michigan. She joined the WHA team in May 2016 to strengthen and lead the outreach, marketing and communications programs. In January 2019 she was named CEO after stepping into the interim role in July 2018.
Angelina started her career in education quickly advancing her role from Outreach Coordinator to Regional Development Director for a national nonprofit. After many years of developing programming and support, Angelina was recruited into the realm of healthcare. She started in marketing for a Critical Access Hospital in western Colorado, quickly advanced to Director of Customer Service, Marketing, Community Relations, and Development. Before leaving the hospital to join WHA, she held the executive position of Vice President of Business Development. In that role, she oversaw all communications, volunteers, marketing, physician services and identified business development opportunities. She established and implemented the infrastructure to support the organization through state and federal grants, fundraising events, and the establishment of a foundation.
In addition, Angelina serves on the National Cooperative of Health Networks Board of Directors, the Colorado Health Institute Board of Directors (current Board President), the Rueckert-Hartman College for Health Professions Advisory Board, Club 20 Healthcare Policy (current Co-Chair), National Rural Health Association Rural Health Policy Congress, the Ariel Clinical Services Board, and the Prime Health Advisory Board. Her dedication to solving rural healthcare challenges and building strong relationships in the community have helped to build visibility, impact, and financial stability.
Angelina possesses a Bachelor of Arts Degree in English with a minor in Spanish, two Master of Arts Degrees in Language Acquisition and Psychology as well as a certification in mediation, and conflict resolution. She is also a certified facilitator and Reality-based Leadership instructor.