Ellena Kaine-George B’16, M’18 came to Saint Mary’s with an associate degree, an 8-year-old, a busy work life schedule, and a desire to help individuals and families, particularly those from marginalized communities. As the quote on her LinkedIn profile summarizes for her, “I am for equity because equity starts with everyone.”
“I was looking for a highly rated university that was affordable and offered programs that could accommodate my busy work life schedule, and Saint Mary’s University offered me exactly what I was looking for,” she said. “Choosing Saint Mary’s was the best decision I made to further my education as an adult learner.”
She found that Saint Mary’s accepted most of her credits from her associate’s degree, which made it possible for her to complete her bachelor’s degree in just two years. She said she appreciated that Saint Mary’s understood the struggles of the working professionals, adding, “They see education as a human experience and support each individual based on their unique needs so that they can also fulfill their educational dreams.”
She earned her B.S. in Healthcare and Human Services Management in 2016 and a M.A. in Healthcare and Human Services Administration in 2018 from Saint Mary’s.
What she learned at Saint Mary’s has helped her better serve and respond to patients at Children’s Minnesota and now as she represents Minnesotans of African Heritage on a state level. It also helped her advance in her career and ultimately extend her work in equity and inclusion.
“Of the many lessons I learned during my program at Saint Mary’s, cultural competency for health professionals was the class that resonated with me and still does today,” she said.
“I believe that class prepared me for my career at Children’s Minnesota. I started at Children’s as a family relations liaison (in 2019, shortly after graduating) and in that role, not only did I have a systemwide responsibility to manage Children’s Minnesota’s response to multidisciplinary and quality-of-care complaints concerning all clinical, medical, and operational areas, I also facilitated communication between our patients’ families, staff, physicians, directors, managers, and other departments.”
In 2021, Kaine-George was promoted to health equity coach at Children’s Minnesota, through which she provides coaching to clinical and administrative leaders in order to better serve patients and families from marginalized communities including patients/families of color, American Indian, LGBTQ+ and those with disabilities. “I also coach staff on how to navigate culture related issues and biases to ensure that all patients/families are treated with the respect and dignity they deserve,” she said. “This class helped me to examine my own biases toward other cultures and how I could mitigate those biases.”
In July 2024, Kaine-George was appointed by Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz to the Council for Minnesotans of African Heritage. The role of the council is to advise the state legislature and governor on issues confronting People of African Heritage. The Council also works to engage Minnesotans of African Heritage in the legislative process, provides opportunities to get involved and information needed to navigate the legislative process, which makes a direct impact during the legislative session.
“This is a huge responsibility but such an honor to be able to represent my communities at the state level,” she said.
Kaine-George recommends Saint Mary’s to anyone wondering if balancing a family, career, and furthering their education is doable. “I recommend Saint Mary’s University to anyone looking for a highly rated, diverse, and affordable university that supports adult learners and an easy-to-follow curriculum that guides students through each program,” she said.
