Alakaina — Fran Becker — Executive Director, Na Lei Wili AHEC

By Char Ravello

Fran Becker, Executive Director, Na Lei Wili Area Health Education Center, Inc.

A quiet and effective leader.

Fran Becker became a lead administrator at Kaiser Medical Center on O‘ahu where she worked for 23 years. She credits her tenure for the fundamental rigor, knowledge and skills she relies on as the executive director of the small, yet mighty nonprofit Na Lei Wili AHEC, a rural area health education center.

The Na Lei Wili mission is to grow our own healers and promote health and wellness in underserved communities. Fran’s passion since her youth is to make a difference in people’s lives. Today, directing Na Lei Wili and leading a ministry that grounds her in truth, Fran finds herself in the right place for all the right reasons.

For the past 16 years, Fran has created health and wellness programs for youth on Kaua‘i and O‘ahu. She began with high school HOT (Health Ooccupations for Teens) clubs, middle school summer health camps, and fitness for elementary ages. Community support included providing housing for medical students from the University of Hawai‘i, John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM) and physician assistant students from the Wake Forest School of Medicine.

Her partnership with the Kaua‘i District Health Office and membership in the Kaua‘i Medical Reserve Corps helped support health-related activities for improving dentistry, vision, mental health, physical activity and also disaster preparedness. Fran continues supporting smaller organizations achieve their health and wellness missions with her nonprofit fiscal management skills, such as the recent Kapa‘a Skatepark rebuilding project.

Early in her ED-ship, and with more than 30 years of experience, Fran felt the need for higher education to gain the theory of all that experience. So, at 50 years young, she enrolled at the University of Phoenix. The online classes and materials were difficult but she persevered and graduated with a B.S. in Health Administration. This experience inspired her to add college preparatory skills into the program curriculums and bridge a partnership for work-based learning opportunities between the students in the health academies and local host providers.

The Power of Introversion

In honor of World Introvert Day on January 2, Myers Briggs released 2019 global sample of 200,000 employees of which 56.8 percent of the executives, top executives and senior managers prefer Introversion. Yet, introverts are vastly underrepresented in top leadership. In the US, 60 percent of top the executives and senior leaders prefer Extroversion and 40 percent prefer Introversion (Myers-Briggs Company, Type and Self-Awareness survey, OPP Ltd, 2017).

Fran is an introvert and often referred to as the silent partner working behind the scenes. During her LK 2007 year, she recognized her passion for administrative work and that being an introvert was atypical for a leader. This personal acknowledgment gave her confidence to step out to do what is needed, to not be afraid and take charge. She also learned how important it is for introverts to retreat back to a quiet place for a recharge. Today, she practices mindfulness meditation to flush and have peace.

Knowing the differences between an extrovert and an introvert, Fran would like to encourage leaders to learn how to recognize the gifts of those they lead, create opportunities for them to grow, and to be especially mindful that introverts need time to digest ideas presented to them before they offer their thoughtful responses. The insightful leader who does this will reap great rewards and extreme satisfaction from their employees’ success.

“I get excited when I am able to use my gifts as an administrator to plan, organize, and coordinate Na Lei Wili projects, and also support my community partners with their grant funding and project executions,” Fran said.

Her work has given her unspeakable joy. The next two years will be focused on ensuring the legacy of Na Lei Wili continues to make a difference in the lives of the students and the community. Fran has a call out for health professionals to support health professions students through speaking engagements, host-site internship placements and donations for the programs. If you are interested, send inquiries to naleiwili@gmail.com or call 808-246-8986.

Leadership Kauaʻi is now accepting applications for the TLC Summer Course and Annual Adult Class of 2023. Visit www.leadershipkauai.org for more information.

• Char Ravelo is the Executive Director of Leadership Kaua‘i, and can be contacted at info@leadershipkauai.org or (808) 246-8727.