Kimberlee Eskierka
Chief Human Resources Officer UC San Diego Health
Kimberlee Eskierka is the chief human resource officer (CHRO) for UC San Diego Health, leading the HR team that supports more than 20,000 UC San Diego Health and Health Sciences team members. She sets the human resources vision, spearheading initiatives that align with UC San Diego Health’s operational and strategic priorities.
Ms. Eskierka leads talent acquisition, organizational development, employee and labor relations, human capital planning, and HR operations. As a member of the executive team, Ms. Eskierka works closely with Health Sciences leadership, chairs, deans and department business officers to enhance and expand shared human resources for the top-ranked UC San Diego School of Medicine, Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science.
Ms. Eskierka has more than two decades of HR leadership experience in the public and private sectors and has also served as a board agent for the National Labor Relations Board. She has led several transformative human resources initiatives with a wealth of experience in employee and labor relations, talent recruitment and retention strategies, process improvement, training, leadership development and fiscal responsibility. Her career reflects a commitment to positive, inclusive workplace culture, with hands-on experience spanning multiple states and Puerto Rico. In 2025, Ms. Eskierka was recognized by Becker’s Hospital Review on its list of ‘CHROs and Chief People Officers to Know’ for her dedication, influence and impact in health care. She also serves on the Governing Body for the Gartner C-level Southern California CHRO Community.
Prior to her current role, Ms. Eskierka made significant contributions at UC Davis, where she designed HR programs and supported joint ventures and strategic initiatives. Her exceptional partnership and support for her nursing colleagues earned her the prestigious 2024 Friend of Nursing Award. Before her time at UC Davis, she held several leadership roles at UC San Diego, where she had UC systemwide influence as a trainer, mentor, and speaker on HR topics.
Beyond UC San Diego Health, Ms. Eskierka is an active member of the Personal Advisory Board for the Port of San Diego and previously served as their chair. Ms. Eskierka is also an author and has published articles on burnout and human capital management. She holds a Senior Professional Human Resources (SHRM-SCP) certification and a Professional Business Mediator Certificate. She has a bachelor of science in business administration and a master of business administration from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
Seminars
In this quick-fire session, four people leaders will share a live challenge that they ae working through in their business. Each table will be hosted by an HR leader who will share the details of how they are approaching that challenge; you then get the opportunity to question the host and talk through solutions before moving on to your next table.
- Session I (With Natasha): Rethinking How to Build a More Integrated & Sustainable Employee Value Proposition Across Our Hospitals
- Session II (With Norma): Re-Imagining the CHROs Role in Delivering a New Workforce Plan Which Aligns with the Changing Direction of Our Organizations
- Session III (With Kimberlee): Transforming How We Engage & Retain Your Caregivers During Times of Budgetary Constraints
- Session IV (With Len): The New Approaches to Workforce Planning Enabling Us to Identify Stress Points Across Our Patient Facing Workforce
- What do we need to stop, start and continue to do when it comes to addressing the ‘on the job’ skills gaps that exist within our leadership teams?
- Re-imagining the value of a ‘back to basics’ approach to leadership development which will transform the engagement of your leaders in training interventions
- Uncover how UC San Diego’s weekly masterclasses attracted 300-500 leaders each time and engaged this critical group with a variety of topics which are essential to the employee experience in 2026
Join a live Q&A exploring how FHN and UC San Diego are rethinking the way they develop the consistent leadership behaviors which will drive the employee experience.
This is your opportunity to ask questions, unpack key lessons, and gain practical insights into the case studies you’ve just heard.
