Posted on October 21, 2026 by Nick Ward
Tune in to Press Play, a video series featuring conversations with UT San Antonio COLFA alumni who are shaping their industries with a foundation in the liberal and fine arts.
COLFA Alumna Jessica Gavia, Executive Director of Patient Relations at University Health, brings a unique perspective to medical administration.
Dean Glenn Martinez and Alum Jessica Gavia
Tune in to Press Play, a video series featuring conversations with UT San Antonio COLFA alumni who are shaping their industries with a foundation in the liberal and fine arts.
COLFA Alumna Jessica Gavia, Executive Director of Patient Relations at University Health, brings a unique perspective to medical administration. As a ‘double Roadrunner’ who earned her undergraduate degree in American Studies from COLFA and a master’s degree in Public Administration, her undergraduate coursework in Women’s and Gender Studies, alongside Mexican American culture classes, formed her understanding of historical medical biases. Her career path has included work in local government and contract administration. This experience led her to University Health during a massive hospital construction project she was a part of, where she recognized she could impact patient care without working at the bedside.
Today, Gavia oversees patient care across University Health’s many care facilities including University Hospital and more than 30 outpatient health care centers. As part of her responsibilities, Gavia guides a $3.6 million annual language access program providing medical interpreters. Her mindset emphasizes compassion among her staff to uphold patient dignity, and Gavia uses her multidisciplinary foundation today to prioritize the “human experience” over the traditional patient experience.
“We have actually moved away from referring to it as patient experience, and we call it human experience,” said Gavia. “Our patients are not just patients; they’re humans with entire lives and backgrounds and experiences before they come to our doors.”
While the American Studies degree is no longer offered, the approach Gavia champions now thrives in COLFA’s Medical Humanities program among many other interdisciplinary degree programs. With the merger of UT San Antonio and UT Health into one institution, the university continues to expand its role in the city’s healthcare landscape, and alumni success stories like Gavia’s show exactly how a liberal arts background can help build a better, more empathic healthcare system.
Join COLFA Dean Glenn Martinez for an in-depth conversation with Jessica Gavia. Look at the video below to hear more about her unconventional career trajectory, her insights on patient healthcare in the age of AI, and the exciting collaborative potential for UT San Antonio students moving forward.
— Nick Ward
