Yolanda Barner-Thomas

Administrative Manager
Department of Psychiatry

First UTSW job: Employee Relations Supervisor in Human Resources.

Best part about my job: Every day it’s something new. That keeps me thinking.

What energizes me at work: A new problem – I will find a way to work it out.

How co-workers describe me: Tough but fair. Everyone knows that I expect them to do their absolute best and we always follow the rules, policies, and procedures. But I am fair because I hold everyone to the same exacting standards. If you come to me for help, I will do everything I can, but I expect you to have tried your best.

Recipe for success: Perseverance. Throughout my life, I've been told that I couldn’t do the things I wanted to do for one reason or another. But if I wanted to do it, I found a way – whether it was around it, over it, or through it.

I’m really good at: Seeing how things are interconnected.

I wish I were an instant expert at: Kenjutsu (Japanese swordsmanship).

Surprising fact: I studied ikebana (art of flower arrangement) in Japan.

Claim to fame: I once partied with the artist formerly known as Prince.