Staff Spotlight: Paul Anthony Riili, Manager of Business Strategy, Finance & Clinical Programs

UW Dermatology is fortunate to have a small, but passionate team of administrative staff members whose talent and dedication to our faculty, trainees and research teams help make our division such a great place to learn, work and teach. Check-out our Staff Spotlights to learn how our staff contributes to our academic, research, patient care and service missions.

Meet Paul Anthony Riili (he/him/his), Manager of Business Strategy, Finance and Clinical Programs for the Division of Dermatology! 

What is your work and educational background?

I have a BS in Finance from the Rochester Institute of Technology, a teaching certificate in mathematics from the University of Texas at Austin and I am ITIL Certified. My career has taken many turns; from managing banking operations at Citibank in western New York state, to teaching middle school mathematics in Austin, Texas. I started in project management at Dell Computer, working on the Application Services and IT Infrastructure team. From there I worked at Vision Service Plans (VSP) as Director of their Project Management Office. At VSP, I sponsored initiatives to implement flexible and pragmatic project management standards and practices across the organization. I created a project council to review new project submissions, ensuring budgets were spent wisely on the best value projects.  I also worked at Expedia, Microsoft Corporation and Kaiser Permanente all in leadership and project management.

What drew you to your current role at UW Dermatology?

I was looking for work and a friend of mine worked as a temp for UW. He connected me with the UW Temp Office and they called me a week later about the role of being Executive Assistant to the Head of Dermatology. I jumped at the opportunity and after meeting Dr. Nghiem, Melina Mambalam and the lab team, I was sold. I worked as Dr. Nghiem’s EA for almost two years before Melina approached me about creating my current management role. In my over 35-year career, I have never worked with such a collaborative, supportive and hard-working team. It is truly a blessing.

Tell us about your position; what does a typical day look like? 

In my current position, I oversee everything dealing with Division finances, which includes about eighty budgets. Those budgets consist of a number of grants, endowments, philanthropic gifts, faculty commitments and our operational budgets. I also oversee our Division communications strategy as well as business strategy overall. I am honored to be a member of the Division Executive Committee, where I lend my years of experience in leadership, business and finance.

There is never a dull moment in my day. I am Melina’s “number one” for those of you who are Star Trek fans; acting as her chief of staff and sounding board. We keep each other sane, especially as we are working diligently towards becoming the Department of Dermatology. I feel privileged to work with Melina, especially as she shares with me her incredible knowledge about the workings of a division/department at UW. Other than working with Melina, the most enjoyable parts of my job involve working with my amazing core team; Tamara Zurita, Morgan Keys and Mac Writt. They make what I do at UW truly enjoyable and I am humbled and proud to be their leader and manager.

What do you enjoy doing in your free time?

I LOVE to travel! I mean I achieved Diamond Status on Delta Airlines last year…that’s a lot of miles! I also enjoy staying active either in the gym or going for a jog and doing hill sprints. I enjoy learning new languages and I am currently studying Swahili and Italian. I like spending time with friends and family. I like to read and meditate. I also journal every day, and always include my gratitude for the abundance in my life. 

What are you looking forward to this summer? 

I plan to travel to New York to visit family and friends this summer and will also travel to Italy to be with my Dad. He will celebrate his 93rd birthday this year!