When we think of leaders, we often picture confident decision-makers and the faces that inspire an organization’s mission — but behind every role is a real person navigating challenges, emotions, and expectations. Leaders carry responsibilities that often extend far beyond what others see, yet at the end of the day, they are people first.
At UPMC, we pride ourselves on celebrating our robust and diverse workforce, made up of leaders and individuals whose unique experiences shape our ever-changing community.
Anne Palmerine has served as the Vice President of Customer Engagement and Enrollment Services at UPMC Health Plan for nine years and has made a tremendous impact, not only on her own team, but within UPMC Health Plan as a whole.
Throughout her career at UPMC, it’s the meaningful moments, both professionally and personally, that continue to ground and motivate her in every aspect of her life.
The UPMC Careers team sat down with Anne to gain insight into her experience in a non-clinical leadership role, her personal health journey, and her experiences navigating the complexities of work and life.
"Care doesn’t just stop when you are discharged from the hospital. It extends to every part of our members’ lives."
Could you tell us a little bit about what it’s like working for a health care organization in a leadership role that’s not patient-facing?
Anne: It’s very different working in a place where we’re here to serve the members, to take care of what their needs are, and to help them in their health care journey.
It’s so great because we get to help approximately 15,000 people every single day. We’re either answering their calls, setting up their enrollment, or making sure that their coordination of benefits is [working] correctly so they won’t have trouble getting their prescriptions.
What has your experience been working at UPMC Health Plan over the years?
Anne: The financial side is such an important part of health care that a lot of people forget about. It’s obviously great to get medical care, but it’s an element that a lot of people don’t consider that is also important to someone’s experience.
Sickness happens when we don’t expect it, right? Most of the time, we don’t know we’re going to get sick. We don’t know we’re going to get hurt, but it happens, unfortunately. So, you’re there for folks when they need it at that moment.
Members don’t call us when they’re having a great day and say, “Hey, I’m having a great day!” They call us on their worst day: when they’re sick, in need, and feeling bad. We try to be extra patient and kind to them and reassure them that they are in the right hands.
How do you approach being a leader? Is there anything you learned in the early days of your career that you’ve carried with you?
Anne: It’s something that I have had to work on throughout the years both at my former jobs and while working at UPMC. It comes down to being confident, believing in myself, and knowing that I can help take my team on this journey with me. I think the most important thing is really caring for your team.
I have a large team of over 800 people who do such amazing work, and I’m so grateful to them. They’ve really been champions in really taking good care of our members and being passionate about it. Care doesn’t just stop when you are discharged from the hospital, it extends to every part of our members’ lives.
"It comes down to being confident, believing in myself, and knowing that I can help take my team on this journey with me. I think the most important thing is really caring for your team."
What does a good work day in your life entail?
Anne: I really enjoy when we have in-person meetings, and I also really enjoy when I have a chance to either do a senior leadership meet-and-greet, meet new hires, or doing Operation Connection, which looks like meetings with connecting with small groups of people on my team where they share what’s going on in their line of work.
During those meetings, they share something they’re proud of, which I love hearing, and then they’ll share something personal, and I’ll do the same. So that’s where we can stay connected and be family-oriented because we care about each other, not just professionally, but personally.
You’ve been through a health journey over the last few years. Can you share about that and talk through what that was like for you and your family?
Anne: February was the three-year anniversary since I was first diagnosed with cancer. I had a sore throat for quite a long time, so I went to see an ear, nose, and throat (ENT) doctor. I got the blessing of being seen by Dr. Philip Pollice, and he knew right away what was wrong with me. He got me in to get a scan, and he did a biopsy that day in the office and unfortunately, it came back positive.
I went through 35 radiation treatments and seven chemo treatments. When you have head and neck cancer, it affects so many aspects of your life, but I started feeling so much better. Though it took a while, I was walking again with my friends after about six months.
Then, unfortunately, in January 2024, I had a scan and they said, “it looks like there’s something in your lung.” Dr. Zahra Kelly at UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, who was so wonderful to me, said it wasn’t big enough to biopsy, so we had to wait a couple months for it to get big enough to biopsy and make a treatment plan.
In the fall of 2024, I had to do 18 weeks of chemo, but unfortunately, while the tumor shrunk, it didn’t go away. In the summer of 2025, my radiation oncologist, Dr. Christopher Wilkie, told me that he was going to get rid of it for me. That was something that I did not expect. I just can’t tell you how thankful I am for my doctors and for everybody who works at UPMC Hillman Cancer Center.
How are you feeling now?
Anne: I feel really good, because I’m alive and every day is a blessing! I am so happy to be here with my family and my children, to be able to go for a walk with my friend, to go to work… and to have hair! It was a tough journey, but I’m just so blessed every day that I got a second chance at life.
5 Fun Facts about Anne
- Anne is one of nine children and credits her leadership skills from sharing a room with her three younger siblings.
- Anne’s go-to takeout spot is Fiori’s Pizza (specifically, the one in Brookline because they have older ovens that make the pizza extra good!).
- Anne and her family are huge fans of Mt. Lebanon High School baseball!
- Anne is a big fan of manicures and her go-to color is red.
- Anne loves listening to new country radio on her morning commute. Her favorite artist lately is Ella Langley.
