John Wooden Global Leadership Awards

Uzair Alaidroos (FEMBA ’23)

Manufacturing Engineering Manager, Northrop Grumman

Who is Uzair Alaidroos?

Uzair “Uzi” Alaidroos, an aerospace manager and engineer and a father, describes who he is by what he has faced over the last two years:

“Twenty-twenty was the year I left a long-time employer for a new one, took on a leadership position with numerous direct reports and significantly more responsibility, began my MBA at UCLA Anderson, and got diagnosed with and defeated thyroid cancer at age 30.”

While it all felt overwhelming, his daughter has kept him grounded. “Before then, it was all about me, what I want to do. But when Lana was born, I got a different perspective on everything. Why am I really here? What’s my reason to work at Northrop? What’s my view on the world?”

Why is he a Wooden Fellow?

“Unlike 90% of the degree-holding disciplines in the aerospace industry,” says Uzi, “manufacturing engineers could not be afforded the luxury of working remotely. I found myself leading a group that was fearful and dejected as a result of our ‘essential-worker’ status. One month into my tenure, a co-worker succumbed to COVID-19.”

That’s when Uzi fully embraced grit and its five characteristics — courage, resilience, endurance, excellence and conscientiousness — as the only way to help his team become confident and productive. He spearheaded empowerment and process improvement initiatives that improved morale. He took this on while also going through two surgeries for his thyroid cancer and attending a top business school — and still earned a 4.0 GPA that quarter.

What inspires him?

Uzi wakes up eager to learn something every day. Getting past the steep phase of a learning curve makes him want to learn “the next big thing,” which is what led him to business school.

His cancer diagnosis was a serious setback to his own well-being, though he looks at it this way: “I never thought about making each day the most productive, most enjoyable until that point. I need to live every day like it’s the best day of my life.

“Leadership is applicable to the entire person, not just in the business setting. Leadership doesn’t end when I walk out the door here today. As a father, it’s my job to be the best possible role model.”

Bianca Judy Choe (FEMBA ’22)

Director of Quality Improvement and Attending Physician, Department of Emergency Medicine, UCLA Health

Who is Judy Choe?

Judy Choe envisions a medical system that informs and empowers patients enough to take command of their own preventive care.

In June 2019, Judy graduated as a chief resident in emergency medicine at one of New York City’s largest and most diverse hospitals. She moved to Los Angeles to become a full-time attending physician in the Department of Emergency Medicine at UCLA Health — and within a few months, the pandemic escalated.

Why is she a Wooden Fellow?

As if her day job and pursuit of her MBA weren’t demanding enough, during the early COVID-19 surge, Judy rallied her MBA classmates to help her collect 2,000 N95 masks, more than 50 boxes each of surgical masks and gloves, and more than 150 reusable shields and goggles in the first of three curbside PPE drives to benefit those working with the most vulnerable populations. In total, Judy helped collect and distribute some 10,000 pieces of PPE to local hospitals and clinics in desperate need of supplies.

And while the pandemic was hard on Los Angeles in 2020, it was an all-out crisis in New York. By her own volition, Judy flew back twice to work 14-day stints of daily 12-hour shifts, replacing physicians who had been stricken with COVID-19. Among the casualties was her friend and mentor, ER medical director Lorna Breen, for whom the Dr. Lorna Breen Heroes’ Foundation is named and whose tragic suicide prompted the Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Act. “On my first shift back,” Judy recalls, “I admitted a colleague who presented in respiratory distress, breathing almost twice the normal rate per minute. When my shift ended, I had not taken off my PPE in over 12 hours, and I broke down in tears. I knew this would be one of the biggest challenges of my career.”

What inspires her?

The next morning, though risking burnout herself, Judy returned to her post motivated by one of Coach Wooden’s favorite maxims: “Never cease trying to be the best you can be.” Judy says, “Returning to NYC allowed me to use my God-given talent in a powerful way. I learned more about this disease. But I also found solace through the experiences, emotions and reality of what we achieved together.”

Jasson D. Crockett (EMBA ’22)

Public Policy Manager, Snap Inc.

Who is Jasson Crockett?

Jasson Crockett’s passion lies at the intersection of public service and finance. From director of community business for the Los Angeles mayor’s office to public policy manager at Snap in Silicon Beach, he has been called on to serve in unconventional capacities throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Prior to these recent experiences, he worked for the Nonprofit Finance Fund for three years and has volunteered with AmeriCorps and the Los Angeles Conservation Corps, where he helped young people aspiring to become first-time college students in the face of challenges like poverty and food insecurity.

Why is he a Wooden Fellow?

While working at the mayor’s office, Jasson was charged with setting up a large and scalable medical relief center at the Los Angeles Convention Center to treat low-acuity COVID patients. “In the early days, it was chaos, and we looked closely at New York, particularly the conversion of Javits Center. We knew we needed to create a backstop to keep people from dying in line. People were game for learning by doing, but one thing was not tolerated — being flatfooted.”

Jasson also worked with his mayor’s office colleagues and the Port of Los Angeles to create Logistics Victory L.A., a platform for managing inbound PPE offers from suppliers and requests from hospitals. “At no point before the pandemic did anyone ever prepare me for responding to a pandemic,” he says. “There was little by way of a blueprint, and no institutional knowledge to lean on, as none of my colleagues had ever experienced anything similar.”

In his role as director of community business, he collaborated to found the PledgeLA collective of prosocial L.A.-based tech companies and venture capital firms, as well as WiSTEM L.A., an initiative to empower women to lead the city’s STEM revolution.

What inspires him?

Jasson is a sports fan. His grandfather, who helped raise him, was an Amateur Athletic Union coach in Colorado. In 1994, Jasson and his granddad made a bet whether UCLA Basketball would win the championship, and that’s when he learned about Coach Wooden’s legacy, which has been impressed upon Jasson ever since. Now Coach’s principles will guide Jasson through public-private partnerships and public service for years to come.

Miranda Fang (’22)

Senior Consultant, Deloitte

Who is Miranda Fang?

“I want to use my life and career to drive equity and empowerment for all people,” says Miranda Fang. She is an Ivy League alumna, Consortium scholar, Forté fellow, former Deloitte senior consultant and former Teach For America staff member. Now she’s pursuing her MBA with concentrations in strategy and social impact.

Why is she a Wooden Fellow?

“The happiest I’ve been at work is when I’m inspired by the colleagues around me. I believe people are a company’s greatest asset,” says Miranda.

On a volunteer basis, she led Deloitte’s stepupLA initiative, which gathered more than 160 consultants to develop their professional skills while working on strategic projects for 40+ nonprofits across Southern California. Throughout her career, Miranda has facilitated diversity and inclusion training and workshops, and she has participated in various underrepresented minority mentorship programs.

At Anderson, Miranda is president of Net Impact, co-president of Christian Student Fellowship, a VP of Anderson Venture Impact Partners and the Outdoor Adventure Club. These activities are part and parcel of her commitment to expanding access and building spaces of inclusion. “With the pandemic highlighting and exacerbating inequalities, what better time to talk about and accelerate efforts toward equity and justice?”

What inspires her?

“My parents are immigrants to the U.S. and have sacrificed so much in order to build a life of opportunity for my sisters and me.” Miranda says. “The values of learning, growth, respect and kindness that were instilled in me from a young age serve as the foundation of my life and how I want to live it.”

With four marathons to her credit, Miranda prizes running as self-care for both her body and mind. Running and spending time in nature enable her to start each day with renewed energy, intention and perspective.

Miranda is inspired by Coach Wooden’s Pyramid of Success and how principles are integrated into useful leadership models and value structures. “Success isn’t achieved just by being competitively great,” she says of the pyramid’s apex, supported by the other 14 blocks. “It can’t be independent of the other values.”