Leadership Through Listening: Jenny Hinebaugh Hamlin, MHA Becomes Department Administrator of UVA Ophthalmology

When you ask Jenny Hinebaugh Hamlin, MHA what has defined her career in Ophthalmology, she will not begin with titles or timelines. She will talk about people. She will talk about the leaders who trusted her with new responsibilities, the colleagues who worked beside her through challenges and change, and the staff whose growth she sees as inseparable from the success of the department.

Jenny has built her entire career within UVA Ophthalmology, which has given her a rare depth of institutional knowledge. Over 25 years she has learned the department from every angle, beginning as an administrative assistant to then chair, Dr. Brian Conway, and advancing through supervisory and managerial roles. Each position brought new responsibilities and helped her build the skills that prepared her for senior leadership. She most recently served as Associate Administrator for 14 years, where her scope continued to expand alongside the department’s growth. During that time, the Department of Ophthalmology shared an administrator, John Gonnella, with the Department of Anesthesiology, which was already the larger department. As Anesthesiology continued to grow, John shifted to focus exclusively on that department. With her experience and preparation, Jenny was the natural choice as administrator for Ophthalmology in February 2025.

Her readiness was not accidental. Jenny has always sought opportunities to grow, both inside and outside UVA. She values her relationships with peers across the School of Medicine and Medical Center, but she also highlights the unique benefit of her work with the Association of University Professors of Ophthalmology (AUPO) Administrators Group. “With AUPO I could focus on issues specific to academic ophthalmology and also learn from how peers elsewhere were solving similar challenges. It pushed me to think differently about what we could do here at UVA,” she explains. She was elected to the board of directors of the University Administrators of Ophthalmology in 2016, where she was involved in and supported the organization’s full integration with AUPO. Jenny continued her service under the AUPO Administrator Council and served as president from 2019 to 2021. In these roles she helped shape educational programming and supported her peers through a period of transition and adjustment.

What has remained constant is her belief in people. Jenny describes herself as a mentor before a manager, and her leadership style reflects that conviction. She has encouraged staff to take risks, try new responsibilities, and see mistakes as opportunities to learn. “When you invest in people and pair them with the right opportunities, you grow the entire department,” she says. It is a philosophy she has lived out for decades, and one she intends to carry forward in her new role. Chair Albert S. Jun, MD, PhD, Vernah Scott Moyston Professor, notes that “Jenny starts with what is best for the group and then executes on it.” He points to that combination of vision and follow through as one of her greatest strengths.

Her current priorities include modernizing department processes, improving facilities, and increasing financial transparency with faculty. She is expanding her own knowledge in finance while working to make systems clearer and more accessible. By delegating daily operations to her team, she creates the space to focus on long term projects and strategic initiatives. Her work is directed toward making real the vision set forth by Dr. Jun, who provides the direction and strategy for the department. Together, they are committed to supporting faculty growth and expanding departmental capacity, and Dr. Jun emphasizes that “she knows how to get things done across a complex institution, who to call, where to find answers, and how to move projects forward.”

Jenny’s journey reflects not only personal achievement but also her active effort to shape the culture of UVA Ophthalmology. Through her many roles across 25 years, she has seen the department from different perspectives and has championed an environment where staff feel supported and faculty can thrive. She has worked to build a culture of trust where leaders give people room to grow, a culture of mentorship where staff development strengthens the entire department, and a culture of service where patient care and education remain at the center of every decision. Jenny’s leadership during the onset of COVID 19 left an impression on Residency Coordinator Debbie Perry. By arranging remote work and checking in regularly, she steadied her team in an uncertain period. “She does not leave you hanging. I am so happy she is my supervisor,” Perry recalls, pointing to the culture Jenny has built.

For Jenny, becoming department administrator is an opportunity to carry that work forward with greater reach and responsibility. It is a chance to keep learning, to keep mentoring, and to keep investing in people as the foundation for the department’s future. Dr. Jun sums it up simply: “Jenny is our partner, for me, for the faculty, for our staff, and for our trainees. Her dedication to this department shows in everything she does.”