AKA Beta Nu Omega Grant to Johnnie R. Carr Middle School for their Pretty, Poised, and Purposeful program.

You could say Tiffany Chaney, FACHE (MSHA Class 36) was born to serve, and you would not be wrong.

“I was very involved in service as a child – it was part of how I was raised,” she said. “I don’t really remember a time when service was not included in my way of being.”

Even as a teenager – the infamous eye-rolling years for so many of us – she was engaged in serving others.

“One of my favorite and most memorable service opportunities was with my friends as a teen at the Exploreum Science Center in Mobile,” said Chaney. “In fact, we still – many, many, many years later – still share Exploreum memories and occasionally post those old pictures on social media!”

Ultimately, the service experience as a teenager gave Chaney – who today serves as the chief diversity officer at Baptist Health in Montgomery – her first leadership opportunities. She served on church youth boards and the Exploreum teen board and others, which played an important role in her formative years.

Chaney is a three-time alumna of UAB, including a member of the M.S. in Health Administration (MSHA) Class 36. She is passionate and proud of the work that goes on at UAB and the students who attend UAB.

She dedicates her time to the Department of Health Services Administration’s Women in Healthcare Leadership (WIHL) program, where she serves as vice-president of the Awards Committee, and participates in the Forge program which matches students with alumni who serve as mentors.

“I have been blessed all my life by people who have served in ways that benefited me – especially in mentorship. I believe it is important to offer the same opportunity to today’s students,” said Chaney. “I consider it an honor and a responsibility to be able to mentor and serve others.”

Over the past few years, Chaney has mentored Lauren Turner (pictured right, second from left) and Mya Buckner (pictured right, far left). Both are students in the #1 in the nation MSHA program (Class 58) and are already strong servant leaders.

Turner has served on the MSHA Class 58 executive board every year and was voted class president. Buckner has also served on their class board, and she helped create the SHP Blazer Closet, which allows School of Health Professions students and recent alumni to obtain professional attire free of charge.

“I don’t see mentorship as me taking them under my wing – I see this as me walking with them on their journey, because mentoring is not a one-way relationship,” said Chaney. “I have learned as much from Lauren and Mya as they, hopefully, have learned from me. They are amazing and I’m just super proud to see their growth as people and leaders during their time at UAB.”

Fortunately, for so many, Chaney’s service and leadership is not limited to UAB.

She serves on the mentoring committee at the national AND state level of the National Association of Health Services Executives (N.A.H.S.E.) and is president-elect of the N.A.H.S.E. Alabama Chapter. This is a non-profit group that is “promoting the advancement and development of Black health care leaders and elevating the quality of health care services rendered to minority and underserved communities."

Chaney is also chair of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated® Beta Nu Omega Chapter’s Uplift Our Local Community Committee. The chapter just awarded a total of $15,000 in grants to four non-profits in Montgomery who do work with community gardens, mobile food pantries, adaptive tennis for people with disabilities, school programs for girls, and a parent university teaching parenting skills.

But the AKA chapter did not just open their pocketbooks. They opened their hearts and their selves as they donate numerous hours of valuable volunteer time to each organization as well.

“All of the work of our community grant recipients is important to us, and it meets our mission and values,” she said. “So, we don’t want to just write checks – we want to help them serve as well.”

And somehow, through all of this, Chaney still finds time to be an ordained minister and the leader of Gathered by Grace, a faith-based community in Montgomery that is yet another avenue for her to give back even more time and money.

Through their Life Happens Fund, the Gathered by Grace community has delivered more than $50,000 to their neighbors who are in desperate need. They have helped so many in times of financial emergencies with their housing, utilities, groceries and more.

“I saw service growing up with both of my parents. It was an important part of who I was and how I showed up,” said Chaney. “It was never required – that was never my motivation – it was just part of our way of life and that is one way I enjoy life – by giving back.”