Meet the ACHE Faculty

<p>Jim Austin combines business strategy and organizational development theory with extensive industry experience. Jim is a faculty consultant at the Aresty Institute of Executive Education, Wharton Business School, where he tailors senior-level seminars. Specifically, he leads seminars at Wharton on finding new growth opportunities, building a vision, execution and leading strategic change and more.</p><p>In 2013, Brown University appointed Austin as a senior lecturer of Healthcare Leadership. He is currently an adjunct assistant professor of Health Services, Policy and Practice. From 1996 through 2016, Austin was a business management professor at the Lake Forest Graduate School of Management where he received the “Most Distinguished Corporate Education Faculty Member” (2009-10) and the “Learning Excellence” (2015) awards. From 2013-2016, he was an adjunct faculty member in the Department of Health Systems Management, College of Health Sciences, Rush University. Austin’s book, <i>Transformative Planning: How Your Healthcare Organization Can Strategize</i> for an Uncertain Future (Health Administration Press, 2018), helps healthcare leaders drive transformational change.</p><p>From 2005–2016, Austin worked at Decision Strategies International where he directed numerous projects including a strategic plan for the American College of Radiology, scenarios of the future for the League of Southeastern Credit Unions and a new vision and strategic priorities for the national and IL Boards of Volunteers of America (VOA) to name a few.</p><p>Prior to joining Decision Strategies, Jim spent 12 years at Baxter Healthcare, the last four as vice president of strategy development for the renal division where he identified new business opportunities, facilitated annual strategy planning processes and worked with senior management on organizational development.</p><p>Austin holds a BA in economics and politics from Yale University. He was a special student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the Urban Studies Department where he received a joint Master of Public Affairs (MPA) and Master of Urban and Regional Planning (MURP) from the Woodrow Wilson School, Princeton University. Previously, Austin was chairman of the Strategic Leadership Forum, a board member of the National Kidney Foundation of Illinois, member of the Board of Directors for the University Club of Chicago among several other organizations.</p>

<p>For more than 20 years, Karma Bass has been a sought-after speaker, facilitator and consultant with deep knowledge and experience in governance, strategic planning, philanthropy, healthcare policy and board effectiveness. Her experience gives her a unique and valuable perspective as a consultant to hospital and health systems boards.</p> <p>Before co-founding Via Healthcare Consulting, Karma worked as vice president for Accord Limited, a Chicago-based consulting firm. She served two years as president/CEO of Alliance Healthcare Foundation in San Diego, where she reported to an independent, 11-person not-for-profit board. Notably, Karma spent 10 years at The Governance Institute, holding various positions including vice president of membership services and director of research and publications. She also oversaw the prestigious biennial hospital governance practices survey tracking trends in nearly 5,000 U.S. hospitals and health systems. During three years at the Hospital Association of San Diego and Imperial Counties, Karma facilitated the first-ever collaborative community health needs assessment for San Diego&#8217;s 32 hospitals. </p> <p>Karma has a master&#8217;s degree in public health with a focus in health services administration from San Diego State University. She received her bachelor&#8217;s degree from the University of California, San Diego.</p>

<p>Priya Bathija is a nationally recognized healthcare leader, attorney and policy expert. She has more than 20 years of experience working with hospitals, tech start-ups and public health organizations to make healthcare better for patients and providers.</p><p>In 2022, she founded Nyoo Health to change how healthcare organizations think about women’s health. She brings an understanding of people, strategic insight and practical experience to healthcare leaders who want to take realistic, actionable steps to improve access, health outcomes and patient experiences for women.</p><p>She also serves as an expert on call for the University of Michigan School of Public Health Griffith Leadership Institute. In addition, she is a distinguished practitioner in residence at the Ohio State University Moritz College of Law and an adjunct professor at Loyola University Chicago School of Law. Previously, she was at the American Hospital Association where she led policy efforts and strategic initiatives on value, health equity and maternal health. She started her career as a healthcare attorney and served as in-house counsel and a member of the executive leadership teams at ProMedica and MedStar Health.</p><p>Bathija serves as faculty for the ACHE course, Women’s Health: The Path Forward to Better Access, Outcomes, and Experiences.</p>

<p>Britt Berrett, PhD, LFACHE, is managing director and teaching professor, Healthcare Industry Collaborative, Brigham Young University. His recent book, <em>Patients Come Second&#8212;Leading Change by Changing How You Lead, is a New York Times</em> and <em>Wall Street Journal</em> bestseller. He focuses on the importance of creating a vibrant and engaged leadership team that can orchestrate cultural change.</p> <p>Prior to academia, he served as the president of Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas, a 900-bed tertiary referral center, and executive vice president of Texas Health Resources, a network of 24 facilities and more than 250 ambulatory centers located throughout North Texas. He previously served as the president/CEO of Medical City and Medical City Children&#8217;s Hospital, the flagship medical center for the North Texas Division of HCA. He also served as a CEO within the SHARP HealthCare system in San Diego.</p> <p>His portfolio includes keynote speeches, leadership workshops, board retreats, executive coaching, strategic planning, organizational assessments, leadership development and organizational culture advancements. His clients include numerous healthcare organizations and professional associations.</p>

<p>Dr. Jennifer Bickel, a Berkeley Certified Executive Coach, serves as the chief wellness officer at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas. She works with senior leaders across the organization to ensure staff wellbeing is incorporated into all decisions. Dr. Bickel has real-world experience in assessing burnout across healthcare organizations and in developing effective, evidence-based strategies to reduce clinician burnout. Her innovative strategies to improve physician and healthcare worker wellbeing have been nationally recognized in publications and presentations. As an academic professor and neurologist, she has won awards in mentorship, leadership and clinical program development. She currently serves as a member of the National Academy of Medicine’s Action Collaborative for Clinician Wellbeing and as the chair for the American Academy of Neurology’s Wellness subcommittee. Dr. Bickel received her medical degree at the University of Missouri at Kansas City and completed her neurology residency at the University of Kansas.</p>

<p>Sherry Bright has long been fascinated by the way things work, especially groups of people and organizations. Bright’s expertise lies in the ability to bring individuals and organizations together from diverse settings and viewpoints to define common challenges and align their efforts to make a difference not only for organizations but for the communities and people they serve. Bright has lived and worked in many areas of the country including small towns and major metropolitan areas, supporting large health care systems, critical access hospitals and physician practices striving for improved performance across multiple areas. As a previous member of the C-suite, leading marketing, strategy and process improvement, she has worked with boards, staff, physicians and community leaders to envision their possibilities and create sustainable results. She has served as team member, lead and judge for Baldrige-based programs at national, state and regional levels in health care, manufacturing and service industries. She is a member of Tulane University’s faculty for its masters in medical management, focusing on strategy and transformational change.</p>

Denise Brooks-Williams is senior vice president/CEO of Henry Ford Health System&#8217;s North Market in Detroit, which includes hospitals, ambulatory and other operations within southeastern Michigan&#8217;s northern counties. She is responsible for driving revenue, growth and overall market performance by identifying opportunities for service expansion and consumer experience improvements across sites. Ms. Brooks-Williams is also chair of the University of Michigan Health Management and Policy Alumni Association, and serves on Cincinnati's Bon Secours Mercy Health's quality committee. Previously, she served as an alternate delegate to the Region 5 Policy Board of the American Hospital Association&#8217;s Section for Health Care Systems, as president of the National Association of Health Services Executives and is a past president of the Midwest Chapter of the American Health Care Executives where she continues as a board member.

<p>Michael Broscio is Managing Principal of MAB Career Management, LLC. He recently completed more than ten years as the Director of ACHE's Career Resource Center. He is certified as a Career Management Fellow by the Institute of Career Certification International and brings more than 25 years of career development and human resources experience in healthcare, financial services and academic settings.</p> <p>Mr. Broscio received a Master's Degree in Education and a B.A. in Psychology from DePaul University. He has written numerous magazine articles on career issues and has presented at national conferences.</p>

<p>Dr. Bryan O. Buckley is a Harvard and Michigan State-trained public health leader, guided by the belief that each individual and organization has the potential to instigate positive change. Dr. Buckley is the CEO and founder of B: Mindset LLC. Dr. Buckley's early contributions showcase a unique fusion of academic expertise and practical insights, establishing him as a bold and impactful voice in the field. His visionary approach aligns with the conviction that the world needs compassionate individuals and organizations eager to make a difference and find solutions to pressing issues. Dr. Buckley holds a Doctor of Public Health from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, an Executive Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Quantic School of Business and Technology, a Master of Public Health and a Bachelor of Science from Michigan State University. He is a founding executive board member of the DrPH Coalition. In addition, he serves on the Advisory Board for the Michigan State University &amp; Grand Valley State University MPH programs. As a member of the American Public Health Association, he serves as an executive board member and chair of the Development Committee. Locally, he serves as a board member of the American Heart Association (AHA) Greater Washington Region and Food &amp; Friends.</p>

<p>Jon Burroughs provides best-practice training and solutions to healthcare systems throughout the United States and beyond. His work focuses on how healthcare systems can adopt best practices and avoid systems failures which can result in loss of public confidence and market share. He works with executive teams, governing boards, medical staff and clinical leadership. He also works with legal counsel to ensure compliance and avoidance of unnecessary risk by demonstrating how leadership can be aligned to achieve exceptional results. Dr. Burroughs serves on the national faculties of both ACHE and the American Association for Physician Leadership (AAPL), where he has been consistently rated as a top speaker, author, educator and facilitator for the past 25 years.</p>

<p>Catherine Carow is president of Carow Consulting. She has over 20 years of experience in strategic and physician resource planning, mergers and acquisitions, business development, marketing and operations. She specializes in developing business strategies based on data-driven evidence. She initiated and led clinical and senior leadership teams to identify growth opportunities based on financial performance and market advantages. Ms. Carow has managed three to five-year planning processes, as well as annual tactical plans, and developed aligned physician growth strategies. She identified physician specialty and group targets for recruitment, succession planning and retention.&nbsp;<br><br>Ms. Carow has provided planning, analytical and marketing direction for academic, community, and pediatric hospitals and systems, and nonprofit and government organizations. She developed business plans, analyzed major markets, facilitated retreats, and outlined and evaluated potential partners along the care continuum. In prior positions, Ms. Carow oversaw the planning department, PHO marketing, physician referral call functions and integrated operations of a $20M PHO with a 500-member multispecialty group. She is also experienced with CON regulations and the filing process, having worked with a team to obtain approval for a $280 million inpatient tower.</p><p>Ms. Carow is an adjunct professor at the University of Illinois in the master of health administration program. She earned her master’s degree in business administration with a concentration in international business from Clemson University and studied in Italy. She is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives and a member of the Society for Health Care Strategy &amp; Market Development. She was chair of the Education and Networking Committee and a former board member of the Chicago Healthcare Executives Forum.</p><p>Ms. Carow serves as faculty for the following ACHE seminar:</p><ul><li>Service Line Planning: Developing a Consumer-Based Approach to Providing Quality Care</li></ul>

<p>Kevin Cook has more than 20 years of healthcare leadership experience. He recently joined Sutter Health after working as a managing principal for Caldwell Butler, a healthcare consulting firm that uses evidence-based methods to improve margin, quality and patient experience. Cook has also served as the COO of Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System, a five-region, 10-hospital system based in Louisiana and Mississippi. He created the operational infrastructure to move the system from a holding company to an operating company.</p> <p>Cook also led the University of Mississippi Medical Center&#8217;s health system for seven years. Before joining UMMC, Cook spent eight years with Mercy Health in Cincinnati. While at Mercy, he was a regional CEO, market CEO and hospital COO serving in both Ohio and Pennsylvania. He also worked for Triad Hospitals in Mississippi. Before his career in hospital operations, Cook worked with Caldwell Butler as a Six Sigma engineer and as director of operations at the Premier Innovation Institute.</p> <p>Cook earned his undergraduate degree from Hobart and William Smith College and holds a master&#8217;s degree in business administration from Boston University. He served in the U. S. Marine Corps from 1991 to 1999, rising to the rank of major. Cook is a two-term Council of Teaching Hospitals board member at the Association of American Medical Colleges and serves as ACHE faculty. </p>

<div id="pastingspan1">Stephan Davis, DNP, FACHE, is the inaugural executive director of inclusive leadership education for the Department of Health Administration at Virginia Commonwealth University. He also serves as assistant dean of diversity, equity and inclusion for VCU&#8217;s College of Health Professions, which houses programs across nine disciplines. These include top-ranked programs in U.S. News and World Report, such as nurse anesthesia (No. 1 in the nation), healthcare management and rehabilitation counseling (ranked in the top 5), and physical therapy and occupational therapy (ranked in the top 20).</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div id="pastingspan1">Davis is a faculty member for the American College of Healthcare Executives and an ACHE Fellow. He recently served ACHE as chair of the LGBTQ Healthcare Leaders Community and as a Regent-at-Large, a role created to foster diversity in the governance of ACHE. In addition, he serves as chair of the Quality and Safety Faculty Forum for the Association of University Programs in Health Administration. For his leadership in the interprofessional context, he has been elected as a distinguished scholar and fellow of the National Academies of Practice 2022 class of inductees. Davis holds numerous board certifications, including credentials in healthcare quality, finance, strengths-based coaching, nursing leadership and academic nursing education.</div><div></div>

<p>Craig Deao is a prominent industry thought leader, accomplished executive, and experienced board member helping leaders create better places to work, practice medicine and receive care. He serves as a trusted advisor to boards and executive teams on healthcare leadership, strategic planning, governance, employee engagement, patient experience and patient safety. He splits his time between executive management and thought leadership responsibilities as a published author and invited speaker to more than 400 healthcare organizations across the United States, Canada, and Australia. Craig co-led Studer Group’s journey to become a recipient of the Malcolm Baldridge National Quality Award in 2010. In 2016, he combined his experience with the latest evidence to author the book, The E Factor: How Engaged Patients, Clinicians, Leaders, and Employees Will Transform Healthcare. In addition to his full-time work as Managing Director with Huron, he serves as faculty for the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE). A native of New Orleans, he now lives in Pensacola, FL with his wife, Julie, and his two teenage boys, Sam and Jack.</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p> Florence L. &#8220;Flo&#8221; Di Benedetto is the President and CEO of Di Benedetto Solutions, Inc. (DBS) which offers leadership development training, executive coaching, assessments of team culture and effectiveness and reputation management, including crisis communications. Di Benedetto speaks across the country on a variety of topics including values driven, accountable leadership, team management, culture, diversity and resilience. Di Benedetto also provides advice and counsel to governing boards, interim and fractional executive leadership and general counsel services as well as complex litigation strategy and management. She serves as an arbitrator for the American Arbitration Association, a mediator for alternative dispute resolution and has extensive experience as a medical staff hearing officer.<br /> <div>Before forming DBS, Di Benedetto served for over 14 years as a strategic business adviser to the president and CEO and other members of senior leadership as the senior vice president and general counsel for Sutter Health, a $15 billion integrated healthcare delivery system with 55,000 employees, more than 12,000 affiliated physicians and multiple hospitals and ambulatory care sites. Di Benedetto had accountability for the office of the general counsel, which included legal services, risk services, Sutter Health Emergency Management System and privacy, information and cyber security. Di Benedetto also provided primary advice and counsel to the Sutter Health board and board committees, including finance, audit and compliance, governance and compensation.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Additionally, Di Benedetto served as the executive sponsor for both the Leadership Academy, a 10-month intensive leadership development program for senior leaders and the administrative fellow and summer intern programs.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> Di Benedetto earned her bachelor&#8217;s degree in international relations from Georgetown University and studied economics and economic planning at London University and the Central School of Planning and Statistics in Warsaw, Poland. She earned her law degree from the University of San Francisco and her MBA in health services management from Golden Gate University.<br /> <p>&nbsp;</p>

<p id="pastingspan1">Janet Pinkerton Dombrowski spent nearly 20 years as a senior strategy leader in various consulting organizations and large health systems, after an early career in healthcare delivery and operations. She built her personal credibility as a trusted advisor to many executives with intuition, integrative thinking and a direct approach. Over time, she chose to build on her skills at creating synergy and ensuring alignment in projects and processes.</p> <p>She founded JCD Advisors in 2008 with a vision to help clients harness the power of change and direct it toward learning, innovation and growth. For nearly 15 years, Ms. Dombrowski and her team of senior coaches have focused exclusively on the healthcare industry, supporting C-suite executives, senior executives and physician leaders in becoming more intentional about their leadership presence, the creation of highly functioning teams and the importance of alignment in strategy, structure and culture for optimal organization effectiveness. They have broad experience working across a variety of healthcare settings including academic medical centers, national faith-based health systems, regional integrated delivery systems, community hospitals and health centers. They also have experience in higher education and nonprofit social service organizations.</p> <p>Ms. Dombrowski received her Master of Health Services Administration from the University of Michigan, where she is an emeritus member of the Alumni Board and an adjunct faculty member. She also received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Michigan. </p>

<p>COL Amelia M. Duran-Stanton is currently the Army Medical Specialist Corps Specific Branch Proponent Officer. She has 32 years of active duty in the Army as an enlisted officer. She has held multiple positions at strategic, operational and tactical levels in healthcare and field settings. She holds a PhD in postsecondary and adult education, a Doctor of Science in orthopedic physician assistant studies and is Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt certified. She is passionate about teaching, coaching and mentoring. </p>

<p>Carson F. Dye, FACHE, President &amp; CEO of Exceptional Leadership, LLC, is an executive recruiter and leadership consultant with over 40 years of leadership and management experience. He has taught many individuals over the past 30-plus years with ACHE, UAB, and Ohio State University. For the past 24 years, Carson has conducted over 700 leadership searches for health systems, academic medical centers, and universities. For 20 years he worked in healthcare administration at St. Vincent Mercy Medical Center, Toledo, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, and Clermont Mercy Hospital, Cincinnati. He teaches in the ACHE Board of Governors course and serves as lead faculty in several courses including leadership, physician engagement and clinical integration. He has authored 15 books including three ACHE Book of the Year winners. He has served on the boards of Lourdes University, The Sight Center / Toledo Society for the Blind where he served as board chair, and the Visiting Nurses Association. Carson earned his M.B.A. at Xavier University, Cincinnati, OH and his B.A. at Marietta College, Marietta, OH.</p>

<p>Dr. Fayola Edwards-Ojeba is a board-certified internist at UCSF. Her team at RechargedMD partners with healthcare organizations to combat physician burnout by helping to create sustainable, peer coaching programs. She graduated from Harvard College with honors, completed medical school at the Yale School of Medicine and residency at UCSF. She was the former chair of the ACHE Physician Executive Community Committee and current ACHE faculty member. </p>

<p>As an organizational psychologist, Reuben Faloughi, PhD, offers coaching, training and interactive workshops to help people and organizations humanize the self, other people and work environments. He understands the power organizations have to influence both individuals and society and jumps on opportunities to co-create transformational change. Moreover, as a practicing clinical psychologist, Faloughi recognizes the importance of individuals and groups maximizing innate human tools such as compassion, mutual respect and growth-oriented mindsets, which he believes are vital to organizational transformation.</p> <p>Prior to joining CMA, Faloughi combined his skills acquired as a licensed psychologist, speaker, consultant, educator, student-athlete, and artist into engaging speaking and training experiences. These are aimed to enhance wellness, communication and leadership.</p> <p>Faloughi earned a Bachelor of Science in psychology from the University of Georgia. He earned his PhD in counseling psychology from the University of Missouri. Faloughi's work has been published in peer-reviewed journals and he continues to speak and collaborate with clients in a variety of industries.</p>

<p style="6.0pt"></p><div id="pastingspan1">Energetic, visionary, authentic and insightful, Rhonda Foster is a published and highly sought-after hospital consultant with a penchant for driving change, quality and organizational improvement. Her consultation experience has allowed her to provide expertise in the United States in community hospitals, academic medical centers and systems, as well as to organizations in Brazil, Abu Dhabi and Qatar.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div id="pastingspan1"></div><div id="pastingspan1">In addition to being a consultant, Foster has a wealth of nursing administration and leadership experience, having served as vice president for clinical services and CNO for Children&#8217;s Hospital of Los Angeles, interim senior vice president and chief nursing and patient care services officer at City of Hope National Medical Center in Duarte, Calif.; interim CNO with St. Joseph Health&#8212;Sonoma County in Petaluma, Calif.; vice president of patient care services and CNO at Children&#8217;s Hospital of Michigan in Detroit; and assistant vice president of Women &amp; Children&#8217;s Services at Mercy Health&#8212;St. Vincent Medical Center in Toledo, Ohio.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div id="pastingspan1"></div><div id="pastingspan1">She has earned a doctorate in education from Bowling Green State University, a Master of Public Health degree from the Northwest Ohio Consortium for Public Health, a Master of Science degree in nursing administration from Georgetown University, and a bachelor&#8217;s degree in nursing from the University of Toledo, where she was celebrated as the Outstanding Alumnus in Nursing. In addition, Foster was honored by the <em>Los Angeles Business Journal</em> as a 2021 Women of Influence in Healthcare. She also holds numerous certifications and board appointments and has authored more than a dozen publications on nursing, leadership and quality improvement.</div><div></div><p style="6.0pt"> </p>

<p>Anne-Claire France loves learning. When she achieved her doctoral degree, her advisor wisely noted the primary accomplishment was not that she was an expert in her field but that she could &#8220;learn well&#8221; and make the most of it to serve communities. Her favorite way of learning is to work with multiple perspectives and areas of expertise to bring innovative ideas to fruition.</p> <p>France serves as principal of Houston Health Innovations, LLC (HHI), an organization specializing in improving performance in healthcare systems and is a member of the Care Collaboratory Guiding Coalition. She has led many organization-wide efforts to optimize a culture of safety and well-being for the workforce as well as patients. Her over 30 years of healthcare service include over twenty years of application, training and education in applied research, process improvement and high reliability science. Her clients have included multi&#8208;hospital health systems, physician organizations and group practices as well as the pharmaceutical industry and small rural hospitals. Before founding Houston Health Innovations LLC in 2001, she served as executive director of the Center for Healthcare Improvement at Memorial Hermann Health System, where she actualized the improvement ideas of front-line clinical staff. She has taught applied research, quality analytics, statistics psychology and trained hundreds of health professionals in Lean Six Sigma. She holds a faculty appointment at Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives (FACHE), has served for 10 years on the Education Foundation Board of the ACHE Southeast Texas Chapter and was awarded the ACHE Regent&#8217;s Leadership Award in 2018 and 2023.</p>

<p>Carol Friesen serves as chief executive officer of OSF HealthCare Eastern Region, overseeing six hospitals in Illinois and Michigan. OSF HealthCare is comprised of 16 hospitals with $4.6 billion in net revenue and 24,000 mission partners. Previously, Friesen served as the CEO of OSF HealthCare’s Northern Region. In addition, she serves as an adjunct faculty to Creighton University EMBA program.</p><p>Friesen has held various healthcare executive roles in Nebraska and Illinois, starting her career in finance before transitioning to operations. She has been a member of the Health Financial Management Association (HFMA) since 1999, serving as National Chair and receiving numerous awards, including the Medal of Honor and the Shelton Award. Friesen is also a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE). She is a frequent speaker, moderator and guest faculty member at regional and national events.</p><p>Friesen holds a Master of Public Health from the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, and a Bachelor of Business Management from Bellevue University, Bellevue, Nebraska.</p>

<p>Dr. Tejal Gandhi is a Certified Professional in Patient Safety. In her current role, Dr. Gandhi is responsible for advancing the Zero Harm movement, improving patient and workforce safety and developing innovative health care transformation strategies. Dr. Gandhi is leading Press Ganey’s equity partnership to advance equity in health care, as well as its Patient Safety Organization, one of the largest in the country, which exchanges insights, shares best practices and jointly confronts safety and inequities in healthcare nationwide. In addition to her work at Press Ganey, Dr. Gandhi is on the Pre-Rulemaking Measure Review committee hospital roster for the Partnership for Quality Measurement and the board of directors of Commonwealth Care Alliance. </p> <p>Before joining Press Ganey, Dr. Gandhi served as chief clinical and safety officer at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI), where she led programs focusing on improving patient and workforce safety. Prior to this, Dr. Gandhi was president and chief executive officer of the National Patient Safety Foundation (NPSF) from 2013 until 2017, when NPSF merged with IHI. She has also served as president of the Lucian Leape Institute, a think tank founded by NPSF that now operates within the IHI Safety portfolio. She was a board member of the Certification Board for Professionals in Patient Safety which administers the Certified Professional in Patient Safety credential. </p> <p>Throughout her career, Dr. Gandhi has been committed to educating other clinicians on the topic of patient safety. She has been an invited speaker for numerous organizations nationally and internationally, has mentored physicians in post-doctoral study and has frequently served on national and committees and boards. </p> <p>In 2019, Dr. Gandhi was elected as a member of the National Academy of Medicine. She is a recipient of the John M. Eisenberg Patient Safety and Quality Award, given in recognition of her contributions to understanding the epidemiology of medical errors in the outpatient setting and for developing prevention strategies. Dr. Gandhi has been named as one of the 100 Most Influential People in Healthcare, Top 25 Women in Healthcare, Top 25 Diversity Leaders in Healthcare and 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives by Modern Healthcare magazine. Most recently, she was named one of Becker’s 90 Patient Safety Experts to Know. </p> <p>An internist by training, Dr. Gandhi previously served as executive director of Quality and Safety at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and as chief quality and safety officer at Partners Healthcare. She received her MD and MPH degrees from Harvard Medical School and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and trained at Duke University Medical Center. </p>

<p>Michael Gitman, MD serves as the president of North Shore University Hospital and deputy market president for Northwell Health’s Central Market. As president, Dr. Gitman leads the executive management of the 806-bed quaternary care hospital. He is responsible for its overall strategy, financial stewardship and leadership, overseeing a facility that is a cornerstone of Northwell Health and is an academic campus for the Zucker Hofstra/Northwell School of Medicine. In his role as deputy market president, he supports efforts to advance and evolve the market’s strategy.</p><p>Previously, Dr. Gitman served as president of Long Island Jewish Medical Center, a 580-bed tertiary hospital and academic campus of the medical school. Before that, Dr. Gitman served as chief medical officer of North Shore University Hospital where he oversaw the hospital’s medical affairs, quality management and patient safety efforts.</p><p>Dr. Gitman is an associate professor of medicine at the Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell. Over the past two decades, Dr. Gitman has been extensively involved in physician education, received multiple teaching awards and published manuscripts furthering the knowledge of clinical nephrology.</p><p>Dr. Gitman received a bachelor’s degree from Columbia University and a medical degree from SUNY Health Science Center at Syracuse where he was a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society. He completed an internal medicine residency, as well as fellowship in nephrology at Mount Sinai Medical Center.</p>

<p>Dr. Richard G. Greenhill has spent over 30 years solving the problems that keep healthcare executives awake at night such as declining quality metrics, patient safety challenges and the persistent gap between healthcare's promise and its operational reality.</p><p>As principal and founder of SmartSigma AI, he brings rigorous quality science and pragmatic AI implementation expertise to healthcare organizations navigating the intersection of regulatory pressure and technological disruption, turning strategy into sustainable results rather than failed pilots. As chief brand strategist at The Branded Strategy, Dr. Greenhill helps healthcare leaders craft compelling narratives that cut through market noise, positioning organizations for growth by aligning brand identity with operational reality and stakeholder expectations.</p><p>Elected by his international peers to the prestigious International Academy for Quality and Safety (IAQS), one of the highest lifetime honors in global healthcare quality, Dr. Greenhill serves as Communications editor-in-chief of the International Journal for Quality in Healthcare, (Oxford University Press) and as national faculty for the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE). As a sought-after international speaker on AI in healthcare delivery and a subject matter expert for the World Health Organization and International Society for Quality in Healthcare (ISQua), his voice shapes global healthcare policy while his focus remains on what works in real healthcare organizations.</p><p>An honorably retired U.S. Navy veteran with extensive publications in peer-reviewed journals and textbooks, Dr. Greenhill brings academic rigor and operational excellence to every engagement, delivering the strategic clarity and practical implementation support that transforms healthcare organizations.</p>

<p><strong></strong></p> <p>John Harris is a managing director with VMG Health, a leading healthcare consulting firm for business performance. His work focuses on strategy, physician engagement, value-based care, governance as well as partnerships, mergers and acquisitions. He advises health systems and hospitals, physician groups, clinically integrated networks, accountable care organizations, health plans and others. </p> <p>Harris serves as faculty for ACHE seminars including Physician Strategy for Hospitals: How to Align Independents, Fix Employment, Beat Disruptors, Succeed in Value, Ensure Access and Grow; Hospitals and Health Systems of the Future: Transforming to Thrive; and Strategic Planning: From Formulation to Action. Mr. Harris has also co-authored <a href="https://www.ache.org/learning-center/publications/books/2337I" target="_blank"><em>Healthcare Strategic Planning, Fifth Edition</em></a>, a Health Administration Press publication. </p>

<p>As president/COO of Impact4Health, Maria Hernandez, PhD, focuses on healthcare innovations, strategy and community engagement to reduce healthcare disparities. She has led the research for the Inclusion Scorecard for Population Health&#8482; and the Inclusive Leader 360&#8482;, each of which is designed to advance health equity and create a culture of inclusion that meets the needs of diverse patient populations. Maria also served two terms on the board of trustees for Alameda Health System with a membership on the Human Resource and Quality and Professional Services committees. A graduate of the University of Texas, she holds a PhD in community psychology and is a Danforth and American Psychological Association Minority Fellow. In March 2019, she was inducted into the Alameda County Women&#8217;s Hall of Fame for her work in healthcare.</p>

<p>Attila Hertelendy, PhD, has over 28 years of leadership experience as a hospital administrator and executive in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Canada and the United States. He has an extensive background in emergency and disaster management and digital health. He is a frequent international keynote speaker on crisis leadership, disaster and emergency management, global health security, climate change, disaster informatics and digital health.</p><p>Dr. Hertelendy is an assistant in the College of Business and has a secondary appointment at the Wertheim College of Medicine at Florida International University in Miami. Dr. Hertelendy teaches leadership, organizational behavior, and management of healthcare. Dr. Hertelendy is the research director for the Disaster Medicine Fellowship and faculty at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School Teaching Hospital.</p><p>Dr. Hertelendy's research interests explore healthcare resiliency and the intersection between climate change, health, and disaster medicine. He studies the health implications of climate change and how technology can be used to improve both the delivery and sustainability of healthcare during disasters.</p><p>Dr. Hertelendy is the author of over 140 published articles and numerous book chapters. He also is the deputy editor for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, deputy editor for the Journal of Emergency Management, and on the editorial board for the Journal of Climate Change and Health.</p>

<p> During his 36 years as a hospital and medical group C-suite executive, Mark Herzog, FACHE, developed a wide-ranging practice, teaching and mentoring healthcare leaders across the spectrum from academic programs to seasoned leaders from all sectors of the healthcare industry. He is a frequent presenter at the Congress on Healthcare Leadership and has served as faculty at numerous ACHE education programs at the national and local levels. He partners his extensive real-world experience with cutting-edge change management, emotional intelligence and behavioral agility approaches to help individuals and teams achieve transformational results.</p> <p>Following his CEO career, Herzog served as an adjunct professor in health management and policy and executive in residence at the University of Michigan. He is professor of practice with the Rochester Institute of Technology Health Systems Management Program. Herzog holds a Master of Health Services Administration degree from the University of Michigan, and a Bachelor of Arts from St. Lawrence University. </p> <p>Mr. Herzog serves as faculty for the following ACHE seminar: </p> <ul> <li>Leading Complex Change: Emotional Awareness, Intentionality and Agility </li> </ul>

<p>Andy Hillig is an executive coach and an executive search consultant. In these roles, he helps people and companies find their rhythm, get in sync and discover real success. Hillig joined the LAK Group with more than 20 years of experience in operations, leadership and organizational transformation in healthcare. His passion is helping leaders and organizations realize their greatest advantage, the human advantage.</p><p>In addition to being a Professional Certified Coach (ICF-PCC), Hillig has an MBA in management, is certified as an expert in Lean management systems and is board-certified in healthcare management (FACHE®). HIllig has been selected by his peers to lead statewide professional development organizations, recognized and awarded as a rising young executive and is the founder of leadership development and career advancement programs. Hillig has been published and often speaks about skills leaders need to boost their performance and advance their careers.</p>

<div>Meredith Inniger is a manager with Veralon Partners Inc., in Philadelphia, a national healthcare consulting firm with expertise in strategy, mergers and transactions, clinical transformation and network integration and valuation. Ms. Inniger brings over 10 years of experience in academic and community health system operations to provide focused and actionable strategies for her clients. She advises healthcare leaders on strategic planning for service lines and ambulatory care, with an additional emphasis on strategies for population health. She holds a master&#8217;s degree in health administration and a bachelor&#8217;s degree, both from The Ohio State University.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>Ms. Inniger serves as faculty for the following ACHE seminars:</div><div><ul><li>Advanced Strategic Planning to Transform Your Organization&nbsp;</li></ul></div>

<p>Kevin J. Joseph, MD, FACHE, serves as chief clinical officer, Ascension Healthcare. He recently served as TriHealth&#8217;s system CMO, and he was a senior vice president of UC Health, where he was responsible for the operations of its three hospitals: University of Cincinnati Medical Center, West Chester Hospital and Drake Hospital. This was preceded by a successful tenure as president/CEO, West Chester Hospital, where he led the executive team in driving the hospital to the top 10th percentile in the country for safety and quality, and the top 5th percentile in the country for patient experience. He has also worked with the FBI, the Secret Service and the Cincinnati SWAT team.</p> <p>As a lifelong student, he has bachelor's degrees in biomedical engineering, materials science and psychology from Johns Hopkins University. He graduated from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine and completed his residency at the University of Cincinnati. While practicing emergency medicine, Dr. Joseph received an MBA.</p> <p>Dr. Joseph is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives and a member of the American College of Emergency Physicians.</p>

<p>Amer Kaissi is an-award winning Professor of Leadership. He is an executive coach that has worked with hundreds of leaders and teams all over the world. Amer is the author of three books. His most recent book is “Humbitious: the power of low-ego, high-drive leadership.” He has been featured on the Harvard Business Review podcast and numerous other media outlets. He has spoken on leadership topics at more than 250 organizations and professional conferences. He lives in San Antonio with his wife and two teenagers.</p>

<div>Mitchell Kusy is a professor in the Graduate School of Leadership and Change at Antioch University in Minneapolis. A 2005 Fulbright scholar in organization development, Dr. Kusy has served as a consultant and keynote speaker for hundreds of organizations, both nationally and internationally. He helps create work cultures of respectful engagement that impact individual, team and bottom line performance. Previously, Dr. Kusy headed leadership and organization development at HealthPartners and American Express. His latest book is Why I Don't Work Here Anymore: A Leader&#8217;s Guide to Offset the Financial and Emotional Costs of Toxic Employees. He has co-authored five books on leadership and dozens of articles related to healthcare leadership.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>Dr. Kusy serves as faculty for the following ACHE seminars:</div><div><ul><li>Toxic Behaviors in Healthcare: How Everyday Civility Increases Patient Safety and Team Performance&nbsp;</li></ul></div>

<p>J. Alan Kent, DHA, FACHE is president/CEO of Meadows Regional Medical Center in Vidalia, Ga. In that role since 2000, he has overseen the building of a replacement hospital and a comprehensive cancer center, as well as staff growth from under 400 to over 1,000, and revenue growth from $46 million to over $500 million. Mr. Kent also serves as adjunct faculty of the Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health (Georgia Southern University), and is on the boards of the Georgia Hospital Association, Georgia Alliance of Community Hospitals and Southeastern Technical College. Previously, he was COO or CEO at various hospitals across six states, and consultant to physician practices and other organizations.</p><div>&nbsp;</div><div>Mr. Kent serves as faculty for the following ACHE seminar:</div><div><ul><li>Proven Strategies and Leadership Methods for Effectively Leading Change in Today&#8217;s Environment&nbsp;</li></ul></div>

<p>Rudd Kierstead brings 25 years of experience in a range of provider settings to his work on physician initiatives. He has focused on enterprise performance improvement, medical staff planning, financial analysis, physician alignment, compensation planning, acquisition and employment analysis and FMV projects. Kierstead has worked in academic medical centers and done extensive consulting with health system and community hospital clients. Kierstead&#8217;s experience includes compensation evaluation and design; valuation of entities and services; specification and valuation of unique arrangements with physicians; physician enterprise formation and evaluation; design and management of partnering ventures and balancing academic missions and cross-subsidy opportunities.</p> <p>He has worked extensively with physician leadership in medical centers, managing physician networks, practices and departments in several academic medical centers and in different specialties.</p> <p>Before joining Veralon, Kierstead was a director in the Weill Cornell Physician Network where he recruited and onboarded physicians, negotiated compensation and transition arrangements with prospective physicians and coordinated business planning, space arrangements and credentialing.</p> <p>Prior to working at Weill Cornell, Kierstead was a consultant in one of Veralon&#8217;s predecessor firms. Previously, he was vice chair for administration in the Department of Psychiatry with Weill Cornell Medical College, a department with 180 paid faculty, where his responsibilities included compliance, staffing, practice, research and teaching concerns.</p> <p>Beforehand, while at Continuum Health Partners Health System, Kierstead managed the centralized business planning and compensation evaluation functions in the Finance Department. Previously, at Mount Sinai Medical Center, Kierstead was the administrator at an off-site dialysis center, staffed the medical board on ambulatory care issues and served as special assistant to the senior vice president for clinical operations.</p> <p>He holds an MBA from the University of Michigan, an MPP from the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy and a BA from Wesleyan University. </p>

<div><div id="pastingspan1">Cynthia Kivland is founder/CEO of The Smart2Smarter Group, a coaching and organizational development firm dedicated to bringing humility, humanity and heart into the workplace.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div id="pastingspan1">Ms. Kivland has trained more than 100 coaches/organizational consultants through a positive leadership group coaching process. She designs and facilitates leadership retreats for leaders and cross functional teams. These retreats often explore and create actionable plans to sustain change initiatives, optimize strengths and celebrate emotionally intelligent leaders and teams.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div id="pastingspan1">Ms. Kivland has served as ACHE faculty for more than 18 years. She is an international expert on emotional intelligence, authoring several book chapters and magazine articles. She is author of Smart2Smarter, Seven Emotional Skills Every Leader Needs, and co-author and architect of the EI HabitMaker System, an evidence-based social learning process to develop leadership habits that increase social charisma, positive emotional contagion and an inspirational coaching mindset aligned with relationship-based cultures. </div><div>&nbsp;</div></div><div>Ms. Kivland serves as faculty for the following ACHE seminar:</div><div><ul><li>Leadership Development Program&nbsp;</li></ul></div>

<div>Steve Kreiser is a senior consultant with Healthcare Performance Improvement in Virginia Beach, Va., a firm specializing in improving human performance in complex systems using evidence-based methods derived from high-risk industries. Mr. Kreiser is a former U.S. Navy fighter pilot with experience improving reliability and safety in naval aviation. His current position includes working on safety culture transformation efforts in dozens of healthcare organizations across the country. Additionally, he has experience in team training and integration.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>Mr. Kreiser serves as faculty for the following ACHE seminars:</div><div><ul><li>Effective Leadership for High-Reliability Healthcare&nbsp;</li></ul></div>

<p>Natalie Lamberton is currently the leading principle at NDL Holdings. She has spent the last 15 years of her career as a CEO and COO in rural, urban and suburban hospitals in acute, post-acute and behavioral healthcare. She specializes in hospital operations, survey readiness, new and renovation hospital construction and leadership development, building teams, organization transformation, business development and community and physician relations. Lamberton is passionate about equipping the next generation of leaders with the tools for success as she lectures at several health administration graduate programs around the country.</p><p>Lamberton wrote “<i>Rebounding from Stressful Situations</i>” in the July 2022 edition of Healthcare Executive Magazine and has written two editions of <i>The Emerging Healthcare Leader: A Field Guide</i>, published by ACHE Learn.</p><p>Lamberton is board certified in healthcare management as a Fellow of ACHE (FACHE^®) and serves as lead faculty for the ACHE Executive Program and co-lead faculty for the Virtual Leadership Development Program. She is also faculty for the ACHE seminar <i>The Emerging Healthcare Leader: A Field Guide</i>.</p><p>Lamberton holds a master’s degree in business and health administration from the University of Colorado at Denver and molecular biology and US history degrees from the University of New Mexico.</p>

<p>Jason Lesandrini, FACHE, LPEC, HEC, is the Assistant Vice President for Ethics, Advance Care Planning and Spiritual Health at Wellstar Health System in Georgia, where he leads the strategy and implementation of ethics initiatives. He holds faculty appointments at Mercer University and South College. Jason is a widely recognized expert in outcomes metrics for ethics programs and served as an ethics expert to numerous professional organizations.&nbsp;</p> <p> Jason is also founder and principal of The Ethics Architect. The Ethics Architect is an outcomes-driven healthcare consulting firm specializing in the assessment and execution of ethics programming, the creation of ethical cultures and developing ethical leaders.</p>

<p>Dr. Cristian H. Lieneck brings over 10 years of hands-on experience in healthcare administration, specializing in medical group practice management alongside a decade of experience in higher education, where he has been instrumental in preparing future healthcare leaders. He currently serves as the interim director for the School of Health Administration at Texas State University. </p> <p>His journey in healthcare began in high school when he became a licensed emergency medical technician (EMT). He later joined the United States Army as a Medical Service Corps officer, starting as a lieutenant where he managed a garrison medical clinic and a field medical evacuation platoon in the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment. Promoted to captain, he took on roles such as executive officer and dental company commander at Fort Carson, overseeing four outpatient dental practices and an oral surgery clinic. </p> <p>Dr. Lieneck has been widely recognized for his military leadership and was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal for his service. His post-military career includes leadership roles in various healthcare organizations, such as the Community Living Assistance Support Services for the Texas Medicaid-Waiver Program and the Austin Radiological Association. He also managed a physiatry and pain medicine group practice in Austin, which included multiple locations and an outpatient procedure suite. </p> <p>He holds fellowships and board certifications from the American College of Healthcare Executives, the American College of Medical Practice Executives and the Academy of Healthcare Management. Dr. Lieneck is also a certified professional in health information and management systems. </p> <p>In addition to his administrative duties, Dr. Lieneck remains active in various professional leadership roles. He teaches the healthcare finance module for the American College of Healthcare Executives&#8217; Board of Governors exam review course and serves as the Regent for Central/South Texas. He is also the MGMA Forum Representative for Texas and contributes to multiple local, state, and national committees. </p> <p>Dr. Lieneck's research interests focus on healthcare value, particularly in finance and marketing, as well as practice and ambulatory care administration. He is passionate about education, both teaching and ensuring the quality of healthcare management programs as a reviewer for the Association of University Programs in Health Administration. </p> <p>Outside of his professional life, he enjoys playing music, particularly bluegrass, and cherishes time spent with his family.</p>

<p>Kevin Manemann oversees Sutter Health’s clinical and non-clinical operations, driving systemwide and integration to deliver high-quality, compassionate care across Northern California and the Central Coast.</p><p>Working in dyad partnership with Chief Physician Executive Dr. Todd Smith, he directs the organization’s division operating structure, system service lines, ambulatory surgery centers, nursing and Sutter Care at Home to enhance operational discipline, expand access and unify care experiences across the system.</p><p>Prior to joining Sutter, Manemann served as executive vice president and integration officer at City of Hope, where he led integration and operations for a $6 billion multistate, comprehensive cancer system. His leadership resulted in improvements in quality, patient experience and financial performance.</p><p>Earlier in his career, Manemann spent 20 years in progressive leadership positions with Providence St. Joseph Health in Renton, Washington. He served as the chief executive of the health system’s South Division, overseeing 17 hospitals, a physician organization, surgery centers, immediate care centers, community care agencies and a health plan with 700,000 lives covered, with combined revenues in excess of $12 billion. Under his leadership, the division achieved national honors for overall quality care, as well as for individual key specialties including cancer, cardiovascular, orthopedics, women’s services and neurosciences.</p><p>He holds a master’s degree in organizational leadership with an emphasis in servant leadership from Gonzaga University and a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Iowa’s Tippie College of Business.</p>

<p>William &#8220;Marty&#8221; Martin serves as professor in the Driehaus College of Business at DePaul University. In this role, he has launched several graduate degree programs, from a Master of Business Administration/Master of Science program with Rush University to a Master of Science program in health informatics. Prior to this role, he served as director of diversity at The Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore and later as senior executive for institutional diversity at DePaul University. Earlier in his career, Dr. Martin worked at AT&amp;T in health affairs, The National Institutes of Health and Tulane University Hospital &amp; Clinic. Dr. Martin has written two books, more than 100 refereed journal articles and in 2019, he launched his own digital sleep health platform. His scholarly work has been featured by <em>USA Today, The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post</em>.</p> <p>He continues to focus on diversity, equity and inclusion but with an emphasis on anti-racism and implicit bias coaching and training. Dr. Martin currently serves on several boards, including the Center for Health Innovation and is involved in the digital health startup ecosystem in Chicago. Dr. Martin also coaches clients on practicing mindful leadership, achieving performance optimization by syncing their schedule with their chronotype and managing internal and external distractions. As a coach, he draws on both his knowledge and skills as a licensed clinical psychologist and advanced training in sports and performance psychology. Dr. Martin serves as faculty for ACHE seminars including Big Data and Analytics: A Perspective for Healthcare Leaders and Leading with Influence, Not Authority.</p>

<p>Michael A. Mayo, DHA, FACHE, is president and CEO of Baptist Health. Mayo has more than 32 years of health executive experience, including his previous role as Baptist Medical Center Jacksonville hospital president.</p> <p>As CEO, he oversees five hospitals: Baptist Medical Center Jacksonville, Baptist Medical Center South, Baptist Medical Center Beaches, Baptist Medical Center Nassau and Wolfson Children's Hospital, along with four satellite emergency centers, 55 primary care offices, more than 13,000 team members and 1,762 physicians.</p> <p>During his career, Mayo has served as CEO of Orange Park Medical Center, Frankfort Regional Medical Center and Memorial Hospital Jacksonville as well as president of Methodist Dallas Medical Center, a Level I Trauma Center and the flagship facility of the Methodist Health System. From 1989 to 1999, Mayo held progressive leadership positions with Baptist Health System of Birmingham, Ala., where he first joined as an administrative fellow. </p> <p>Mayo earned his Doctor of Health Administration from the Medical University of South Carolina, his Master of Science in health care administration from Texas Woman&#8217;s University and his Bachelor of Science in human resource management from the University of Alabama. He is board certified in healthcare management as a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives. From 2019 to 2022, he served on ACHE&#8217;s Board of Governors. Mayo has also served ACHE as the Regent for Florida&#8212;Northern and Western, and as a member of the <em>Healthcare Executive</em> Editorial Board and Regents Advisory Council.</p> <p> Mayo serves in various community leadership positions, including chairman of the University of North Florida Healthcare Administration Advisory Board and adjunct professor, Master of Health Administration program at UNF Brooks College of Health.</p>

<p>George Mayzell, MD, is the founder and president of Empowered Healthcare, which specializes in population health, care management redesign, clinical variation and clinical integration. He also served as the past chief clinical officer of Vizient Southeast.</p> <p>Prior to that he was the senior vice president/CMO and chief clinical integration officer for AMITA Health, an integrated health system serving communities in western and northwestern suburban Chicago. </p> <p>Previously, Dr. Mayzell served as CEO of Health Choice and senior vice president of Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare in Memphis, Tenn. He also served as senior medical director of managed care for University of Florida and Shands Hospital. He spent more than 10 years with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida, working as regional medical director for care and quality and corporate managing medical director for pharmacy and care. Additionally, he has more than 10 years of practice experience.</p> <p>Dr. Mayzell is a board-certified internist and geriatrician. He received his doctor of medicine from Rutgers University and his master of business administration degree from Jacksonville University.</p> <p>Dr. Mayzell serves as faculty for the following ACHE seminar:</p> <ul> <li>Service Line Planning: Developing a Consumer-Based Approach to Providing Quality Care</li> </ul>

<p>With fifteen years of experience in healthcare management, leadership and research, Dr. Meese is an award-winning scholar and author in the field of organizational behavior, well-being, and leadership. She is the CEO of HUmargin Group which takes a data-driven, scientific approach to help organizations solve their complex human challenges. She has published numerous peer-reviewed journal articles and co-authored two textbooks on organizational behavior in healthcare that are used in over 160 schools nationwide. Her most recent book is The Human Margin: Building the Foundations of Trust with Quint Studer.&nbsp;<br>Dr. Meese also teaches and mentors graduate, doctoral, and executive students at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Department of Health Services Administration. Her passion is translating data and research into meaningful knowledge to help leaders and organizations support their humans.&nbsp;<br>&nbsp;</p>

<div></div><p><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"></span></p><div id="pastingspan1"></div><div id="pastingspan1">Stephen M. Merz, FACHE, is COO of Sheppard Pratt Solutions, a division of Sheppard Pratt, one of the largest behavioral healthcare organizations in the nation. Stephen&#8217;s career spans nearly 30 years and includes roles as interim president/CEO and executive vice president, operations, Diamond Healthcare; president/CEO, Maine Behavioral Healthcare; and vice president/ executive director of behavioral health at Yale New Haven Hospital.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div id="pastingspan1">Stephen&#8217;s work focuses on integrating behavioral healthcare into the overall healthcare system, including establishing alternatives to acute care settings, developing novel approaches for chronic conditions such as depression and ensuring behavioral healthcare services are financially strong.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div id="pastingspan1">Stephen has served on national and regional boards, including the National Association of Behavioral Healthcare. He served as chair of the Behavioral Healthcare Councils of the Maine and Connecticut Hospital Associations, and served as Regent for Connecticut of ACHE. Stephen has a master&#8217;s degree in health services administration from the University of Michigan School of Public Health and a bachelor&#8217;s degree from Cornell University. He is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>Mr. Merz serves as faculty for the following ACHE seminar:&nbsp;</div><div><ul><li>Behavioral Health Challenges, Strategies and Solutions: The Business Case for Meeting Community Needs&nbsp;</li></ul></div><div></div><p style="0in;.0001pt"><span style="font-size:13.5pt;115%;&quot;Times New Roman&quot;"></span></p>

<p>Conrad Meyer is a nationally recognized healthcare attorney, trusted advisor and strategic partner for healthcare executives navigating today’s complex regulatory businesses. As a partner and chair of the healthcare practice group at Chehardy Sherman in Metairie, Louisiana, Meyer brings over 24 years of experience advising hospitals, physician groups and healthcare organizations on high-stakes transactions, regulatory compliance, medical staff issues and healthcare fraud and abuse matters.</p><p>A Louisiana State Bar board-certified health law specialist and Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives (FACHE®), Meyer offers a unique blend of legal, operational and business acumen making him a highly sought-after resource for healthcare executives facing regulatory scrutiny, structuring complex deals or managing medical staff challenges. His expertise spans physician employment agreements, Stark Law and Anti-Kickback Statute compliance, Medicare Part B reimbursement, telemedicine and licensure matters. Additionally, he frequently serves as a hearing officer for peer review proceedings and medical malpractice cases.</p><p>Meyer’s deep industry knowledge and practical insights have earned him Band 1 recognition for healthcare law in Louisiana by USA Chambers since 2020. He is an AV Preeminent-rated attorney by Martindale-Hubbell, reflecting the highest standards of legal excellence and ethical integrity. Beyond his practice, Meyer serves as an adjunct professor of Health Law at Loyola University New Orleans College of Law and the University of New Orleans Health Administration Program, educating future healthcare leaders on regulatory compliance, transactions, fraud and abuse laws and medical board licensing issues.</p><p>A respected thought leader, Meyer has authored and contributed to leading healthcare publications such as the <i>ABA Health Law E-Source, Louisiana Medical News and Healthcare Journal of New Orleans</i>. He also hosts the widely followed podcast "Health Law Talk," where he breaks down critical legal and regulatory issues affecting healthcare providers nationwide.</p><p>Meyer is a frequent keynote speaker at national and regional healthcare conferences, including engagements with the Louisiana Hospital Association, LSU and Tulane medical residency programs as well as the Louisiana State Medical Society’s Annual Conference. His ability to translate complex legal frameworks into practical strategies makes him a go-to advisor for healthcare executives and leadership teams seeking to mitigate risk, optimize compliance and drive organizational success.</p>

<p> Stephen J. Mrozowski, FACHE, CPPS, serves as partner and vice president, External Peer Review and Patient Safety, Chartis. He has more than 25 years of healthcare experience in prehospital services, quality, safety, high reliability organizing and education. In his role, Mrozowski assists organizations in optimizing their capabilities to deliver harm-free, patient-centered and high-quality care. His expertise and passion are most prominent in the principles of patient safety structures, just culture, cause analysis, Lean Six Sigma and high reliability.</p> <p>Prior to joining Chartis, Mrozowski served as senior director, safety and high reliability, Cleveland Clinic, where he led the enterprisewide patient safety program, high reliability organizing activities, environmental health and safety. Previously, he was the inaugural director of patient safety at the Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center and led the organization to a reduction in serious safety events by more than 75% during his tenure.</p> <p>Mrozowski is an ACHE Dolan Scholar and received an ACHE Regent&#8217;s Award for Leadership. He also serves on the board of ACHE of Northern Ohio and as its Diversity, Equity and Inclusion chair.</p> <p>Mrozowski earned a Master of Health Administration from Penn State University and a bachelor&#8217;s degree in emergency medicine from the University of Pittsburgh, where he also completed paramedic training. He also completed graduate education in organizational development from Penn State. Steve is an ACHE Fellow and is a Certified Professional in Patient Safety.</p>

<div>Stacy Nelson is president of Leadership Influence LLC. He is also part of the VitalSmarts faculty in Provo, Utah. Dr. Nelson delivers &#8220;Crucial Conversations,&#8221; &#8220;Crucial Accountability,&#8221; &#8220;Influencer,&#8221; &#8220;Getting Things Done&#8221; and &#8220;The Power of Habit&#8221; trainings to organizations across the globe. A recipient of the Zapara award for excellence in teaching, Dr. Nelson consistently receives accolades for his charismatic presentation style and highly effective training design. He is also considered an expert in the VitalSmarts research healthcare studies Silence Kills: The Seven Crucial Conversations for Healthcare and The Silent Treatment. Specializing in healthcare and leadership, Dr. Nelson helps individuals, teams and organizations increase organizational effectiveness, achieve bottom-line results and become measurably more vital.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Dr. Nelson serves as faculty for the following ACHE seminars: </div> <ul> <li>Managing Conflict, Accountability Conversations and Disputes</li> </ul>

<div>Kevin O'Connor is a Certified Speaking Professional^TM and a specialist in educating and coaching professionals charged with leading professional peers&#8212;particularly healthcare leaders and their physician partners. His major areas of focus are leadership, influence, innovation and the development of healthcare executive/physician leader teams. Mr. O'Connor teaches at Chicago's Loyola University and taught previously at Columbia College, Chicago's performing arts school. He holds three master's degrees and is the author or co-author of seven books, including the most recent, <em>Fearless Facilitation</em>.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>Mr. O'Connor serves as faculty for the following ACHE seminars:</div><div><ul><li>&nbsp;Possibilities, Probabilities and Creative Solutions: Breakthrough Thinking for Complex Environments</li><li>Never Be Boring: Present Like a Pro</li></ul></div>

<p>Gary Oftedahl has had a lifelong interest in exploring new ideas, concepts, theories and contemplating how one might apply them to addressing issues in innovative ways. He is a voracious reader and has used his vast literary exposure to bring unique perspectives to his work. He spent over 40 years in the health care sector, both as a provider of health care and collaborator in multiple initiatives across a wide range of topics and participants. His 26-year experience as an internal medicine physician and over 13-year experience as a chief knowledge officer at the Institute for Clinical Systems Improvement (ICSI) fueled his interest in innovation and creativity as he enters the encore phase of his life. </p> <p>While retired from ICSI, Gary has become a collaboration catalyst, spending some of his time pursuing creative and innovative approaches to addressing wellbeing, including working with multiple universities and community organizations. He serves as a board chair of a social impact organization known as Kairos Alive! which uses dance as an example of participatory arts in engaging and supporting communities of all types of diversity. He also serves on the Hennepin Health Quality Committee, the Minnesota Community Health Workers Alliance Board of Directors and is a member of The Care Collaboratory Guiding Coalition. He is passionate in his pursuit in understanding how we can integrate adaptive principles, aesthetics, participatory arts and collaboration across diverse sectors into efforts to improve the health and wellbeing of those who work in the health care arena, but also in the communities we serve. </p>

<div></div><div>James E. Orlikoff is president of Orlikoff &amp; Associates Inc., a consulting firm specializing in healthcare governance, leadership, strategy, quality, patient safety and system development. He serves as the National Advisor on Governance and Leadership to the American Hospital Association and Health Forum.</div><div>&nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div>Mr. Orlikoff has been involved in leadership, quality and strategy issues for more than 40 years. He has consulted with hospitals and systems in 12 countries, and has worked with hospital and system governing boards to strengthen their overall effectiveness and their oversight of strategy and quality. He has worked extensively on improving the relationships between boards, medical staff and management. He has written 15 books and more than 100 articles, and he has served on hospital, college and civic boards. He is currently the chair of the board of the St. Charles Health System, Bend, Ore. He also served as the vice chair of the Virginia Mason Health System Board in Seattle. His book, Board Work: Governing Health Care Organizations, won the ACHE James A. Hamilton Book of the Year award in 2000.</div><div>&nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div>Mr. Orlikoff received his Master of Arts in social and organizational psychology from the University of Chicago, and his Bachelor of Arts from Pitzer College in Claremont, Calif.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>Mr. Orlikoff serves as faculty for the following ACHE seminars:</div><ul><li>Achieving a Strategic Partnership with Your Board: Thrive in the Midst of Accountability</li></ul>

<p>Casey Orton serves as director of Pharmacy Regulatory &amp; Infusion Operations at HonorHealth, a nonprofit health system in the Phoenix metropolitan area. In her current role, Orton has pharmacy regulatory compliance responsibilities for a 239-bed level 1 trauma center, operational responsibilities for the medication use process in twelve oncology and two non-oncology HOPD infusion clinics, while also leading investigational drug services for the HonorHealth Research Institute. Throughout her career journey, Orton has initiated and led regional clinical programs, facilitated comprehensive staff development and training initiatives and spearheaded impactful Just Culture and patient safety pilots within complex, matrixed organizations. Orton is recognized for driving operational change, enhancing quality and ensuring regulatory adherence.</p> <p>Orton&rsquo;s commitment to excellence extends beyond her primary role, as she is also the founder and president of Casey Cathleen, LLC, which allows her to pursue her passion of developing leaders through coaching and speaking. Described as forward thinking with a foundation in best practice, Orton&rsquo;s leadership coaching perspective seeks to empower individuals to move forward strategically on a journey of continuous growth. Additionally, Orton is dedicated to advocating for diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging, which is reflected in her many speaking engagement topics that include microaggressions, implicit bias, stereotypes, culture and underrepresented groups in healthcare leadership.</p>

<p>Ranna Parekh, MD, joined MD Anderson as the chief diversity, equity and inclusion officer in May 2022. Previously, she served in a variety of DEI roles including inaugural chief diversity and inclusion officer of the American College of Cardiology and, and deputy medical director and director of the minority fellowship program at the American Psychiatric Association. Dr. Parekh is a child, adolescent and adult psychiatrist. She has also practiced at the Massachusetts General Hospital and McLean Hospital/Harvard Medical School and was the inaugural director/co-founder of the MGH Department of Psychiatry&#8217;s Center for Diversity.</p> <p>Dr. Parekh is co-author of the e-book, <em>Overcoming Prejudice in the Workplace</em> (Harvard Health Publishers, 2012). She is also editor of the <em>Massachusetts General Hospital Textbook on Diversity and Cultural Sensitivity</em> (Springer Publishers, 2013), and co-editor of <em>Cultural Sensitivity in Child and Adolescent Mental Health</em> (MGH Academy Press, 2016); <em>Stigma and Prejudice: Touchstones in Understanding Diversity</em> (Springer Publishers, 2016); and <em>Cultural Psychiatry with Children, Adolescents and Families</em> (American Psychiatric Press, 2021).</p> <p>Dr. Parekh has led training sessions and lectured locally, nationally and internationally on topics including diversity, healthcare disparities, microaggressions, cultural psychiatry, facilitative mediation, collaborative negotiations, child and adolescent psychiatry, addictions and psychopharmacology. She has lived, studied and worked around the world including Japan, France, Poland, New Zealand and Australia. Dr. Parekh earned a Master of Public Health degree from Harvard University, and she is a graduate of the adult psychiatry and child fellowship residency training programs at Massachusetts General Hospital and McLean Hospital/Harvard Medical School. She also holds degrees from Wayne State University (Doctor of Medicine, Bachelor of Science in biology, Bachelor of Arts in chemistry and a Bachelor of Arts in black studies). Dr. Parekh holds or has held academic appointments at Massachusetts General Hospital, George Washington University Medical School and Morehouse School of Medicine.</p>

<div id="pastingspan1">As an organizational psychologist, Ashley Parker, PhD, helps individuals thrive at work, where she believes everybody deserves to be engaged, effective and valued. All her work is based on this fundamental belief.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div id="pastingspan1">Since joining CMA in 2013, Parker honed her experience in many areas, including executive coaching, leadership assessments, team retreats, trainings, employee engagement surveys, succession planning and organizational analyses. Given her prior experience in clinical settings, she possesses a deep understanding of individual change processes, which help clients meet their goals.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div id="pastingspan1">Parker earned her PhD in clinical psychology from the University of Missouri&#8212;St. Louis. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in psychology and anthropology with a minor in African American studies from Washington University in St. Louis. She completed her pre-doctoral clinical internship at the Center for Multicultural Training in Psychology at Boston University School of Medicine and Boston Medical Center. Her work has appeared in a variety of publications, and she has presented at national conferences. She is a member of the American Psychological Association.</div><div></div>

<p>Dr. Pathak is an assistant professor of practice and director of the Executive Healthcare MBA Program at Creighton University’s Heider College of Business. Pathak has 14 years of progressive management experience in diverse settings including major health systems, healthcare associations, accrediting organizations and academic institutions. He is a skilled clinician, an experienced administrator and a passionate educator. </p> <p>Pathak recently earned his doctoral degree in executive healthcare leadership from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). His research interests are in the areas of price transparency, patient experience and implementation of delivery system innovations. </p> <p>Pathak was most recently involved in administration of quality and performance improvement initiatives, operational efficiency initiatives and patient experience initiatives for the Department of Ambulatory Services at the Johns Hopkins Hospital. Understanding the value in staying current with the administrative practices and trends, Pathak continues to serve as a part-time project administrator for key strategic initiatives of the Johns Hopkins Hospital. </p> <p>He served as the director of operations and business development for the Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Management Education (CAHME) where he focused on initiatives within the healthcare employer and academic communities. Prior to joining CAHME, Pathak was involved in the national quality improvement initiatives with the American Hospital Association (AHA) to reduce hospital-acquired infections. He completed an administrative fellowship at OhioHealth through Aramark Healthcare. Pathak is a strong advocate of performance excellence initiatives and has served as a Baldrige Examiner on state and national levels. </p> <p>Pathak earned the distinction of board certification in healthcare management by earning the Fellow credential with the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE). He served on the Asian Healthcare Leaders Forum, a national committee of the ACHE Board to leverage the Asian-American representation in healthcare executive management policy and leadership. Pathak received a master’s degree in health administration from the University of Scranton and a bachelor’s degree in physical therapy from Manipal University, India. </p>

<p>Mary-Ellen Pich&#232; is a consultant who provides services to healthcare organizations to include organizational assessment/development, patient experience improvement, and staff/patient engagement. Previously she was a consultant with Planetree Inc. in Derby, Conn., and CEO at the Stratton VA Medical Center in Albany, N.Y., where she participated in national crisis leadership and new employee orientation initiatives.</p> <p>Ms. Pich&#232; serves as faculty for the following ACHE seminars:</p> <ul> <li>Leading for Change: Creating a Humanistic Approach for Patient, Family and Staff Engagement</li> </ul><div></div><div>Books published by Health Administration Press:</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div><em><a href="https://www.ache.org/learning-center/publications/books/2453I">The Patient&#8217;s Primary Care Experience: A Road Map to Powerful Partnerships&nbsp;</a></em></div>

<p>Read Pierce loves intersections that evoke paradox. As a history and chemistry major in college, He became fascinated by different ways of seeing, thinking and being in the world and how inhabiting a &#8220;both and&#8221; space, rather than selecting a singular point of view, can allow us to create more sustainable, whole and productive communities and systems. Uncovering powerful questions that ask us to hold and engage interdependent opposites are one of his favorite and most energizing pursuits.</p> <p>Pearce serves as Denver Health&#8217;s chief quality officer and oversees the health system&#8217;s clinical quality and patient safety programs and is a member of the Care Collaboratory Guiding Coalition. He recently was faculty at The Dell Medical School at the University of Texas at Austin, where he was chief of hospital medicine, associate chair of internal medicine for Faculty Development and Wellbeing and an enthusiastic clinical collaborator with the Design Institute for Health. He simultaneously holds faculty appointments at the Tulane University School of Public Health and University of Colorado, Denver School of Business. He is an experienced clinician, healthcare leader, coach and facilitator who enjoys fostering transformation of organizational culture and complex clinical systems, with particular attention to the thriving of human beings working in those systems.</p>

<p>Jake Poore is on a mission to change healthcare one doctor, one nurse, one hospital at a time.</p> <p> A former Disney executive, Mr. Poore led training programs for 65,000 employees and helped launch The Disney Institute corporate training center. </p> <p> As the president and chief experience officer of Integrated Loyalty Systems, Mr. Poore and his team have developed the comprehensive blueprints and methodology that help thousands of healthcare professionals worldwide create alignment and accountability by teaching them how to hardwire both quality and human kindness.</p> <p> He is an entrepreneur, a sought-after international speaker, and author of the new book and online training, "99 Lessons Learned from Disney To Improve the Patient Experience".</p>

<p>Sid Raman is a director at Innosight, a global growth strategy and innovation consulting firm founded on Harvard Business School Professor Clayton Christensen&#8217;s theories of disruptive innovation. With over eight years of experience, Raman has a proven track record of helping senior healthcare executives navigate complex and disruptive changes across the industry. </p> <p>Raman's expertise spans the entire care continuum, with a deep focus on both provider and payor spaces. He specializes in strategy development, portfolio management, mergers and acquisitions and consumer research. Raman has collaborated closely with Fortune 50 executives to develop and accelerate growth strategies, create new business models and establish sustainable innovation mechanisms. </p> <p>In addition to healthcare, Raman has significant experience in digital, consumer products, pharma and biotech sectors. His holistic understanding of the healthcare ecosystem, combined with his strategic and innovative approach, enables him to drive impactful transformations in the evolving sphere of healthcare. </p> <p>Prior to Innosight, Raman was an engineer and scientist with extensive research experience in both the basic and applied sciences. He also has previous experience at Johnson &amp; Johnson as a process engineer and AstraZeneca as a protein formulation scientist. </p>

<p>Julie Robbins is a healthcare leader, educator and executive coach who combines practical expertise with evidence-based methods to empower leaders at all career stages. She is a clinical professor at The Ohio State University, where she teaches healthcare management and leadership and previously served as director of the Master of Health Administration program. Robbins specializes in creating impactful learning experiences, with a proven track record of developing programs focused on career and leadership development. With over 15 years of healthcare management experience in both public and private sectors, she brings real-world insights to her teaching and coaching. An active member of the American College of Healthcare Executives, Robbins is engaged in advancing leadership development in healthcare and has taught ACHE&#8217;s Career Accelerator Program. </p>

<p>Charmaine Spence Rochester, DHA, CPA, FACHE, FHFMA, serves as the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) for the University of Cincinatti Health System (UC Health). Dr. Rochester has over 30 years of experience in finance and executive leadership, having spent time with organizations such as KPMG, Bon Secours Hampton Roads, and Penn Medicine. Prior to joining UC Health, she was with the Cleveland Clinic Florida serving as CFO and a strategic partner to the CEO as the organization worked to expand its presence in Florida.&nbsp;<br><br>Dr. Rochester is board-certified in healthcare management and a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives (FACHE) and the Healthcare Financial Management Association (FHFMA). She holds a Doctor of Health Administration (DHA) from Central Michigan University, an MBA from Florida Atlantic University, an undergraduate degree in accounting from Howard University, and is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA).&nbsp;<br><br>Residing in Cincinatti, OH, with her husband Tex, a retired U.S. Navy servicemember, together they are the proud parent of three children, all serving in the United States Air Force and Space Force.</p>

<p>Dr. David L. Schreiner is dedicated to empowering leaders and organizations through values-driven communication, executive coaching and strategic engagement. With over 35 years of experience in healthcare leadership, Dr. Schreiner specializes in enhancing leadership effectiveness. His goal is to help leaders engage in a more meaningful way with the people that matter the most.</p><p>Dr. Schreiner is the author of <i>Be The Best Part of Their Day: Supercharging Communication with Values-Driven Leadership</i> which outlines principles of integrity, empathy and purposeful interaction to inspire meaningful organizational change. His extensive research has illuminated how successful hospital leaders engage employees, physicians, patients, board members and communities to foster resilient and thriving workplace environments.</p><p>A recognized authority in stakeholder engagement and leadership communication, Dr. Schreiner advocates for practices that enhance organizational health and community well-being. His leadership philosophy emphasizes building authentic connections, intentional engagement and mission-driven collaboration as key elements of sustained success.</p><p>Dr. Schreiner holds a PhD and is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives (FACHE®), underscoring his commitment to excellence in healthcare leadership and continuous professional development.</p>

<p>Jon Sendach, FACHE, is the president of the Central Market for Northwell Health, where he is responsible for the executive management of six hospitals and over 250 ambulatory care locations between Nassau and Queens counties. Comprised of academic, pediatric, community, tertiary and quaternary acute care hospitals as well as a behavioral health hospital, the Central Market provides the full range of services to over 2.8M patients in one of the most diverse communities in the country. In his role, Sendach is responsible for driving the strategy, financial performance and operational excellence of each site in the market.</p><p>Before becoming North Shore University Hospital’s top executive in January 2020, Sendach served as deputy hospital president, managing non-clinical operations, facilities and ancillary services, as well as the hospital’s trauma, emergency and heart hospital programs. He previously was associate executive director for finance at Glen Cove Hospital, where he was responsible for financial management, patient financial services and health information management. There, he oversaw Glen Cove’s faculty practice.</p><p>Board certified in health care management, Sendach is a fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) and holds an ACHE faculty appointment, where he helps lead the highly acclaimed COO Bootcamp program for emerging and current healthcare chief operating officers from around the nation. As part of this appointment, he teaches for the organization several times a year at ACHE national meetings.</p><p>Sendach was named one of Long Island Business News’ 40 Under 40. He holds a bachelor of arts from Colgate University and a master of public administration from the Wagner Graduate School of Public Service at New York University, where he is appointed as adjunct associate professor of health policy and management. Sendach also completed a residency in health care administration at Northwell.</p>

<p>Harjot Singh, MD, is an advisor who creates programs that help leaders make their leadership work. He sees his work like how Yoda helped Luke in &#8220;Star Wars&#8221; discover his potential like a powerful Jedi warrior he would become, and not the farm boy he was or the starfighter he wanted to be. He is a practicing physician, chief of telepsychiatry service at Kingsview Behavioral Health and faculty at American College of Healthcare Executives. His work is informed by all three of those perspectives. Since 2016, he has coached and trained physicians and leaders on topics such as engagement, influence, productivity, turnover, burnout, public speaking and career advancement. He is a nationally recognized conference speaker, and he has written several articles for national publications and textbook chapters.</p> <p>Dr. Singh serves as faculty for the following ACHE seminars: </p><ul> <li>Professional Burnout in Healthcare: Lead Your Organization to Wellness&nbsp;</li> </ul> <p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>Brian R. Spisak, PhD, is a Senior Partner at Csuite Growth Advisors and the Program Director of AI and Leadership at the National Preparedness Leadership Initiative at Harvard University. He is also a faculty member at the American College of Healthcare Executives and the author of the best-selling book Computational Leadership: Connecting Behavioral Science and Technology to Optimize Decision-Making and Increase Profits (Wiley, 2023).</p>

<p style="6.0pt">Burl Stamp, president/founder of Stamp &amp; Chase, has broad-based experience working alongside healthcare professionals from the boardroom to the bedside. He has helped major health systems, academic medical centers and community hospitals improve bottom line, patient experience, staff engagement and operating results. His firm partners with healthcare organizations across the globe to improve performance by developing enhanced communication competencies and practices at all levels of the enterprise.</p> <p style="6.0pt">Prior to launching Stamp &amp; Chase more than 16 years ago, Burl served several leading healthcare organizations in executive roles. As president/CEO of Phoenix Children&#8217;s Hospital, he spearheaded development and construction of the first comprehensive, freestanding healthcare campus in Arizona dedicated to pediatrics. He developed the first strategic planning and marketing department at St. Louis Children&#8217;s Hospital, where he started the highly successful Answer Line to provide reliable, accessible health advice to families&#8212;a solid population health strategy that was roughly 20 years ahead of its time. He went on to lead pediatric service line development for BJC HealthCare/Washington University Medical Center.</p> <p style="6.0pt">In the healthcare community, Burl has served as a member of the Board of Directors of SoutheastHEALTH, a regional system serving southeast Missouri and southern Illinois. He also was a member of the FOCUS St. Louis 2019 Impact Fellows cohort, which focused on improvements to the community&#8217;s healthcare safety net through a racial lens. He is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives and a past board member of the Society for Healthcare Strategy &amp; Market Development of the American Hospital Association. </p> <p style="6.0pt">Burl earned his master of business administration and has served as president of the Olin School of Business Alumni Association at Washington University in St. Louis. He completed his bachelor of science in business administration at Southeast Missouri State University.</p> <p style="6.0pt">Burl is the author of <em>The Healing Art of Communication</em>, a healthcare professional&#8217;s guide to improving communication, and the creator of CAREmunication&#174; and MyTEAM&#174;, comprehensive professional development programs and tools designed to help healthcare providers improve relationships and communication among front-line managers and staff. He is a frequent speaker on leadership, change management, organizational culture, communication and business development strategy in healthcare organizations.</p>

<p>Dr. Annie Steelman is Senior Vice President, System Strategy at RWJBarnabas Health, a 12-hospital academic health care system affiliated with Rutgers Health. She is a skilled strategic planner with 20 years of experience in the health care industry, including work with community hospitals, children’s hospitals, integrated health systems, and academic medical centers. Before joining RWJBarnabas in 2014, Annie was a consultant with Health Strategies &amp; Solutions, Inc. in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Annie holds a Doctorate in Business Administration degree from Drexel University. Her dissertation focused on organizational behavior and examined the role of empowering leadership in strategy implementation. She received her Master of Business Administration/Master of Science degree in Healthcare Management/Healthcare Financial Management from Temple University and her Bachelor of Science degree from Saint Joseph’s University in Interdisciplinary Health Services. Annie is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives and a member and past-president of the Healthcare Planning and Marketing Society of New Jersey (a SHSMD chapter). Annie is also a Fellow of the Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Management Education (CAHME).</p>

<p>Quint Studer has spent decades in healthcare. He worked for multiple healthcare systems, including serving as president of Baptist Hospital in Pensacola, Fla. In 2000, he founded Studer Group, a healthcare and education coaching company, which was sold in 2015. Studer left the organization in 2016 and founded the Studer Community Institute, a not-for-profit whose mission is to improve the quality of life for people. He is the author of many books, with several on bestseller lists. He serves on numerous healthcare boards and is a frequent speaker, workshop facilitator, and mentor to individuals and organizations. The tools and techniques Studer created over the years are now staples in healthcare systems throughout the world. His newest book <em>The Calling: Why Healthcare Is So Special</em> is aimed at helping healthcare professionals keep their sense of passion and purpose high.</p>

<div>Scott Stuecher is a vice president at Hammes Healthcare, a healthcare consulting firm headquartered in Milwaukee. His engagement work focuses on strategic facility development and network planning for hospitals and healthcare systems. He is an accomplished healthcare executive and thought leader, recognized by clients for delivering innovative and actionable solutions to complex strategic challenges. Over his 15-year career, Mr. Stuecher has worked with more than 100 provider organizations across the United States, ranging from multiregional health systems and academic medical centers to independent community hospitals.</div><div>&nbsp;&nbsp;</div>Prior to joining Hammes, Mr. Stuecher served healthcare institutions in other consulting capacities, most recently as a principal with Veralon, a national strategic and financial planning firm. He frequently publishes on a variety of industry topics and has spoken at numerous healthcare leadership conferences. He was also a contributing author to Healthcare Strategic Planning, Fourth Edition, published by Health Administration Press. Mr. Stuecher is based in Columbus, Ohio.<br /><br /><div></div>

<p>Brian Unell is the CEO of VantageHealth.ai which focuses on simplifying the billing and payment processes for patients while reducing costs and increasing revenue for providers/vendors. As a hobby, Unell focuses on expanding leadership at home, work and in life as an author and speaker. His first book Everyday Leadership: You Will Make A Difference was released in the Fall of 2022. Previously, Unell focused on helping health systems achieve remarkable financial results mainly through large scale revenue cycle improvements as a consultant and executive. </p> <p>Unell has been described as a transformational healthcare executive who has a passion for cultivating talent and driving change to enable sustainable results. Unell is recognized as a visionary and collaborative team builder and servant leader who turns data into information, the complex into simple and chaos into focus. Unell defines opportunities, develops strategies; prioritizes initiatives and drives results via a belief that &#8220;Communications and Expectations are 90% of Success&#8221; while trying each day to solve more problems than he causes. </p> <p>Unell earned three degrees from the University of Florida: a BS in Statistics, MBA and a Master of Health Administration. Unell currently resides in his hometown of Atlanta with his wife Hilary, fifteen-year-old son Harris and six-year-old daughter Sara. </p>

<p>Dr. Rick van Pelt is the chief clinical transformation officer (CCTO) and leader of Clinical Practice Transformation at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Medicine. Dr. van Pelt is a board-certified anesthesiologist with more than 30 years of experience in clinical practice, performance and quality improvement; patient safety and change management within health systems. His areas of thought leadership and expertise include system-based performance improvement, frontline-driven interprofessional practice redesign and implementation of high reliability clinical operating systems<span class="ui-provider a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z ab ac ae af ag ah ai aj ak" dir="ltr">;</span> implementation science, clinical variation management and peer support and mitigation of systems-induced stress and burnout.</p>

<p>Dr. Leslie Wainwright is a nationally recognized strategist, educator and innovation leader who brings over two decades of experience applying design thinking to complex challenges in healthcare and beyond. As a frequent speaker and faculty member with the American College of Healthcare Executives, she has educated thousands of executives on how human-centered innovation tools can drive meaningful, measurable change; her work has guided leadership teams spanning from major health systems to local start-ups. Dr. Wainwright currently serves as faculty for the ACHE seminar “Applying Thinking to Healthcare’s Most Pressing Challenges.” Her expertise includes healthcare delivery, biotechnology, advanced analytics and entrepreneurship.</p><p>Dr. Wainwright was a founding executive of several pioneering organizations, including Sg2 and AVIA and Do Tank, where she currently serves as partner and senior strategist. Her approach blends deep scientific training with practical strategy expertise.</p><p>As an accomplished educator, Dr. Wainwright has designed award-winning executive education programs, including the Rush University Leadership Academy in collaboration with the Illinois Hospital Association. She has shared her expertise through keynote roles at the Hospital Association of Southern California, the ACHE Chapter Leaders Conference and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s Healthcare Transformation Delegation. Internationally, she led design thinking-based innovation training through the U.S.-Pakistan Science &amp; Technology Startup and Ideation Program as part of the GIST initiative. Dr. Wainwright holds a PhD from Northwestern University and completed a fellowship at the University of Maryland Medical School.</p>

<p>Dawn Zell Wright has a proven track record of aligning operations strategy with business goals, developing leaders and driving significant, sustainable organizational improvements. She is a transformative leader who brings together complex, growing healthcare systems through strategic partnerships. Her extensive experience includes designing, creating, building and implementing high-functioning, consistent, centralized, agile human resources services and teams. Wright leverages best practices and standardizations to deliver best-in-class solutions, positioning organizations to create incredible employee experiences, lead the market as a best place to work and realize sustainable growth with financial excellence.</p><p>Wright previously held executive human resources leadership roles with LCMC (Louisiana Children's Medical Center) Health, CHRISTUS Health, UPMC (University of Pittsburgh Medical Center) and CommonSpirit Health’s Catholic Health Initiatives Texas Division. Her expertise is further strengthened by her background as an attorney, where she received numerous accolades for her work as a litigator and defense attorney.</p><p>As a passionate advocate for inclusion and belonging, Wright is focused on removing artificial barriers to success and building a sustainable pipeline of healthcare leaders reflective of the communities served. Her legal and HR background equips her with a unique perspective enabling her to foster highly reliable organizations for patient outcomes, employee experience and community impact.</p><p>Wright earned her undergraduate degree in behavioral science from Concordia University Texas, an MBA from West Texas A&amp;M and a Juris Doctor from St. Mary’s University School of Law. She is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives and holds the Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) certification.</p>

<p>Gary Yates is a former partner with Press Ganey Strategic Consulting and the founding president of Healthcare Performance Improvement (HPI) LLC. Prior to that, he was senior vice president/CMO for Sentara Healthcare, where his responsibilities included the clinical effectiveness, patient safety, physician integration and medical management initiatives for Sentara’s integrated health system. He is a board-certified family physician and currently serves on the Board of Stewardship Trustees for CommonSpirit Health.</p>

<div>Leslie Zun is medical director, Lake County Health Department, Waukegan, Ill. He is also chairman/professor, department of emergency medicine, with a secondary appointment in the department of psychiatry, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science's Chicago Medical School, North Chicago, Ill. He is chief editor of the textbook Behavioral Emergencies for Healthcare Providers and course director for the past nine years for the American Association for Emergency Psychiatry's Annual National Update on Behavioral Emergencies conference. Prior to his current role, Dr. Zun was past president of the AAEP and a board member of the American Academy of Emergency Medicine. He has also presented his research and lectured on behavioral emergency topics both nationally and internationally.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>Dr. Zun serves as faculty for the following ACHE seminars:</div><div><ul><li>Behavioral Health Challenges, Strategies and Solutions: The Business Case for Meeting Community Needs&nbsp;</li></ul></div>