CHIME23 Speakers Page

Cortnie Abercrombie is a top advisor to Fortune 500 companies on Artificial Intelligence Strategy, Development, Operating Models and Building Trustworthy AI Cultures. She is also Founder and CEO of AI Truth, a non-profit dedicated to responsible creation and use of AI. Prior to that she led a Shark Tank style AI solutions incubator at IBM and created one of the world’s largest Chief Data and Analytics Officer communities. She was announced as one of “12 Brilliant Women in Artificial Intelligence & Ethics to Watch”, and “Top 100 Innovator in Data and Analytics”. She’s a founding member of the editorial board of Springer Nature’s AI and Ethics Journal as well as board member of the University of North Texas College of Information. She’s author of the newly released book, “What You Don’t Know: AI’s Unseen Influence on Your Life and How to Take Back Control”.

Dr. Sameer Badlani is a healthcare and digital thought leader leveraging his experience as a clinician and technology executive to transform the delivery and consumer experience in healthcare and wellness.

His focus is on operational and digital transformation by deploying innovation at scale, maximizing technologies, and process improvement to generate both business and clinical outcomes. He is passionate about learning, developing leaders, and advocating for the organization’s diversity and inclusion commitments.

In his current role at M Health Fairview as the Chief Digital Officer and Executive Vice President of Technology Services, Dr. Badlani focuses on designing and deploying the modern digital strategy to transform healthcare delivery into more consumer-focused, safe and high-quality clinical care. He believes that succeeding with the digital transformation scale is a function of striking a balance between consumer experience, operational efficiency, innovation, and integration.

In addition to leading the digital transformational initiatives, he is responsible for core information technologies, cybersecurity, data & analytics, informatics, marketing, and experience design functions.

Deepthi Bathina is founder and CEO of RhythmX AI, a new health AI company driving a paradigm shift in whole-person primary care. The innovative Rhythm AI-powered platform is helping physicians pioneer a new era of hyper-personalized patient care. RhythmX AI is owned by the private equity firm SAIGroup (Symphony AI and Concert AI), one of the largest and fastest-growing Silicon Valley firms focused on enterprise AI. 

Bathina is chair of the board of the Kerry Murphy Healey Center for Health Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Babson College. She is the former chief product officer at Humana, a Fortune 50 healthcare firm, where she led product development and management of all healthcare solutions for the entire company and led customer success functions across Medicare, Medicaid, and commercial segments. Before Humana, Bathina was general manager of operations for the $1 billion Healthcare Technology Division of Nuance Communications. She is the former head of global operations for the clinical decision support division (UpToDate) at Wolters Kluwer, leading global customer operations in 170 countries.

As the CRO of Hyro, Michael is committed to transforming patient care through exceptional digital experiences using the power of Conversational AI.  

With a track record of over a decade in building and scaling customer-focused global operations for B2B startups, Michael brings invaluable expertise to the intersection of healthcare, technology, and innovation. Former IDF Intelligence Officer Michael holds a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science.  

Shawn is an experienced Leader with a demonstrated history of working in the information technology and healthcare services industry.  He has several years of experience in service operations and sales management with a proven track record of actualizing organizational performance improvement goal by providing a hands-on management style through interactions with my team, internal management, and customers.  Shawn is an astute Sales and Operations leader focused on supporting cross-functional teams to increase customer satisfaction through process improvements.   

Dr. Ryan Cameron serves as the VP of IT and Innovation for Children’s Hospital and Medical Center. Ryan has been honored by the AIM Institute as Innovator of the Year for two consecutive years (2021 & 2022). He is the founder of Bright Foundry, LLC Children’s innovative start-up incubator. Previously he worked for Ivy.ai, creating the “Campus Clear” COVID-19 tracking application and helped advance the company to the rank of #168th in Inc. Magazine’s 5,000 fastest-growing companies. Ryan also founded Creighton University’s Idea Hub a research studio focused on creating positive social change using technology. He is a graduate of the American College of Education and is the author of two books.

Anthony Chang, MD, MBA, MPH, MS is a pediatric cardiologist and Medical Director of the Heart Failure Program at Children’s Hospital of Orange County.  Dr. Chang serves as Chief Intelligence and Innovation Officer of The Medical Intelligence and Innovation Institute (MI3) that is supported by the Sharon Disney Lund Foundation. The institute is dedicated to implement data science and artificial intelligence in medicine and is the first institute of its kind in a hospital. Dr. Chang completed his Masters of Science (MS) in Data Science with a sub-specialization in artificial intelligence from Stanford School of Medicine and has completed a certification on artificial intelligence from MIT. Dr. Chang has a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) in Health Care Administration from the University of Miami School of Business and a Masters in Public Health (MPH) in Health Care Policy from the Jonathan Fielding School of Public Health of the University of California, Los Angeles

Dr. Chang is the founder of the Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care Society (PCICS) and the founder of the Asia-Pacific Pediatric Cardiac Society (APPCS).  He started a pediatric innovation leadership group whose bi-annual symposium Pediatrics2040: Emerging Trends and Future Innovations became a catalyst for the international Society for Pediatric Innovation (iSPI).  Each summer, the MI3 Summer Internship Program, founded by Dr. Chang, mentors close to 100 young physicians-to-be.  He recently completed a book project with Elsevier: Intelligence-Based Medicine. He is the founder and organizing chair of several Artificial Intelligence in Medicine (AI Med) meetings in the U.S. and abroad (Europe and Asia) that will focus on artificial intelligence in healthcare and medicine (www.ai-med.io).

Dr. Zafar Chaudry has been Chief Digital & Information Officer and Senior Vice-President of Seattle Children’s Hospital since November 06, 2017. Through his role, he provides vision and leadership for the development of technology initiatives and enterprise-wide information systems and services for Seattle Children’s. His goal is to enable clinicians with the best technology to deliver safe and excellent care to our patients. 

Dr. Chaudry was nominated as a new member of the global elite list Constellation’s Business Transformation 150 (BT150) 2020; that recognizes the top global executives leading business transformation efforts in their organizations. Dr. Chaudry was named to the Seattle Orbie Finalists List (2020, 2021, 2022), Becker’s Hospital Review’s 100 Hospital CIOs to Know (2018, 2019, 2020, 2021), CIO magazine’s list of U.K. CIO’s to follow on Twitter (2019) and Becker’s Hospital Review (USA) 105 Hospital and Health System CIOs to Know (2018). He was also named to the CIO.CO.UK’s Top 100 list of the most transformative CIOs in the U.K. (2017) and Government Computing’s top 100 influential technology leaders in the U.K. public sector (2010). 

Dr. Chaudry, who began his career as a physician, has more than 35 years of experience in all aspects of information technology. His background includes work in both healthcare and corporate settings in the U.S., Australia, Middle East, Western Europe and the U.K., in enterprise infrastructure development; business intelligence; unified telecommunications; and implementation of health care information and electronic medical record systems. He previously served as Chief Information Officer at Cambridge University Hospitals in the United Kingdom. Prior to Cambridge University Hospitals, he served as Global Research Director at Gartner. He also served as Chief Information Officer at the Liverpool Women’s and Alder Hey Children’s Hospitals in the U.K.; Consulting Editor for Hospital Information Technology Europe Magazine; Information Technology Strategist for the Vision4Children Pediatric Charity in the U.K. and Teaching Faculty at the City Colleges of Chicago. 

Dr. Chaudry earned his Doctor of Medicine degree from Ross University. He subsequently earned his Master of Science degree in health care policy and management from the University of Birmingham. He also holds a Master of Science degree in information systems management from the University of Salford and his Master of Business Administration from Aston University, all in the U.K. 

Terri Couts is a driven Senior Leader and Informatics subject matter expert particularly in the EHR realm. She is a nurse by training and served in the capacity pediatric neonatal and open-heart nurse prior to 2007. She is board certified through ANA in nursing informatics and has her Masters in Healthcare Administration. She is also recognized by CHIME as a CHCIO and has completed the CHIME Informatics Boot Camp. She has almost two decades of nursing practice experience and has provided the capacity to translate both nursing and physician requirements in today’s “one-patient one record” strategic platform. Her strength lies in the ability to liaise between clinical/hospital personnel and informatics personnel to drive requirements to fruition within the complex healthcare environment.  

Terri serves as the Chief Digital Information Officer for The Guthrie Clinic, which is an integrated health system that services the rural populations of NY and PA. She has oversight of the Innovation Pillar of the strategic plan and is leading care model redesign enabled through technology. She has recently achieved success at Guthrie with STARS 10 status for the third year which puts The Guthrie Clinic in the top 4% of Epic customers in the world. Her primary mission is to bring the joy back into medicine through care enabled by technology.  

Damian has woven together a 23+ year career implementing, consulting on, analyzing, marketing, demonstrating, selling, and successfully delivering information technology into the healthcare industry. He has assisted hundreds of hospitals and healthcare organizations with successfully adopting various technologies from EHRs to strong, safe, secure foundations in cloud solutions (including infrastructure/storage/processing/AI/ML/NLP) and everything in between.

Throughout his career, Damian has served in various capacities spanning leadership, solutions implementation consulting, project management, change management, marketing, sales, business development, product development, and client relations in pioneering companies such as MEDITECH, Cornerstone OnDemand, Medisolv, and currently acts as Head of Business Development and Healthcare Sales at Healthcare Triangle, a firm dedicated to helping healthcare organizations quickly and safely realize the return on investments in their EHR/HIT and Cloud Solutions.  Damian’s ability to fuse technology and healthcare effectively and appropriately along with his commitment to helping clients attain their desired outcomes, fostering meaningful connections, and pairing real solutions with needs has led to increased client performance, client satisfaction, and market share.  Damian believes that knowledge and solutions need to co-exist with the understanding that every client and scenario is unique. Each project plan requires fine-tuning for that particular client, for that specific scenario in order for change to truly take and be the best fit – after all, one size fits……….well, only one for certain.

Damian, a Bostonian at heart, born New Yorker, resides in “the weirdest house” in Lincoln, Nebraska, with his amazing wife, three children, dog, and cat. Beyond his professional achievements, he continues to enrich his life through coaching hockey and his involvement in the music scene as a performer and producer. Join him on a Zoom or Teams Meeting and you’ll get to see his “museum” of retired mobile phones and albums that he’s performed on in the background behind him. His holistic approach to life and his commitment to and hunger for continual growth underscore his dedication to both personal and professional success.

Zachary Durst (he/him) is a consultant in WittKieffer’s Information Technology Practice. He dedicates his search practice and work to identifying exceptional leaders in digital, information security, biomedical informatics and data analytics, with an emphasis on serving healthcare and higher education institutions. He routinely leads searches in pursuit of CIOs, CISOs, chief digital officers, chief medical informatics officers and other key executive roles. Zachary applies a deep understanding of how to bring forward transformational leaders into academic medical centers, health systems, universities and private equity organizations. Since joining WittKieffer in 2013, Zachary has led and supported searches for more than 180 clients across the U.S. 

Dr. Alistair Erskine took over as CIO/CDO at Emory on March 27, 2023. He was previously Chief Digital Health officer of Somerville, Massachusetts-based Mass General Brigham. Dr. Erskine has also served as CIO of Danville, Pennsylvania-based Geisinger, Division Chief of Medical Informatics at Sidra Medicine in Doha, Qatar, and Chief of Clinical Informatics at Richmond, Virginia-based VCU Health. 

He is responsible for the digital transformation of the Emory organization, using a platform-based and experience-led portfolio.  He oversees a team of 550+ staff who are enhancing the patient, care team, research experience, and the organization’s financial health through the appropriate sequencing of ultra-modern technologies.  Whether predictive, conversational, or generative AI, the team specializes in the application of novel technology into clinical and administrative workflows. 

Dr. Erskine earned his MD from the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine and completed his residency in internal medicine and pediatrics at Brown University. He also holds an MBA from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 

Coming soon.

Trish has over 30 years in Healthcare which includes direct patient care experience in NICU, ED and Pediatric Transplant. She has spent the last 22 years in Quality and Healthcare IT combining her love for workflow, data/analytics and process reengineering. She was part of a transformational team in 2004 and opened the 2nd all Digital Hospital in the US and one of the first full CPOE sites in the country. She has had the opportunity to stand up numerous new Informatics departments in the early days when Nursing and Clinical Informatics was a new concept in the healthcare industry and finding its place in the industry. Prior to her current role as CNIO, Trish was part of an Healthcare Innovation Studio (during Covid) working with Human Centered Design experts to study why adoption of the EHR’s was still so difficult after 20+ years and working with our operational leaders to study how to effectively deliver care more efficiently and reduce burnout. She also led the strategy to standardize and reduce nursing documentation across a health system’s diverse EHR ecosystem. Trish is passionate about the “Clinical Experience” and balancing the right technology with the right workflow in order to alleviate the burden of technology on our clinical care providers. 

Nicholas J. Giannas is a principal with the executive search and advisory firm WittKieffer. He dedicates his practice to identifying outstanding leaders for traditional and emerging information technology roles in healthcare and higher education. This includes the recruitment of CIOs, CTOs, CISOs, digital and analytics leaders. A principal with over 15 years of experience at WittKieffer, Nick has developed long, trusting relationships with candidates and clients, and they appreciate his keen eye for detail, personalized approach and steady counsel in guiding them through the entire search process. Nick has great depth of understanding of the field and recognizes the critical need for strong IT leadership in the rapidly changing healthcare and higher education landscapes. 

Chero Goswami is a Vice President, System & Chief Information and Digital Officer at UW Health based in Madison, Wisconsin. In his role, he serves a talented team of technology professionals and provides strategic direction and leadership for IT and Informatics in alignment with the mission and goals of UW Health. Chero brings a depth of experience and a successful track record of leading and deploying strategic initiatives in healthcare and other industries. 

Carter is the Founder and the Chief Executive Officer of First Health Advisory, a global risk assurance consulting firm focused on the healthcare sector. He brings 27 years of health cybersecurity, digital transformation, and strategic advisory experience to advocate for the industry at large and the company’s client base.

As CEO, Carter draws upon his healthcare provider, consulting, and vendor background to benefit First Health’s commercial and government clients. Carter began his career in at Adventist Health System, implementing and optimizing various Electronic Health Records. Through that time and into his consultative career, he became more involved in systems integration, enterprise interoperability, and strategic planning at numerous healthcare organizations around the United States, leading to the founding of First Health 18 years ago.

First Health is a preeminent advisor and managed security services provider to healthcare entities as care delivery requires ever more rigorous risk assurance at every stage of design, integration, and support. Leveraging the company’s holistic understanding of healthcare operations, workflow, policy and security, First Health delivers a unique, multidisciplinary approach to managed security that addresses risk throughout the enterprise.

Carter is a current CHIME Board of Trustees Member, current Health Sector Coordinating Council Member, former AEHIS Board Member (2016-2019), former Children’s Eye Foundation Board Member (2012-2016), HIMSS Risk Assessment Work Group Member, former CHIME Membership Committee Member and an education partner of the SANS Institute.

Carter and First Health are deeply committed to cyber health policy and advocacy work that will improve the resilience of critical infrastructure healthcare, improving patient safety and national security. Carter’s unique position in Washington has made him a key individual in the move towards prioritized cyber practices and the congressional ask for incentives to adopt the practices.

Carter holds a BS from the University of Arizona (Health Science) and an MBA from Johns Hopkins University. Certified Healthcare Information Security Leader (CHISL) and Certified Digital Health Executive (CDH-E). Living in Washington, DC, he spends his free time with his wife Karen and 11-year-old daughter, Hannah. He is an avid runner and swimmer.

Melissa Hall, RN, BSN, MSN, FNP is the Chief Nursing Officer at Calvert Health System in Prince Frederick, Maryland.  Melissa worked as a nurse and nurse practitioner for more than 10 years before moving into an IT role.  Due to her nursing and IT experience, Melissa brings a unique clinical perspective to her team that has allowed the organization to expand and target their use of technology in the clinical realm.  Prior to her current role, she worked at Calvert Health as the CIO and supported the organization in achieving the operational and strategic goals for the Information Services department.  As the CIO at Calvert Health, she implemented numerous cybersecurity processes to assist the organization in their goal of delivering high quality and secure patient care. Recently, she moved back to the Nursing world as the Chief Nursing Officer.  Melissa belongs to several IT and nursing organizations such as AANC, HIMSS, and serves on the MUSE Board.    

Jim Hyman is CEO of Ordr, bringing more than 20 years of experience building and managing world-class teams in enterprise software and Saas businesses with a specific expertise in cybersecurity. Prior to taking the helm as Ordr’s CEO, Jim was at Synack, the leader in crowdsourced security testing as their Chief Operating Officer. Jim has successfully driven revenue generation at high growth start-ups and mid-market companies through innovative go-to-market strategies. Previously, Jim was at Trusteer (acquired by IBM in 2013), Z-Scaler (IPO in 2018), and Ironport Systems (acquired by Cisco in 2007). Jim’s experience spans sales, alliances, M&A, finance, venture capital and operations working in the US and internationally. Jim received his B.A. from The University of Pennsylvania and his M.B.A. in finance from The University of Southern California.

Britney Klaetsch serves as a senior advisor with Impact Advisors, a nationally recognized healthcare management consulting and technology services firm. With 10 years of experience in health IT, Britney is a skilled strategist and has worked with leading academic and community health systems across the nation. She has dedicated the past several years to leading digital transformations that enable enterprise goals, build business agility, and create opportunities to incubate innovative digital solutions. Britney is particularly passionate about solutions that enhance access, experience, and competitive market positioning as the healthcare industry evolves. 

Tony Lakin is the Vice President and Institutional Chief Information Security Officer at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. As principal cybersecurity advisor, he oversees the administration of the cybersecurity strategy for the Health System, Academic Affairs and Clinical Research.

He has over 30 years of cybersecurity leadership, strategy, engineering, and regulatory compliance experience. He is a retired United States Air Force Cyberwarfare Officer and honorably served 23 years on active duty in multiple roles culminating as the Director of Operations for the United States Air Force’s premier Cyberwarfare Squadron based at Fort Meade, Maryland. During his time at Fort Meade, he directed cyber operations in support of national strategic objectives, the Federal Bureau of Investigations, and the Central Intelligence Agency.

Prior to joining the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Tony served as the Chief Information Security Officer for the Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, FL. Moffitt Cancer Center is Florida’s only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center and one of only 30 leading cancer centers in the U.S. participating in the National Comprehensive Cancer Network. Tony also served as Chief Information Security Officer at Children’s Hospital of California, Orange CA, and Maricopa Integrated Health System, now providing exceptional health care as Valleywise Health, Phoenix, AZ.

He has a Master of Science in Information Technology and a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science. In addition, he holds the following certifications in good standing: Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), Certified Healthcare Information Security Leaders (CHISL), Certified Data Privacy Solutions Engineer (CDPSE) and the GIAC Security Essentials Certification (GSEC).

Robert “Bob” Latz, PT, DPT, CHCIO is a member of the CHIME Policy Steering Committee, a Board Member of ADVION (formerly NASL/the National Association for the Support of Long-Term Care), and a member of the American Physical Therapy (APTA) PAC Workgroup. He is a member of the LTPAC HIT Collaborative and the LTPAC CIO Consortium. He is currently the HIMSS LTPAC Committee Chair and recently completed two terms as a Board Member of the American Physical Therapy Association Academy of Leadership and Innovation. Within CHIME, Dr. Latz has assisted with the Most Wired Survey, the CHCIO Content review and writing, and during meetings with CMS and the ONC.  In 2021, he received the CHIME Federal Public Policy Award. Dr. Latz is the Chief Information Officer for Trinity Rehabilitation Services, which improves human function by providing contracted therapy services in Post-Acute Care (PAC) settings. In these roles and others, Dr. Latz is on a quest to further integrate technology in healthcare to improve health and wellness in our world. 

Donald Levick, MD, MBA, CPE, FHIMSS is a practicing Pediatrician and the former Chief Medical Information Officer at Lehigh Valley Health Network (LVHN). He has worked in Clinical Informatics since 2000 and has worked on numerous healthcare information technology projects. He was one of the executive clinical leaders for the implementation of Epic at LVHN. He was Chair of the Network Data Governance Committee and was the initial lead for the Enterprise Analytics Group, the network resource for reports and analytics. He is the Past-President of the Medical Staff of LVHN.

Dr. Levick holds a BA from LaSalle University; received his MD from the Medical College of Pennsylvania (now Drexel College of Medicine), and did his pediatric training at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children. He received his MBA from the University of Phoenix. He is board certified in Pediatrics and was in the first cohort to be board certified in Clinical Informatics. Dr. Levick received his CPE (Certified Physician Executive) through the American Association for Physician Leadership.

Dr. Levick is a HIMSS Fellow and served on the Board of Delaware Valley HIMSS from 2005 to 2014. He is the past-Chair of the Mid-Atlantic Chapter of The American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA).

He was the Principal Investigator for a $1.2M AHRQ grant studying the outcomes of the implementation of a perinatal continuum of care information system, and is a co-author of the 2012 HIMSS publication and HIMSS Book of the Year, “Improving Outcomes with Clinical Decision Support, An Implementer’s Guide.” He has been published in peer-reviewed journals and has spoken regionally and nationally on clinical decision support, large-scale change, data governance, and emerging technology.

Dr. Levick helped start the Eastern Pennsylvania Down Syndrome Center in 1999 and continues to volunteer there on a weekly basis. He serves as the Center’s Medical Director.

He has been married for 38 years and his wife is a practicing pediatrician. They have three children, all of whom are out of the house and off the books.

Craig Limoli founded Wellsheet after working at IBM as a strategy consultant in their Watson Health division, where he led regional business development for their flagship care coordination product. After seeing the deficiencies in existing technologies in healthcare, Craig saw an opportunity to create a better experience for physicians. Since Craig left Wharton in 2016 to found Wellsheet, the company has raised 8 figures in venture capital funding, created a product proven to vastly accelerate physician workflow, and earned the business of some of the largest health systems in the country.

CT Lin MD is CMIO at UCHealth, a 12-hospital, 900-clinic system in the Rocky Mountain region. UCHealth has achieved HIMSS Stage 7 and CHIME’s Most Wired Level 10. His national awards include “Healthcare IT innovator” and “Electronic Physician of the Year.” He leads a team of 25 physician informaticians. Our mission: “We improve physician and team resilience and effectiveness by building extraordinary relationships and innovative tools.” 

Bio coming soon.

Anthony Mazzarelli, MD, JD, MBD, is a doctor, healthcare executive, lawyer, bioethicist and associate professor. He uses this unique background to engage audiences of all types, ranging from hospital leaders, health system boards, hospital staff, medical groups, physician leaders and nonmedical groups. His clinical, academic and leadership experiences shape all of his talks to make them informative as well as entertaining. He is a regular guest on multiple local and national media outlets and is a regular fill-in host on CBS radio, where his nonpartisan approach to current events has reached 38 states and Canada. Anthony is the author of two bestselling books, Compassionomics: The Revolutionary Evidence that Caring Makes a Difference and Wonder Drug: 7 Scientifically Proven Ways the Serving Others is the Best Medicine for Yourself.

Along with his responsibilities as an executive in a health system, Dr. Mazzarelli continues to practice emergency medicine at a Level 1 Academic Medical Center in Camden, New Jersey —an urban community previously known for its challenges with poverty and crime. This helps him remain close to the practice of medicine and how it impacts patients, staff and physicians.

Natalie graduated from the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) Nursing Program with her BSN in May of 2005 and accepted a position in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) at Children’s Hospital & Medical Center. In February of 2010 she joined the Pediatric/Neonatal Critical Care Transport Team and became trained as an ECMO Specialist as well as a member of the heart transplant team. With a passion for education, she transitioned to the Transport Outreach Coordinator position in November of 2014 and graduated with her MSN in December 2016. While in this role, she closely worked with the Trauma Outreach Coordinator, Tiffany Simon, to co-develop a program titled, Project Austin. This program fosters continuity of care for children with medical complexity by collaborating with Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and hospital emergency departments (ED) to build community awareness, provide education, and devise an emergency system surrounding the child 

As both professional and personal experiences with children with medical complexity, it is her passion to provide education to improve patient outcomes in this vulnerable patient population. 

Theresa Meadows is an accomplished professional serving as the current CIO for Cook Children’s Health Care System, an esteemed integrated pediatric healthcare system headquartered in Fort Worth, TX. With her exemplary leadership, she oversees a dedicated team of 200 members specializing in infrastructure, applications, telecommunications, and program management. Under her guidance, the Information Services team actively supports 140 project initiatives, ranging from the implementation of cutting-edge business intelligence solutions to advanced clinical systems and enterprise resource management.

Jennifer Moss is an award-winning writer, international speaker, and workplace culture strategist with clients ranging from startups to Fortune 500 companies. Her most recent book, The Burnout Epidemic, was named 10 Best New Management Books for 2022 by Thinkers50 and shortlisted for the 2021 Outstanding Works of Literature Award.

Jennifer is a nationally syndicated radio columnist and freelance journalist. She writes for Harvard Business Review and her work has appeared in CNN, TIME, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post.

Deb Muro is the Chief Information Officer for El Camino Hospital. She joined the hospital in 2014 and during her tenure led the installation and implementation of the hospital’s EPIC electronic health record system. With more than 25 years of combined nursing, clinical, healthcare and technology experience, Deb has held various healthcare IT management positions focused on the delivery of technology solutions and best practices. Prior to joining El Camino Hospital, she served in executive level positions for Unity Point Health and Allina Health System and led large enterprise-wide technology implementations involving multiple acute care hospitals, outpatient/ambulatory clinics and critical access rural hospitals. As CIO, her responsibilities include management and oversight of technology strategy and the Information Services Division. Deb received a bachelor’s degree in nursing from Baylor University and a Master’s in Human Relations and Business from Amber University. In 2012, Deb was nominated as a Finalist for the Iowa Technology Association “Women of Innovation” Award.

Mr. Niles has 21 years’ experience in the healthcare technology management with extensive experience in EHR builds and implementation. Areas of support have included physician support and training, facilities management, and financial support.  

He as served as the project manager of several EHR implementations as well as third party interfaces and integrations. Mr. Niles has most recently acted as the Executive Director of I.T. over a large team of infrastructure and applications support resources.  

His goal is to build strong relationships by partnering with others to find creative solutions to business problems.     

Nassar Nizami has joined Thomas Jefferson University and Jefferson Health as the organization’s Chief Information Officer. He comes to Jefferson with broad experience in systems integration resulting from recent mergers of large academic medical centers and his operational expertise in instituting successful IT governance and structure programs. 

Prior to his appointment at Jefferson, Nizami was Vice President for Information Technology at New York-Presbyterian Hospital; before that, he served in several senior IT roles at Yale New Haven Health System. He was instrumental at both institutions as he managed the systems integration and alignment of technology needs resulting from mergers with partner organizations. 

As a key member of Jefferson’s leadership team, Nizami is responsible for leveraging technology across the enterprise. Some of his work has included aligning IS&T resources to priority initiatives identified in operational integration work plans that have been developed through Jefferson’s relationship with GE Healthcare; designing and implementing work plans to migrate partner organizations to the Epic platform; and initiating an IS&T strategic planning process to prioritize the enterprise’s technology needs and align them with Jefferson’s integrated strategic and financial planning process. 

Nizami is certified in current IT and management practices and has obtained several master’s degrees in computer and management engineering. He earned his MBA from Columbia University in 2017. 

Diana Nole joined Nuance in June 2020 as the executive vice president and general manager of Nuance’s Healthcare division, improving the overall physician-patient experience through cutting-edge AI technology applications. She manages all business operations, growth and innovation strategy, product development, and partner and customer relationships. During her career, Diana has held numerous executive and leadership roles, including CEO of Wolter Kluwers’ Healthcare division.

Mitesh S. Patel, MD, MBA is a physician executive at the forefront of leading innovative strategic initiatives with multidisciplinary teams to transform health and health care. He is the world’s leading expert on using behavioral nudges to improve clinical care and population health. He has managed 50+ person teams that pioneered the use of new technologies such as digital health devices, EHR apps, predictive analytics, and texting chatbots to rapidly improve outcomes while reducing costs. He has implemented 100+ programs that improved operations and outcomes at complex organizations in the health care, insurance, biopharma and technology industries. 

Ganesh Persad is a highly accomplished and visionary healthcare IT leader with an exceptional track record of over a decade in the industry. Renowned for his unwavering commitment to advancing healthcare technology and transforming patient care, Ganesh has consistently made remarkable contributions to the field. 

In his current role as the Director of IT Clinical Systems at Memorial Healthcare System, Ganesh’s influence extends across the organization as he spearheads strategic planning, implementation, and maintenance of a wide range of clinical information systems. His expertise and foresight play a pivotal role in optimizing the use of technology to revolutionize healthcare delivery and drive digital innovation. 

Ganesh’s exceptional leadership abilities and technical acumen have been instrumental in propelling the organization’s digital transformation initiatives to new heights. Through close collaboration with multidisciplinary teams comprising clinicians, administrators, and IT professionals, he ensures seamless integration and interoperability of clinical systems, resulting in streamlined workflows and enhanced patient outcomes. 

As a forward-thinking professional, Ganesh maintains a comprehensive understanding of emerging trends and breakthroughs in healthcare technology. Leveraging his vast knowledge and experience, he identifies opportunities for process improvement and advocates for the adoption of cutting-edge solutions. His strategic vision and ability to align technology with clinical workflows have yielded remarkable improvements in patient outcomes, operational efficiency, and consumer experience. 

Ganesh’s educational background further strengthens his expertise. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in Health Information Management from Rutgers University and went on to complete a Master of Science in Biomedical Informatics from Nova Southeastern University, graduating with High Honors. His remarkable achievements and exceptional qualities of scholarship, leadership, integrity, humanity, and loyalty to the profession were recognized with the prestigious 2018 Chancellor’s Award for the Biomedical Informatics program. 

Ganesh Persad is an influential thought leader and change agent in the healthcare IT landscape, continuously pushing boundaries to shape the future of healthcare through innovative technology solutions. His unwavering commitment to improving patient care and driving digital transformation cements his position as a highly respected and sought-after professional in the field. 

Dr. Shafiq Rab – Global Healthcare Innovator and Digital Transformation Advocate, is the Chief Digital Officer and System Chief Information Officer for Tufts Medicine in Massachusetts. He is pioneering breakthrough data-driven technologies and championing ground-breaking ways of connecting consumers and caregivers across academic, community, home health and virtual to provide an unparalleled high-quality experience. 
 
Dr. Rab has pioneered and architected a healthcare ecosystem that uniquely connects the emerging fields of cloud computing, edge computing and interoperability driven by Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), consumer and caregiver feedback to enable the free flow of information so that the right person gets the right care at the right place at the right time with the right information and wisdom, securely, every time. 
 
He has led the way in building multi-lingual digital front doors for health systems and has used digital technology to analyze the impact of social determinants of health on individuals to provide better access to community resources such as shelter, transportation, food, clothing, and healthcare. 
 
Dr. Rab is a healthcare influencer and has innovated a contemporary digital healthcare economy. He is known for the modernization of the workforce through automation and has achieved dozens of novel healthcare industry firsts in transforming the patient and clinician experience including the build of the world’s-first Healthcare IT Ecosystem in the public cloud and several interoperability standards like Epic’s FHIR APIs, the development of CMS’s Blue Button 2.0 API and the Data at the Point of Care API (DPC). 

Innovative and Transformational in Defining and Driving the Future of Healthcare to a Digital Industry. CloudFirst, MobileFirst, and PatientFirst are just a few approaches within information services, data analytics, and system strategy guiding digital transformation, consumer capture, innovative products and services, and calculated risk investments with artificial intelligence and machine learning through a data-driven, evidence-based approach. As a leader in the industry, I have advocated on Capitol Hill and discussed the future with legislative and executive branch leaders to create standards and new norms for health information technology.

Named the 2015 John E. Gall, Jr. CIO of the Year by the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives and HIMSS as a national leader for our consumer approach, digital transformation, analytics and leading position in innovation. Learning and collaborating across industries, was named the 2017 Leadership Award for CharlotteCIO. Under my leadership, Carolinas HealthCare System has earned the “Most Wired” designation for 14 consecutive years and in 2016 and 2017, received the “Most Wired Advanced” distinction.

I am a Fellow with the American College of Healthcare Executives and the Healthcare Information Management Systems Society; Chairman of Premier Member Technology Improvement Committee; Board Member of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte Foundation, CareConnect, and Carolinas Shared Services. I hold a masters of business administration degree and a bachelor’s degree in system analysis.

Donna Roach serves as the chief information officer for the University of Utah Hospitals and Clinics (UUHC). Previous to this, she was the vice president for information services at BJC HealthCare and Washington University Medical School and oversaw the Epic program for the 15 BJC Hospitals, the 700-physician medical group, in addition to the 2,200 physician member Washington University Medical School Faculty Practice Plan and affiliated practices. 

With more than 35 years’ experience in the health care industry, Roach has focused on health care information technology for the past 30 years. She was with Ascension Information Services, serving as the chief information officer in the St. Louis corporate office, the Gulf Coast, Kansas, Michigan, and New York markets. Prior to this, she held the CIO role at Bronson Health in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville, Illinois. 

Roach earned her Bachelor of Science degree, health administration, from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign and her Master of Science in health systems management from Rush University Medical College in Chicago. She completed her fellowship at the Veterans Administration, Chicago. 

Roach is a certified health care chief information officer, a fellow within the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives and Healthcare Information Management Systems Society and served on the board for the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives. Previously, she was the president of the Michigan Chapter of Healthcare Information Management Systems Society and chair for the Michigan Hospital Association Technology Board. 

She has taught at the University of Illinois – Circle Campus, Rush University Medical College, Department of Health Systems Management, and UCONN, Health Administration. 

Seasoned visionary leader with management and hands-on experience in Information Technology, Sales Engineering and Marketing. Strong background in the Healthcare, Media and Telecom Verticals. Able to provide strategic direction for C-level management concerning all technology projects. Proven ability to plan, staff and implement solutions.

Areas of Expertise

• Goal & Results Oriented

• Pre-Sales & Marketing Leadership

• Staff Management, Mentoring & Team Building

• Startup & Operations Management

• Training & Documentation

• Business Development & Partnerships

• Budgeting, Resource Planning & Cost Control

• Technical Architecture & Implementation

As the General Manager of Healthcare, Harsh Singh is responsible for leading the Genzeon healthcare practice. Prior to Genzeon, Harsh spent 20 years focused on improving efficiency with technology, and process and business model innovation in healthcare. He has been in leadership roles for Fortune 500 companies and SaaS startups, including Aetna, Anthem, and crankfrog. Harsh is dedicated to creating value for our healthcare clients, driving ROI through technology and process innovation.

Dr. Max Solano is a family medicine doctor and lead hospitalist in Jacksonville, Florida and is affiliated with Ascension St. Vincent’s Riverside Hospital.

Tressa Springmann has been Chief Information Officer for Lifebridge Health since 2012 also becoming its Chief Digital Officer in 2020. In addition she has had responsibility as Senior Vice President over HIM as well as the system’s Call Centers/Digital Care Center in Maryland, the Philippines and Israel. LifeBridge Health, a over $2.2B in revenue not for profit system, consists of Sinai Hospital, Northwest Hospital, Carroll Hospital, Grace Medical and Levindale Hebrew Geriatric Center and Hospital, and its subsidiaries and affiliated units, With nearly 13,000 employees and a vast physician network, LifeBridge Health provides patients with a continuum of care as a partner for lifelong health with various joint ventures in Assisted Living, Subacute, Retail Pharmacy, Urgent Care, Fitness Centers, etc. As one of the largest and most comprehensive providers of health-related services to the people of Maryland, LifeBridge Health has the technology, skills and expertise of an academic system with the warmth and personal attention of a community continuum of care.

Tressa is on the Board of CHIME, The College of Health Information Management Executives and Vice Chair of the Shared Services Committee and Chairman of the Technology Committee for CRISP, Maryland’s State Health Information Exchange (HIE), has led their national network committee and a member of the Premier Member Technology Committee (MTIC). She is proud of Lifebridge 2019 and 2020 ‘Most Wired’ status. Recent industry recognition includes Becker’s 2019 Top Women CIO, 2019 HIMSS Top Twenty, 2020, 2021, HIMSS 2020 Six Females to know in Healthcare IT and multiple years as Beckers Top 100 CIOs including 2022.

She is also currently on The Healthcare Management Program Advisory Board for Towson University and is an adjunct professor at Mount St Mary’s University previously teaching Healthcare Information Technology as part of their Masters in Healthcare Administration (MHA) program with similar work pending at her alma mater Johns Hopkins.

She is the Past President of Maryland HIMSS (MDHIMSS), is a certified professional in Health Information Systems Management (CPHIMSS) and has attained her certification as a Healthcare CIO. (CHCIO) and a CHIME Fellow. Tressa has served multiple years on the AHA ‘Most Wired’ Selection Committee, is/as been a question writer for both the CPHIMSS and CHCIO exams. In 2019, Tressa joined the CHIME Healthcare CIO Boot Camp™ Faculty. She holds her Masters from The Johns Hopkins University and her BA in Biology from St. Mary’s College of Maryland. In 2019 she completed her certificate in wine production from The Penn State University.

Prior to joining LifeBridge Health, Tressa Springmann served as Vice President and Chief Information Officer (CIO) for Greater Baltimore Medical Center (GBMC) of Towson, Maryland, which includes a 300 bed acute hospital, an employed and community physician organization and the region’s largest hospice provider. Ms. Springmann has also held information technology positions at Integrated Health Services (IHS), Georgetown University Hospital, Dimensions Healthcare System, CMC Occupational Health, Pharmacia Diagnostics, Electronic Data Systems (EDS) and The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.

Lisa Swiontek is a Digital Healthcare Executive currently serving as Chief Health Applications Officer for the University of Miami Health System. Previously, she was the Associate Vice President of Clinical Information Systems at Rush University Medical Center.

In March 2023, Swiontek was part of a team of IT and health information experts at UHealth who have won the prestigious CIO 100 Award, led by David Reis, Ph.D., VP of IT and CIO at UHealth. The Interdisciplinary team was recognized for adding Epic electronic medical record system capabilities to the Game Changer vehicles operated by Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center. Sylvester is part of UHealth and the Miller School of Medicine; the center launched the first Game Changer in 2018, providing a vehicle to travel into underserved communities to deliver cancer screenings and education. Game Changer vehicles connect patients to the UHealth EMR system, allowing them to access the patient portal, engage more in their health care, and communicate with their UHealth providers using their smartphones.

Swiontek received her education from Quinlan School of Business at Loyola University in Chicago, and Marquette University, as well as CHIME’s Healthcare CIO Boot Camp™.

Anil Thyagarajan is a Vice President with Impact Advisors, a nationally recognized healthcare management consulting firm. Anil leads Impact Advisors’ Digital Health practice and with over 17 years of technology and management consulting experience, he is a seasoned technology professional. His areas of expertise include digital transformation and information technology (IT) strategic planning, IT and digital org structure assessment and development, business case and cost model development, healthcare analytics and technology assessment, strategic roadmap development, and operational and technical knowledge of healthcare systems and processes. Anil holds a BS in Computer Science from National Institute of Tiruchirappalli, India and a MS from Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh.

Coming soon.

Khalid Turk is an experienced executive IT leader with an extensive background in the healthcare IT sector, spanning over two decades. Currently serving as the Chief Healthcare Information Technology Officer at Santa Clara County, Where he manages over 14,000 customers across three hospitals, more than 20 clinics, and both Behavioral and Public Health departments. With a strong emphasis on strategic, operational, and growth initiatives, Khalid has demonstrated consistent growth throughout his career, progressing from hands-on technical roles to assuming leadership positions in Information Technology divisions.

Throughout his journey, Khalid has had the privilege of constructing and directing highly efficient teams to successfully execute projects and initiatives of various scales. His portfolio encompasses a diverse range of accomplishments, including the implementation of Electronic Medical Record systems and the successful launch of new hospitals and clinics. Notably, Khalid has managed budgets ranging from $10 million to an impressive $250 million, demonstrating his proficiency in financial stewardship.

What truly distinguishes Khalid is his unique ability to comprehend both technology and the intricate workings of the healthcare business, including the complex web of laws and regulations. This comprehensive understanding enables him to devise and implement technology solutions that enhance operational efficiency while effectively curbing costs.

Khalid’s leadership style is widely recognized and appreciated by customers, peers, and team members alike. Known for his kindness, compassion, and ability to inspire, he fosters a collaborative environment and cultivates consensus among stakeholders. As a healthcare technology leader, Khalid consistently delivers outstanding results across all domains of a healthcare system, earning him a reputation for excellence in the industry.

With over 20 years’ experience in health information technology Aaron is currently serving as the Chief Information Officer at Concord Hospital Health System. Aaron specializes in leveraging technology as a business enabler in complex healthcare systems. Previously Aaron has held positions as the VP of Enterprise Analytics at Henry Ford Health System and CIO of Allegiance Health and has a Bachelors in Business Information Systems and an MBA from Cleary University, Ann Arbor, MI. Aaron enjoys golf and happy doctors!

Rusty Yeager has over 30 years of technology and cyber-security, digital transformation, governance, healthcare, regulatory compliance, merger and acquisition, military, turnaround, Medicare reimbursement, business continuity, and design and construction experience. He currently serves as Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer (CIO) at Encompass Health (formerly HealthSouth) and is also responsible for all the company’s design and construction (D&C) activities.

Rusty’s teams support all information/cyber security technology and all design and construction for Encompass Health. Encompass Health has annual revenues of ~$4.5 billion and is one of the nation’s largest providers of post-acute healthcare services, offering hospital-based post-acute services in 39 states and Puerto Rico through its network of inpatient rehabilitation hospitals. Rusty’s IT team supports 157 inpatient rehabilitation hospitals with enterprise budget of ~$100M, ~ 36,000 employees and through a transition services agreement, the team supports ~350 home health and hospice locations supporting ~ 12,000 employees. Rusty’s D&C team is accountable for the execution of all development related construction projects from initial concept through completion, maintenance capital expense programs, and plant operations with a portfolio budget of ~$600M. Projects include new development, new hospital construction and bed expansions, hospital refreshes, in addition to hospital maintenance.

Before and during his tenure with Encompass Health, he was a highly decorated career US Air Force (USAF) officer, serving as a CIO, Regional CIO, and CTO responsible for the USAF Health System’s IT worldwide operations as an active duty and reserve officer. He also served as a senior staff advisor to various levels of the DoD’s Military Health System on strategic matters related to IT policy, procedures, procurement, solutions, and a subject matter expert on cyber security.

Dee Young is currently the Chief Information Security Officer for UNC Health system. UNC Health is a not-for-profit integrated health care system and currently comprises UNC Hospitals and its provider network, the clinical programs of the UNC School of Medicine, and sixteen hospitals and twenty hospital campuses with over 1000+ physician clinics. Dee leads the UNC Health System Information Security teams responsible for cybersecurity, information and medical device security compliance, and cyber risk management efforts to secure and protect information important to UNC Health staff, patients and partners, while ensuring the overall cyber resiliency of the system.

Young’s twenty plus years in leadership positions within security and technology across healthcare, academia, and industry. Dee has held numerous technical certifications and currently is a Certified Information Security Management Professional (CISM) and has a Masters Degree in Organizational Management. She is on the board for AEHIS and also serves on national committees within cybersecurity and also the larger Healthcare sector.

Dee has been a frequent national speaker for topics including cyber incident response, AI and emerging technologies, leadership and mentoring, as well as medical device/IoT security.

She is an active hiker, backpacker and loves scuba diving. She spends free time with her family exploring North Carolina were they reside.

Bobby spearheads the healthcare management team at uPerform, helping health systems change the way software training is conducted with digital learning solutions. He is responsible for implementing strategies for health system onboarding, retention, and growth. He is a seasoned healthcare leader who brings over 10 years of extensive health IT training experience to the uPerform team.

Prior to uPerform, Bobby helped pioneer uPerform in the healthcare market at Infirmary Health. As the Manager of IT Training and Support, Bobby built and led the health system’s training program executing initiatives and optimization strategies, including the rollout and utilization of Epic to 10,000 users.

Bobby is a Certified Professional in Healthcare Information and Management (CPHIMS) and is a veteran of the United States Army.