Innovation Summit: Southeast

Dr. Haack first visited Emory in 2005 as a medical student and later completed her General Surgery Residency there. She joined Emory's faculty in 2011, focusing on Acute and Critical Care Surgery and the surgical management of infected pancreatic necrosis. Between 2014 and 2017, she participated in medical missions to Haiti and helped with relief efforts in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria. In 2015, she became a certified yoga instructor and started offering free yoga classes at Emory, now supported by a clinical endowment from the Rollins Foundation in honor of Henry B. Tippie. Since 2016, Dr. Haack has held various leadership roles at Emory, including Medical Director for Care Coordination and Chief Financial Informatics Officer.

Karen (K) Marhefka, DHA, is the Deputy Chief Information Officer at RWJ Barnabas Health (RWJBH) headquartered in West Orange, NJ. Dr. Marhefka is responsible for the information technology vision, strategy, and execution for the vast RWJBH Ambulatory domain. She leads the effort to advance information technology performance for 500+ provider practices and HOPD locations throughout the state of New Jersey with an intense focus on establishing a patient-centered digital health home while ensuring measurable improvements in overall care delivery, patient and provider experience, and furthering enhancements in quality, safety, access, and revenue capture.

Dr. Marhefka has over 35 years of progressive leadership experience in large healthcare organizations as both a health information technology officer and as an integrated delivery network operations executive. She is passionate about using her unique combination of healthcare operations and information technology skillsets to improve the patient and provider experience and in contributing to the advocacy and development of operations-empowered CIOs.

Khalid Turk is a distinguished Healthcare CIO and Digital Transformation leader with over 20 years of experience in leveraging emerging technologies, AI, and automation to drive clinical efficiency, operational excellence, and patient-centered innovation.

As the Chief Healthcare Information Officer (CHCIO) at Santa Clara County Health System, Khalid leads a team of 260+ IT professionals, overseeing technology operations across four hospitals, more than 30 ambulatory and specialty clinics, and behavioral & public health departments. His leadership has been instrumental in modernizing IT infrastructure, optimizing Epic EHR systems, and deploying AI-driven solutions that enhance provider experience and streamline operations—all while reducing costs and improving interoperability.

Beyond his CIO role, Khalid is a recognized thought leader, speaker, and author. His expertise in AI in healthcare, digital health, and IT governance has made him a sought-after voice at major industry forums, including CHIME, Becker’s Healthcare, and numerous other conferences. He is also the author of The Age of Inclusion: Leading Multigenerational Teams for Success.

In addition to transforming healthcare IT, Khalid is deeply committed to mentoring and executive coaching. As the Founder of ExecPresenceOnline, he empowers emerging leaders to build executive presence, strategic influence, and digital leadership in today’s rapidly evolving healthcare landscape.