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Speakers - Leadership Conference

		Joel Allison, FACHE, is president and chief executive officer of Baylor Health System in Dallas. Allison’s career includes almost three decades in health care management. He joined Baylor Health Care System in 1993, and served as Baylor’s senior executive vice president and chief operating officer before being promoted to president and CEO in 2000. Allison received a bachelor’s degree in journalism and religion at Baylor University in 1970 and attended Trinity University's health care administration program where he earned a master's degree in 1973. Nationally, he serves on the Healthcare Leadership Council and the National Quality Forum, and is a member of the United Surgical Partners, International board. In addition, he serves on numerous state and local boards including VHA Texas, Texas Association of Voluntary Hospitals, Greater Dallas Chamber, Dallas Citizens Council, Alliance for Higher Education and the Dallas Education Foundation.

		Thomas J. Babbo, J.D., is a partner and shareholder in Hogan Marren Ltd., in Chicago. With more than 10 years of experience in health care, Babbo has represented hospitals, physicians and other health care professionals in transactions, corporate matters, operations issues, litigation and government investigations. Before joining Hogan Marren Ltd., he was assistant general counsel for Advocate Health Care, and served as the legal counsel and corporate secretary for Advocate's managed care contracting joint venture, Advocate Health Partners. Previously, he was assistant general counsel for Rush University Medical Center. He holds a bachelor's from Loyola University in Chicago, and received his juris doctor degree from Loyola's School of Law.

		Barclay Berdan, FACHE, is senior executive vice president of system alignment and performance for Texas Health Resources, and is an industry veteran with more than 30 years of health care leadership experience. Berdan joined Texas Health in 1986 as vice president/administrator for Harris Methodist Southwest, overseeing the construction and opening of the hospital. He served as the chief operating officer of Texas Health Fort Worth from 1993-1999 and then served as its president from 1999-2007. He also served as executive vice president for Texas Health from 2005-2007. Before joining Texas Health Harris Methodist hospitals, Berdan worked for American Medical International for nine years and held several hospital leadership positions in Florida, Arkansas and Texas. Under his leadership, Texas Health Fort Worth received many prestigious honors and national recognitions. In addition, the campus developed and expanded to include a new neonatal ICU, expansions in Women's Services and the Emergency Department, a new Blood Bank, the Klabzuba Tower housing a comprehensive cancer center, the Ben Hogan Sports Therapy Institute, the Clearfork Surgery Center and physician offices, the David E. Bloxom Sr. Tower for critical care patients and more.

		Steve Berkowitz, M.D., has more than 25 years’ experience in health care management and consulting. He is the chief medical officer for St. David’s Healthcare, a five-hospital system in Austin, as well as the division chief medical officer, Central and West Texas Division, HCA. He has the overall responsibility of clinical outcomes improvement, physician development, strategic planning and medical management. He also is chairman of Capital Area Providers, a 5.01-(a) Texas medical foundation with more than 800 participating physicians. Previously, Berkowitz was national practice leader for physician services with the HayGroup. During this time he assisted more than 75 major health care clients throughout the U.S. and Canada in the areas of strategic development, physician integration, physician compensation/incentives and medical practice management. He has been a senior executive for Harris Methodist Health System serving as medical director of the HMO and chief medical officer for the integrated delivery system. He began his administrative career as medical/executive director for The Travelers in Phoenix.

		Richard Blakely, M.D., chief medical officer of Memorial Hermann Health Network Providers in Houston, is board certified in internal medicine and practiced general internal medicine for nearly 25 years before joining the Memorial Hermann Healthcare System in 1997 as a medical director. Currently, he is the lead physician for a group of more than 3,000 members practicing medicine in the greater Houston area. In that capacity, he works closely with others in MHHNP leadership roles to enhance the value of physician membership, and to collaborate with the Memorial Hermann System in improving quality and efficiency of care. He also is the physician lead for the current process of transforming MHHNP from a messenger model IPA into a clinically integrated organization, bringing independent physicians from its 11 Houston-area acute care hospitals together around quality measurement and reporting. He also serves on Memorial Hermann’s Corporate Compliance Committee and Medical Missions Committee. Blakely received his undergraduate degree at Rice University and his doctor of medicine degree at the Baylor University College of Medicine in Houston. He completed his internship at Ben Taub and Jefferson Davis hospitals, and his residency at The University of Texas Medical School at Houston.

		Patricia A. Young Brown is the president/chief executive officer of the Travis County Healthcare District. Previously, she served for five years as the chief executive officer of the City of Austin’s Community Care Services Department. In that role, she was responsible for the Austin/Travis County Community Health Centers (Federally Qualified Health Centers), City of Austin/Travis County Rural Medical Assistance Programs and the Austin Women’s Hospital. In addition, she served four years as president of the Integrated Care Collaboration, a regional collaboration of health care providers serving the uninsured and underinsured in Central Texas. Prior to her public service, Brown worked for Seton Family of Hospitals as chief operating officer of Seton Health Partners physician group, executive director of medical management resources and director of Seton Healthcare Network planning and development.

		Joan Shinkus Clark, RN, NEA-BC, CENP, FACHE, FAAN, is senior vice president and chief nurse executive, Texas Health Resources in Dallas. Clark joined THR in 2008, assuming overall responsibility for the nursing enterprise across the Texas Health Resources System. Previously, she was senior vice president of patient services and chief nursing officer at Washington Hospital Center in Washington, D.C. She also has served as vice president and chief nursing officer at Baptist Hospital of Miami. During her tenure there, Baptist Hospital twice received Magnet Nursing accreditation, one of the highest designations for superior nursing service at a hospital. Previously, she was nurse executive at Floyd Medical Center in Rome, Ga., and at Holmes Regional Medical Center in Melbourne, Fla. Her clinical nursing background is primarily in critical care. Clark’s academic experience arose from 16 years at Shands Hospital of the University of Florida, where she worked in a variety of capacities as a staff nurse and then manager, including information technology, strategic development, and performance improvement. She holds a bachelor’s in health care administration from St. Joseph’s College in Maine, a MSN from the University of Florida, and is a doctoral student at Texas Christian University. She is a graduate of the Johnson and Johnson Wharton Fellowship and is an ANCC Magnet Appraiser.

		Robert L. Dent, RN, FACHE, is vice president, nursing/chief nursing officer for Midland Memorial Hospital in Midland. In his 20-year career as a nurse, he has been a nursing assistant, licensed vocational nurse, registered nurse, licensed nursing home administrator and chief nursing officer for small and large organizations. He is a fellow with the American College of Healthcare Executives and is board certified as an advanced nurse executive. He is a member of the American Organization of Nurse Executives/Texas Organization of Nurse Executives, and the American Nurses Association/Texas Nurses Association. He holds an associate’s degree in applied sciences from South Plains Community College, a bachelor of science in nursing and a master’s in business administration/health care management from the University of Phoenix. He currently is completing his doctorate in nursing practice with Texas Tech University. Dent has been published in Nursing Leader magazine.

		Anne Dunkelberg joined the Center for Public Policy Priorities in Austin in 1994 and currently is its associate director. She is one of the state's leading experts in policy and budget issues relating to health care access. In 2007, she was named Consumer Advocate of the Year by Families USA in Washington, D.C. Before coming to the center, she served as program director for acute care in the Texas Medicaid Director's Office and spent six years with the Texas Research League, where she authored numerous reports on Texas health and human services issues and tracked state health and human services budget issues. She earned dual degrees from The University of Texas at Austin—a bachelor of arts (Plan II) magna cum laude in 1979 and a master of public affairs from the LBJ School of Public Affairs in 1988.

		Ronald J. Epps, D.V.M., is dean of workforce education for McLennan Community College in Waco. There, he is responsible for organization, direction and supervision of a variety or workforce programs for business, allied health, nursing, emergency services education division, human services and veterinary technology. He has been a division director, program director and workforce consultant for the college since 2001. Epps has served on Providence Healthcare Network’s Board of Trustees since 2006, and was a member of the Texas Healthcare Trustees Executive Board for 10 years. From 1992 to 2005, he was a board member for Harris Methodist HEB Hospital. Epps is a long-time active member of both the Texas and American Hospital Associations. He serves on THA’s Council on Policy Development and AHA’s Task Force on Variation in HealthCare Spending.

		Charles R. Evans, FACHE, is president of International Health Services Group in Alpharetta, Ga. He serves as the 2009-2010 chairman of the American College of Healthcare Executives, an international professional society of 30,000 health care executives who lead hospitals, health care systems and other health care organizations. Evans previously served as an ACHE governor from 2004-2007. He has been president and chief executive officer of IHSG since 2007, which he founded to support health services development in underserved areas of the world. He serves on numerous boards, including CSA Health System and MedShare International. In addition, he has served on state hospital association boards in Georgia, Tennessee and Florida. Evans also is clinical assistant professor of family and preventive medicine at Emory University School of Medicine and holds an appointment as an adjunct faculty member at West Virginia Wesleyan College. Before his current position, Evans served as president — Eastern Group of Nashville, Tenn.-based Hospital Corporation of America. Prior to joining HCA, he served in executive roles at Memorial Medical Center in Jacksonville, Fla., and Community Hospitals in Indianapolis. Evans received his MBA from Indiana University School of Business, a master’s from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, and his bachelor’s from West Virginia Wesleyan College.

		Felicia Gordon is vice president of performance improvement and clinical integration with Covenant Health System in Lubbock. There, she provides performance improvement strategic development and deployment using Lean methodology for the health system and an associated physician pay-for-performance corporation, Covenant Health Partners. Gordon is responsible for managing facilitators, developing leaders and improving processes leading to increased revenue and reduced cost and waste. She leads culture transformation activities for continuous daily improvement. Gordon’s operations experience includes quality management, risk management, case management, infection control, health information management, documentation management, clinical technology, clinical decision support, and surgical services.

		John Hawkins is senior vice president of advocacy and public policy at the Texas Hospital Association in Austin. He manages THA’s state advocacy efforts before the Legislature and regulatory agencies. Before joining THA, Hawkins served as a senior policy analyst for the Texas Sunset Advisory Commission where he managed the performance reviews of state agencies, including the Texas Department of Protective and Regulatory Services, the Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse, the Texas Department of Human Services and the Interagency Council on Early Childhood Intervention. Hawkins served as a legislative aide in the House of Representatives for two sessions and staffed the Joint Committee on Workers’ Compensation Insurance. He also was legislative liaison for the Texas Department of Information Resources for three sessions. In addition, Hawkins has served as executive director of the Texas Land & Mineral Owners Association. He holds a bachelor’s in government and master’s in public affairs from The University of Texas.

		George Hernandez Jr., J.D., is president/chief executive officer of University Health System, the hospital district for Bexar County. Previously, he was executive vice president/assistant administrator for five years and vice president for legal services for 10 years. Prior to joining University Health System in 1990, he served as chief of the civil section in the Bexar County District Attorney’s Office and started his career as an assistant city attorney for the City of San Antonio. He is a member of the “Code Red” Task Force on Access to Health Care in Texas; past chair of the Texas Association of Public and Nonprofit Hospitals; vice chair for the Daughters of Charity Services of San Antonio, a nonprofit medical and dental care community provider; board member of the Texas Hospital Association; and a board member for the United Way of San Antonio & Bexar County. His leadership has resulted in significant national recognition for University Health System, especially related to its successful implementation of an electronic medical record along with the integration of digital imaging and other key health technologies. University Health System was named a “100 Most Wired Hospital” in 2008. Also in 2008, Hernández joined University Health System’s chief information officer in accepting the national Transformational Leadership Award of the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives and the American Hospital Association. He earned a bachelor’s in political science from St. Mary’s University and a law degree from George Washington University School of Law in Washington, D.C.

		Rep. Donna Howard (D-Austin) holds a bachelor’s degree in nursing and a master’s in health education, both from The University of Texas. She worked as a critical care nurse at Brackenridge and Seton hospitals, was the first hospital-based patient education coordinator in Austin history, and helped start the Seton Good Health School. She has served as president of the Texas Nurses’ Association (District 5) and as a health education instructor at The University of Texas. Howard twice has been honored with the Texas Hospital Advocacy Tribute Award for her legislative work in support of health care. She serves on the House Higher Education Committee, House Administration Committee, and is vice chair of the House Culture, Recreation, and Tourism Committee.

		Adam L. Myers, M.D., CHQM, CPHRM, currently serves as vice president and chief medical officer at SouthCrest Medical Group in Tulsa. He is a member of the American Hospital Association Regional Policy Board 7, and a private practitioner. In addition he is a national medical advisor to Community Health Systems based in Nashville, where he serves as the chairman of the corporate Patient Safety Committee for the 120-hospital company. He graduated with honors from Louisiana State University Medical Center-Shreveport and completed his residency in family medicine and a fellowship in advanced obstetrics. He is board certified in family medicine and quality/patient safety, and is certified in risk management.

		Len Nichols, Ph.D., a highly respected health care economist, directs the health policy program at the New America Foundation in Washington, D.C. Before joining New America, Nichols was the vice president of the Center for Studying Health System Change, a principal research associate at the Urban Institute, and the senior advisor for health policy at the Office of Management and Budget during the Clinton reform efforts of 1993-94. He has testified frequently before Congress and state legislators and has been published widely in a variety of health-related journals. Previously, he was chair of the economics department at Wellesley College, where he taught for 10 years. He also served as a member of the Competitive Pricing Advisory Commission and the 2001 Technical Review Panel for the Medicare Trustees Reports. He was on the advisory panel to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Covering America project and has been a consultant to the World Bank, the InterAmerican Development Bank, and the Pan American Health Organization. Nichols received his Ph.D. in economics from the University of Illinois.

		Sen. Steve Ogden (R-Bryan) was elected to the Texas Senate in January 1997. He is a leader on budget issues, school finance, higher education funding, child protection, transportation safety and criminal justice. He is chairman of the Senate Finance Committee. Ogden has been in the oil and gas exploration business for more than 20 years and currently is president of Ogden Resources, an independent oil and gas company based in Bryan. He graduated from the United States Naval Academy and served nine years as an officer in the U.S. Navy submarine fleet. He received his MBA from Texas A&M University. Recognized as a leader in the Texas Senate, Ogden has received the Bob Bullock Award for Outstanding Public Stewardship. Following the 79th Legislative Session, he was named among the "Ten Best Legislators" by Texas Monthly magazine, a "Top Texas Legislator" by Capitol Inside, and Pro-Life Chairman of the Year by Texas Right to Life. He was again named among the "Ten Best Legislators" following the 80th Legislative Session, and "Legislator of the Year" by the Texas Public Employees Association in 2008. He has been honored by the Texas County and District Attorneys Association, The Texas A&M University System, and Sam Houston State University. Before his election to the Texas Senate, Ogden served three terms in the Texas House of Representatives.

		Texas Governor Rick Perry is a fifth generation Texan and Texas’ 47th governor, currently serving his second term. His political career started in 1985 as a representative for a rural West Texas district in the Texas House of Representatives. He was first elected to statewide office in 1990, and served as Texas Commissioner of Agriculture for two terms. A native of Paint Creek, a small farming community north of Abilene, Gov. Perry served in the U.S. Air Force where he flew C-130 tactical airlift aircraft in the U.S., Europe and the Middle East. He is a 1972 graduate of Texas A&M University where he was a member of the Corps of Cadets, a junior and senior yell leader and an animal science major.

		Thomas M. Priselac has been president and chief executive officer of the Cedars-Sinai Health System in Los Angeles since 1994. The Cedars-Sinai Health System is among the nation's leading providers of health care services, graduate and continuing medical education services and medical research. Priselac joined Cedars-Sinai in 1979 and served as its executive vice president since 1988. Prior to joining Cedars-Sinai, he was on the executive staff of Montefiore Hospital in Pittsburgh. He holds a master’s in public health from the University of Pittsburgh. Priselac is past chairman of the Association of American Medical Colleges and has served as chairman of the California Healthcare Association and the Healthcare Association of Southern California. Additionally, he served on the boards of the American Hospital Association, VHA Inc., National Committee for Quality Healthcare, California Healthcare Foundation and Blue Cross of California. He is an adjunct professor at the UCLA School of Public Health, and lectures extensively at professional meetings and universities on varied aspects of health care delivery and leadership.

		Nido Qubein is president of High Point University, High Point, N.C. He is chairman of an international consulting firm and recipient of the highest awards given for professional speakers including the Cavett (known as the Oscar of professional speaking), the Speakers Hall of Fame, the Horatio Alger Award for Distinguished Americans and The Order of the Long Leaf Pine (North Carolina’s highest civilian honor) and Sales and Marketing International's Ambassador of Free Enterprise. Toastmasters International named him the Top Business and Commerce Speaker and awarded him the Golden Gavel Medal. He served as president of the National Speakers Association which has a membership of 4,000 professionals and is the founder of the National Speakers Association Foundation where the highest award for philanthropy is named for him. Qubein’s business savvy led him to help start a bank in 1986 and today he serves on the board and executive committee of a Fortune 500 financial corporation with $155 billion in assets. He is also chairman of Great Harvest Bread Company with 218 stores in 42 states. He serves on the boards of several national organizations including the La-Z-Boy Corporation. He has written numerous books and recorded scores of audio and video learning programs.

		Elizabeth Sjoberg, RN, J.D., joined the Texas Hospital Association in 1995. She is an associate general counsel, whose responsibilities include advocating for member hospitals and health systems in the legislative and regulatory arenas, and informing members and the public about current topics in health law. Issue areas include nurse licensure and practice; reporting requirements; data collection; advance directives and end-of-life care; women’s and children’s issues; and public health promotion and wellness. She also is a member of Team Texas, working in coordination with the Office of the Governor to address nursing education capacity. Sjoberg received her law degree from St. Mary’s University School of Law, and her bachelor of science in nursing from The University of Texas School of Nursing at Austin. Prior to attending law school, she worked in both the hospital and clinic settings.

		Dan Stultz, M.D., FACP, FACHE, is president and chief executive officer of the Texas Hospital Association. He is a member of the American Hospital Association’s Regional Policy Board 7 and of the State Hospital Association Executives Forum. A member of the American College of Healthcare Executives, he earned designation as a Fellow in 2006. Stultz was president and CEO of Shannon Health System, a three-hospital health system associated with a multi-specialty clinic and legacy insurance company, in San Angelo, from 1999 until November 2006. He was a member of the THA Board of Trustees during that time, and served as THA chairman for 2004-05. A physician, Stultz practiced general medicine and specialized in treating arthritis in San Angelo for more than 25 years. Stultz received his bachelor’s degree from Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas. He attended medical school at The University of Texas Medical School in Houston, and completed his internship and residency at The University of Kentucky. While in San Angelo, Stultz was a member of the San Angelo Chamber of Commerce, serving as chairman in 2003. He also was a member of the San Angelo Rotary Club from 1984 through 2006. Stultz has been honored as a Distinguished Alumni by The University of Texas Medical School in Houston, and he received the “Pride in Professional” award from the American Medical Association.

		Thomas Suehs was appointed Texas health and human services executive commissioner on Sept. 1, 2009, by Gov. Rick Perry. As head of the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, Suehs provides leadership and strategic direction to the health and human services system in Texas. The executive commissioner oversees the operations of the five health and human services agencies, including more than 50,000 employees and combined annual budgets of $30 billion. Suehs served as deputy executive commissioner for financial services at HHSC from 2003 until his appointment as executive commissioner. His responsibilities included providing administrative leadership, oversight and direction for the financial management of the state’s five health and human services agencies. He also served as the deputy commissioner of the Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation. He is a former executive director of the Texas Health Care Association, past president of the American Society of State Health Care Executives and former special adviser to the Texas Indigent Health Care Task Force. Suehs has a master’s degree in business administration from The University of Texas and a bachelor’s degree from Texas State University.

		Fred Sutton, M.D., is medical director of quality with the Harris County Hospital District in Houston.

		Katherine A. Thomas, RN, has been executive director of the Texas Board of Nursing in Austin since 1995. Previously, she was its director of nursing practice, nursing consultant for advanced practice and education consultant. She holds a BSN from the University of Virginia; a pediatric nurse practitioner certificate from the U.S. Army, Fitzsimons Army Medical Center in Denver; and a master’s in nursing from the University of Kansas. Prior to joining the Board of Nursing, Thomas taught nursing as an instructor and assistant professor at the University of Kansas and The University of Texas at San Antonio, and practiced for 10 years as a PNP. Thomas is a member of the executive committee of the Compact Administrators. She served as the vice-chair of the Health Professions Council, a group of agencies which regulates health care professionals in Texas, and has been it chair since 2000. In 2002, the National Council of State Boards of Nursing awarded her its R. Louise McManus Award for significant contributions through the highest commitment and dedication and in 1999, she received the Meritorious Service Award for significant contributions to the purposes of NCSBN. She chaired the NCSBN Advanced Practice Registered Nurse Advisory Committee from 1995-2007 and currently is a director at large on the NCSBN Board of Directors.

		Kevin Warren is the senior vice president of operations for TMF Health Quality Institute, a position held since 2006. He is responsible for the implementation and oversight of private, local, state and federal contracts held by TMF, focused on select process and outcome measures in hospitals, physician offices, nursing homes and home health settings as well as review and compliance activities as part of federal, state and private review programs. A former nursing home administrator, Warren is a certified professional in health care quality. He received his master's in health service management from the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor in Belton. He belongs to several professional organizations including the National Association for Healthcare Quality and the American College of Healthcare Executives, where he is completing his final requirements to obtain Fellow status. He is a former consultant for the TMA Council on Scientific Affairs, and currently a senior examiner for the American Health Care Association National Quality Award and serves on the board for the Texas Association for Healthcare Quality.

		Starr West, CPHQ, has been the senior director of policy analysis for the Texas Hospital Association for the past eight years. She manages policy issues related to health care quality and patient safety, transparency and health information technology. With more than 20 years’ experience in health care quality, West has a strong background in performance improvement and quality measurement with a special interest in data collection and analysis. Prior to joining THA, West was a clinical outcomes consultant at SETON Healthcare Network in Austin, an account representative with HCIA (now Thomson Reuters) and director of quality outcomes management with South Austin Hospital.

		Mike Williams, FACHE, is the 2010 chairman of the Texas Hospital Association Board of Trustees. He is president and chief executive officer of Community Hospital Corporation in Plano. Before being the founding executive of CHC, he served as president of the Baptist Hospital in Knoxville, Tenn., and was executive vice president and chief operating officer of Children’s Medical Center and vice president of Baylor University Medical Center, both in Dallas. Williams graduated from the University of Alabama, and holds a master’s in health administration from the Medical Center in Birmingham where he was named outstanding alumnus in 2003. He is a frequent national speaker on the impact of hospital conversions and is active on several Dallas-area boards.

		Michael Zucker is senior vice president/chief development officer for Baptist Health System in San Antonio where he oversees the strategy, growth and development activities for Vanguard Health System’s South Texas Region, encompassing five hospitals and 1,780 beds. He has executive experience with Hospital Corporation of America, Trident Regional Medical Center in Charleston, Reston Hospital Center in Reston, Va., Redmond Regional Medical Center in Rome, Ga. and Parkridge Medical Center in Chattanooga. He was one of the original executives of the hospital division of MedCath, where he oversaw the development and operation of the Heart Hospital of Austin, named one of the “100 Top Heart Hospitals” in the U.S. in just three years. Zucker then became senior vice president of the Hospital Division of NeuroSource in Chicago where he developed the country’s first independent neuro and orthopedic hospital, The Neurologic and Orthopedic Institute of Chicago. He developed a multi-specialty physician-ventured hospital, USMD Hospital at Arlington, a partnership with Texas Health Resources and 150 physicians in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. In addition, he was the co-founder and chief executive officer of Partners Imaging, a Dallas-based company that develops and operates office-based imaging partnerships with physicians throughout the United States. Zucker received his bachelor’s in health care administration from Auburn University and master’s in health care administration from the Medical College of Virginia.