Fellows: Class of 2018

Associate Vice Chancellor for Organizational Development and Transformation in the Executive Vice Chancellor & Provost organization
University of California, San Francisco 

Damiano oversees internal organizational improvement, external strategic initiatives, communications, records and information management, and executive vice chancellor & provost (EVCP) programmatic units. She works closely with EVCP leadership and stakeholders to drive systems improvement and lead cross-institutional initiatives designed to tackle complex problems. She has worked at UCSF for approximately 18 years in multiple departments and was previously the UCSF associate dean of administration and finance at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital.  Before joining UCSF, Damiano worked at various consulting firms and industries in the Bay Area.  Damiano earned her MBA from the University of San Francisco and her bachelor’s in business administration from the University of Michigan.

Retired – Chief Nurse and Operations Executive, Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital
Henry Ford Health System

Karen Harris retired with over 29 years of experience in healthcare and earned both her Bachelor of Science in Nursing and her Master of Science in Nursing degrees from Wayne State University. She has been a consultant for AWHONN Consulting Group, and Dynamics Research Corporation, where she performed site assessments, perinatal risk assessments, lectures, and training on teamwork behaviors. For many years, Harris served as a clinical nurse specialist for intrapartum, antepartum, and women’s health for an organization that had over 6,600 births. She is certified as a women’s health nurse practitioner and served as a regional perinatal coordinator. Harris has held various leadership positions with the Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric, and Neonatal Nurses including: 2015 national president; Michigan section chair; and 2008 AWHONN Convention co-chair. Harris is a published author in peer-reviewed nursing journals and has lectured throughout the nation.

Vice President, Patient Access
University of Pennsylvania Health System

As of July 2021, Philynn Hepschmidt serves as the vice president of Patient Access for UPHS. She is formerly the associate VP of EHR Transformation and was responsible for the strategic design and execution of EHR Optimization and Enterprise-Wide Program Management with focus on optimal use of technology to improve workflow, outcomes, and provider efficiency. Hepschmidt led the design of a clinician-focused EHR optimization team responsible for providing advanced education and support to 10,000 plus end-users. In addition, through her strategic leadership, Penn Medicine has continued focus on development of the patient portal to improve patient access, engagement and satisfaction, and quality of clinical care. Hepschmidt has worked over 15 years in healthcare, and prior to her current role at Penn Medicine, she was the senior director of ambulatory applications, responsible for leading the successful implementation of EPIC across 170-plus ambulatory specialty practices, and 1,800 physicians. Hepschmidt brings unique skill in not only a solid understanding of technical functionality and capability, but similarly deep understanding of operational workflows, provider behavior and perhaps most importantly, stakeholder management. She is known for her ability to foster collaboration, lead complex projects and provide a results-driven presence to any situation. Hepschmidt has a Master of Education from Arcadia University and an undergraduate degree in Public Health from West Chester University.

(Fellowship sponsored by BDC Advisors)
President of UH Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital and UH MacDonald Women’s Hospital
University Hospitals

Marissa Kiefer is the president of UH Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital and UH MacDonald Women’s Hospital at University Hospitals. Prior to joining UH she was the senior vice president and CEO of Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital. Previously, she was vice president of strategy at Riley Children’s Health and was responsible for developing the statewide strategic platform for maternal and pediatric healthcare that distinguished Riley Children’s Health as the provider of choice for the full spectrum of care in the state of Indiana for expectant moms and children. Kiefer was a part of the IU Health organization since 2005 and started with the employed physician practice group, IU Health Physicians. Prior to IU Health, Kiefer held a variety of roles at Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, D.C. Kiefer received her Bachelor of Science in Public Health, majoring in health administration, from Indiana University in Bloomington and her Master of Health Services Administration from The George Washington University in Washington, D.C.

Attending Physician, Director Pediatric Orthopaedic Surgery Division, Residency Director, Assistant Professor
Rush University Medical Center

Dr. Monica Kogan currently practices at Midwest Orthopaedics at Rush where she serves in a leadership capacity as residency director at Rush University Medical Center in the department of orthopaedic surgery. She did her orthopaedic surgery residency at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, and then a pediatric orthopaedic surgery fellowship at Primary Children’s Hospital/Shriner’s for Sick Children in Salt Lake City, Utah. She began her career as an attending surgeon at Children’s Hospital Oakland in 2001 and then moved to Midwest Orthopaedics at Rush in 2006. She has been involved with the Perry Initiative program, mentoring female high school student and medical students to the world of orthopaedic surgery. She became the residency director in 2013 and also serves as an Oral Board examiner for the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. She has led two consecutive surgical mission trips to the Dominican Republic, and has been very active with the resident’s curriculum. She has an interest in identifying ways to improve the resident education in order to teach both surgical skills and interdisciplinary teamwork necessary to be an effective and compassionate physician.

Senior Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer
John Muir Health

Michelle is Senior Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer for John Muir Health. In this role, she provides systemwide leadership for John Muir Health’s two acute care hospitals and one acute psychiatric hospital, with oversight of hospital operations, clinical integration, care coordination, integrated care models, nursing leadership, nurse workforce management, patient care quality, innovation, and patient care best practices.

Michelle began her career with John Muir Health in 1991 as an endocrine staff nurse. Over the years, she advanced through leadership roles of increasing responsibility, including Director of Clinical Operations and Director of Women’s and Children’s Services. In 2018, she was appointed Senior Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer.

Michelle remains actively engaged in professional and community leadership. She is a past Chair of the Board of Directors for Hospice of the East Bay, where she continues to serve as a board member, and she also serves on the John Muir Health Foundation Board. In addition, she is a member of the American Organization for Nursing Leadership (AONL), the Association of California Nurse Leaders (ACNL), and the East Bay Association of California Nurse Leaders and has been a Carol Emmott Fellow since 2018.

Michelle holds a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Samuel Merritt College of Nursing/St. Mary’s College of California and a Master of Science in Nursing Administration from California State University, Dominguez Hills. Her certifications include Nurse Executive Advanced-Board Certified (NEA-BC) from the American Nurses Credentialing Center and Lean Leader Certification.

Chief Medical Officer
MemorialCare Medical Foundation

Dr. Elizabeth M. Mahler, a board-certified internist-hospitalist and physician executive, is the chief medical officer at MemorialCare Medical Foundation. Prior to joining Memorial Care, she was the CMO at Community Hospitals at Alameda Health System. Before that, she was the vice president, and chief clinical officer of value-based care at John Muir Health. Formerly she was the vice president of patient health management at Sutter and led Sutter Health’s enterprise strategy and clinical transformation efforts related to the delivery of clinically integrated, personalized, patient-family engaged care, particularly for high-need, vulnerable populations. She oversaw the Sutter Center for Integrated Care, which defines and implements core care delivery practices to ensure person-centered, health-literate care delivery. Mahler also sponsored and supported enterprise wide Clinical Improvement Communities related to Hospital Medicine and Palliative & Advanced Illness Care, and was the executive sponsor of Sutter’s Management and Clinical Excellence program. Mahler was previously a founding shareholder, chief medical officer and interim-president of the Sutter East Bay Physicians Medical Group (SEBMG), a multi-specialty medical group located in the San Francisco Bay Area. Mahler received her bachelor’s degree in mass communication from the University of California, Berkeley. She earned her medical degree and residency from the University of California, San Francisco.

Chief Transformation Officer
University of Florida Health

Jessica T. Melton is the chief transformation officer for University of Florida Health where she focuses on fostering a culture of continuous improvement, driving meaningful strategic change, and enhancing organizational effectiveness on behalf of the state’s premier academic health system. Prior to joining UFH, she was the VP for strategic initiatives for the Johns Hopkins Health System. Previously she was president and CEO of Suburban Hospital and before that she was the COO of Sentara Norfolk General Hospital. Prior to Sentara, she worked at Duke Health for over 10 years serving in a variety of operational and strategic positions. Prior to her position as vice president of medical surgical and critical care services at Duke University Hospital, Melton served as the vice president for emergency services and patient flow. Additionally, she held the roles of administrative director of emergency preparedness and trauma for Duke Hospital, and the director of the Duke Preparedness and Response Center. Melton received both her Bachelor of Science degree and her Master of Healthcare Administration, with concentrations in finance and community preparedness and disaster management, from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Melton completed a hospital administrative fellowship at Duke University Hospital in 2009.

(Retired) Senior Vice President
Mercy Clinics, Mercy Medical Center North Iowa/Trinity Health

Dr. Teresa Mock is a graduate of University of Iowa School of Medicine and completed her family medicine residency at Mercy Medical Center-North Iowa in Mason City, Iowa. Following several years in private practice, Mock joined Trinity Health as senior vice president of Mercy Medical Center-North Iowa. She has executive responsibility over North Iowa Mercy Clinics, a network of 45 primary care clinics in North Iowa, the Accountable Care Organization, Mercy Home Care and durable medical equipment and Mercy Skilled Nursing facility. Recently, Mock assumed responsibility for the behavioral health service line, and is currently leading a $11.2 million project for expansion of behavioral health facilities at Mercy North Iowa. Dr. Mock retired in 2021.

Chief Medical Officer, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center
Dartmouth Health System

Dr. Maria Padin is an ob-gyn and currently the chief medical officer of Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical center. Padin assumed this role in 2015. Prior to becoming CMO at the Lebanon Campus, Padin was the medical director for the Dartmouth Hitchcock Clinic in Concord NH. Padin has been an active member of ACOG holding various leadership roles. She has four adult children. She enjoys boating, cooking, and spending time with family.

Vice President, Value Based Contracting
Molina Healthcare

Shaun is the VP of value-based contracting for Molina Healthcare. Prior to joining Molina in early 2023, she was the VP of population health management at Trinity Health and responsible for overseeing care delivery transformation for 207,000 lives in alternative payment model contracts valued at almost $1 billion. Shaun is a subject matter expert in the field of population health and financial model innovation with experience in the payer, provider, and hospital milieu and has engaged in local and national speaker events on these topics. Raleigh received the Healthcare Valor award from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan in 2014 and was a Lakeshore Athena Award Nominee in 2012, recognized for her work and passion in addressing social determinants of health and promotion of gender equity. Raleigh received her MBA from the University of Phoenix and is a Registered Medical Assistant. In her free time, Raleigh supports local schools, successfully leading a parent committee that supported the passing of the largest school bond issue on the ballot in Michigan in 2016. Raleigh is passionate about fitness, and recharges by spending quality time with her family, enjoying the beauty of living in Western Michigan.

Vice President, Strategy and Integration
Proliance Surgeons

Meredith Sciarrio is the Vice President for strategy and integration for Proliance Surgeons. Prior to joining Proliance she was associate vice president of strategy and operations for the Community Partnerships Division at Providence. As the division’s strategy officer, she provided leadership in strategic thinking and implementation, business and financial acumen, and people and process management to ensure caregivers across the system and regions thrived and that divisional outcomes were met.  She earned her BA from Boston College and her MBA from University of Washington.

Retired Chief Operating Officer
Sutter Surgery Center Division, Sutter Health

Melody States joined the SSCD in 2017 after serving 19 years as executive director for the Palo Alto Medical Foundation’s Division of Ambulatory Surgery Centers. States grew up in South Africa, where she began her career as a nurse working in the operating theater. She moved to California in 1985. In 2016, the Silicon Valley Business Journal recognized her with its “Silicon Valley Women of Influence” award. States is a visionary leader with strategic thinking and strongly believes in developing others to reach their full potential. States feels her success in part may be attributed to the adoption of Lean and Daily Engagement Systems (DES) thinking.

Vice President, Government Relations, Kaiser Permanente
Kaiser Permanente

Julie Hutcheson Stoss has extensive experience in public policy, advocacy, and navigating the legislative and regulatory process at the federal and state level. Since 1999, she has worked for Kaiser Permanente (KP) in Oakland, California, and is currently the vice president for government relations. In this role, she leads the development of KP’s national policy positions and principles to advance KP’s strategic objectives, including improving access to care, creating a regulatory environment to meet the health and care needs of KP’s 12 million members, and promoting KP’s unique model of integrated care and financing. An enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation, Julie was recognized by Diversity MBA Magazine as one of the Top 100 Under 50 Diverse Executive & Emerging Leaders in 2014. Stoss earned a bachelor’s degree in political science with highest honors from the University of California at Berkeley and a law degree cum laude from Harvard University.

Chief Digital Officer
Mount Sinai Health System

Lisa Stump is the chief digital officer for the Mount Sinai Health System, New York. Prior to joining Mount Sinai, she was the chief information and digital transformation officer at Yale New Haven Health and Yale Medicine, where she oversaw strategic planning, development, implementation, and adoption of digital initiatives across the enterprise. With over 25 years of experience in healthcare, Lisa has directed the development and execution of the data and technology roadmap, implementing many digital capabilities, clinical, financial, and business systems and partnered with early stage and innovative companies to develop new solutions. Lisa serves on the Connecticut HIT advisory council, where she supports statewide development of technology and data exchange policy and has served on multiple advisory committees to schools of pharmacy and health professions, regionally. Leveraging her background as a pharmacist and her leadership in health IT, she currently chairs the American Society of Health System Pharmacists’ Section for digital and telehealth providers. She earned her BS degree from the University of Connecticut and MS degree from The Ohio State University. The University of Connecticut awarded Ms. Stump the Distinguished Alumna honor and Sacred Heart University recognized her with the Community Partner Award. She has received accolades for her leadership in IT, including the CIO of the Year award from InspireCIO, Boston, and one of The Most Influential Women in Health IT recognition from Health Information Management Systems Society.

Vice President of the Geisinger Women and Children’s and Cancer Institutes
Geisinger Health System

Andrea Wary has extensive experience in clinical operations, including 21 years of operational leadership within Geisinger Health System. Wary has demonstrated transformational leadership, driving value-based care processes, while optimizing patient outcomes. Key initiatives have included Perinatal Proven Care and more currently Emergency Care and Primary Care redesign. The focus included increasing patient access to care, while driving down overutilization of the seven emergency departments and two urgent-care centers for which she is responsible. Wary’s responsibilities have previously included oversight of the health system-owned Life Flight air ambulance program consisting of nine aircraft and six air bases. She additionally has overseen operations of Geisinger Health System’s ground EMS program. She is responsible for an operating budget of more than $200 million in revenue annually. Wary is grateful for the opportunity to support an outstanding staff of physicians, nurses, and support personnel to accomplish best practices, which exceed both patient and provider expectations. Wary enjoys spending time with her husband and two daughters enjoying the outdoors.

Chief, Division of Nephrology
Rush University Medical Center

Dr. Monnie Wasse is the chief of Nephrology, a new program at Rush University, focused on the planning and maintenance of dialysis vascular access for patients with kidney disease. She will oversee a division responsible for the diagnosis and treatment of kidney disease and conditions related to kidney care. A distinguished physician and scientist, Dr. Wasse received her MPH and MD at the University of Washington in Seattle, and formerly directed the Interventional Nephrology program at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta. She has served as principal investigator of studies funded by the National Institutes of Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Wasse is president of the American Society of Diagnostic and Interventional Nephrology and serves in other executive positions for professional societies nationally.

Chief Philanthropy Officer, Marshfield Clinic Health System Foundation
Sanford Health Marshfield Clinic

Teri Wilczek has 16 years of progressive responsibility at Sanford Health Marshfield Clinic (SHMC). She has worked to enrich lives by transforming philanthropy throughout the system of care. She was instrumental in establishing the SHMC Foundation in 2016, integrating fundraising efforts for the health system. She is responsible for leading philanthropic initiatives for all 52 locations throughout their service area, generating $5.5 million annually to support research, patient care and education priorities. Recently, she has implemented a formal clinician engagement program and led the acquisition of a Children’s Miracle Network Hospital program. She works closely with her SHMC Foundation board of directors on strategic goals and serves on the SHMC leadership team. Wilczek earned her undergraduate degree from UW La Crosse and her masterʼs from Capella University; she is a Certified Fundraising Executive (CFRE). She and her husband, along with their three young children, are extremely active community leaders and volunteers.