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Michelle Spencer is the Deputy Director of the Bloomberg American Health Initiative and Practice Professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. She has over 25 years of experience in public health management and leadership and a wealth of experience in administrative and operational management, strategic planning, resource management, and policy development.
Her expertise is in place-based program implementation, development, and management with a focus on the impacts of health equity, racial disparities, and health outcomes, particularly in disinvested and underserved and under resourced communities. She focuses on addressing the preventable nature of public health issues through integrated, evidence-based approaches.
Mrs. Spencer previously served as the Director of the Prevention and Health Promotion Administration at the Maryland Department of Health, Director of the Maryland Health Enterprise Zone initiative, and led both place-based chronic disease and violence intervention programs. Mrs. Spencer sits on national, hospital systems and state commissions, and advisory boards.
Mrs. Spencer holds a Master’s degree in Health Services Management and Policy from New School University in New York, NY and a BA in Sociology and African Studies from Binghamton University in Binghamton, NY.
Cherie Pardue is the Associate CIO/VP Enterprise Applications at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) with responsibility for clinical and business application decisions. She is a past president of the HIMSS Virginia chapter, was formerly the CIO of the American Hospital Dubai and is a forward-thinking, results-focused executive with over 20 years of contributions to business through technology solutions.
Brian Lancaster is a veteran healthcare technology strategist with over 25 years of experience and currently serves Children’s Mercy as Senior Vice President & Chief Information Officer. His experience comes from both leading provider organizations IT departments as well as leading product strategy for major HIT vendors as seen from his time at Cerner Corporations where he was the executive that led the EMR and Population Health product management organizations. He is a recognized innovator with nine patents granted across the areas of analytics, machine learning, physician workflow and cost accounting as well as a frequent presenter on topics such as digital transformation, innovation, and governance. Additionally, he is very involved with the startup community as seen by his roles with Nobl Health and Redpoint Summit.
Angela A. Shippy, MD, MHA, FACP, FHM is Amazon Web Services’ Senior Physician Executive and Clinical Innovation Lead. In this role, Dr. Shippy brings clinical and operational leadership experience and perspective to advancing cloud technology adoption to support, enable, and activate patients and providers. Previously, Dr. Shippy served as Senior Vice President, Chief Medical & Quality Officer at Memorial Hermann Health System where she had system-wide oversight for accreditation, clinical quality, employee and patient safety, lab, and pharmacy. Prior to Memorial Hermann, Dr. Shippy served as Chief Medical Officer of HCA’s Gulf Coast Division and as Vice President of Medical Affairs at St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital in the Texas Medical Center where she practiced as a hospitalist. She earned a B.S. in biology from Texas A&M University and an M.D. from the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, where she also completed her residency in internal medicine. Dr. Shippy has served on local, state, and national councils and committees and held volunteer faculty positions at Baylor College of Medicine, UT Health-Houston, and The Institute of Healthcare Improvement.
Dr. Shereef Elnahal is a physician leader and expert in health care delivery to dual-eligible patients, with multiple leadership experiences serving vulnerable communities. He is currently Executive Health Advisor at Thrive Capital, and engages with firms large and small on how to remain competitive in an era of unprecedented innovation in health care delivery.
Before this, he was appointed by President Joe Biden to serve as Under Secretary for Health at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), and confirmed by the US Senate on July 21, 2022. In this role, he lead the largest integrated health system in the nation alongside a team of nearly 400,000 professionals, delivering world-class care to 9 million enrolled Veterans.
Dr. Elnahal has overseen the Veterans Health Administration’s (VHA) implementation of the Sergeant First Class (SFC) Heath Robinson Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act, the largest expansion of Veteran benefits and care in a generation. More than two years since the law, VA has enrolled more than 800,000 new Veterans into health care, the majority of whom had exposure to toxic substances, and upgraded health care coverage for more than 900,000 Veterans already enrolled in VA. Despite this large increase in demand, he has also improved access to care by growing appointment volumes, expanding infrastructure through innovative partnerships with top medical institutions and the Department of Defense, and more. VHA is now better staffed with clinicians that at any point in its history after he initiated system-wide hiring and retention initiatives, which also helped reduce average wait times for primary care and mental health 5% and 15% respectively. He has grown care delivery in all appointment types, and improved overall care productivity by 9% in two years. He has also advanced care access for women Veterans, including extending maternity care coordination benefits for up to one year after birth for Veteran mothers in an effort to reduce maternal morbidity and mortality, and enrolling more than 50,000 new women Veterans into healthcare over the last year.
He has also focused on ending the scourge of Veteran suicide, implementing a new policy in which VA covers the costs of care for any Veteran in suicidal crisis (not just those enrolled for VA healthcare), and has advanced VA’s research in psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy to unprecedented levels. Under his leadership, VA is now funding psychedelics studies for the first time since the 1960s, and has gained bipartisan support in Congress for more funding to do multi-site clinical trials on MDMA, psilocybin, and other psychedelics agents combined with novel models of psychotherapy.
Under Dr. Elnahal’s leadership, VA has also made progress in placing record numbers of homeless Veterans into permanent housing. In FY2024, VA housed nearly 48,000 homeless Veterans, leading to a 7.5% reduction in Veteran homelessness since 2023. Veteran homelessness is now at the lowest level overall since measurement began in 2009. He is also co-leading the agency’s efforts on generative artificial intelligence, focusing on use cases that reduce clinician burnout.
Prior to his role at VA, Dr. Elnahal served as President and Chief Executive Officer of University Hospital in Newark, NJ. University Hospital is a Level I trauma center, the principal academic medical center for Rutgers NJ Medical School, and New Jersey’s only public hospital serving a large population of dual-eligible patients. Elnahal led University Hospital through the COVID-19 public health emergency, and the hospital served as a model for urban and regional response efforts. In addition, Governor Phil Murphy tasked the hospital with coordinating regional pandemic response efforts across dozens of hospitals in northern NJ, as well as with activating a military field hospital alongside the National Guard. In addition to his leadership during the pandemic, Dr. Elnahal oversaw substantial improvements in care quality and patient safety at the hospital, leading to improvements against national benchmarks. He also turned around the hospital financially, moving from significant operating losses to a healthy surplus. He engaged the community meaningfully in the hospital’s programming, to include a partnership the NJ Housing and Mortgage Financing Authority to provide supportive housing to homeless patients; a hospital-based violence intervention program that has served as a national model; and a program that deploys trusted chaplains to serve as community health workers.
Prior to his time at University Hospital, Elnahal served as New Jersey’s 21st Health Commissioner, appointed to the state Cabinet post by Governor Phil Murphy and confirmed unanimously by the New Jersey Senate, serving during the first two years of the Murphy administration. As Health Commissioner, he was responsible for running the state’s four psychiatric hospitals, and made strides in improving quality, patient safety, and outcomes for New Jersey’s most vulnerable patients requiring mental health inpatient hospitalization. He also expanded the New Jersey Health Information Network, worked to improve infant and maternal health outcomes, and made strides in curbing the opioid epidemic.
Dr. Elnahal also served as Assistant Deputy Under Secretary for Health for Quality, Safety, and Value at the US Department of Veterans Affairs from 2016 through 2018, overseeing quality of care for the Veterans Health Administration (VHA). He co-founded the VHA Innovation Ecosystem, a program that continues to foster the spread of innovation and best practices that improve Veteran care across the nation.
Dr. Elnahal received his MD from Harvard Medical School and his MBA with Distinction from Harvard Business School. His perspective on the American health care system’s COVID-19 response, including on matters of health equity, has been featured on national media outlets including Fox Business, CNN, and the New York Times.
Harold (Hal) F. Wolf III is the president and CEO of HIMSS, a global advisor and thought leader supporting the transformation of the health ecosystem through information and technology. Wolf is respected internationally as a healthcare and informatics leader, with areas of expertise in mHealth, product development, integrated care models, marketing, distribution, information and technology, and large-scale innovation implementation. Before joining HIMSS, Wolf served at The Chartis Group as director, practice leader, information and digital health strategy. Prior to The Chartis Group, he served as senior vice president and COO of Kaiser Permanente’s The Permanente Federation, representing more than 16,000 physicians. Wolf also held executive positions at MTV Networks and Time Warner, and served as senior advisor to McKinsey & Co.
Thalia Sirjue is a diehard public health nerd, passionate about using technology to engage people in improving their own health. She currently gets her fill of public health nerdiness by serving as Chief of Staff at the New Jersey Department of Health where she oversees more than 5,600 employees and a combined State/Federal budget of $2.8 billion and. In this role, she acts as a Chief Operating Officer, overseeing the foundational units of the Department – Human Resources, Fiscal/Management & Administration, Health Information Technology, Healthcare Quality and Informatics, Communications, Policy & Legislative Affairs, Ethics, EEO/AA and Equity Services, and Research Initiatives. She also leads enterprise-wide initiatives for strategic planning, public health accreditation, and health innovation.
Thalia previously served as the Deputy Chief of Staff responsible for a myriad of special projects. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, she was appointed director of the statewide testing and contact tracing programs — this included the rapid scale-up of the contact tracing workforce, statewide rollout of a new contact tracing software, launch of the COVID Alert NJ app, managing the State’s K-12 screening testing and at-home testing programs, and managing testing inventory and distribution.
Prior to her tenure at NJDOH, Thalia managed development lifecycles for Veteran and clinician-focused mobile apps for the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) App Store and led the team that established VA’s Innovation Ecosystem to enable the discovery and diffusion of health care innovations across the Veterans Health Administration (VHA). This included launching the Diffusion of Excellence initiative and expanding the VA Innovators Network.
Thalia earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology from Boston University and Master of Public Health degree from the Milken Institute School of Public Health at the George Washington University. Thalia is a Jersey girl to her core. This mixed with her Jamaican and Cuban heritage means she drives fast, will eat a bacon or pork roll, egg, and cheese for any meal of the day, and lives for sun, sand, and saltwater. If she has free time, she spends it cooking, baking, reading romance novels and murder mysteries, watching anime, and going on walks with her husband and daughter.
Robert Herjavec is a globally recognized figure, renowned for his extraordinary expertise as a motivational speaker, business leader, entertainer, and CEO of cybersecurity company Cyderes. Over the past 15 years, Robert has become a household name as one of the Sharks and an executive producer of the Emmy Award-winning hit show, Shark Tank. Additionally, he is a founder and investor on Canada’s Dragons’ Den.
The inspiring narratives in Robert’s books — ‘Driven’, ‘The Will to Win’, and ‘You Don’t Have to Be a Shark: Creating Your Own Success’ — have made their way onto numerous bestsellers’ lists, with two even appearing in the top 10 simultaneously. His practical business advice has reached tens of millions through TV, print, radio, and digital media. Robert’s dynamic presence has lit up stages in front of audiences ranging from 50 to 20,000 people, sharing the spotlight with luminaries like Tony Robbins and Oprah.Boasting an impressive portfolio in investment, live entertainment, and on-screen executive production, Robert brings an exciting blend of skills to the table. His wealth of experience is not only inspiring but truly transformative.
Aric Sharp is a recognized national leader on the healthcare transition to value, innovation and physician practice management. Aric currently serves as the CEO of Value Based Care for Clover Health. In his previous role as Senior Vice President and Chief Transformation Officer at INTEGRIS Health, he led the journey to value-based care including launching the Direct Contracting Model, a Medicare Advantage Plan, and Oklahoma’s first virtual hospital.
As Vice President for Accountable Care at UnityPoint Health, he developed and led UnityPoint Accountable Care, one of the nation’s largest and most successful ACOs, with over 8,000 physicians, 40 hospitals, and over $2.0 Billion of medical spend under risk including the country’s largest Next Generation Model ACO. His nearly 30 years of healthcare experience included various executive level roles including CEO and COO for Quincy Medical Group and The Iowa Clinic respectively, two of the nation’s highest performing physician owned multi-specialty medical groups.
Aric is known for his ability to distill complexity into clear, actionable understanding through a collaborative results focused approach. He is frequently cited by national media on an array of healthcare topics and is called upon to speak and participate in panel discussions, provide briefings on Capitol Hill, and even testify to Congress. Aric has expertise in healthcare strategy and transformation, population health, physician leadership and governance development, growth, mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, public policy, and operational turnarounds.
Aric serves as the Past Chair of AMGA (American Medical Group Association), as well as on numerous healthcare boards, advisory councils, start-up ventures and serves as an adjunct faculty member at the University of Iowa College of Public Health. He is also the Past-Chair of the AMGA Public Policy Committee. Aric earned his Master’s in Hospital and Health Administration from the University of Iowa and a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance from Iowa State University. He is a Fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives and a Certified Medical Practice Executive.
Dr. Seung Woo Park, the President of Samsung Medical Center, is a respected specialist in cardiovascular diseases, particularly in areas such as heart valve disorders and myocardial infarction. He also plays a significant role in the hospital’s efforts towards digitalization. Dr. Park currently serves as the 12th President of Samsung Medical Center, leading the realization of an advanced intelligent hospital focused on severe and complex medical conditions. After graduating from Seoul National University College of Medicine, Dr. Park joined Samsung Medical Center as a founding member in 1994. Throughout his career, he has held key positions within the hospital, including Chief of the Information Strategy Office, Chief of Quality Improvement, and Chief of Strategic Planning. In 2002, he spent two years at the Mayo Clinic in the United States, where he gained advanced knowledge in cardiac treatment, which he brought back to Korea. He has also served as the Chairman of the Korean Society of Echocardiography from 2016 to 2018 and is highly regarded as an authority in the field of cardiology, with publications in renowned medical journals such as the New England Journal of Medicine in November 2019. Dr. Park’s contributions extend beyond his medical achievements, as he has also been recognized for his efforts in hospital digitalization and innovation in the healthcare process. He introduced electronic medical records (EMR) and achieved a “paperless hospital,” receiving the Samsung Information Innovation Award in 2009. He led the a “Dr. Smart” application development project, which allows healthcare professionals to use personal smart devices for medical purposes, and received the Minister of Knowledge Economy Award in 2010. In 2010, he opened the first electronic medical referral system in Korea and implemented various smartphone mobile support systems for patients and hospital staff, enhancing customer satisfaction and operational efficiency.
