HOWARD BLOCK, Partner & Managing Director, Knowledge Investment Partners
Howard Block currently leads Knowledge Investment Partners' hedge fund research effort and is closely involved with KIP portfolio companies. Howard joined KIP after a 10-year career as an equity analyst on Wall Street. His career on Wall Street began with Robertson Stephens, a boutique investment bank in San Francisco for which he established the research practice in education services, and where he quickly garnered recognition as a member of Institutional Investor's (II) All-America Research Team. Mr. Block subsequently joined Bank of America (formerly Montgomery Securities) where he was named to II's All American team three times along with being recognized as the #2 Education Services Analyst twice by the well-regarded Greenwich Survey. Since leaving Bank of America, Block has worked as a strategic advisor to several postsecondary education companies and joined the board of three education companies. Howard earned his CPA through a combination of service with Arthur Young & Company and Bell Industries, where he served as its corporate tax manager. He was distinguished on Wall Street as the only analyst with a doctorate in educational policy analysis, earned at Stanford University. Howard also has a B.A. in Economics from the University of Michigan.
GREG BROPHY, President & CEO, BioDlogics
Greg Brophy currently serves as President and CEO of BioDlogics, LLC, a biomedical company developing novel stem cell products derived from human tissue for the regenerative medicine market. Formerly, Mr. Brophy served as President of the diagnostic division of HealthSouth Corporation where he led a successful turnaround of the division and its sale to a private equity firm. Prior to joining HealthSouth, Mr. Brophy served as an executive officer and in various management capacities with CTI Molecular Imaging, Inc., a public company engaged in the development, manufacture and distribution of diagnostic imaging equipment. At CTI, Mr. Brophy served as the President of its Clinical Tomograph Business Group from 2004 to 2005, President of CPS Innovations, Inc. from 2003 to 2004, and Senior Vice President of Business Development & General Counsel from 2002 to 2003. CTI was acquired by Siemens, A.G. in 2005. From 1995 to 2002, Mr. Brophy was a partner with the law firm of Alston & Bird, LLP, specializing in mergers & acquisitions, and public and private equity offerings. Mr. Brophy received a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Notre Dame, and a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Georgia School of Law.
CHARLOTTE BURNS, CEO, Hardin Medical Center
Charlotte Burns' experience spans 30 years of healthcare, from first-hand patient care as an RN to CEO of a small rural facility that includes a 58-bed hospital, 73-bed nursing home, home health agency, medical supply and sales unit, and the county's franchised ambulance service. Charlotte has contributed to the Hardin Medican Center facility in Savannah, Tennessee in many roles, most recently that of CEO, a title she has held since 1994. She attended Kennedy-Western University for her Bachelor's and Master's of Science in Health Administration.
Charlotte currently serves as a hospital representative for the Tennessee Health Services Development Agency. Prior to that, she served in a governor-appointed position on the Health Facilities Licensing Board. She is an outspoken advocate for healthcare needs in Tennessee, placing an emphasis on the importance of legislative changes to the well-being of healthcare. This year, Charlotte received the American Hospital Association's Tennessee Grassroots Champion Award, and BusinessTN Magazine has placed her on the List of Top Healthcare Leaders in 2009 and 2007.
DEBRA A. CANALES, Chief Administrative Officer, Trinity Health
Debra Canales is the Chief Administrative Officer at Trinity Health. Headquartered in Novi, Michigan, Trinity Health employs more than 45,000 full-time associates at hundreds of facilities nationwide. The American Society of Employers honored Ms. Canales as the Human Resources Executive of the Year in Michigan in 2007.
Her career has spanned a diverse range of global Fortune 500 organizations. She served as the vice president of Human Resources at Compaq Computer Corporation in Houston, and prior to that she served in various senior human resources roles with KFC / PepsiCo (Yum), R.H. Macy's Inc., and at Centura Health in Denver.
BOBBY FRIST, President / CEO, HealthStream
Robert A. Frist, Jr., co-founder of HealthStream, has served as chief executive officer, president, and chairman of the board of directors since 1990. As chief executive officer, Mr. Frist has positioned HealthStream as a leading provider of learning and research solutions for the healthcare industry. He has led the development of product innovations in learning technology that is transforming the way healthcare organizations train and develop their human capital. Since taking the Company public in 2000 (NASDAQ: HSTM), approximately 1.8 million healthcare professionals rely on the HealthStream Learning Center™ for their training and education, where, collectively, over 74 million course completion certificates have been awarded.
Under Mr. Frist's leadership, Deloitte & Touche awarded HealthStream a ranking on their prestigious "Technology Fast 500" list for two consecutive years as a top technology company in North America. Additionally, the Smithsonian presented HealthStream with the Computerworld Smithsonian Medallion in recognition of its achievement to innovatively use technology to empower and advance society
In addition to his leadership role at HealthStream, Mr. Frist is an avid supporter of science education, as demonstrated by his long-time support as a board member at Nashville's Adventure Science Center. His commitment to healthcare education also extends to his active participation as a board member for the Minnie Pearl Cancer Foundation. Robert Frist, Jr. graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Business with concentrations in Finance, Economics, and Marketing from Trinity University.
CHEN-TAN “CT” LIN, MD, FACP, CMIO, University of Colorado Hospital and Health Science Center
Dr. Lin is the Chief Medical Information Officer at the University of Colorado Hospital and Health Science Center in Aurora, Colorado. He is responsible for advocating and deploying innovative clinical information systems at the largest academic medical center in the Rocky Mountain region. Dr. Lin is a nationally recognized expert in innovative research on personal health records and online patient communication and has extensive experience creating physician leadership structures related to clinical system implementations. His clinical leadership includes ambulatory electronic medical records, inpatient technologies including bar-code medication administration, clinical decision support, and instructing on physician-patient communication, and use of computers in the examination room to improve patient care.
Dr. Lin received a Sponsored Fellowship from the National Library of Medicine and is a recipient of numerous grants from government, education, and private enterprise including, the Department of Health and Human Services, the University of Colorado Hospital and Health Science Center, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and The Commonwealth Fund. He has written original articles and studies for the American Journal of Medicine, American Journal of Managed Care, Journal of Ambulatory Care Management, Journal of General Internal Medicine, and Archives of Internal Medicine.
Dr. Lin graduated Artium Baccalaureatus, cum laude, in Molecular Biology from Harvard University. He completed his medical degree at Stanford University and fulfilled his internship and residency at the University of California, Davis Medical Center. He is board certified and continues to practice Internal Medicine, and is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians.
JOHN MARKUS, Counsel, Balch & Bingham Health Law Practice Group
John Markus recently joined Balch & Bingham's health law practice group. From 2004 to 2007, he served as Executive Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer for HealthSouth Corporation, one of the nation's leading providers of rehabilitation, surgery, and diagnostic services. At HealthSouth, he directed the development of a regulatory compliance program, now nationally recognized, as part of a comprehensive restructuring initiative at the Company. Prior to joining HealthSouth, Mr. Markus served as Senior Vice President for Corporate Compliance at Fresenius Medical Care North America where he designed a regulatory compliance program and negotiated a Corporate Integrity Agreement for the nation's largest provider of dialysis products and services. In addition to his corporate experience, Mr. Markus has also been in private law practice and has represented clients before the Congress and federal health care agencies on provider regulation and reimbursement, Medicare coverage policy, and regulatory compliance. Mr. Markus is a member of the District of Columbia Bar. He earned a Bachelor's degree from Princeton University (1973), a Master's degree from the University of Chicago (1974), and a Juris Doctor degree from American University (1980).
PAULA MORGAN, RN, Founder & Managing Partner, Morgan Consulting Resources
Paula Morgan, RN is a seasoned health care executive with extensive managed care, medical group and hospital management experience. She began her search business in 1989. As the Founder and Managing Partner of Morgan Consulting Resources, Paula has seen the company grow from three recruiters in San Francisco to five recruiters in three states. From 1984 to 1988, Paula served on the Board of Directors and was the Senior Vice President, Health Services with Sierra Health Services, a publicly traded managed care company headquartered in Las Vegas, NV. From 1981 to 1988, she had operations responsibility for Sierra's health care delivery systems and was instrumental in the growth of the company's group practice from 10 to 60 providers, developing an ambulatory surgery center, urgent care, pharmacy and clinical lab.
Paula has been a Fellow in the American College of Medical Practice Executives and an active member of MGMA and AAHP. She has served on several boards and on national committees for MGMA and has presented on health care topics for both organizations. She is currently on the Board of The California Counseling Institute and the advisory Board for Meritus College Fund where she encourages high school students to consider nursing careers and helps fund nursing scholarships. A licensed pilot, Paula loves to travel, ski and enjoy time with friends.
BILL SPOONER, Senior VP & CIO, Sharp Healthcare
William A. Spooner is the senior vice president and chief information officer of Sharp HealthCare, responsible for information technology and telecommunications across Sharp. A Sharp employee since 1981, Spooner led the effort that established Sharp’s information systems organization in the mid-1980s and was a key member of the leadership team that directed the strategic planning and implementation of integrated information systems for the Sharp enterprise. He is currently leading Sharp's efforts to implement physician order entry, a key component of Sharp's patient safety initiative and the foundation for its emerging electronic medical record. Sharp's accomplishments in implementing innovative, integrated information systems have been recognized by Hospital and Health Networks, appearing on their "100 Most Wired Hospital Systems" list for all eight years of the program. Additionally, Mr. Spooner is a member of several industry associations, including the Healthcare Information Systems Executive Association (HISEA), College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) and the HealthCare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS). He served as the Chair of CHIME in 2006 and currently serves as Chair of the CHIME Foundation. He has consulted with several multi-facility systems and presented at numerous industry conferences on information systems for integrated delivery networks. Spooner has a Bachelor's degree in business/accounting.
