Quan Pho is a pharmacy executive with nearly two decades of experience leading broad scale initiatives for health systems, health plans, physician groups and technology companies. Quan has led strategic, operational and change management initiatives at every level of pharmacy practice. Quan is known for his ability to develop a culture of innovation that gains operational efficiencies. He leads large-scale transformations with an executive presence and is seen as a trusted colleague in the manufacturing space, as well as with GPOs and wholesalers. By focusing on results, compliance, and patient safety, Quan helps systems exceed their desired outcomes for pharmacy. Quan has successfully implemented pharmacy strategies across multiple health systems, and frequently visits Capitol Hill to consult with key government stakeholders on improving the cost and accessibility of pharmacy care. Quan graduated from the University of Florida with a B.S. in Botany, Nova Southeastern College of Pharmacy with a Doctorate of Pharmacy and Lamar University with an MBA in Healthcare Administration. 

Elise Plakke is an award-winning designer and marketing and branding executive. She has a passion for connecting consumers emotionally to brands through elevated product experience. Elise has launched product lines at LLBean, JJill, Rue La La, Home Depot, Crestline and Crew Kids. She established brand assets for Trek Bikes and directed photo shoots with Lance Armstrong, which dramatically increased market share. In addition, she has re-branded large integrated health systems and directed on-location and studio photography internationally. Ms. Plakke received her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Northern Iowa and completed a summer residency at Harvard Graduate School of Design.

Kate Bailey works with healthcare systems to improve performance through care delivery redesign, system integration, and process improvement. Kate has over 10 years’ experience in healthcare spanning academic medical centers, integrated health systems, and independent physician practices. She has re-designed Medicaid application processes to reduce turnaround time, improved patient flow in safety net clinics, re-designed emergency room care for patients with opioid use disorder, and secured $4.5M Accountable Health Communities funding from CMMI to develop clinical-community partnerships for health-related social needs. Prior to consulting, Kate worked with Steward Health Care Network to design strategies to increase financial performance in a Medicare ACO and several risk-based commercial health plans. Prior to this, she served as Director of Community Health at Steward Health Care System, where she provided data analysis, process mapping and dashboard development to support initiatives in community and behavioral health across 10 hospitals. Kate earned a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Gordon College and a Master of Public Health from Boston University, along with a Black Belt in Lean Six Sigma from Villanova University.

David Stuckler is an experienced health consultant, bringing over a decade of experience of working with the World Health Organization, UNICEF, European Centre for Disease Control, among other institutions. He is currently a Professor at University of Bocconi in Milan and Jesus College, University of Cambridge.
David’s experience come primarily from leading large research teams. He has won over $10 million in grant funding from the Wellcome Trust, European Research Council, and Economic & Social Science Research Council. He is one of Web of Science Top 1% cited researchers and has written over 350 peer-reviewed scientific articles on global health in The Lancet, British Medical Journal and Nature in addition to other major journals. He is also an author of The Body Economic, published by Penguin Press and translated into over ten languages. His work has featured on covers of the New York Times and The Economist, among other venues. Foreign Policy named him one of the top 100 global thinkers of 2013.

Laura Bergroth has over 15 years of experience in the medical and hospital field. She has vast knowledge of the social determinants of health and on assessing healthcare disparities across populations. Laura has a unique skill set by combining her medical degree with insight into new ways to achieve higher quality of care, cost savings, and community health improvement. Laura has worked with large statewide health systems to improve their financial performance and community health outcomes. She easily facilitates physicians’ understanding of the larger impact the business of healthcare has on patient care, as well as how the specific clinical setting in which they work may impact their own patients. Utilizing her medical background, Laura has assisted different academic departments in generating and publishing scientific research.

Sam Lippolis is a telehealth expert and trainer specializing in video visits, remote patient monitoring, eConsults and all aspects of virtual care. When she isn’t training groups of clinicians for organizations, she’s coaching one-on-one with providers to redesign their practice for a virtual-first model.

After 12 years of telehealth planning and implementation with academic and large health systems, Sam’s real world knowledge makes her highly sought after as an advisor and trainer. Her unique view on telehealth is focused on human connection, exceptional clinical care and a better lifestyle for providers. Sam is known for having fun while conveying complex information that everyone can understand and put into action. Her enthusiasm is infectious and her clients realize an immediate improvement in their virtual interactions with patients. Sam has contributed to Modern Healthcare, Healthcare Informatics, MGMA and SG2 Healthcare Intelligence.

Pruthak has over 8 years of experience in project management and process improvement. He has led cross-functional teams to improve patient satisfaction, outcomes of care, overall quality, and employee experience at several non-profit healthcare organizations. His is skillful in leading change management, system integration, and implementation of new processes. Over the years his focus has always been to improve quality that meets the satisfaction and expectations of his clients, customers and patients. Prior to joining Initium, Pruthak led various successful projects in process improvement across hospital, laboratory, home health, other settings, resulting in improved patient satisfaction, increased employee engagement, improved hospital Leapfrog ratings, increased revenue, and accreditation from The Joint Commission.

David Burton is an established sales and marketing executive with a decade of experience in enterprise sales, innovative marketing, strategic business development, technology, and channel partnerships. Leveraging a multidisciplinary skillset, David has successfully influenced the profitability and growth of companies across multiple sectors including healthcare, broadcast television, digital media, mobile technology, CPG, e-commerce, and professional sports. David graduated from Georgetown University with a BSBA in marketing, international business, and a certificate in entrepreneurship.

Jose is a highly capable and experienced accounting professional with seven years of experience in the accounting & finance field. His understanding of accounting principles and finance law makes him a top-rated professional. He has a remarkable ability for critical thinking and can often see solutions others miss. His communication skills are excellent, allowing him to ensure that all members of a team are informed and up to date on important matters. After receiving his Bachelor’s degree in Finance from The University of Texas at Tyler, he has gained the necessary skills to be a valuable asset. Jose’s prior professional accounting positions have allowed him to gain extensive insight into the field. In his current professional position as a Financial Controller with Origin, He had the opportunity to familiarize himself with a variety of accounting specialties. You will find him to be a versatile employee that is comfortable preparing financial statements, managing budgets, and preparing financial reports. During his professional career, he has also gained an extensive understanding of financial instruments and accounting software.

Michaela Runkle is a diverse manager with more than 10 years’ experience in project oversight and optimizing team culture through versatile leadership techniques. Directly after graduate school, Michaela was hired to create and direct a human resource department for a trucking company in Indiana. With her roots in human resources, she has ventured into operational management and leadership. Prior to coming to Initium Health, Michaela served as an Operations Manager where she handled human resource functions, recruiting and hiring, on-boarding, training, daily operations, forecasting, and customer relations. Outside of her professional pursuits, she has a personal drive to serve the community through outreach involvement. She has navigated international leadership in India, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic as a liaison and a volunteer for a plethora of humanities pursuits. Michaela’s core values demonstrate that the health of a community is directly correlated with the life and vibrance of a community. She has her Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Purdue University and a Master of Science in Cellular and Integrative Physiology from Indiana University Medical School. 

Dan Le is a results-driven construction and project manager with over 20 years of experience. He has directed multiple healthcare facility projects to successful completion through effective management and team collaboration. Dan continually strives to produce quality projects while adhering to a tight schedule and budget. He brings advanced understanding of customer needs with diligent attention to detail, resulting in superior customer service and high levels of client satisfaction.

Marvin is talented designer who uses his information technology background to create dynamic data visualization. His work is guided by a strong belief in design as a problem-solving tool and as a method for improving the connections between people and the services they use. Marvin graduated from Angeles University Foundation in the Philippines, with a B.S in Information Technology. His hobbies include cycling, photography, and gaming.

Dr. Betancourt, Senior Vice President, Equity and Community Health at Massachusetts General Hospital is an internationally recognized expert in health care disparities and cross-cultural medicine, and the industry leader in improving the quality and value in the care of diverse, minority, and vulnerable populations. Joe advises health plans, health systems and government on approaches to eliminating racial and ethnic disparities in health care. Joe has worked directly with 45 large national and regional health plans, 100 hospitals, and 30 community health centers across 33 states—providing strategic and operations support.He is an Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and a practicing Internal Medicine physician. Joe was an Aspen Institute Health Innovator Fellow and has 50 peer-reviewed publications. He sits on the Board of Trinity Health, a large national health system and has served on several Institute of Medicine (IOM) Committees on this topic, including the one that produced the landmark report, Unequal Treatment. Dr. Betancourt received his Bachelor of Science from the University of Maryland, his medical degree from Rutgers-New Jersey Medical School, and completed his residency in Internal Medicine at the New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center. Following residency, he completed The Commonwealth Fund-Harvard University Fellowship in Minority Health Policy; and received his Master’s in Public Health from the Harvard School of Public Health.

Thomas Felch, Principal & Senior Vice President LightBeam Health Solutions brings over 20 years of experience in the healthcare industry working alongside providers, payors, and patients, with a proven ability to motivate and lead teams through complex and rapidly changing environments. His experience as a health system executive affords our clients with an inside-out perspective on every engagement. Thomas is adept at promoting change and collaboration among network and operations leadership and practice-based and centralized teams to advance enterprise-wide initiatives. He has led major technology deployments and change management processes, as well as engagements focused on process improvement and practice standardization and gain greater visibility into clinical, operational, and financial work flows. Thomas is a frequent speaker on operational leadership, the shift from volume to value, and provider and consumer engagement strategy. 

Dr. Selna, Chief Executive Officer at Quartz Health Solutions is an accomplished senior healthcare executive with over 25 years of progressive leadership roles in top-ranked integrated delivery networks including Geisinger, Sutter Health, and Centura Health; multi-state provider-owned health plans; BCBS plans; and start-ups focusing on information security and artificial intelligence. Dr. Selna’s was a chief architect of Geisinger’s ProvenCare methodology. He developed Sutter Health’s Data Governance and Master Data Management programs, which deployed innovative ambulatory staffing/collaboration models using EHR data to develop AI-based outcome prediction models. He also designed Sutter Health’s Bay-Area Accountable Care platform, using first-of-its kind in-home remote monitoring. Dr. Selna is passionate about transforming care and reimbursement models through the use of data, analytics, informatics and objectives-driven strategies.