James Corbett, MDiv, JD
Principal

Quan Pho, PharmD, MBA, FACHE
Principal
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. Dr. Pho 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
Executive Creative Director
Elise Plakke is an award-winning designer, 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, MPH
Senior Consultant

Christopher Theisen, MS
Director of Operations and Business Intelligence
Toph’s dedicated service to healthcare began hands-on, as a clinical care extender. During that period, he completed his BS in biology, while also conducting lab research into tunneling nanotubes within 3T3 cell populations. In both laboratory and hospital settings, Toph created and championed sterilization and safety protocols, but his broader experiences and observations steered him toward the utilization of data in healthcare. Pursuant to a graduate degree, he garnered expertise in data systems, and analyzed Data for Development (D4D) datasets in the context of Ebola virus diffusion and transmission modeling during the 2014 outbreak in West Africa. Before joining Initium, Toph spent five years implementing and maintaining Epic’s EHR across a multi-state healthcare system, eventually becoming a member of the Antimicrobial Stewardship and Infection Prevention Council and a High Reliability Organization trainer. In 2020, as a member of the pandemic IT Rapid Response Team, he facilitated multiple projects, including channeling data from multiple databases to the CDC and DHHS. Throughout his tenure, he advocated for problem solving through strong communication, transparency, and collaboration between multidisciplinary teams. Toph Theisen is highly motivated to improve patient care, safety and outcomes through the optimization and expansion of data systems and the implementation of efficient, comprehensive practices therein.

David Morelli, MBA
Senior Consultant and Executive Coach
Lateef Durosinmi, Ph.D (ABD), MPH
Project Manager
Wendy Lovato, PharmD, MSHA
Director of Pharmacy
Wendy Lovato is a pharmacist with over 13 years of healthcare experience. Wendy has extensive experience supporting and leading operations within health systems. She has served as a clinical and operational pharmacist supporting inpatient and specialty pharmacy. Her success in driving system initiatives has led to improved pharmacy care for patients driving better outcomes and accomplishing operational targets. She is known for her ability to foster relationships and bring teams together to achieve goals as a valued partner amongst administrators and clinicians. Dr. Lovato is also adjunct faculty at Regis University School of Pharmacy sharing her experiences with students to help prepare them for their journey. Wendy graduated from the Metropolitan State University of Denver with a Bachelor of Arts in chemistry, Regis University with a Doctorate of Pharmacy and Regis University with a Masters of Science in Healthcare Administration. She holds a Black Belt in Lean Six Sigma and completed her residency training at a level 1 trauma center at St. Anthony Hospital, Centura Health.

Weiqi Jiao, M.Sc.
Pharmacy Analyst
Weiqi Jiao, a detail-oriented lab research professional with 5-year experience in research and application of cancer biology. She has strong mind set to dive into projectsor situations with vigor. She has executed and engaged in significant projects including drug development, biochemical characterization, molecular research in human neuron degenerative disease, prostate and melanoma, with expertise in constructing animal models, cell and tissue culture, hands on in vivo and ex vivo skills, With project management and development abilities, she increased productivity through process management and communication skills. She also has strong educational background in public health. She offers skills at statistical analysis and R programming for data processing. scientific writing; and communication. At Initium Health, Weiqi is working as a pharmacy analyst intern in the areas of supply chain and government solicitations research. She is getting familiar with health system pharmacy business and pharmacy benefit. Weiqi graduated from China Pharmaceutical University with a B.S. in Pharmaceutics. She is currently a Sc.M. candidate at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, expecting to graduate in May 2020 with high performance.

Joe Betancourt, MD, MPH
Senior Advisor
Dr. Betancourt 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.

Mark Selna, MD
Senior Advisor