As a healthcare quality consulting firm with over 200 clients nationwide, SMB specializes in artificial intelligence applications in healthcare clinical and operational performance improvement for healthcare systems and leadership development for administrators, physicians and trustees. Through SMB, Dr. Steven Berkowitz has also developed a successful chief medical officer one-on-one advisory program for new and experienced CMOs. Berkowitz has over 30 years of experience in executive healthcare management and consulting.

Previously, Berkowitz was the chief physician executive and president of the medical group for Northern Light Health, a nine-hospital system in Maine. For 13 years before that, he was the CMO of St. David’s Healthcare, a six-hospital system in Austin, Texas, and the CMO for the Central and West Texas Division of HCA Healthcare. He was chairman of the board of Capital Area Providers, a 501(a) Texas medical foundation with over 800 participating physicians. In 2008, St. David’s won the Texas Award for Performance Excellence and in 2014 was the national Malcolm Baldrige award recipient.

Prior to these positions, Berkowitz was national practice leader for physician services with the Hay Group. He was a senior executive for Harris Methodist Health System serving as medical director of the HMO and CMO for the integrated delivery system. He was medical/executive director for The Travelers in Phoenix, Arizona.

In February 2014, Berkowitz was appointed by Texas Gov. Rick Perry to serve as chairman of the board of the Texas Institute for Health Care Quality and Efficiency. He has sat on the boards of the Society of Cardiovascular Patient Care, the Texas Hospital Association, the Texas Health Care Information Council and the Texas Association for Healthcare Quality.

Berkowitz is board-certified in internal medicine and a prominent national speaker and writer in the healthcare arena. As a consultant, he specializes in healthcare quality improvement.

In April 2016, Berkowitz was awarded a Fellowship in the American College of Cardiology.

Believing that quality and safety are critical to healthcare organizations’ strategic success and financial well-being, Dr. Ann Blouin brings a unique perspective to governance. Educated and experienced as a nurse, she brings expertise in patient care quality, patient and staff safety and nurse recruitment and retention, using her business and clinical knowledge when contributing to various boards.

In 2018, Blouin started a consultancy, PSQ Advisory, to help clients achieve operational, financial and clinical success. Prior to founding PSQ Advisory, Blouin served ten years as executive vice president at The Joint Commission, providing leadership in aligning the organization’s strategic goals with its client base.

With more than 35 years of healthcare administration, consulting and clinical nursing experience, Blouin has held key senior leadership positions at community teaching hospitals, academic medical centers and prominent global consulting firms. Her experience as a senior leader in operations and strategy gives her a unique understanding of today’s healthcare challenges, offering keen insights into potential business opportunities and developing strategies for governance of today’s healthcare organizations.

Blouin has published and presented extensively on topics focused on healthcare leadership, patient care quality and safety and nursing leadership. She is currently an assistant professor at Loyola University’s Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing, teaching courses on quality and healthcare leadership.

Blouin earned her PhD in nursing sciences and MBA from the University of Illinois at Chicago. She received her MSN with honors from Loyola University of Chicago and a BSN with high honors from Lewis University in Romeoville, Illinois. She is a Lifetime Fellow of the American College of Health Care Executives and has been awarded several notable honors, including the Outstanding Alumna (Lewis University); Damen Award (Loyola University of Chicago); and the 2017 University of Illinois Joan L. Shaver Nursing Leadership Award. She is a certified Green Belt in Lean/Six Sigma/Change Management methodologies.

Blouin currently serves on the boards of directors of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement and Ensign Group, a public company focused on post-acute care settings. She also chairs Ensign’s Quality Assurance and Compliance Committee. Blouin serves as a board advisor for three healthcare start-up companies, Vitalacy, Elemeno Health and Magvation. Her prior governance experience includes board tenure and vice chair of the National Patient Safety Foundation, a senior citizen community board and a federally qualified healthcare clinic board. In 2019, she was recognized by Women Inc. as one of the nation’s “Most Influential Corporate Board Directors.”

With more than 25 years of experience working with healthcare organizations on executive search assignments and leadership-related consultations, Paul Bohne is well known for his expertise in contemporary healthcare trends and the leadership competencies that are required of high-performing organizations. He has helped lead transition and selection processes for more than 150 CEO-level searches with WittKieffer, taking pride in advancing innovative, visionary, exceptional leaders for organizations committed to serving others. Bohne is a frequent speaker to health system trustees, state hospital associations and other professional organizations on healthcare leadership, executive transition and succession planning, and career planning. He is based in Boston.

Thomas Carman has led Samaritan Health System, based in Watertown, since 2004. Before joining Samaritan, Carman was with Cortland Regional Medical Center from 1997 to 2004. Carman joined the HANYS board in 2008 and has been a major champion of HANYS’ advocacy efforts.

In addition to being a longtime leader in New York’s healthcare community, Carman is an active volunteer in his community, including serving as past chair of the Greater Watertown North Country Chamber of Commerce, North Country Heart Walk and United Way of Northern New York Campaign.

He earned his undergraduate degree in pharmacy from Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and a master’s degree in business administration from Syracuse University. He was a Commissioned Officer in the U.S. Public Health Services from April 1980 to November 1981, receiving an honorable discharge.

Joseph Cuozzo oversees IT operations for Richmond University Medical Center, Richmond Health Network, Staten Island Mental Health and the Visiting Nurse Association of Staten Island. With a keen eye for technology advancement, he directs the IT, switchboard, biomedicine, audio/video and telecommunications departments.

Under Cuozzo’s leadership, RUMC has significantly bolstered its security posture. He spearheaded the implementation of cutting-edge Endpoint Detection and Response systems, fortified security with enhanced multifactor authentication and elevated staff awareness through comprehensive cybersecurity training. His strategic guidance also led to the establishment of robust cybersecurity policies and procedures.

Cuozzo crafted a comprehensive three-year plan to revolutionize RUMC’s IT landscape. Central to this plan is restructuring the IT department, which involves adding pivotal roles such as security engineer and network engineer. Recognizing the imperative to keep pace with evolving technological demands, Cuozzo prioritized enhancing RUMC’s infrastructure, including the phased replacement of legacy network switches. Cuozzo navigated the complexities of transitioning from traditional on-premises servers to cloud-based alternatives. This strategic move not only modernized the organization’s IT infrastructure but also unlocked new levels of flexibility and agility.

Cuozzo’s forward-thinking approach reflects his commitment to harnessing the latest advancements to drive operational excellence. His expertise in navigating this transition highlights his role as a visionary leader, dedicated to ensuring the organization remains at the forefront of technological innovation.

A proud Staten Island native, Cuozzo joined RUMC in 2016 and swiftly climbed the ranks, holding pivotal roles such as systems analyst, applications manager, IT director and assistant vice president. Before his tenure at RUMC, he contributed his expertise as a CPOE Systems Analyst at Staten Island University Hospital for several years.

Cuozzo earned a Bachelor of Science in economics from CUNY–College of Staten Island and an MBA in technology management from Walden University. Additionally, he holds esteemed certifications in ITIL and Lean Six Sigma Black Belt from Villanova University, showcasing his commitment to excellence and continuous improvement.

Acclaimed futurist and trendcaster, Dr. Shawn DuBravac is the author of The New York Times bestseller “Digital Destiny: How the New Age of Data Will Transform the Way We Work, Live, and Communicate.” The book explores how the world’s mass adoption of digital technologies portends the beginning of a new era for humanity in the realms of business, healthcare, finance, transportation and culture.

DuBravac is an internationally recognized thought leader and top-rated keynote speaker, delivering pragmatic and provocative insights on the trends, technologies and paradigms transforming the globe. His research focuses on the forces shaping tomorrow that are percolating on the periphery of society and business today. By providing an elevated view of developing trends, DuBravac empowers leaders and their organizations to improve strategic decision-making capabilities by understanding the changing landscape and identifying the opportunities that lie ahead.

DuBravac is president of Avrio Institute. Borrowing from the Greek Αύριο, meaning tomorrow, the Institute helps leaders prepare for uncertain and divergent futures. Clients include Fortune 100 and Global 1000 companies, scrappy start-ups, government agencies and nonprofit organizations. Grounded in economics, DuBravac served over 12 years as chief economist for the Consumer Technology Association, the U.S. trade association representing more than 2,000 consumer tech companies, and owner and producer of CES.

DuBravac writes extensively on disruptive technological shifts and has been widely published on the topics of technology, finance and economics. His analyses have appeared in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Financial Times, The Washington Post, Wired, Los Angeles Times, Barron’s, “onair” with CNBC, Bloomberg, NPR, CBS and other media outlets.

DuBravac has been named one of the top 50 futurist speakers to have at your conference by Readwrite, one of 27 finance thought leaders to read and follow by Prophix and to Dealerscope’s “40 under 40” list of people to watch in the technology industry. He is a past president of the CFA Society of Washington, D.C. and the Conference of Business Economists, a founding trustee of the CTA Foundation and a past board member of the National Association of Business Economists.

DuBravac has taught at the George Washington University School of Business, American University’s Kogod School of Business, George Mason University School of Business, Marymount University School of Business and the University of Mary Washington. He holds economic degrees from Brigham Young University and George Mason University.

As president of the Healthcare Association of New York State, Bea Grause is a passionate advocate for New York’s nonprofit and public hospitals, health systems and post-acute and continuing care providers. She also oversees HANYS’ nationally engaged for-profit business services. Since her tenure began in 2016, she has contributed her extensive clinical, political and legal know-how to the organization’s agenda and in discussions with state and federal healthcare stakeholders.

Throughout the tremendous challenges of the pandemic, Grause’s leadership ensured that New York’s hospitals and health systems have had resources, flexibility and government support needed to preserve care in communities across the state. Grause continues to advocate on behalf of New York’s hospitals and health systems as they face severe and escalating fiscal and workforce crises post-pandemic.

Prior to HANYS, Grause served as president and CEO of the Vermont Association of Hospitals and Health Systems for 14 years, successfully leading Vermont hospitals through a variety of reform initiatives, including the state’s single-payer debate, and building the hospitals’ brand as trusted, competent leaders.

Grause spent 10 years in Washington, D.C., in a variety of positions. She began her D.C. tenure as a legislative assistant, first in the office of Rep. Norman Y. Mineta and then for Rep. Joseph P. Kennedy II. After she left Capitol Hill, Grause simultaneously held senior governmental affairs positions with the Tennessee Hospital Association and Massachusetts Hospital Association. She spent three years working as counsel with the law firm of Foley, Hoag. In this role, she developed tailored legislative and regulatory strategies for many healthcare clients. Grause previously worked as a registered nurse, primarily in the emergency room and intensive care areas at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center of California.

She completed a three-year term (2012 to 2015) as an at-large member of the American Hospital Association board of trustees, including a 2015 term on the AHA Executive and AHA CEO Search Committees. As part of her AHA board responsibilities, she also served as chairman of the AHA Allied Advisory Committee on Medicaid.

Grause earned her Juris Doctorate in 1991. She earned a Bachelor of Science in nursing from Boston College in 1979 and is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives. She is also a 2003 graduate of the Vermont Leadership Institute.

Thomas Hallisey formulates and executes HANYS’ state and federal health information technology regulatory and legislative advocacy agenda. This includes working with government agencies, lawmakers and other organizations to advance HANYS’ HIT agenda on behalf of New York’s hospitals and health systems.

Hallisey’s career includes extensive HIT work in the hospital setting, beginning as an application analyst at Griffin Hospital in Derby, Connecticut, and then working at several hospitals in New York state. He served as director of information services at Cayuga Medical Center in Ithaca, then as vice president, information management, and chief information officer at Cortland Regional Medical Center. Next, he joined Menusguide.com, a startup company, as chief technology officer, and served as CIO for United Medical Center in Washington, D.C. Most recently, he was executive IT adviser and CIO at Hartman Executive Advisors, an IT consulting firm.

Hallisey serves as a trustee on the board of directors of Columbia Memorial Health and is an adjunct assistant professor at Downstate Health Sciences University. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Connecticut. He has an ITIL v.3 Foundation Certification and is an affiliate of the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives and Healthcare Information Management Systems.

Chair, Board of Governors
HTNYS

Sharon Hanson is the Secretary of the Erie County Medical Center Corporation board of directors. She has served in a variety of board leadership roles over the past 20 years. Currently, she serves as the chair of the governance committee and is a member of the executive, compensation and investment committees. Her leadership has had a profound impact at the region’s only designated Level 1 Adult Trauma Center. Hanson participated in developing the organization’s strategic plan, which successfully led to more efficient and effective day-to-day operations. She has proudly advocated on behalf of the thousands of caregivers, residents and patients of Western New York’s diverse community.

Hanson is also the president and chief executive officer of a successful healthcare consulting business. She continues to serve the Buffalo not-for-profit community as a member of the United Way, the Women’s Group and as a mentor to new and upcoming entrepreneurs.

Hanson served as chair of the board of trustees at Trocaire College, where she helped establish a partnership between Trocaire and ECMCC to provide an employment path for matriculating nurses. She helped create the Health Sciences Charter School by providing a curriculum for City of Buffalo students to prepare and pursue future careers in healthcare. Hanson also served as a commissioner on the reservation of the Seneca Nation of Indians, where she helped design a program to advance policies and procedures to improve healthcare for individuals suffering from diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity and drug abuse.

Hanson is a graduate of Canisius College and holds dual Bachelor of Science degrees in English and political science. She joined the HTNYS board of governors in 2017.

Member, Board of Governors
HTNYS

Timothy Harrison was elected to the board of trustees of the Richmond University Medical Center in 2019 and currently serves as chairman of the board.

From 1982 through 1989 (with a pause in 1984 to run a senatorial campaign in Virginia), Harrison was an associate attorney at the Manhattan law firm of Cravath, Swaine & Moore, where he focused on corporate litigation, mergers and acquisitions. Harrison is a member of the bars of the State of New York, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

Since 1990, he has served as managing partner of TCH Realty & Development Co., and its affiliated partnerships. In that capacity, he has developed 32 commercial, industrial, office and residential projects.

Harrison has engaged actively in community service, both locally and nationally. He was elected in 2015 to the Board of Visitors of the Nelson A. Rockefeller Center for Public Policy and the Social Sciences at Dartmouth College. He has served as chairman of that board since 2017.

During his more than 20 years serving on the board of directors of Project Hospitality, Harrison has contributed actively to the organization’s growth and its mission: the establishment of a broad and sustainable continuum of care for Staten Islanders in need, including the provision of food for the hungry, shelter for the unhoused, safe spaces for the abused, comprehensive treatment for people suffering from addiction, HIV/AIDS or mental illness, and a panoply of other services for the less fortunate.

He was elected to be a director of the Northfield Bank Foundation in 2014; he was named chairman of the Foundation Board in 2019 and has served in that capacity since then. He has served since 2013 as a member of the board of directors of Northfield Bank.

From 2015 through 2022, Harrison served as a trustee of the Staten Island Academy. He was elected vice president of the board in 2017 and president in 2018.

Harrison earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Dartmouth College in 1978, graduating cum laude with highest distinction in government. He earned his Juris Doctor degree in 1981 from the University of Virginia School of Law.

Nick Henley serves as executive director of Healthcare Trustees of New York State, principally focused on assisting healthcare board members through education, communications and advocacy. In this role, Henley works directly with the HTNYS board and oversees HTNYS’ advocacy and educational initiatives.

As HANYS’ vice president of external affairs, Nick Henley is the point person for interacting with the senior leadership of hospitals and health systems across the state. He directs HANYS’ member services, including industry-leading member engagement efforts, analysis of healthcare system and market trends and development of strategic public policy.

Henley also leads HANYS’ political action efforts, serving as treasurer of HANYS’ influential state and federal political action committees. Henley took on these roles in 2015 after working in HANYS’ governmental affairs division for ten years, including serving as director of governmental affairs.

Before coming to HANYS in 2005, he worked at the Schuyler Center for Analysis and Advocacy in Albany and in various capacities at St. Peter’s Hospital in Albany. Henley graduated from Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts, with a Bachelor of Arts in economics and from the School of Public Health at the State University of New York at Albany with a Master of Public Health concentrating in health policy and management.

Over her 44-year career, Pam Knecht has consulted with hospitals, health systems and clinics of all types and sizes. She regularly assists boards and CEOs with strategic planning; corporate and governance restructuring; system affiliation and integration; and governance assessment, development and coaching.

In 2007, Knecht was named a Governance Advisor by The Governance Institute. She serves as faculty for TGI, Veralon, the American Hospital Association and many state hospital associations. She writes extensively for publications such as the American College of Healthcare Executive’s Healthcare Executive, TGI’s BoardRoom Press and AHA’s Trustee Services.

Prior to joining ACCORD, Knecht was a consultant for an executive education and organization development firm that served the Fortune 200. She graduated from Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, and is a member of the ACHE, Society for Healthcare Strategy and Market Development and National Association of Corporate Directors.

Kristopher Kusche joined Albany Med Health System in 1993 as director of clinical engineering and was then promoted to system chief information security officer, responsible for all technology security policy, operations, investigation, enforcement and compliance. He was named the senior vice president and system CIO in 2021 after serving as interim system CIO since 2020.

Albany Med serves more than three million residents of 25 counties in New York, western Massachusetts and southern Vermont. The system includes four hospitals with 1,520 beds, the region’s only academic medical center and medical college, more than 15,000 employees, 800 physicians and 120 outpatient locations.

Kusche earned both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in biomedical engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He is certified as an information systems security professional and as a healthcare information security and privacy practitioner by the International Information Systems Security Certification Consortium. He is also certified by the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society as a professional in healthcare information and management systems.

Aside from his role at the Albany Med Health System, Kusche has volunteered in many external professional roles and currently serves as a member of Excelsior College’s Industry Advisory Committee, a member of the University at Albany’s Cyber Security Advisory Board, and as a Health Devices Advisory Board member for the ECRI Institute.

Dr. James McDonald was appointed commissioner of health Jan. 1, 2023, and confirmed by the Senate June 9, 2023. Prior to joining DOH, McDonald served at the Rhode Island Department of Health since 2012.

At the RIDOH, he served in multiple roles, including interim director of health, chief administrative officer of the Board of Medical Licensure and Discipline, medical director for the COVID unit, medical director of the division of healthcare quality and safety and the Drug Overdose Prevention Program. He was also a member of the Governor’s task force on preventing overdose deaths. McDonald has faculty appointments at the UAlbany School of Public Health and Brown School of Public Health.

McDonald earned his MD from Loyola Stritch School of Medicine in Chicago, his pediatric residency in the U.S. Navy and his preventive medicine residency from the State University of New York. He earned his MPH from the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill and his BS in biology from Siena College. McDonald is board-certified in pediatrics and preventive medicine.

His diverse career includes officership in the U.S. Navy and private practice in rural areas where healthcare shortages existed. McDonald also served in the Indian Health Service in the Navajo Nation, serving as medical director of outpatient medicine in Chinle, Arizona.

Colleen McVeigh currently leads HANYS’ activities surrounding the implementation and administration of the 1115 waiver. Her background is in healthcare data and analytics, as well as Medicaid reform. She received her bachelor’s in business administration and technology management from the State University of New York at Cobleskill and her Master of Business Administration in healthcare administration from Union Graduate College.

Dr. Daniel Messina joined Richmond University Medical Center as president and CEO in April 2014. A life-long resident of Staten Island, Messina is a seasoned executive with over 30 years of healthcare leadership experience.

During his tenure at RUMC, Messina has expanded and integrated the hospital’s primary acute and behavioral care networks. Under his leadership, RUMC formed an Accountable Care Organization and was instrumental in developing the Staten Island Performing Provider System, one of New York state’s top-performing Delivery System Reform Incentive Payment programs.

Under Messina’s leadership, RUMC has established a comprehensive Breast and Imaging Center; an outpatient Comprehensive Physical Rehabilitation Center; a Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation Center; new programs in robotic surgery, neurosurgery and neurovascular medicine; a Bariatric and Metabolic Institute for weight loss surgery; a state-of-the-art Center for Cancer Care; the Center for Integrated Behavioral Medicine; and the Post COVID-19 Care Center to assist people experiencing long-term symptoms and health impacts after exposure to COVID-19. RUMC has also established the Richmond Health Network, which features over 100 primary and specialty care physicians, medical specialists and healthcare providers serving Staten Island through outpatient facilities across the borough and Brooklyn.

During his tenure as CEO, Messina facilitated a merger with Staten Island Mental Health Society, bringing their robust behavioral health programs into the hospital’s network. He expanded healthcare services to Staten Island’s youth population by creating one of the few existing school-based health clinics in New York City. Additionally, he facilitated the merger of the Visiting Nurse Association of Staten Island with RUMC and led the development of a foundation for RUMC that has yielded over $103 million in public and private funds. With an eye to the future, Messina helped create a robust strategic plan that led to a partnership with Preston Hollow, a private equity firm that has created a financial engine to fund a wide range of expansion projects and renovations.

Before joining RUMC, Messina served as vice president of operations at Hackensack University Medical Center. He then served as system chief operating officer of CentraState Healthcare System in Freehold, New Jersey, for 13 years, where he was responsible for all system operations. During that period, he led efforts to be a top performer in Press Ganey’s patient satisfaction scores for length of stay, Modern Healthcare’s 100 Best Places to Work, 100 Most Wired Hospital Status and Magnet Nursing Designation. Messina also developed growth strategies that included new cancer, proton therapy and multiple sclerosis centers, and a 6.31-megawatt solar electric project.

Messina received his AS in liberal arts and sciences from the College of Staten Island; a BS in health science from Long Island University–Brooklyn; his MPA in healthcare administration from Long Island University–CW Post; and his PhD in health sciences from Seton Hall University. He is a former Regent of the American College of Healthcare Executives and former President of the Health Executive Association of New Jersey.

Messina is board-certified in healthcare management as an ACHE Fellow. He has taught as an adjunct professor at several local universities and received many awards from local, state and national organizations. He serves on the board of trustees for Greater New York Hospital Association, HANYS, formerly the American Hospital Association Region II, the Staten Island Economic Development Corporation, the DiVinci Society and the Staten Island Hall of Fame.

Paul Milton has more than 30 years of experience as a senior healthcare leader. He became president and CEO of Ellis Medicine in March 2016, having served as executive vice president and chief operating officer since 2008.

Milton’s leadership is marked by strategic decision-making that has led to a series of collaborative achievements. His accomplishments include forming successful partnerships with St. Peter’s Health Partners and Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center and working with elected officials to address the Medicare Wage Index for the Capital Region. Additionally, he oversaw the establishment of Mohawk Harbor Urgent Care and the Medical Center of Clifton Park. He played a pivotal role in launching Ellis Outpatient Mental Health Services Center for adults and adolescents. His strategic vision led to the realignment of facilities and services at Bellevue Woman’s Center, McClellan Campus and Ellis Hospital, ultimately improving the overall efficiency and effectiveness of these institutions.

Prior to joining Ellis, Milton served as the COO of Norwalk Hospital in Connecticut, a 328-bed teaching hospital and level II trauma center. His previous roles include COO of Northeast Health in Troy, NY, where he played a key role in the merger of Albany Memorial and Samaritan hospitals. Additionally, he held the position of vice president of administration for Middlesex Hospital in Middletown, CT, and vice president of operations at the Stamford Health Care Corporation in Stamford, CT.

Milton’s academic achievements are a testament to his dedication to the healthcare field. He earned his master’s degree in health services administration from George Washington University, Washington, D.C., and his bachelor’s degree in business administration from Miami University, Oxford, OH. He is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives.

Beyond his professional endeavors, Milton is strongly committed to community leadership. He has served as chair of the Capital Region Chamber and is currently chair of the Healthy Alliance. He also has experience as a community healthcare coordinator with the United States Peace Corps in Malawi, Africa.

Director, Community Health Policy
HANYS

Kristen Phillips is responsible for developing educational programs for trustees, including HTNYS’ signature event, the Annual Trustee Conference. She also serves as director of community health policy for the Healthcare Association of New York State, where she manages HANYS’ community health agenda, which includes policy development, advocacy and educational programming.

Before joining HTNYS, Phillips worked for 14 years in various roles at LeadingAge New York, an association that represents not-for-profit and public continuing care providers. In her most recent role as vice president of education, she oversaw the development of all educational programming including multiple annual conferences, in-person seminars and audioconferences aimed at keeping long-term care professionals informed and providing continuing education units for their certification renewals.

Phillips holds a Master of Public Administration degree in healthcare policy and management and public management from the Nelson A. Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy and a bachelor’s degree in sociology from Siena College. She attended the Empire State Society of Association Executives Leadership Academy from 2014 to 2015 and earned her Certified Association Executive credential through the American Society of Association Executives in 2015.

Dedicated to improving rural communities, Eric Shell is an industry leader in supporting rural healthcare in its transition to population health. For his nearly 30 years in healthcare financial management and consulting, Shell’s passion for sustainable and accessible rural healthcare has driven him to help hundreds of rural health systems achieve improved financial and operational performance. As healthcare transitions from fee-for-service reimbursement towards value-based payment, Shell and his rural team provide vital strategic, financial and operational improvement services to ensure that rural health systems continue to provide local, high-quality and accessible patient care.

A noted speaker committed to education, Shell is often featured at nationwide rural conferences, presenting on the future of rural healthcare, critical access hospital financial and reimbursement topics and rural hospital performance improvement. He has assisted in the development of a national program for rural hospital performance improvement and performance measurement. Further, he helped develop new rural demonstration payment programs for frontier clinics and hospitals. Shell has served on the National Rural Health Association’s Rural Health Congress and Governmental Affairs Committee and the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy’s Rural Hospital Issues Group.

Before joining Stroudwater, Shell was the director of finance and administration for Rochester Community Individual Practice Association, Inc., where he provided leadership and financial management to a 2,500-provider community-based IPA. He has also practiced as a CPA at Arthur Andersen & Co. and at a local accounting firm.

Shell earned his bachelor’s degree in accounting from Pennsylvania State University and his master’s in business administration (Beta Gamma Sigma) from the W. E. Simon Graduate School at the University of Rochester. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Maine Society of Accountants.

Based in New York City, Susan Snyder is a trusted advisor and business leader dedicated to helping executives and their teams more capably and confidently navigate the challenges they face, which are uniquely significant in healthcare, life sciences and higher education. Snyder brings 30 years of consulting experience in CEO, executive and board succession planning, executive team alignment and development, culture definition and sustenance, and executive coaching and development. She is a certified Hudson Institute executive coach and is accredited in a wide variety of assessment and development methodologies.

NBC Contributor

David Wasserman is the senior editor and election analyst for the nonpartisan newsletter The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter. Founded in 1984, The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter provides analyses of U.S. presidential, Senate, House and gubernatorial races. The New York Times called The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter “a newsletter that both parties regard as authoritative.”

Wasserman analyzes the current political environment in lively and entertaining presentations tailored to his audiences’ specific interests or locales. His data-driven forecasting looks at national and local trends (if requested, he can even do a district-by-district outlook), the relationship between consumer brand loyalty and voting, and what the future holds for American elections. He is exclusively represented by Leading Authorities speakers bureau.

Nate Silver of FiveThirtyEight wrote: “Wasserman’s knowledge of the nooks and crannies of political geography can make him seem like a local,” and the Los Angeles Times called Wasserman “whip smart” and a “scrupulously nonpartisan” analyst whose “numbers nerd-dom was foretold at a young age.” Chuck Todd, host of NBC’s Meet the Press, recently called Wasserman "pretty much the only person you need to follow on Election Night."

In 2016, Wasserman drew wide praise for his accurate pre-election analysis, including his uncanny September piece, “How Trump Could Win the White House While Losing the Popular Vote.” Leading Republican pollster Kristen Soltis Anderson concluded, “Nobody of my generation knows American politics as well as Dave Wasserman.”

Wasserman has been an analyst for the NBC News Election Night Decision Desk since 2008 and has also appeared on Fox News, CNN and NPR. His commentary has been cited in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, The Economist, POLITICO and The Washington Post. In 2018, his groundbreaking interactive collaboration with FiveThirtyEight, the "Atlas of Redistricting," took top prize for News Data App of the Year.

An enthusiast for data and maps, Wasserman is a contributing writer to the Almanac of American Politics. A frequent speaker and guest lecturer, he has shared insights into the latest political trends with audiences at Harvard’s Institute of Politics, the Dole Institute of Politics and the University of Chicago Institute of Politics — where he was named a resident Pritzker Fellow in 2019. In May 2024, Wasserman was awarded an Andrew Carnegie fellowship to join a group of scholars studying ways to combat political polarization.

Wasserman previously served for three years as House editor of Sabato’s Crystal Ball, a widely respected political analysis newsletter and website founded by renowned University of Virginia professor Larry Sabato. A native of New Jersey, Wasserman is a graduate of the University of Virginia, where he was awarded the 2006 Emmerich-Wright Outstanding Thesis prize.

As a partner and chair at King & Spalding, Rick Zall represents clients on both transactional and regulatory healthcare matters, including advising healthcare providers, private equity investors and lenders on mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, financing and complex commercial transactions. He advises clients on state and federal healthcare regulatory compliance matters, including navigating fraud, abuse and corporate practice of medicine prohibitions, and value-based and Medicare/Medicaid payment rules. Zall also counsels clients in the emerging digital health and health information technology sectors on complying with data privacy and security laws, telemedicine licensure regulations and health benefit management.