IMPROVE DIAGNOSIS - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Vice President of Finance
Aimee came to SIDM with more than 20 years of finance, corporate administration, and accounting experience, working within or consulting for small and large for-profit and nonprofit organizations. Prior to joining SIDM, Aimee served eight years as a financial consultant and manager of accounting solutions, providing strategic financial analysis and support to executive directors and CEOs. Before becoming a financial consultant, Aimee served in multiple positions with progressive responsibilities for more than 10 years at CNA Financial Corp, one of the largest US commercial property and casualty insurance companies. Aimee started her career in public accounting, auditing clients in the sectors of financial investment service, public utility, and municipal government. Aimee completed her Bachelor of Accounting at Loyola University Chicago and is a certified public accountant in the state of Illinois. When not at work, Aimee keeps busy with her family in New Lenox, Illinois.
Job Titles:
- President of Healthcare Risk and Safety
Ann Gaffey is the President of Healthcare Risk and Safety Strategies. She is an industry-recognized career risk management, quality and patient safety professional with thirty-five years of experience in healthcare, having served as the 2016 President of the American Society for Healthcare Risk Management. Ann works nationally and internationally to provid e consultative services to healthcare organizations across the care continuum to develop, improve and enhance enterprise risk management and patient safety programs. Ms. Gaffey's risk management experience includes responsibilit y for managing self-insurance and captive insurance programs, insurance purchasing, claims management, and traditional risk assessment and mitigation activities.
Ann received her degree from the University of Virginia with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. She also received her Master of Science in Nursing Leadership and Management from The George Washington University. She has achieved the CPHRM and DFASHRM designations. Ann currently serves as Faculty for the ASHRM Healthcare Risk Management Certificate Course and the Enterprise Risk Management Certificate Cours e, and previously served as adjunct faculty for the School of Nursing at The George Washington University.
Job Titles:
- Chief Financial Officer
- Chief Financial Officer at Society
Barbara White is the Chief Financial Officer at Society to Improve Diagnosis in Medicine where her responsibilities include assisting the Chief Executive Officer to leverage the organization's strategic plan, lead and oversee financial and accounting activities, and develop financial and analytical objectives. Prior to joining SIDM, she drew on her 35+ years of experience in accounting, finance consulting, and auditing with public and private organizations, and provided financial management; consulting, grants management, accounting, auditing, strategic planning, and tax preparation services to small and mid-sized clients. Known for her honesty and transparency, her niche is the non-profit sector, supporting and facilitating the needs of CEOs and Boards. Barbara is a Certified Public Accountant licensed in the State of Illinois. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from DePaul University, Chicago, Illinois. Born in Kingston, Jamaica, she migrated to the United States in the 1970s and currently resides in Georgia where she enjoys trying new restaurants and different cuisines, reading, cooking, hiking, exercising, watching old movies, and perfecting her backhand when time allows.
Doug Salvador leads the Department of Healthcare Quality at Baystate Health. He collaborates with colleagues throughout the system to promote a learning health system, develop strategy for quality and patient safety, and coordinates health care for the community. Using his training in medicine, engineering, and epidemiology, Dr. Salvador is focused on the redesign of healthcare delivery systems, diagnostic error, undergraduate and postgraduate education of quality and safety, and fostering a culture of patient safety.
A graduate of the Johns Hopkins University (Biomedical Engineering) and Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Dr. Salvador trained in infectious diseases at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. He practiced as a hospital epidemiologist after receiving a Masters in Public Health degree from the Harvard School of Public Health. His post-graduate training includes Patient Safety Officer Training from the Institute for Healthcare Improvement and service on the board of examiners for the Baldrige National Quality Program.
Dr. Kenneth A. Mundt is a career epidemiologist with professional interest and experience in applying epidemiological concepts and methods to explore and understand the complex relationships between exposures and other risk factors and a broad range of human health outcomes and diseases. He has designed, conducted and published numerous epidemiological studies, performed critical reviews and syntheses of the published literature, and is active in the development of methods for integrating evidence across scientific lines of inquiry. Dr. Mundt specializes in the practical application of scientific concepts, methods, and evidence in evaluating causation, deriving health protective regulations, and for science-based evaluations for policy and decision-making purposes.
Job Titles:
- Instructor
- Chief Science and Medical Officer
- Co - Chair of the Institute of Healthcare Improvement ( IHI ) Equity Advisory Group
- Member of the ACGME Clinical Learning Environment Review Committee
- Vice - President and Patient Safety Officer
Dr. Ronald Wyatt serves as SIDM's Chief Science and Medical Officer. Former roles include Vice-President and Patient Safety Officer at MCIC Vermont and Chief Quality and Patient Safety Officer at Cook County Health, one of the largest public health systems in the United States. Dr. Wyatt is nationally recognized in the United States as an expert in patient safety and was named several times by Becker's as one of the "Top 50 Patient Safety Experts" in the U.S. In 2010, Ron was appointed as Director of the Patient Safety Analysis Center in the U.S. Department of Defense, now the Defense Health Agency. Dr. Wyatt was the first Patient SafetyOfficer at the Joint Commission and in that role contributed to National Patient Safety Goals, Sentinel Event Alerts, and developed the "Quick Safety" publication.
Dr. Wyatt is a member of the ACGME Clinical Learning Environment Review Committee (CLER). Ron currently serves as co-chair of the Institute of Healthcare Improvement (IHI) Equity Advisory Group. He presents nationally and internationally on leadership, safety culture, safety event analysis, human factors in healthcare, patient experience, and health equity. He also serves on several boards, including the IHI Certified Professional in Patient Safety and, formally, the Society to Prevent Diagnosis in Medicine.
Dr. Wyatt is a credentialed course instructor in the School of Health Professions at the University of Alabama Birmingham. Dr. Wyatt is a graduate of the University of Alabama Birmingham School of Medicine and holds an executive master's in health administration degree from the University of Alabama Birmingham. He was a 2009-2010 Merck Fellow at IHI.
Job Titles:
- Director of Quality Improvement
Prior to joining SIDM, he was the Project Director for Patient Safety Initiatives in the Office of Patient Safety at the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations. His professional efforts are focused on improving patient safety through defining and applying evidence-based strategies in health care.
Dr. Castro was the Principal Investigator for the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT project "Investigations of Health IT-related Deaths, Serious Injuries or Unsafe Conditions." He was a member of the AAMI Foundation Board of Directors, as well as the NQF Common Formats and HIT Patient Safety and Expert Panels.
Gurpreet Dhaliwal, MD is a Professor of Medicine at the University of California San Francisco. He studies how doctors think, how they diagnose, how they make treatment decisions and how they develop expertise. Considered one of the most skillful diagnosticians and clinician-educators in the U.S. today, Dr. Dhaliwal sees patients and teaches medical students and residents at the San Francisco VA Medical Center. Dr. Dhaliwal is a member of the UCSF Academy of Medical Educators and the UCSF Department of Medicine Council of Master Clinicians. He has received multiple teaching awards at UCSF and the 2015 national Alpha Omega Alpha Robert J. Glaser Distinguished Teacher Award. He writes for The Wall Street Journal's "The Experts" healthcare blog. He has published over 100 articles in leading medical journals including the New England Journal of Medicine and the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Helen Burstin, MD, MPH is the Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer of the Council of Medical Specialty Societies (CMSS). CMSS and its 43-member societies represent almost 800,000 U.S. physician members. CMSS member societies collaborate to enhance the quality of care delivered in the U.S. healthcare system and to improve the health of the public. Dr. Burstin formerly served as Chief Scientific Officer of The National Quality Forum. Prior to joining NQF, Dr. Burstin was the Director of the Center for Primary Care, Prevention, and Clinical Partnerships at the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). Prior to joining AHRQ, Dr. Burstin was Director of Quality Measurement at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School. She was selected as a Baldrige Executive Fellow in 2016. Dr. Burstin is the author of more than 90 articles and book chapters on quality, safety and disparities.
Helene has grown accustomed to being the only person in the room without an MD after her name. Since 1999, she has served on committees, panels, and boards of directors for medical research projects, healthcare organizations, public schools, and grant-givers. She first became an advocate for families dealing with crisis when her son's complex 15-year diagnostic journey began. She has been a published writer for over 25 years, known for turning complex issues into accessible information so readers can apply the information to their own lives. She has done so for topics ranging from healthcare to policy to parenting issues and many more. Helene is a proud member of SIDM's Patient Engagement Advisory Committee and the author of SIDM's Dx IQ column, which helps engage and empower patients in their search for an accurate diagnosis.
Helene's personal mission is to ensure no adult, parent, senior, child, or family member ever has to accept a wrong diagnosis again as she did, unprotected and unarmed. She seeks to help educate, empower, and encourage patients to ask questions, pursue answers, access resources, and band together with others to support one another.
Jen is a six-year breast cancer survivor, though she still struggles with that term. At 32, she was mistakenly diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer. She was treated for metastatic breast cancer for four-and-a-half years before her doctors concluded that she was in remission and had been exhibiting an autoimmune disease rather than metastases. She will always be a staunch ally to patients living with metastatic disease.
A lawyer and former lobbyist before the federal government, Jen writes about motherhood, policy, and cancer on her blog and lends her legislative experience to advocacy groups such as YSC and METUP. She is also a member of the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship's Cancer Policy & Advocacy Team.
She has written for The Huffington Post, ScaryMommy.com, CureDiva.com, Nancy's Point, Women You Should Know, Cancer Knowledge Network, Healing Journeys, and Rage Against the Minivan. Jen was featured on The Today Show in October 2014 in a segment kicking off Breast Cancer Awareness Month hosted by Joan Lunden. Jen has also been featured in articles on the Livestrong Blog, EmpowHer.com, as part of Health Monitor's Guide to Metastatic Cancer, in the Idaho Statesman, on a podcast on the Cancer GamePlan, and in a radio segment on The Stephanie Miller Show.
Job Titles:
- Chief Executive Officer
- CEO of SIDM
As the CEO of SIDM, Dr. Ward-Robinson is passionate about improving health outcomes for all by achieving excellence in diagnosis. A transformational leader known for engaging diverse interests and stakeholders to produce systemic solutions to human development challenges, she has more than 20 years of executive leadership within academic, multilateral, nonprofit, and for-profit organizations. Her expertise includes strategic planning, operations management, brand positioning, fund development, and delivering mission-linked outcomes. Before joining SIDM as its CEO in 2021, she served as a senior advisor to the Dean of the College and Arts and Sciences at Georgia State University, and as co-director of the Center for Studies on Africa and its Diaspora.
Dr. Ward-Robinson is a frequently invited speaker to national and international audiences. She has been recognized with a Distinguished Alumni Award by the University of Houston at Clear Lake for her work in minority health.
Dr. Ward-Robinson successfully led initiatives in the United States, the Caribbean, Asia, Latin America, and Africa, from which peer-reviewed publications and related policy products have resulted.
Recently appointed as vice-chair of the Caribbean Philanthropic Alliance, Emory University, Rollins School of Public Health, and the Smithsonian Science Education Center, Dr. Ward- Robinson has served on various boards, including the United States Environmental Protection Agency's National Drinking Water Council, the Institute of Medicine Roundtable, the Alliance for Water Efficiency, and the Illinois Chapter of the Nature Conservancy, among others.
Dr. Ward-Robinson holds a doctorate from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and has completed numerous executive and leadership training programs from leading institutions that include the Center for Creative Leadership and the Northwestern Kellogg School of Nonprofit Management.
Job Titles:
- Education and Programs Specialist
Jeremiah Smith received his BS in Music Management from the University of Evansville in southern Indiana. He has made a career in nonprofit administration with both big and small organizations alike including Roosevelt University's Chicago College of Performing Arts, Lyric Opera of Chicago, and the Chicago Chamber Musicians. Prior to his position as Program Assistant with SIDM, Jeremiah served as Development Associate for Friends of the Chicago River working to increase individual memberships and supporting the organization's yearly gala.
Job Titles:
- Senior Vice President, AARP
Kamili Wilson has more than 20 years of demonstrated experience devising and implementing highly effective brand awareness and social marketing campaigns for Fortune 50 companies and leading non-profit organizations.
Currently, she serves as AARP's Senior Vice President of Affiliate Integration Services and is responsible for ensuring the successful transition and integration of newly affiliated entities in order to optimize AARP's mission, ensure business alignment and drive performance excellence. Ms. Wilson and her team serve as key strategic and implementation advisors to the AARP executive team, affiliate leadership, and their respective management teams on critical issues related to integration (front-end and back-end), growth, scale and sustainability.
Ms. Wilson is a graduate of the University of Virginia, where she earned a B.A. in English Literature. She served on the Executive Board of the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME), where she received the Edithe J. Levit Distinguished Service Award upon completion of her term. Ms. Wilson is also a former executive board member for the Arlington Retirement Housing Corporation (ARHC) and a former member of DoSomething.org's Corporate Advisory Board.
Job Titles:
- Chairman & Staff Lead
- Independent Health Policy Consultant
- Senior Policy Advisor
Leslie Tucker is an independent health policy consultant with three decades of experience serving the nation's leading public, private, academic, and philanthropic organizations working to improve health care. From 2009-2016 she was vice president of policy for the American Board of Internal Medicine and ABIM Foundation, where she worked to advance medical professionalism as a force for improving quality, and has been closely involved with the Choosing Wisely© Campaign since its inception. Prior to ABIM/F, she became senior program officer in The Pew Charitable Trusts HHS program after serving as director of the Washington office for a large and successful Pew-funded public health infrastructure funding initiative. At the state level, Leslie led strategic planning, policy, and outreach at the Rhode Island Department of Human Services during welfare reform and SCHIP expansions. She provided government relations and rural practice support for the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), served as a senior legislative assistant to U.S. Sen. Alan Simpson (R-WY), and as a health policy analyst to the U.S. House of Representatives Select Committee on Aging.
Job Titles:
- Chief Operating Officer
- Deputy Director
As deputy director and chief operating officer, Shelia Buchanan plans, directs, and oversees SIDM's day-to-day operations with strategic oversight for the office of the CEO, general administration, human resources and people management, information technology, conferences/event planning, and legal matters.
Shelia has nearly 20 years of experience working in the nonprofit environment, primarily in operations management and delivering national and international scientific conferences. She has served as the senior director of people and operations for Mission: Hope, associate vice president of operations for Uniting for Health Innovation (formerly PAHO Foundation), and held director roles for the Academy of General Dentistry, the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery, and the Alzheimer's Association. Shelia is active in various community service organizations, holds a bachelor's degree in business management, and has professional certifications in nonprofit management and project management.
Susan Carr has been writing and producing ImproveDx, SIDM's bimonthly newsletter, since January 2013. She works on publications for a number of other clients, all of which are involved in health care. She currently curates a blog at EngagingPatients.org and has been producing a newsletter and journal for the Association of Educators in Imaging and Radiologic Sciences for the past 12 years. Susan was the founding editor of Patient Safety & Quality Healthcare in 2004, and continues to write and edit articles for organizations, such as SIDM, that focus on safety and quality improvement. She lives and works outside of Boston, in Lunenburg, Massachusetts. When not working on publications or her very old house, you're likely to find Susan folk dancing or enjoying the company of friends and family.
Job Titles:
- Executive Vice President for Policy of the Healthcare Leadership Council
Tina Olson Grande is Executive Vice President for Policy of the Healthcare Leadership Council (HLC). HLC is a coalition of chief executives of the nation's leading healthcare companies and organizations. Ms. Grande oversees all policy-related matters pertaining to delivery systems, payment reform, health information technology, patient safety, and healthcare quality.
She is Chair of the Confidentiality Coalition, the leading health privacy coalition bringing together all sectors of the healthcare industry to ensure that federal policymakers find the right balance between the protection of health information and the efficient and interoperable systems needed to provide high quality care. Ms. Grande is a frequent speaker on health issues and her work has been published on numerous occasions.
Job Titles:
- Independent Executive Coach and Consultant
Von has over 30 years of experience leading, growing and transforming organizations ranging from start-ups to Fortune 10. He's an agile leader, having held "C" and "VP" level positions in Technology, Customer Experience, Strategy and Marketing. Von has also founded two companies and developed innovative teams that helped to launch iconic products that have changed the way the world works.
Von is currently an independent Executive Coach and Consultant, as well as a Limited Partner and Senior Advisor to Zane VC, a venture fund that provides capital and mentoring to minority and women entrepreneurs. In his work, he primarily advises technology founders, helping them scale their companies and grow as leaders.
Like so many others, Von's family has been affected by diagnostic errors, thrusting him into the role of investigative researcher to find the answers he couldn't get from the healthcare system. What he found led him to start a healthcare business in 2014, join the board of a mental health organization in 2018, and become a passionate student of health science while advocating for healthcare transformation.
Von earned MBAs from Cornell University's Johnson School, and the Katholieke Universitat, Leuven in Belgium. He also holds a Bachelor's degree in Economics from Wabash College.