HEALTH SYSTEM - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Chief Administrative Officer, UVA Medical Center
As chief administrative officer of the University of Virginia Medical Center, Abdullahi Somo, MBA, collaborates with senior executives, physician leaders, faculty, and team members on a broad range of strategic priorities, system initiatives, and major projects. Somo is excited to be part of an exceptional UVA Health team, working together on the mission to provide excellence, innovation, and superlative quality in the care of patients, the training of health professionals, and the creation and sharing of health knowledge within a culture that promotes equity, diversity, and inclusiveness.
Prior to Joining UVA Health, Somo served in the perioperative services at The Ohio State Wexner Medical Center, OSU Brain and Spine Hospital, and Richard M. Ross Heart Hospital. His focus was operational efficiency, growth and expansion, and financial stewardship.
Before taking the current role as CAO, Somo served as an administrator in primary care for OhioHealth Inc. There, his focus was delivering high-quality and cost-effective primary care, patient access initiatives, population health management, implementation of new care delivery models, and program development.
Somo holds a master of Business Administration (MBA) degree from Franklin University's Ross College of Business and a bachelor of science in Molecular Genetics from the Ohio State University. Somo is Lean Six Sigma Certified and a Certified Healthcare Financial Professional (CHFP) by the Healthcare Financial Management Association.
Job Titles:
- Associate Chief Medical Officer, Medicine
Allison Kirkner, ACNP, is a UVA Health acute care nurse practitioner who helps patients needing complex heart, vein, and artery surgery.
Job Titles:
- Executive Director, UVA Health Foundation Senior Associate Vice President, Health System Development
In this role, Karr leads a team of 50 to achieve UVA Health's goal of $1 billion in the recently launched Honor the Future campaign, and works in partnership with University and UVA Health leadership and volunteers to inspire donors to higher and deeper levels of philanthropic engagement in health.
Job Titles:
- Vice Chair for Clinical Affairs, Department of Pediatrics
Job Titles:
- Executive Director of Clinical Growth and Outreach
Job Titles:
- Chief of Staff
- Chief of Staff, Office of the Executive Vice President for Health Affairs
Murray works with the EVP and the senior leadership team on a broad range of strategic priorities and initiatives. He joined UVA Health in 2015 as an administrative fellow and has held a number of leadership positions.
Chip Murray is chief of staff for K. Craig Kent, MD, executive vice president for Health Affairs at the University of Virginia.
Chip works with Dr. Kent and the senior leadership team on a broad range of strategic priorities and initiatives. Chip joined UVA Health in 2015 as an administrative fellow and has held a number of leadership positions.
Chip received master's degrees in business administration and public administration from Ohio State University and a bachelor's from Dickinson College.
Dean Baernholdt is the author, with Diane K. Boyle, of Nurses' Contributions to Quality Health Outcomes (Springer: 2021) and numerous articles and book chapters on topics ranging from rural health to quality improvement and workplace bullying. She is a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing and the Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research, among a long list of accolades that includes awards for outstanding faculty, outstanding faculty research publication, and innovative teaching.
Job Titles:
- Director, Clinical Operations
Job Titles:
- Certified Public Accountant
- Chief Financial Officer, UVA Health
- CITP, CHFP
- UVA Health 's Chief Financial Officer
Lischke oversees all health system finance, consolidated financial reporting, treasury, and revenue cycle management. He serves as the health system senior executive representative to the University. Lischke also represents UVA Health on various boards.
Douglas E. Lischke serves as UVA Health's Chief Financial Officer. He began his career at UVA in 2015 as UVA Health's first ever Chief Accounting Officer. Prior to that, Doug was the Associate Vice President for Financial Services and Controller for Wake Forest Baptist Health, where he held various finance roles over his 16 year tenure.
Doug is an active Certified Public Accountant, a Certified Healthcare Finance Professional and a Certified Information Technology Professional with over 25 years of financial management experience.
Job Titles:
- Chief Operating Officer, Department of Pediatrics
Job Titles:
- Chief Executive Officer of UVA Community Health
Erik Shannon currently serves as chief executive officer of UVA Community Health. UVA Community Health includes an integrated network of outpatient services across Culpeper and Northern Virginia, together with UVA Culpeper Medical Center, UVA Haymarket Medical Center, and UVA Prince William Medical Center.
Shannon came to UVA Community Health from his role as partner at Grant Thornton, a global consulting and advisory services firm, where he helped lead the transition work to integrate UVA Community Health into UVA Health after UVA Health became the full owner of the regional health system in July 2021.
Shannon has more than 30 years of healthcare experience leading organizational and operational strategy, including strategic planning, operational improvement, restructuring and reorganization, financial planning, and physician practice management. Along with overseeing day-to-day patient care operations, Shannon is partnering with UVA Community Health's senior leadership team and several internal teams to continue the work to integrate UVA Community Health into UVA Health.
Job Titles:
- Associate Chief Medical Officer, Primary Care
Job Titles:
- Chief Executive Officer, UVA Physicians Group
Dr. Just assumed the role of chief executive officer of UVA Physicians Group (UPG) in May of 2023 and is responsible for overseeing all UPG operations. Prior to this appointment, he served as president of Augusta Medical Group and vice president of Augusta Health. Dr. Just practiced emergency medicine in Central Virginia for 23 years.
Job Titles:
- President of the University of Virginia
- University President
Ryan serves as the ninth president of the University of Virginia. A respected and accomplished educator and legal scholar, he earned his law degree from UVA and previously served on the School of Law faculty for 15 years.
Job Titles:
- President, UVA Physicians Group ( UPG )
Elected as president by the UVA clinical department chairs to represent clinical faculty in the UVA Physicians Group (UPG), Larner partners with the UPG executive team to oversee the organization.
Job Titles:
- Physician in Chief for UVA Children 's and Chair, Department of Pediatrics
Jason Lineen - Chief Strategy Officer
As UVA Health's Chief Strategy Officer, Lineen provides executive counsel and leadership for UVA Health's strategic planning efforts, service line expansion, and transformation initiatives, including structuring strategic affiliations, mergers, acquisitions, and partnerships.
Job Titles:
- Chief External Affairs Officer
Siciliano leverages her strategic leadership and strong relationships with elected officials and teams at the federal, state, and local levels to support UVA Health's mission and goals.
Job Titles:
- Chief Operating Officer, School of Medicine
Job Titles:
- Chief Ambulatory Operations Officer
As UVA Health's chief ambulatory operations officer, Bennett provides leadership and oversight for clinical ambulatory practice operations representing over a million annual visits and growing. The goal is to create a more unified ambulatory structure to provide the best patient care and outstanding service. Along with patient care, Bennett aspires to create an environment that improves the satisfaction of our providers and team members. Improving patient access and efficiency in our clinics is a top priority.
Bennett previously served as chief executive of ambulatory services for PeaceHealth, a not-for-profit healthcare system with hospitals, medical clinics, and laboratories located in Alaska, Washington, and Oregon. Before PeaceHealth, he worked for over two decades at Providence St. Joseph Health, a national Catholic, not-for-profit health system. He held various leadership roles there, including chief executive of the system's Southern California physician groups.
Bennett received his bachelor's degree from Brigham Young University and his master's degree, emphasizing healthcare administration, from West Virginia University. Following that, Bennett was an administrative fellow at the Cleveland Clinic. He has expertise in market growth strategies, physician practice management, joint ventures, and optimizing financials and performance.
Job Titles:
- Chief Quality Officer for Children 's Services
Job Titles:
- Chief Executive Officer of UVA Health
- Chief Executive Officer, UVA Health / Executive Vice President for Health Affairs, University of Virginia
Kent is responsible for overseeing all UVA Health operations and reports directly to the President. A researcher, educator and physician, he is an internationally recognized leader in academic medicine.
K. Craig Kent, MD, is the chief executive officer of UVA Health and executive vice president for health affairs at the University of Virginia. He is responsible for overseeing all UVA Health operations.
A researcher, educator and physician, Dr. Kent is an internationally recognized leader in academic medicine. He is a member of the National Academy of Medicine and former chair (2019-2020) of the American Board of Surgery.
Prior to joining UVA Health, Dr. Kent served as dean of The Ohio State University College of Medicine, vice president for health sciences and the Leslie H. and Abigail S. Wexner Dean's Chair in Medicine. In his nearly four years as dean, Dr. Kent helped Ohio State make significant investments in research through growth of infrastructure and recruitment.
Before Ohio State, Dr. Kent served as chair of the Department of Surgery at University of Wisconsin School of Medicine & Public Health, and was chief of the Division of Vascular Surgery at Weill Medical College of Cornell University and Columbia College of Physician Surgeons.
He has been a funded researcher for more than 25 years, investigating molecular mechanisms underlying vascular disease with the goal of developing new treatments utilizing innovative methods of drug delivery. Dr. Kent has authored more than 325 articles and 65 book chapters, and has served on the editorial boards of multiple medical journals. He has lectured nationally and internationally with more than 50 named visiting professorships and keynote presentations.
Dr. Kent earned his medical degree from the University of California, San Francisco where he also completed his surgical residency. He then completed a research and clinical fellowship in vascular surgery at Brigham and Women's Hospital.
Job Titles:
- Associate
- Chief Medical Officer
Job Titles:
- Chief Corporate Compliance & Privacy Officer
Krista Barnes comes to UVA Health with over 20 years of experience in healthcare regulatory compliance, reimbursement litigation, HIPAA compliance, and Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement. She earned her bachelor's degree in psychology from Rice University and her doctor of law degree from Duke University School of Law.
In her previous role as associate vice president and deputy chief compliance officer at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, TX, Barnes oversaw institutional compliance in billing and reimbursement, ethics research, data governance, and conflicts of interest and ethics. She also served as senior legal officer and director, overseeing MD Anderson's Privacy and Information Security Compliance and Institutional Compliance programs.
Here, Barnes oversees the strategic direction of UVA Health's compliance and privacy programs and leads UVA Health's work to protect patient privacy.
Job Titles:
- Chief Marketing and Communications Officer
Badeau works with leaders across UVA Health to ensure that all marketing and communications initiatives align and support strategic goals. Her work focuses on developing multi-channel marketing and communications strategies to keep UVA Health ‘top of mind' for patients seeking exceptional and compassionate care.
Job Titles:
- President, Clinical Staff
Marianne Baernholdt is the Dean of the UVA School of Nursing. She has dedicated her career to teaching and mentoring students and junior faculty and is a leading scholar of care quality and safety whose work has emphasized factors affecting health in rural and global environments.
Before becoming dean, she was director of the University of North Carolina's Pan American Health Organization/WHO Collaborating Center in Quality and Safety Education in Nursing and Midwifery, and a former U.S. representative for the International Council of Nurses' steering group for rural and remote nursing.
Her hiring marks her return to UVA, where she had previously been a faculty member at the School of Nursing and the School of Medicine's Department of Public Health Sciences. During her time at UVA, her leadership roles included serving as director of global initiatives for the School of Nursing and director of its Rural & Global Health Care Center. In addition, Dean Baernholdt has also served at Richmond's Virginia Commonwealth University. There she was founding director of the Langston Center for Quality, Safety & Innovation and interim department chair for Adult Health & Health Systems.
Her research focuses on how quality of care should be defined and the various factors that affect care quality in rural areas around the globe. She has expertise in using large databases to track organizational, patient, and clinician outcomes.
Job Titles:
- Associate Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at UVA Cancer Center, Shares Her Thoughts on Juneteenth, Health Equity
Marquita Taylor, PhD, associate director of diversity, equity, and inclusion at UVA Cancer Center, shares her thoughts on Juneteenth, health equity,…
Job Titles:
- Chief Administrative Officer
- Chief Administrative Officer, UVA Health
Southerland oversees, directs, and implements critical initiatives for UVA Health, serving a key leadership role in our Northern Virginia strategy. She has been with UVA Health since 2007, most recently serving as General Counsel and Chief of Staff for UVA Physicians Group.
Mary Frances Southerland, JD, MBA, serves as Chief Administrative Officer for UVA Health.
Mary Frances oversees, directs, and implements critical initiatives for UVA Health and is a key member of the senior leadership team. Her primary area of focus is providing oversight and leadership for the Northern Virginia strategy. Mary Frances previously served as General Counsel and Chief of Staff of UVA Physicians Group (UPG). She joined UPG in 2007, providing executive oversight in a variety of roles for the organization.
Before joining UPG, Mary Frances worked in private law practice in Charlotte, N.C. She received her undergraduate degree in Journalism & Mass Communication from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and her JD and MBA from Campbell University.
Job Titles:
- Dean, UVA School of Medicine / Chief Health Affairs Officer, UVA Health
Kibbe is a clinician, researcher, and highly respected educator. As dean and chief health affairs officer, she leads the School of Medicine faculty in all four missions, including clinical strategy and growth, expansion of research in collaboration with other UVA schools, the promotion of educational programs of the highest caliber, and developing partnerships with our community.
Job Titles:
- Chief Financial Officer for the University of Virginia Medical Center
- Chief Financial Officer, Medical Center
Mike Marquardt currently serves as chief financial officer for the University of Virginia Medical Center. In this role, Marquardt is responsible for the financial operations of the hospital and clinics, including financial reporting, decision support, planning and analysis, budgeting, supply chain and material operations, procurement, and purchasing.
Marquardt previously served for five years as chief of staff to the executive vice president for Health Affairs, overseeing the health system corporate office and coordinating activities across the health system entities, university departments, and external partner institutions. Marquardt also worked as the director of Special Projects for the chief medical officer and senior associate dean for Clinical Affairs. Before joining UVA, Marquardt worked as a senior research analyst at The Lewin Group, a health services consulting company, focusing on healthcare provider public reporting and quality improvement.
Marquardt earned a master of business administration (MBA) degree and a master of public health (MPH) degree from the University of Virginia, Darden School of Business, and studied chemistry and health policy as an undergraduate at Duke University. Marquardt is a Certified Healthcare Financial Professional (CHFP) by the Healthcare Financial Management Association.
As Chief Operating Officer (COO), Min Lee oversees the day-to-day operations of UVA Health Medical Center. She brings with her extensive experience in academic healthcare and healthcare operations.
Reid Adams, MD, has been a part of the UVA community since 1979 when he was an undergraduate student. He attended the UVA School of Medicine as a student and surgery resident. After a one-year hiatus for a fellowship in Toronto, Adams joined the UVA faculty in 1995.
In April 2020 during the start of the COVID pandemic, Adams took on the role of interim chief medical officer (CMO) for the Medical Center while continuing to serve in his role as the endowed S. Hurts Watts Chair of the department of surgery for the School of Medicine, from March 2019 until June 2022. He then stepped down as the chair and continued in his role as CMO.
As CMO, Adams serves as the Medical Center's senior physician, overseeing UVA Health's medical staff and working to ensure high-quality patient care and service. In addition, he oversees the Medical Center's service lines of cardiology, neurosciences, oncology, and transplant services.
Nationally, Adams has served in several national presidential roles, including the Society of Clinical Surgery and America's Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Association. He served as Chair on the American Board of Surgery, Complex General Surgical Oncology Board, and on numerous editorial boards.
Job Titles:
- Vice Chair of Academic Affairs, Department of Pediatrics
Job Titles:
- Chief Information and Technology Officer ( CITO )
Parkin serves as Chief Information and Technology Officer (CITO). She joined UVA Health in 2015.
Job Titles:
- Associate Chief Medical Officer, Surgery
Job Titles:
- Associate Chair for Education, Department of Pediatrics
Job Titles:
- Associate
- Associate Dean, Graduate Medical Education, Designated Institutional Officer
- Co - Director of UVA 's Division of Endocrinology
Kirk became the associate dean for Graduate Medical Education in 2006. She and her staff oversee the training and education of more than 770 residents and fellows in 107 UVA-sponsored programs.
Kirk is also co-director of UVA's Division of Endocrinology. Learn more about the conditions she treats.
Job Titles:
- Senior Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs and Faculty Development, School of Medicine
Job Titles:
- Ambulatory Director, Women's and Children 's Services
Job Titles:
- Chief of Quality and Performance Improvement
Job Titles:
- Chief Diversity & Community Engagement Officer
Downs is UVA Health's leading voice on diversity, equity, and inclusion. He guides efforts to ensure an inclusive, optimal, and respectful learning, training, and working environment.
As Chief Diversity & Community Engagement Officer, Tracy M. Downs, MD, FACS, is UVA Health's leading voice on diversity, equity and inclusion. Within UVA Health, he guides efforts to ensure an inclusive, optimal and respectful learning, training and working environment. Within the greater Charlottesville region, and across the broader state of Virginia, he works collaboratively to improve community health and well-being by decreasing health disparities.
Dr. Downs comes to UVA from the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, where he was Associate Dean for Diversity and Multicultural Affairs and Professor of Urologic Oncology. At UW, Dr. Downs played an instrumental role in overseeing the recruitment of and medical education support programs for individuals from ethnically diverse backgrounds underrepresented in medicine. He also served as Faculty Director of the Cancer Health Disparities Initiative at UW's Carbone Comprehensive Cancer Center.
In addition to his leadership role, Dr. Downs is a board-certified urologist specializing in the surgical treatment of urologic cancers, with a sub-specialty focus in the treatment of both prostate and bladder cancer. He also has extensive experience in taking care of patients with general urology health concerns and overseeing clinical trials.
Veronica brings over 20 years of clinical expertise at UVA Medical Center, as well as extensive experience in strategic planning and management. She served as the interim chief nursing officer while a search was in progress to find a permanent leader. Prior to this role, Veronica served as administrator of the UVA Cancer Center, where she was responsible for the clinical, financial, and operational outcomes for the adult oncology population, in partnership with the service line physician lead.
A strong advocate of using a patient-centered approach to standardize care across service lines, Veronica serves on multiple health system committees focused on streamlining and enhancing operations, reducing silos, and growing talent within the organization. She is passionate about building an environment where team members can thrive and be their best.
Veronica holds a master of science degree in Nursing from the University of Virginia and a bachelor of science in nursing from Molloy College in New York.
Job Titles:
- Chief Executive Officer
- CEO of UVA Health University Medical Center
- Chief Executive Officer, UVA Medical Center
Wendy is responsible for overseeing all UVA Health Medical Center operations. She brings extensive executive experience from nationally recognized academic medical centers. As a passionate advocate for healthcare quality and care redesign, Wendy leverages optimized care processes and new technology to ensure patient-focused healthcare resources are directed where they are most needed, resulting in a sustainable healthcare system.
Wendy Horton is the CEO of UVA Health University Medical Center. She brings extensive executive experience from nationally recognized academic medical centers. As a passionate advocate for healthcare quality and care redesign, Wendy leverages optimized care processes and new technology to ensure patient-focused healthcare resources are directed where they are most needed, resulting in a sustainable healthcare system.
With over a decade of academic medical center experience and deep clinical and operational expertise, Dr. Horton is adept at meeting emerging challenges at UVA Health and positioning the Medical Center for sustained success. Previously serving as Chief Operating Officer at UVA Medical Center, she successfully optimized clinical operations and spearheaded innovation to address urgent and critical challenges.
Recognized for her strategic acumen, Dr. Horton formulated a transformative roadmap and strategic plan upon assuming the leadership role in 2020. Her initiative led to a notable $60 million increase in yearly net operating revenue at the medical center. Wendy also prioritizes a strong workforce agenda, particularly focusing on employee compensation and retention. During the COVID-19 staffing crisis that affected healthcare organizations across the nation, she led UVA Health Medical Center in maintaining services for all patients and facilitating growth and expansion for the Health System.
Prior to joining UVA Health, Wendy served as the chief administrative officer of The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and as the vice president of operations at the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics.
Dr. Horton holds an MBA in marketing and finance from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the University of Utah, and a Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy degree from Oregon State University. Wendy is a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt and a fellow with the American College of Healthcare Executives (FACHE), where she actively mentors newer fellows. In 2023, she was honored as a Top Women Leader in Healthcare by Modern Healthcare publication. Wendy is also passionate about serving in the community and holds several volunteer leadership positions in central Virginia, including serving on the board of directors for Habitat for Humanity of Greater Charlottesville.
Job Titles:
- Interim Lead, Children 's Services