PATIENTS UNITED - Key Persons

Job Titles:

• Partner
• Adjunct Professor at Stanford
• Partner and Founding Member, IDEO

Dennis Boyle is a Partner and a founding team member of IDEO. Dennis helps lead the Design for Health Studio at IDEO and works in its San Francisco office. Design for Health is the part of IDEO's business that works with clients in medical and health related industries to develop innovative products, software, services and strategies. Dennis is also an adjunct professor at Stanford's d.school and in the Design Division of the engineering school, where he has taught courses in product design, human factors design, design for sustainability and creativity & innovation. He established and co-teaches "Design for Healthy Behaviors" at the d.school, a course that draws students from each of the university's graduate schools. Students in this class learn and use the design thinking process to help patient-volunteers with chronic conditions build healthy behaviors and thrive in their daily lives. Dennis holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering, with an emphasis on Industrial Design, from the University of Notre Dame and an MS in Product Design from Stanford. Dennis enjoys running, road and mountain bicycling and other outdoor sports and can be often seen out on the road trying to keep up with far younger friends. Dennis is a Partner and founding team member at IDEO, a leading global design firm, including in the healthcare space. Dennis is also an adjunct professor and teaches in Stanford's d.school and in the Design Division of the engineering school. As we increasingly intentionally design healthcare to be about and for the patient we are very glad to have the support of some of the best designers on the planet.

Lisa Berry Blackstock is an independent patient advocate and mentor in national practice since 2008. Prior to entering the advocacy field, Lisa's background covered the fields of writing and estate administration. Soul Sherpa® Healthcare Advocacy and Life Care Planning Services is Lisa's current business, established in 2008 after she endured multiple misdiagnoses for what turned out to be a rare and painful nerve disorder, trigeminal neuralgia. She required corrective brain surgery to separate an artery compressing her left trigeminal nerve which caused intermittent electrical shocks to the left side of her face. ​Lisa is a certified palliative care and hospice care specialist, and possesses an in-depth understanding of how politics and business forces have affected the way the current healthcare system affects all Americans, whether federally or privately insured, or uninsured. As an undergraduate applicant to Stanford University's Class of 1982 as a pre-med candidate, Lisa's major changed but her interest in people's health and quality of life have remained constant. She graduated Stanford in 1982 with a liberal arts major, but has worked in her own various businesses since 1990 where she enjoys engaging with people on a personal service basis. Lisa's training and expertise navigating the American healthcare system is the result of hands-on experience gained in the trenches. Accompanying her clients in hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, assisted living centers, and in their homes, Lisa's interaction with hospital administrative and medical staffs, as well as health insurance companies, has rendered her with a skill set that protects her clients physically, emotionally, and financially. Lisa resides in Southern California with her husband, Bob. She enjoys high-altitude hiking and traveling in her free time.

Nick is an experienced and successful innovator and entrepreneur, as well as a best-selling author of multiple books on innovation, the customer experience, and where things are headed in the future. He is one of the most sought after keynote speakers on the planet. We are glad to have Nick's perspective on our journey to a better future healthcare

Dr. Carmona has led an extremely broad and dynamic career, including as the 17th US Surgeon General of the United States. He been repeatedly recognized for his work in bringing about change to improve the health of, and access to healthcare, for many. We so appreciate Dr. Carmona's relentless energy for positive change.