ASPEN LUNG CONFERENCE - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Assistant Dean for Faculty Relations
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- Finance
- Operations Manager
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- Business Affairs Director
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- Interim Senior Associate Dean for Clinical Research, Interim Assistant Vice Chancellor for the Office of Vice Chancellor for Research
- Senior Associate Dean for Clinical Research
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- Associate Dean for Faculty Development
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- Technical Application Program Manager
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- Business Intelligence Developer
Ali Wiersma, MD, is a board-certified pediatric emergency medicine physician at Children's Hospital Colorado, where they provide expert care to children and families in acute care settings. Dr. Wiersma earned their medical degree from Michigan State University College of Human Medicine and completed residency training in pediatrics at Children's National Medical Center through the George Washington University Program.
With a clinical and academic focus on pediatric emergency car, Dr. Wiersma has contributed to multiple peer-reviewed publications addressing diagnostic accuracy and quality improvement. Their work has appeared in Academic Emergency Medicine, Diagnosis and The Journal of Urgent Care Medicine, among others. Dr. Wiersma also serves as a contributing author to Fleisher and Ludwig's 5-Minute Pediatric Emergency Medicine Consult.
Job Titles:
- Associate Dean, Health Opportunities and Professional Engagement
- Health Opportunity and Professional Engagement
Job Titles:
- Curriculum Manager for Education, Clerkship Curriculum
As the IHQSE Manager of Finance & Operations, Anne directs the Institute's day-to-day operations, oversees its portfolio of programs, and leads impact-reporting efforts. Anne earned her bachelor's degree in Russian Literature from Duke University and a master's in Slavic Languages & Literature from the University of Kansas. She also holds an MBA in Health Administration from the University of Colorado Denver. Prior to joining the IHQSE, Anne oversaw financial operations and the research program at the Ludeman Family Center for Women's Health Research on the CU Anschutz Medical Campus.
Job Titles:
- Co - Director
- Member of the Local Steering Committee
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- Associate Professor and Hospitalist
Anunta Virapongse, MD, MPH, is an Associate Professor and hospitalist for the Division of Hospital Medicine at the University of Colorado Hospital. She completed her medical school training at the University of South Florida College of Medicine, Internal Medicine Residency at Baystate Medical Center in 2006 and earned her Master of Public Health from the Harvard School of Public Health in 2007. She has completed extensive coursework in the areas of quality improvement and medical leadership, including a nonclinical fellowship at the Medical Innovation and Leadership Division at Blue Cross, Blue Shield of Massachusetts, the Clinical Quality Fellowship Program at the Greater New York Hospital Association and United Hospital Fund and the MiniATP course at Intermountain Health. Her areas of interest include clinical pathway development and outcomes driven improvement strategies. Dr. Virapongse is the Director of Quality and Patient Safety for the Division of Hospital Medicine, the Associate Vice Chair for Quality for the Department of Medicine, the Chair of the DOM Quality Council, the Director of the IHQSE Clinical Effectiveness and Patient Safety Grant Program for UCH and newly elected At Large Member of the UCH Medical Board.
Job Titles:
- Administrative Coordinator
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- SOM Information Services Director
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- Associate Dean for Continuing Medical Education
Brad Sharpe grew up in Iowa, was an undergraduate at Stanford University, attended Harvard for medical school, and completed his residency and chief residency at UCSF. He is currently a Professor of Medicine at UCSF, focusing on clinical care and teaching. He has served in multiple leadership roles at UCSF, including as an Associate Program Director for the Internal Medicine Residency and as the Division Chief for the Division of Hospital Medicine.
He has academic interests in evidence-based medicine, medical education, and clinical teaching skills. He has been actively involved with national organizations, previously serving as Co-Chair of the Academic Hospitalist Taskforce within the Society of General Internal Medicine (SGIM) and on the Board of Directors for the Society of Hospital Medicine (SHM). He is the recipient of numerous teaching awards Including the UCSF Distinction in Teaching Award and the SHM National Excellence in Teaching Award. He and his spouse have two children and live in San Francisco.
Job Titles:
- Human Resources Principal Professional
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- Program Manager for Continuing Medical Education Program
Job Titles:
- Dean
- Senior Associate
- Senior Associate Dean for Administration and Finance / Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer
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- Director of Communications
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- IT Professional / Compliance Specialist
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- Director for Faculty Affairs
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- Professor in the University of Colorado Anschutz School of Medicine
Christina Finlayson, MD, is a Professor in the University of Colorado Anschutz School of Medicine, Department of Surgery. She obtained her medical degree at the University of Utah School of Medicine and completed her general surgery residency at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania provided the fellowship training that allowed her to specialize in Surgical Oncology.
She was appointed to the faculty in 1996, providing general, trauma, and oncologic surgical care and was the director of the University of Colorado Hospital Diane O'Connor Thompson Breast Center, establishing the first multidisciplinary breast cancer program. She was appointed Medical Director of CU Medicine and became an Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs in 2009, where she continues to serve. Her areas of focus are quality performance in value-based contracting and support of the Health First Colorado (Medicaid) patient population.
Job Titles:
- Interim Chair, Department of Anesthesiology
If Patrick had a mantra, he might steal the words of artist Clyfford Still: "It's intolerable to be stopped by the frame's edge." He revels in challenging long-held assumptions to facilitate the human(e) potential of individuals and teams. His work cultivating thriving healthcare environments is anchored in a simple, if not easy, principle: start with human relationships. Dr. Kneeland is VP of Medical Affairs at DispatchHealth where he leads AdvancedCare and Extended Care - service lines dedicated to bringing hospital and SNF-level care to patients' homes.
Previously, Patrick served as the Executive Medical Director for Patient and Provider Experience at UCHealth, where he led the development of a system-level interdisciplinary patient and provider experience team and strategic blueprint. He is an Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of Colorado and a founding faculty member of the University of Colorado's Institute for Healthcare Quality, Safety, and Efficiency (IHQSE) where he has been instrumental in the creation of a groundbreaking healthcare leadership development program. After completing training in internal medicine at the University of California-San Francisco, Patrick completed a fellowship in Academic Hospital Medicine where he focused on the transformation of clinical delivery systems and the role of culture in improving patient safety. He is a certified Patient Safety Officer and has advanced training in user-centered design from Stanford's d.school.
In addition to being a practicing hospital medicine physician, he is an experienced leadership coach, speaker, facilitator, system-designer and a zealous destroyer of all of those silos everyone always talks about. He serves on the faculty of several groundbreaking national healthcare leadership movements including the Institute for Healthcare Excellence, the Care Collaboratory, the National Taskforce for Humanity in Healthcare, and the Tulane-Ochsner Leadership Program.
Patrick lives in Denver, Colorado with his wife and two kids where they engage the city, the mountains, and their incredible friends and family with curiosity and wonder.
Job Titles:
- Business Intelligence Reporting Analyst
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- Laboratory and Facilities Coordinator
- Research Lab and Facilities Liaison - Research Affairs
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- IT Research Director / Director and Team Lead, Research and System Administration
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- System Admin Manager / Team Lead, Research and System Administration
Dr. Tad-y is the Associate Chief Medical Officer of Patient Flow at the University of Colorado Hospital. In this role, she oversees efforts to optimize operational efficiency and ensure patients receive the right care, at the right time, in the right setting. In addition, she is Medical Director for Capacity at UCHealth, guiding the strategy for optimal placement of patients within the system. She is a Professor of Medicine at the University of Colorado School of Medicine (CU) where she is an academic hospitalist. She teaches for the Quality and Safety Educators Academy, authored and co-directs the quality improvement curriculum and annual QI pre-course for the American College of Physicians and is an Assistant Editor for the Joint Commission Journal of Quality and Patient Safety. She serves on the Board for the Society of Hospital Medicine and Prime Health.
Dr. Tad-y's prior leadership roles included Vice President of Clinical Affairs for the Colorado Hospital Association in which she led statewide quality and safety initiatives in Colorado hospitals, oversaw workforce development including physician engagement, hospital emergency preparedness and innovation. She is a faculty member of CU's Institute for Healthcare Quality, Safety and Efficiency, and previously served as a director on the Board of Colorado's state health information exchange, Contexture (parent company of CORHIO).
Job Titles:
- Desktop Support Team Supervisor / Team Lead, Desktop Support
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- Director
- Member of the Local Steering Committee
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- Member of the Local Steering Committee
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- Business Operations Manager
- Finance
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- Associate Director, Human Resources
Job Titles:
- Business Services Professional and Executive Assistant to the Executive Vice Dean for Education
Job Titles:
- Senior Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs, Chief Medical Officer, CU Medicine
Job Titles:
- Director of Clinical Skills ( DOCS ) Curriculum
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- Associate Dean of Student Life
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- Associate Dean of Medical Education, Post - Clerkship Phase
Job Titles:
- Associate Dean of Medical Education, Pre - Clerkship Phas
Job Titles:
- Assistant Dean of Student Affairs
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- Associate Dean of Admissions and Student Affairs
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- Associate Dean of Medical Education, Clerkship Phase
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- Director of Health & Society Curriculum
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- Assistant Dean of Student Affairs
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- Assistant Dean of Student Affairs
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- Director of Medical Science Curriculum
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- Assistant Dean of Student Affairs
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- Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs / Medical Director, Primary Care / UCH HOPD Clinics
- Associate Professor of Family Medicine at the University
Dr. Pete Smith is an Associate Professor of Family Medicine at the University of Colorado. Dr. Smith graduated from Georgetown School of Medicine in 1994 and completed his residency at the University of Colorado Anschutz; he has been a member of this faculty ever since.
Dr. Smith has developed innovative clinical programs and high-functioning teams through a variety of leadership positions (Chief Resident, Medical Director, Assistant Residency Director, Director of Quality and Safety, Vice Chair for Quality and Safety, Associate Vice Chair for Clinical Affairs). His scholarly work has focused on developing and evaluating clinical programs derived directly from primary care practice. Related former roles include founding board member, author, and Senior Editor with the Family Physician Inquiries Network (FPIN), Assistant Director of CaReNet and founding Director of BIGHORN practice-based research networks, lead investigator in the evaluation of CU Anschutz's Primary Care Redesign (PCR) care model, and Co-Investigator in NIDDK-funded PATHWEIGH obesity study. He currently serves as Medical Director for Primary Care for CU Medicine and as Assistant Dean for Clinical Affairs for Adult Hospital Based Ambulatory Practice for the School of Medicine, overseeing a cohort of more than 100 medical directors in across all specialties.
Dr. Sarah Tevis completed her general surgery training at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health and a breast surgical oncology fellowship at MD Anderson Cancer Center prior to being recruited to the University of Colorado. She is passionate about quality improvement and patient centered care and dedicates her research to improving outcomes that are important to patients and shared-decision making as it relates to breast surgery. In her free time, she enjoys camping, hiking, and snowboarding with her family.
Job Titles:
- Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs Senior Medical Director - Community Practice, CU Medicine
Dr. Scott Laker graduated from the University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine in 2003. He completed his PM&R Residency at the University of Colorado Anschutz's Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and completed fellowship training in Sports Medicine and Pain Medicine at the University of Colorado Anschutz. He treats a large spectrum of non-surgical sports and spine conditions including sports-related concussion, sports injuries, spinal stenosis, scoliosis, herniated discs, and radiculopathy. He is also trained in the use of spinal injections, peripheral joint injection therapy, and EMG. He has cared for athletes at all levels of participation from adolescents to adults and from amateurs to professionals.
Dr. Laker served as the PM&R Residency Program Director from 2018 to 2024. He previously served as the Medical Director for the UCHealth Lone Tree Medical Center and Highlands Ranch Hospital's Medical Office Building. He is the president-elect of the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. Dr. Laker was named the Associate Dean of Clinical Affairs at University of Colorado Anschutz School of Medicine in 2022.
Job Titles:
- Assistant Dean of Admissions
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- Member of the Local Steering Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the Local Steering Committee
Emily Gottenborg is an Associate Professor within the Division of Hospital Medicine at the University of Colorado, with an interest in system redesign, patient safety, and leadership in the healthcare setting. She has received advanced training during a Chief Residency in Quality Improvement and Patient Safety at the University of California, San Francisco, as well as through Intermountain Healthcare's Advanced Training Program, and the Institute for Healthcare Quality, Safety, and Efficiency. Dr. Gottenborg is faculty within the Institute for Healthcare Quality, Safety and Efficiency where she is the Director of the Improvement Academy and specializes in coaching frontline clinical teams in improvement work. She also has multiple educational roles within the University School of Medicine and Internal Medicine Residency Program, teaching learners of all levels and across the health professions about principles of medical leadership and quality improvement.
Job Titles:
- Emeritus Member of the Local Steering Committee
Ethan Cumbler is an Internal Medicine and Pediatric trained Hospitalist at the University of Colorado Hospital (UCH). He is a pioneer in the study and practice of inter-professional team-based hospital quality improvement. He created the Acute Care for the Elderly (ACE) Service at UCH and is the Medical Director for UCH's ACE unit. This serves as a crucible for testing QI methods for reducing iatrogenic events such as falls or hospital acquired infections using teams of professionals across disciplines. He spearheaded a series of initiatives reducing treatment time for stroke patients recognized by the American Stroke Association. His QI programs for in-hospital stroke and hospital care for the elderly service serve as national models. He heads the National Stroke Association's In-hospital Stroke QI initiative and speaks nationally on how to improve systems of hospital care for stroke patients. He also serves as faculty for the UCLA Leadership and Management in Geriatrics course and his invited lectures on improving care for the hospitalized elderly have been presented at the National American College of Physicians and Society of Hospital Medicine conferences. Within UCH, he chairs the Geriatric Hospital Leadership Committee and has served in many capacities for the Hospital Medicine Division over the years, including work on patient safety and medical error. His educational approach to teaching patient safety is published by the Association of American Medical Colleges and has been utilized by academic medical centers around the world. Ethan has been a recipient of awards at UCH for excellence in leadership, humanism, education, and quality improvement. He received the annual 2012 National Society of Hospital Medicine Award for Team-Based Quality Improvement for his work over 6 years improving response to in-hospital stroke. Ethan seeks to bring a collaborative approach to system change such that physicians are partners with other disciplines, and the hospital, to create a culture which fosters continuous quality improvement.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Local Steering Committee
- Chairman - Elect, 2026 Annual Meeting
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- Member of the Local Steering Committee
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- Member of the Local Steering Committee
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- Executive Assistant, Administration & Finance
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- Assistant Director of Education Technology
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- Member of the Local Steering Committee
Irina Topoz, MD, is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics at University of Colorado School of Medicine and a Pediatric Emergency Medicine Physician at Children's Hospital Colorado. She completed her residency training in Pediatrics at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and Pediatric Emergency Medicine fellowship at Lurie's Children's Hospital of Chicago. She received Quality Improvement Certification through Intermountain Health and Lean Six Sigma Black Belt Certification through Lean Methods. She also completed IHQSE CTP course in 2018. Her expertise includes change management, development of measurement systems and use of statistical process control. Her academic interests includes clinical pathway development and implementation. She currently serves as a director of Quality for the Section of Emergency Medicine. In that role, she oversees quality improvement and patient safety initiatives, runs QI education course for ED fellows, and mentor faculty and trainees in QI activities.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Local Steering Committee
Job Titles:
- Business Intelligence Analyst
Job Titles:
- Associate Dean, Quality and Safety Education
- IHQSE Director
Dr. Glasheen was an Alpha Omega Alpha graduate of the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and completed his residency training, including a chief residency year, at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. As the director of the University of Colorado Hospital Medicine Group from 2003-2015, he oversaw the growth of the program from 2 to 70+ members. He was the founder of the first Hospitalist Training Program and Advanced Practice Fellowship in Hospital Medicine in the country, both housed at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. A passionate educator, Dr. Glasheen has won numerous teaching awards including the Society of Hospital Medicine's Excellence in Teaching and the University of Colorado Anschutz School of Medicine Clinical Teacher of the Year. Dr. Glasheen also served as the Chief Quality Officer (CQO) for the University of Colorado Hospital from 2015-2020 and as the CQO for UCHealth from 2017-2020.
Job Titles:
- UCHealth 's Metro Denver Chief Quality Officer
Jennifer Wiler is UCHealth's Metro Denver Chief Quality Officer. She is a graduate of the University of Buffalo School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences and completed a residency in Emergency Medicine at Drexel University College of Medicine in Philadelphia, PA. She is the former Assistant Medical Director at Hahnemann University Hospital and Assistant Clinical Service Chief and Medical Director of Observation Medicine at Washington University in St. Louis. She has served in numerous state and national leadership positions and is currently an Alternate of the American Medical Association RBRVS Updates Committee (RUC), Immediate Past-Chair of the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) EM Practice Committee, Alternate Delegate to the AMA House of Delegates for Emergency Medicine, a former Chair of the American Medical Association's Women Physicians Congress, a member of the ACEP Quality and Performance and Reimbursement Committees, and a member of the Board of Directors for the Colorado Medical Society. She has been nationally recognized for her expertise in professional reimbursement, operations, quality, patient safety and health policy and has published widely on the topics.
Job Titles:
- Associate Medical Director
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- Physician - Scientist and Member of the National Academy of Medicine
- Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs and Dean CU Anschutz School of Medicine
- Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs at CU Anschutz, and Dean for the CU School of Medicine
John H. Sampson, MD, PhD, MHSc, MBA, is a practicing neurosurgeon who joined CU in July 2024 after serving as senior vice president for Duke University Health System and Duke Health Integrated Practice in Durham, North Carolina, leading thousands of medical faculty, community physicians, psychologists and advanced practice providers who together compose the university's clinical team.
Practicing broadly in the field of neurosurgery, he held the Robert H. and Gloria Wilkins Distinguished Professorship in Neurosurgery, served as the inaugural chair of the Department of Neurosurgery at Duke, and has a research focus on advancing new therapies for brain tumors and other diseases of the nervous system.
Dr. Sampson is an accomplished physician-scientist and member of the National Academy of Medicine whose career has spanned clinical practice, research, education and organizational leadership. An accomplished scholar, he has authored nearly 300 peer-reviewed publications and long stood as a highly funded investigator in his field with substantial grant awards from the National Institutes of Health. He leads several entrepreneurial ventures and holds board appointments for health systems, foundations and companies focused on innovation in health and medicine.
His training began with a medical degree in his home country of Canada, followed by a doctorate in neuroimmunology and a master's of health science in clinical research at Duke University. After research training in neuro-oncology, Dr. Sampson took an interest in health sector management, furthering his education with a master's in business administration from Duke's Fuqua School of Business.
Job Titles:
- Dean, CU School of Medicine & Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs ( Ex - Officio )
Job Titles:
- Associate Dean for Administration and Finance
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- Associate Dean for Student Advocacy
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- Director for Child Health Associate Physician Assistant Program
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- Executive Director, Area Health Education Center
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- Business Services Professional
Dr. Widmer is originally from the Midwest, did her residency at Children's Hospital Colorado and has been on faculty as a pediatric hospital medicine attending since 2011. She is the medical director of Clinical Effectiveness with an interest in quality and process improvement. She has experience leading both unit based quality improvement projects, as well as system wide initiatives and have been a CTP faculty coach for the past 5 years.
Job Titles:
- Senior Director, Alumni Relations
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- Assistant Vice Chancellor of Advancement ( Ex - Officio )
Job Titles:
- Associate Dean, Clinical Outreach
- Professor of Medicine at the University
Karen Chacko, MD, is Professor of Medicine at the University of Colorado Anschutz School of Medicine, where she has worked since 2000. She graduated from the University of California San Diego School of Medicine and then completed her residency, including a chief resident year, at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in Internal Medicine.
In the first half of her career, Dr. Chacko was highly involved in residency education, specifically as the Program Director for the Primary Care Internal Medicine Residency Program. She is a Fellow in the American College of Physicians and is actively involved with the American Telemedicine Association and Society of General Internal Medicine. She currently serves as the Associate Dean for Clinical Outreach and Medical Director for Digital Health for the school of medicine both roles allow her to engage with the community and help develop innovative care solutions for patients and providers.
Job Titles:
- Manager of Admissions and HOPE
Katie Raffel, MD, is an academic hospital medicine provider at the University of Colorado with a passion for diagnostic and systems improvement. She serves as the Medical Director of Acute Care Medicine Services at UC Hospital where she works with teams in quality and safety on five medicine units. Dr. Raffel also serves as a lead of the cross-site Achieving Diagnostic Excellence through Prevention and Teamwork research/improvement collaborative and dedicates remaining time to the Institute for Healthcare Quality, Safety and Efficiency, where her focus is on coaching teams through the Certificate Training Program.
Job Titles:
- Research Facilities Data Coordinator
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- Senior Compliance Analyst / Team Lead, Compliance and Security
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- Program Director, Informatics / Team Lead, Informatics and Development
Job Titles:
- Medical Director of Clinical Effectiveness at Children 's Hospital Colorado
Lalit Bajaj currently serves as the Medical Director of Clinical Effectiveness at Children's Hospital Colorado. In addition, he is a Professor of Pediatrics and Emergency Medicine at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. Dr. Bajaj has been an attending physician in the Children's Colorado Emergency Department for 15 years. He received his MD from the University of California, San Francisco in conjunction with a Master's in Public Health from the University of California, Berkeley in 1996. He then completed a pediatric residency, chief residency, and pediatric emergency medicine fellowship at the University of Colorado/Children's Hospital Colorado. Dr. Bajaj has served as Research Director of the section of Emergency Medicine; as well as the Medical Director in the CHCO Research Institute. In addition, he has also served on many national leadership committees including the Steering Committee of PECARN (Pediatric Applied Care and Research Network), and the AAP Executive Committee of the Section of Emergency Medicine. Most recently, he has joined the Children's Hospital Association steering committee for value based care.
Job Titles:
- Admissions Principal Professional
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- Compensation Program Manager
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- Global Health Track Associate Director
Leana May, DO, MPH, is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at CU Anschutz School of Medicine and Public Health, as well as a Senior Investigator through the Center for Global Health. Dr. May received her medical degree from Michigan State College of Osteopathic Medicine and her Masters of Public Health from the University of Michigan School of Public Health. She completed her pediatric residency at Connecticut Children's Medical Center followed by a pediatric global health service delivery fellowship in partnership with Harvard Medical School, Boston Children's Hospital and Partners in Health. Dr. May is the Associate Director of the Global Health Track at the CU Anschutz School of Medicine and the co-director of the pediatric residency global health track at Children's Hospital Colorado. Dr. May has worked in 9 resource-limited nations, recently living and working half time in Rwanda. Her research has focused on the Rwandan national pediatric oncology protocols, and their delivery, as well as an ongoing low-cost non-electric neonatal biotechnology clinical trial. Dr. May's additional global health scholarly interests include building health care capacity through health system strengthening and non-communicable diseases.
Job Titles:
- Chairman
- Senior Associate
- Senior Associate Dean for Biomedical Research
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- Co - Director
- Member of the Local Steering Committee
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- Member of the Local Steering Committee
Job Titles:
- Global Health Track Director
Dr. Abdel-Maksoud, MD, PhD, MSPH, is a physician and researcher who completed her medical degree in Egypt from Tanta University School of Medicine, and her PhD degree in Epidemiology from the University of Colorado Anschutz School of Public Health. She is an Assistant Professor at the Departments of Epidemiology (CU Anschutz School of Public Health) and Pediatrics (CU Anschutz School of Medicine). She is also the Director of the MPH concentrations in Epidemiology and in Global Health at the CU Anschutz School of Public Health. Prior to obtaining her PhD degree in Epidemiology, Dr. Abdel-Maksoud taught, practiced medicine, and did research in Egypt. After finishing her PhD degree, Dr. Abdel-Maksoud spent two years as a postdoctoral fellow studying the racial/ethnic differences in obesity and its biomarkers. Her work in obesity earned her an award from the prestigious Obesity Society. She is a chronic disease epidemiologist, and her global health work is currently focused on child development projects in Guatemala through the Center for Global Health. She is also investigating the barriers and facilitators of cancer screening among the US Muslim community to develop culturally sensitive interventions to enhance the cancer screening practices of this population.
Job Titles:
- Human Resources Shared Services ( HRSS ) Manager
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- Member of the Local Steering Committee
Job Titles:
- Chief of Staff
- Director of Communications
- Associate Dean of Public Relations, Chief of Staff
Job Titles:
- Associate Dean for Rural Health
Job Titles:
- Historian
- Member of the Local Steering Committee
Job Titles:
- Desktop Support Team Supervisor / Team Lead, Desktop Support
Meredith Funke holds a Master of Health Administration degree from the University of Iowa. She currently works as the Clinical Quality Project Manager, partnering with the Clinical Affairs Deans to drive impactful projects across both the child and adult health spaces. She has been with the SOM since 2019, applying her knowledge from years of working in clinic operations at UCHealth.
Job Titles:
- Application Support Engineer
Job Titles:
- Assistant Director, IT Shared Services Director and Team Lead, Application Services
Michelle Knees, DO completed internal medicine residency training at the University of Colorado in 2021 with a focus on healthcare systems. She spent an additional year as Chief Resident of Quality and Patient Safety, where she helped lead residency and hospital-wide quality and patient safety initiatives. She now works for the Division of Hospital Medicine at the University of Colorado as an academic hospitalist. She also works part-time with the IHQSE as faculty for the Improvement Academy, where she helps coach multidisciplinary quality and process improvement projects. She is ultimately working toward becoming a health services researcher with a focus on hospital medicine cognitive load and workforce best-practices.
Job Titles:
- Assistant Dean for Faculty Affairs
Moksha Patel is an Assistant Professor within the Division of Hospital Medicine at the University of Colorado. He has a profound interest in systems redesign, clinical informatics, leadership and provider experience. After residency, he completed a fellowship in Quality Improvement and Health Systems Leadership. During this time, he received specialized training in clinical informatics and began his Master of Business Administration. He is currently the Lead Physician Informaticist for the Institute for Healthcare Quality, Safety, and Efficiency.
Job Titles:
- Interim Senior Associate Dean for Strategic Advancement, Chair of the Department of Ophthalmology
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- Business and Financial Planning Analyst
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- Administrative Assistant for Child Health Associate Physician Assistant Program
Job Titles:
- Project Manager
- Web Designer
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- Director, Human Resources
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- Executive Assistant to VCHA and Dean Sampson
Job Titles:
- Director of Access
- Director of Access for the University
Paul Rohrer, MHSA, is the Director of Access for the University of Colorado Anschutz School of Medicine. Paul completed his Master of Health Services Administration at the University of Kansas Medical Center and his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (Marketing) at Drake University.
Paul joined the Clinical Affairs team in October 2022 and focuses on opportunities to improve access to care and operational efficiency while balancing provider well-being. Previously, Paul was the Health System Director, Office of Access Management at The University of Kansas Health system and was the Director of Business Development at UnityPoint Clinic. Paul serves on the benchmarking committee for the Patient Access Collaborative, has previously presented at the Group Practice Improvement Network and Epic's UGM, and is a Past President of the HIMSS Iowa Chapter.
Job Titles:
- Senior Associate Dean for Research Affairs
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- Member of the Local Steering Committee
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- Desktop Support IT Manager / Team Lead, Desktop Support
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- Desktop Support Technical Lead
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- Business Services Professional, Clinical Affairs
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- Member of the Local Steering Committee
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- Member of the Local Steering Committee
Job Titles:
- Associate Professor
- Director of Faculty Academic Development for the Children 's Hospital Colorado Section of Emergency Medicine
Sandra P. Spencer, MD, is an Associate Professor in the Section of Emergency Medicine at Children's Hospital Colorado and the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Colorado. She has a passion for promoting the spread of quality improvement work by mentoring QI leaders through manuscript publication. Dr. Spencer is the Director of the IHQSE Quality Improvement Writing group. Dr. Spencer helped develop this successful publication curricula with quality leaders from Nationwide Children's Hospital, as highlighted in "Writing Group Increases Quality Improvement Writing Competency." She has also provided similar writing lectures to national groups, including the Scholars Programs for both Emergency Medicine Services For Children (EMSC) and Pediatric Pandemic Network (PPN).
Dr. Spencer's other QI interests include making change "stick" through reliability theory, emergency services process and quality improvement, and local and national guideline development. Dr. Spencer is a member of the American Academic of Pediatrics' Council on Quality Improvement and Patient Safety's Executive Committee, where she is the Chair of its Education Subcommittee and Vice Chair of the Committee on Guideline Development.
Finally, Dr. Spencer serves as the Director of Faculty Academic Development for the Children's Hospital Colorado Section of Emergency Medicine, where she specifically supports career development for physician scholars with expertise and interests outside of classic research, including quality improvement, education, and operations.
Job Titles:
- Executive Vice Dean for
- Executive Vice Dean for Education
Job Titles:
- Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs / Medical Director - Child Health, CU Medicine
- Professor of Pediatrics, the Hewitt
Shikha Sundaram, MD, is Professor of Pediatrics, the Hewitt-Andrews Chair in Pediatric Liver Disease, Director of the Pediatric Liver Center and the Associate Dean for Child Health at Children's Hospital Colorado and the University of Colorado Anschutz School of Medicine, where she has worked since 2006.
Dr. Sundaram received her undergraduate degree from Transylvania University and her medical degree from the University of Kentucky College of Medicine, where she grew up. She completed her internship, residency, fellowship in Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition and Advanced Transplant Hepatology Fellowship at Lurie Children's Hospital, Northwestern University. She also earned her Master's in Clinical Investigation at Northwestern University Graduate School. She has had progressive leadership experience within Child Health practice with a focus on collaboration and care across disciplines, hospital settings, and programs. She currently serves as the Associate Dean for Child Health. Dr. Sundaram's experience and expertise have positioned her to serve as a key liaison to facilitate knowledge exchange and collaboration across the University of Colorado Anschutz School of Medicine and Children's Hospital Colorado, the state, and the region.
Job Titles:
- Business Intelligence Developer
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- Member of the Local Steering Committee
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- Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs
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- Member of the Local Steering Committee
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- Director of Facilities & Planning
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- Member of the Local Steering Committee
- ATSF, Chair - Elect, 2026 Annual Meeting
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- Web Team Manager / Team Lead, Web Services
Tyler Anstett, DO, is a hospitalist in the Division of Hospital Medicine at the University of Colorado. He completed his residency training in Internal Medicine at the University of Colorado where he was an inaugural member of the Hospitalist Training Program Leaders Track and went on to complete a fellowship in Hospital Medicine with a focus on Quality Improvement and Health Systems Leadership. His academic interests lie at the intersection of Quality Improvement, Leadership, and Medical Education across all levels of learners. Accordingly, his leadership roles include Director of the GME/IHQSE Quality and Safety Academy, Director of Quality and Safety Programs for GME, and he is an Associate Vice Chair for Quality for the Department of Medicine. He is an active coach for multiple projects and his own Quality Improvement work is focused on high-value care with a specific focus on simplifying processes and influencing user behavior at the point of care.
Job Titles:
- Director, Director, Alumni Relations & Advancement
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- Manager, Planning and Facilities
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- Data Systems Administrator
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- Interim Executive Vice Dean for Clinical Affairs, Quality, and Research Operations, Chair of the Department of Medicine
Job Titles:
- Member of the Local Steering Committee
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- Member of the Local Steering Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the Local Steering Committee
- Chairman - Elect, 2026 Annual Meeting
Job Titles:
- Member of the Local Steering Committee
Job Titles:
- Business Support Specialist
Job Titles:
- Desktop Support Technical Lead