2023-2024 Board of Directors
President
Geoff Brown, FCHIME
Piedmont Healthcare
Chief Information Officer
Geoff Brown is VP & CIO at Piedmont Healthcare. He has over 35 consecutive years of progressive experience in Information Technology (IT), management, consulting and strategic planning. Geoff is in the unique position of having work experience as CIO in public, for profit and not-for-profit healthcare organizations, and is known for delivering real results through improved utilization of technology and people.
In 2013, Brown earned the State Public Policy Award for CIO Leadership by the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME). In 2011 he was appointed by Governor, Robert McDonnell as technology chair, for the Virginia Health Reform Initiative. In 2009 Brown was appointed by Governor, Timothy Kaine to serve on the Virginia, Health Information Technology Standards Advisory Committee.
Brown earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration and was awarded an American Management Association Certification from Oglethorpe University in Atlanta, Georgia.
Past-President
Jeff Buda
Floyd Medical Center
VP / CIO
Vice President/Chief Information Officer – Jeff Buda joined Floyd Medical Center in July, 2012. As CIO, Mr. Buda leads the Information Technology strategy and service delivery for Floyd Medical Center, Polk Medical Center and all other Floyd affiliates to include Project Management, Network/Telecommunications, IT Operations and Information Security. Prior to 2012 he served as Executive Director of Business Applications for the WellStar Health System in Marietta and Vice President of System Initiatives and Chief Information Officer for Mercy Health System/Catholic Health East in Conshohocken, Penn. He has also held roles with a major consulting firm and an information technology software vendor. Mr. Buda earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in business economics from the University of California, Santa Barbara and his MBA from Kennesaw State University.
President-Elect
Chris Paravate
Northeast Georgia Health System
Chief Information Officer
Chris Paravate is Chief Information Officer (CIO) for Northeast Georgia Health System (NGHS) where he oversees the information technology, clinical informatics and telecommunications departments for the systems’ four hospital campuses, as well as more than 100 ambulatory clinics and a variety of outpatient locations. Chris has served as CIO for NGHS since October 2014.
Early in his tenure, Chris began an enterprise system selection process for the health system. In October 2017, after 18 months of planning, building and training, NGHS went live with Epic, its new electronic health record. In 2018, Chris led NGHS’ first Community Connect project, as the system extended its Epic tools to Longstreet Clinic’s urgent, primary and specialty care clinics.
Prior to joining the NGHS team, Chris served as Director of Portfolio Management for Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta (CHOA) where he was responsible for coordinating operational decision-making processes associated with redesign, process improvement and automation across the organization. While at CHOA, Chris led its enterprise EMR system selection, implementation and support delivery.
Chris holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Operations from DeVry Institute of Technology and is a Certified Professional in Healthcare Information and Management Systems (CPHIMS) as well as a CHIME Certified Healthcare CIO (CHCIO). He received his Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Brenau University and earned his Project Management Professional (PMP) certification in 2001. Chris has over 20 years of health care process improvement and information systems implementation and support experience.
Treasurer
Sepi Browning, FACHE, FHIMSS, PMP
Brighthour - HIT Consulting
President Emory Healthcare, Inc. (Johns Creek)
Information Technology - Operational & Project Leader
Sepi is a Healthcare Management Professional with 26 years of successful leadership in a variety of roles. In-depth experience in operational/project management and change management within healthcare Information Technology, Revenue Cycle and Clinical Support Services, including Electronic Medical Record (EMR), ICD-10, American Recover and Reinvestment (ARRA) gap analysis, and associated project portfolio creation for meaningful use in a hospital and physician practice environment.
Demonstrated expertise in implementing numerous health delivery projects focused on clinical, revenue, and technical arenas, involving system selection, procurement, workflow analysis, workflow documentation and workflow process improvement, configuration and development, testing, reporting, training, activation, launch and production support, and creation of policy and procedures for daily operations.
Core team facilitator and member of established clinical and revenue cycle governance with mission to effectively prioritize all Information Technology needs and create and maintain an operational roadmap. Certified Project Management Professional and International Project Management Professional.
Adept at leading clinical and revenue cycle staff while also accomplishing technical duties, practicing continuous communication, collaboration, and documentation to ensure both Human Resources needs and Technical needs were successfully met. A confident and hardworking professional focused on employee, customer and patient satisfaction.
Secretary
Dee Cantrell, MS, BSN, RN, FHIMSS, CIO
HIT Consultancy, LLC
President
Dee Cantrell is an accomplished Senior Executive, Advisor, Speaker and Thought Leader with more than 40 years of success across the healthcare industry.
Dee retired from Emory Healthcare after 21 years where she was the CIO for 16 of those years and established her own CIO consulting practice where she works nationally helping health systems, physician practices, state agencies, and payers with health information technology initiatives, process improvement, operations, cybersecurity, data analytics and more. Dee currently holds a leadership position as the Sr. Executive Healthcare Adviser and CIO/CISO for HealthAll Consulting, LLC which specializes in EHR implementation and optimization and revenue enhancement.
Dee is a Certified Fellow in the Healthcare Information Management Systems Society (FHIMSS) and is very active her Health IT professional organizations such as being on the board for multiple years for GA HIMSS as well as a past president. Additionally, she has served in leadership roles on the Board of Directors for the Georgia Health Information Network -the state designated HIE, the Institute of Medicine Committee on Health IT and Patient Safety, and the National Data Warehousing Institute.
For her exceptional leadership, Dee has been recognized as a top 50 Health Care Leader by Becker's Hospital Review, the Top 10 Women Leaders in Health IT by Healthcare IT News and has twice been named the Georgia CIO of the Year by the Georgia CIO Leadership Association (GCLA).
Dee obtained her Master of Science in Organizational Management from Capella University as well as a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Brenau University.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/dee-cantrell-3969804/
Membership Chair
Mindy Oberg, DBA, MBA, MHA
Grady Health System
Executive Director IT Clinical Systems & Digital Engagement Solutions
Golf Tournament & Gala Chair
Mike Dulaney
Capsa Healthcare
Regional Sales Manager
Mike is the current RSM for Capsa Healthcare (FKA: Rubbermaid Healthcare). He’s been in his current role for 7 years. A 17 year veteran of the healthcare industry, Mike spent previous roles in Pharmaceutical Sales (Merck/Schering-Plough) and Medical Device/OR Sales (DePuy Synthes/Globus Medical). In his current position, he is responsible for selling Capsa’s extensive patient point-of-care product portfolio of Mobile Computing, Wall Mounted Solutions, and Medical Carts for use in hospitals and other care settings. Designed to be ergonomic, lightweight and customizable, our products help hospitals enhance patient care, safety, and caregiver workflow.
Mike currently resides in Charlotte, NC and is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He also played 5 years of professional football with the Chicago Bears and Carolina Panthers.
Golf Tournament & Gala Chair
Corey Taylor
Windham Brannon
Senior Manager
An energetic IT professional with 20 years’ experience working in large healthcare system versed in IT business practices and procedures. A capable team leader with project management and technical problem-solving skills coupled with interpersonal and analytical abilities. Capable of performing a variety of management functions within IT. Skilled in providing leadership in the areas of project management, infrastructure deployment, desktop support, help desk management, field service management and new technology implementation.
Earned experience and reputation by providing impeccable customer service to both internal and external customers. Corey earned his Bachelor of Science in Computer Science with a minor in Mathematics from Saint Peters College in New Jersey. Corey lives in Powder Springs with his wife and three children. His interest include golf and NCAA basketball officiating.
Golf Tournament & Gala Chair
Beth Edwards
Floyd Medical Center
Regulatory Reporting Officer
Beth is a PhD candidate, holds an MBA and a B. S. Health Care Services. She currently works as the Regulatory Reporting Officer for Floyd Medical Center and is a college professor. Over the last 13 years she has held the following positions in healthcare: Senior Project Manager, Director of Lean Healthcare, Consultant, Director of Hospital Operations, and Director of Facility Planning and Decision Support, build a career that combines her passion for education and healthcare. Beth has been a member of professional organizations such as GAHE, ACHE, SIOP and GA HIMSS and seeks opportunities speak and collaborate professionally via conferences such as the Center for Healthcare Design, university guest lecture series and written articles. A native of Georgia, she spent 14 years traveling and living in multiple areas of the United States (Hawaii was her favorite place she has lived) moving back to Georgia 11 years ago and quickly regained her southern accent.
Virtual Events Chair
Kathrin (Kathie) Barber Clark
Juno Health
Southeast Solutions Sales Executive
Kathie is an accomplished and performance-oriented professional with more than fifteen years of comprehensive experience in the healthcare IT and consulting services sales arena. Her extensive experience working with senior leadership teams has successfully elevated partnerships to achieve goals for both sides of the business. Kathie continues to educate herself on newly emerging solutions, healthcare market trends, and technology.
Kathie has been successful in her roles as Account Manager, Renewals Sales Executive and Solutions Sales Executive. Recently she joined the ranks of Juno Health a commercial subsidiary of DSS, Inc. Kathie provides consultative guidance to hospitals and healthcare facilities on advance technology for Emergency Department Services (EDS), Electronic Health Records (EHR), Telehealth, ePrescribing and other hosted cloud solutions. As a member of this board Kathie is excited to participate and collaborate with other healthcare professionals throughout Georgia.
Board Advisor
Gretchen Tegethoff, MSIST, CHCIO, FCHIME, FHIMSS, ASCP
ELLKAY
Regional Vice President, Strategic Relationships
Gretchen Tegethoff is the Regional Vice President of Strategic Relationships with ELLKAY, based out of Elmwood Park, NJ. With extensive healthcare IT experience, Tegethoff has a unique background which includes medical technology, healthcare leadership, and business development. She has more than 20 years of healthcare IT experience and has served as CIO for two health system organizations, including The George Washington University Hospital, an academic hospital located in Washington, DC. Tegethoff served as Vice President for the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) and has been nationally recognized with several industry awards and honors of recognition.
Tegethoff currently serves on the Georgia HIMSS board of directors and has served as a member of the CHIME board of trustees, the CHIME Education Foundation board, and the Healthcare CIO Boot Camp faculty. She was instrumental in guiding CHIME’s public policy efforts and previously held a leadership role on the CHIME Advocacy Leadership Team.
Tegethoff earned her master’s degree in information systems technology from the George Washington University School of Business and her undergraduate degree in medical technology from West Virginia University School of Medicine.
Programs Chair
Diane Fredrikson
Connection Enterprise
Enterprise Account Executive
Diane Fredrikson has 20+ years of IT and business experience and is currently a Healthcare IT Solutions Consultant with Connection Enterprise. She joined Connection is 2014 and helps providers integrate technical, clinical, and operational solutions to enhance workflows and patient care. In addition to careers working in health care and education IT, Diane brings a background in marketing and advertising to help foster enhanced communication for health system employees, clinicians, patients and their families. As a board member for GA HIMSS, she is excited about growing the chapter through developing educational programs and networking opportunities that improve health care in Georgia with information technology.
Diane received her bachelor’s degree in Communications from The Florida State University and enjoys boating, hiking and travel.
Advocacy Chair
Christopher Kunney
Senior Vice President of Digital Acceleration
Divurgent
Christopher Kunney currently serves as Senior Vice President of Digital Acceleration for Divurgent. He’s responsible for developing new business and expanding existing contracts, In addition, he initiates and executes solution strategy, win themes, and partner strategies. He recently served as Chief Strategist & Business Development for DSS, Inc.’s Juno EHR product line. As an experienced healthcare information technology executive and strategist Kunney works with hospitals, health systems, accountable care organizations, clinically integrated networks, ancillary service providers, and physician-owned entities to provide guidance and insights specific to emerging healthcare technology offerings, compliance-related issues, and technology adoption. Before joining DSS, Inc., Kunney served as Senior Vice President of Healthcare Information Technology for Coker Group and Managing Partner and IT Strategist of IOTECH CONSULTING. He also served as Entrepreneur in Residence at The Combine, Director of Emerging Healthcare Technology for AT&T, Vice President and COO for Health Innovations, and Vice President and CIO for Piedmont Healthcare.
Mr. Kunney has a track record of developing and implementing strategic enterprise-wide solutions that address the current issues faced by health systems including governance, meaningful use, PPACA, HITECH Act, HIPAA, EMR Adoption, CMS quality measures, and HIEs. Mr. Kunney is an experienced IT leader with demonstrated ability to build peak-performing teams and achieve cross-functional business objectives that effectively integrate within the clinical setting. As a valued member of senior management teams, he has contributed a seasoned, broad-based perspective with the maturity to lead IT transformation efforts in all areas of healthcare business. His business philosophy is to create practical IT strategies and implementation plans designed for maximum return.
Mr. Kunney has served as instructor-at-large for the Morehouse School of Medicine Master’s Degree Pipeline Program – Healthcare Informatics, Emory University Healthcare IT Certification Program, Dignity Health Global Education – Innovation in Healthcare Management and is an industry advisor to the Minority Business Development Agency Business Center-Atlanta, and the Georgia Institute of Technologies-HIT Cluster Program, ITT Technical Institute, Georgia State University, and DeVry University-Atlanta. He also serves on the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce HIT Public Policy and Bioscience Taskforce and Health IT Leadership Council. Mr. Kunney was also selected as a reviewer for the 2014 CMS Innovation Awards and served as an advisor to the Georgia Hospital Association ICD-10 Transition Forum, and he is currently an advisor and industry thought leader for the Georgia Hospital Association Healthcare IT Executive Leader Forum, Village Capital Health Technology, and “The Combine” Technology Business Accelerators. He is a member of Governor Deal’s High Demand Career Initiative IT Task Force.
Professional Development Chair
Marie DiFrancesco, BSN, MBA, CPHIMS
Piedmont Healthcare
Director Applications, Epic EHR
20+ years success leading large-scale, informatics integration projects for healthcare organizations. I am passionate about the patient experience, team engagement and making a positive difference. Skilled in guiding cross-functional teams in the design, migration, and launch of EHR application systems and continuous improvement evaluation and reiterations. Talent for using current industry trends and data to implement effective processes and programs.
Current role as Director of Clinical Applications at Piedmont Healthcare providing leadership of 20+ including Application Analysts, Epic Inpatient Orders, and Clinical Documentation team supporting 11 hospital facilities across Georgia through development and maintenance of Epic applications to drive health system efficiencies. Routinely present as subject matter expert for conferences including Health Information and Management Systems Society, Georgia Nurses Association, and EHR user groups. In addition, frequently guest lecture at University of Georgia School of Public Health on healthcare informatics topics. Experience with Epic, Cerner, and Allscripts EHR Applications.
Education –
- Master of Business Administration, Elon University
- Bachelor of Science in Nursing, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry, North Carolina State University
Communications Chair
Mike Mosquito
Mike Mosquito is a national thought-leader for transformation, innovation, and emerging technology. Throughout his career, Mike has created and directed cross-functional teams and implemented enterprise technology solutions for public, private, and government entities. He is recognized across multiple industries for developing and managing multi-million-dollar strategies, organizations, programs, projects, and emerging technology products. Additionally, Mike empowers these large cross-functional teams to collaborate and make fact-based decisions guided by executive, business, and technology-themed roadmaps.
With 20+ years of healthcare IT experience, functioning at the Fortune 10, he has managed teams or consulted for some of the top businesses in the world. As a leader in healthcare IT and multi-industry consulting, Mike and his teams provide strategic and technical solutions for problems emerging technology support in addition to the integration of IT and Business Management. The solutions include AI integration, digital and experience transformation, data analytics, developing centers of excellence, process automation, strategic innovation roadmaps, and providing companies with a new landscape for implementing, managing, and supporting entities from start-up to large business growth investments.
Mike attended the United States Air Force Academy and is a graduate of Auburn University, where he earned a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering degree, with a minor in Materials Engineering. He also earned a Master of Business Administration degree with a special concentration on Business Information Systems Management and Information Technology from the Michael J. Coles College of Business through Kennesaw State University.
In addition to being a certified CHCIO and active member of CHIME, he also serves on the board at Georgia HIMSS. Mike maintains a variety of professional memberships, including, American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE), Association for Executives in Health Information Technology, and Project Management Institute (PMI). He is also a guest presenter at various institutions and national speaking events.
Regional Events Chair
Steven McWilliams
Georgia Hospital Association
Vice President and Chief Information Officer
Steven McWilliams is the Vice President and Chief Information Officer at Georgia Hospital Association (GHA), one of the largest healthcare trade associations in the state of Georgia. He joined GHA in 2015 and currently is responsible for overseeing IT strategic initiatives, operational effectiveness, and regularly contributes to the organizational advocacy efforts.
Prior to joining GHA, Steven served as part of the IT management team at Oakwood University, a private not-for-profit university located in Huntsville, AL.
Steven obtained his Master of Science in IT Project Management and Leadership from Purdue University. He is an active member of the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society and the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives. Steven has been nominated and recognized by a number of organizations over the years but is most proud of his contributions addressing digital literacy, the digital divide, and healthcare technology.
Chapter Presence @ HIMSS
Eddie Lai
Metro Atlanta Chamber
Edward “Eddie” Lai is the Senior Manager of Life Sciences & Digital Health Ecosystem Expansion for the Metro Atlanta Chamber (MAC). He directs MAC's recruitment and growth strategies for the Life Science (Pharmaceuticals, Medical Devices/Instruments, animal/agriculture bioscience), Digital Health (Health IT, mobile health, wearable devices, telehealth and telemedicine, and personalized medicine), and Age Tech ecosystems. Prior to joining the Chamber, he came to Atlanta from Boston for a role at metro Atlanta-based Emory Healthcare as an Operations & Strategy Administrative Fellow working on hospital and system-wide initiatives including COVID-19 Supply Chain procurement and outpatient COVID-19 Vaccine Clinic Operation. He subsequently joined the Emory Healthcare Innovation Hub as its first Administrator, engaging with companies external to Emory as well as with internal stakeholders to operationalize projects within the health system.
Eddie earned a Bachelor of Science in Health Sciences and a minor in Health Services Administration from Drexel University in Philadelphia, PA. After graduation, he served in AmeriCorps in a high school in the West Philadelphia Promise Zone. He then earned his Master of Public Health with a concentration in Healthcare Management and a certificate in Pharmaceutical Development, Delivery, and Access from the Boston University School of Public Health. He is also the co-founder of the Association of Asian Healthcare Leaders (AAHL).
In his free time, Eddie enjoys exploring metro Atlanta sights and scenes, including trying out the area's great food scene. He can also be found being active outdoors hiking, playing disc golf, or tennis. He currently resides in Dunwoody, GA.
Board Advisor
EJane Caraway
Georgia Department of Economic Development
Director, Life Sciences
As the Georgia Department of Economic Development’s (GDEcD) Director of Life Sciences, EJane leads her team in providing assistance to companies considering Georgia as a business destination. In addition, she helps identify and pursue prospective companies with expansion or relocation potential. Per companies with operations in Georgia, EJane works to develop solutions for their business needs. She also provides assistance to local chambers of commerce and development authorities in their economic development outreach.
EJane has been with GDEcD since Fall of 2009 as a project manager for Region 4. Throughout her tenure, EJane has helped GDEcD work and close many projects, including Jindal Poly Film ($205m/243 jobs), Yamaha ($35m/300 jobs), Greenway Health ($18.5m/550 jobs), CAT Griffin ($120m/206 jobs), NCR ($145m/1864 jobs), Anthem ($17M/1800 jobs), Facebook ($750m/100 jobs), Google ($45m/300 jobs) and Boehringer Ingelheim ($162m/225 jobs) and many others.
Prior to joining GDEcD, EJane was Vice President of Business Development with Southern Creations Development, served as President of the Muscatine Development Corporation and was a Director both at MCI and Sprint for the Southeast Region. EJane has owned several businesses of her own and has been involved in commercial development in GA, TN, AL and FL.
EJane earned her Certification as an Economic Development Finance professional through the National Development Council. Her membership affiliations include the Georgia HIMSS Board, GA Bio Board, Innovation Crescent Board, Georgia Economic Developers Association, Southeast Development Council, Korean Southeast US Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, and several others.
A native of Tennessee, and a Georgian by choice, EJane holds a BS Degree in Business Management from East Tennessee State University.
EJane has been a team leader in several communities for Relay for Life and the American Cancer Society and served many years for the Boy Scouts of America. She is also active in her church at Oak Hill and has served on the Women’s Ministry Board and the Global Mission Team. EJane is a member of the Business Women’s Golf league and currently serves on the Georgia Bio board.
EJane has two adult children. Both of EJane’s children attended Georgia College and State University. Her daughter and son-in-law served as missionaries in Uganda. EJane’s daughter is now an educator and administrator at a private school in Georgia and her son is employed by Walmart Corp. EJane has a granddaughter, Ella, born in 2018 and a grandson due in 2020.
Sponsorship Chair
Evan Behm
Annual Conference Chair
Patty Lavely
Annual Conference Co-Chair
Nancy Stockslager, RN, CPHIMSS
Nancy Stockslager is a highly experienced Healthcare IT executive who has served in a wide array of leadership roles throughout her career, including VP/Chief Information Officer for the Health Care District of Palm Beach County and Clinical Informatics Officer/Sr Director of Applications for the Gwinnett Health System. She is most recently served as the Director of Usability and System Application Training at Piedmont Healthcare. She began her career as a Registered Nurse, completing graduate work at the University of Kentucky. She has historically been a member of the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME), Association for Executives in Healthcare IT Applications (AEHIA) and Healthcare Information Management Systems Society (HIMSS). She has served on the Board of Directors for AEHIA and Mosiac-Sexual Assault Center.