Lloyd Dean is a nationally recognized leader within healthcare. As president and CEO of Dignity Health, he is responsible for the organization’s overall management, governance, strategy and direction. He has led Dignity Health through significant strategic, operational and financial transformations to its current status as a leading healthcare organization recognized for high quality, compassionate care, operational excellence and successful financial results.
Prior to joining Dignity Health, Mr. Dean was executive vice president and COO of Advocate Health Care, a healthcare delivery system in Oak Brook Illinois. During his tenure, Advocate Health Care was named one of the nation’s Top 100 Integrated networks by Modern Healthcare magazine. Prior to Advocate, Mr. Dean was with the Upjohn Company, where he held executive positions in the Health Care Services Division. He received the prestigious W.E. Upjohn Award for his management and operational excellence.
Currently, Mr. Dean serves as Chair of the Board of Directors for Cytori Therapeutics, a leader in regenerative medicine and adult stem cell research and Chair of the Board of Directors for Committee on Jobs, a business-sponsored organization that strives to ensure the long-term economic vitality of San Francisco. He is a member of the Boards of Directors of Wells Fargo, Mercy Housing California, Bay Area Council, and Catholic Health Association. A strong advocate for health care reform, he has been actively engaged with President Obama and the White House Cabinet on healthcare issues.
Mr. Dean holds degrees in sociology and education from Western Michigan University and received an honorary doctorate of humane letters from the University of San Francisco. In 2012 he was ranked number 23 in Modern Healthcare’s “100 Most Influential People in Healthcare” and is consistently named as one of the “Top 25 Minority Leaders in Healthcare.” He was recently profiled by Fortune Magazine in its January 2013 issue.
Teri Fontenot, FACHE, is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Woman’s Hospital, a 350-bed Level III regional referral hospital for obstetrics, newborn and women’s cancer care. Woman’s Hospital is the largest birthing and neonatal intensive care facility in Louisiana, and provides the highest level of critical care for women and infants. Woman’s is one of four Magnet hospitals in Louisiana, a distinction awarded by American Nurses Association. It was named as a Top 100 Best Place to Work in Healthcare by Modern Healthcare all six years the award has been given. Its $340 million replacement campus opened in 2012 with increased capacity for current services and new growth opportunities.
Teri served two terms as a member of the board of directors of the Sixth District Federal Reserve Bank and chaired its Audit Committee. Headquartered in Atlanta, the board oversees Federal Reserve operations for six southeastern states. She is on the board of Louisiana State University System Research and Technology Foundation and Baton Rouge Water Company, chaired Greater Baton Rouge Chamber of Commerce, was an independent director on Capital One Mutual Funds board and chaired the Audit Committee, and is on Baton Rouge advisory board for Iberiabank.
Teri was 2012 chair of American Hospital Association board of trustees. She has chaired the Chief Executive Officers Committee of American College of Healthcare Executives and served on its board and Officer Nominating Committee. She is chair of Louisiana Hospital Association Professional and General Liability Trust Fund. Other healthcare service includes a six-year term on the Advisory Committee on Research on Women’s Health for National Institutes of Health and chair of the board of Louisiana Hospital Association.
Teri was named Businessperson of the Year by Baton Rouge Business Report, received the inaugural Becker’s Hospital Review Healthcare Leadership award in 2013, and was the only Louisianian named to the Modern Healthcare Top 100 Most Influential People in Healthcare in 2011 and 2012. She was also named one of the 40 Most Powerful People in Healthcare by Becker’s Hospital Review, was an inductee of the Louisiana State University E. J. Ourso College of Business Hall of Distinction, received Louisiana Hospital Association’s Golden Pelican President’s, received ACHE Service award, and named to Modern Healthcare inaugural list of the Top 25 Women in Healthcare in 2005. She graduated with honors from University of Mississippi with a BBA in Accounting and earned an MBA from Northeast Louisiana University.
Rhoda Weiss, Ph.D., is a nationally recognized and versatile executive, speaker, consultant, author, educator and multiple award-winning professional specializing in strategy, business development, branding, marketing, public relations and crisis management. During her career, she's traveled 6 million miles speaking and consulting to 700+ organizations in the U.S. and abroad. Popular and trusted consultant to scores of organizations and prolific speaker, she is highly sought for her knowledge, expertise, experience and innovations in moving organizations well beyond their strategic objectives.
She’s founding national president, AHA Society for Healthcare Strategy & Market Development (SHSMD) and past national chair & CEO, 32,000-member Public Relations Society of America (PRSA). A Kellogg Foundation Fellow, she received UCLA Extension Distinguished Faculty Award and named among Becker’s Hospital Review 24 Top U.S. Women Healthcare Leaders. She chairs AMA Executive Summit and is past president, Women in Health Administration (WHA) and AHA American Society for Health Care Marketing & Public Relations. National awards include SHSMD’s highest honor, Inaugural National Award for Individual Professional Excellence, PRSA Health Academy National Lifetime Achievement Award, PRSA Educators Academy National Ferguson Award, listed among 30 Global Legends in Public Relations book, Outstanding Michigan State University Alumna and WHA Woman of the Year. Board service includes U.S. Air Force National Chief of Staff Civic Leaders; Bob Hope USO Board Vice Chair; UHA Health Insurance Hawaii Board; UCLA Extension Nonprofit Management, Transformational Leadership and Marketing Public Relations Boards; Air Force Association/AFA Doolittle Vice Chair and California AFA Officer. She authored the book,Managing Health Care Reform: Ideas for Leaders.
Carl S. Armato is the president and chief executive officer for Novant Health. Since joining Novant Health in 1998 as the vice president of finance and operations for the physician divisions in both Charlotte and Winston-Salem, Armato has also served as senior vice president of materials management and logistics for Novant Health. In 2003, Presbyterian Healthcare appointed Armato as chief operating officer and then promoted him to president and chief executive officer in January 2004. In 2008, the health system promoted him to president of Novant Health markets and in 2011 as chief operating officer. The board of trustees appointed him to his current position in January 2012.
Prior to joining Novant Health, Armato was vice president of operations for First Care Physicians and director of finance for the General Health System in Baton Rouge, LA. He was also a senior tax/audit consultant for Ernst & Young in the Baton Rouge office. Armato holds a Bachelor of Business Administration - Accounting from the University of Southwestern Louisiana and a Master of Business Administration from Norwich University of Vermont.
He is a certified public accountant licensed in Louisiana and North Carolina. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the North Carolina -Society of Certified Public Accountants, the State Board of CPAs of Louisiana and the Healthcare Financial Management Association.
Armato currently serves as a member of the VHA Board of Directors, the VHA Audit and Finance Committee, on the executive committee of the North Carolina Chamber of Commerce, and recently joined the American Hospital Association Governing Council. He is actively involved in a number of community programs including the American Heart Association and has served in a variety of roles with the Knights of Columbus, Mecklenburg Citizens for Public Education and the Friends of Scouting in the past. In 2015, Armato was recognized as one of the Triad Business Journal’s Most Influential People in the Triad.
William Jefferson Clinton, the first Democratic president in six decades to be elected twice, led the United States to the longest economic expansion in American history, including the creation of more than 22 million jobs.
After leaving the White House, President Clinton established the Clinton Foundation in order to continue working on the causes he cared about. Since its founding, the Foundation has endeavored to help build more resilient communities by developing and implementing programs that improve people’s health, strengthen local economies, and protect the environment.
The Foundation is guided by the belief that every problem has a solution and together with a diverse set of partners, works to improve lives around the globe and across the United States through a wide range of initiatives, including the now independent Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI), which has helped over 11 million people in more than 70 countries access critical HIV/AIDS medications at CHAI-negotiated prices. The Clinton Climate Initiative, the Clinton Development Initiative, and the Clinton Giustra Enterprise Partnership are applying a business-oriented approach to promote sustainable economic growth and fight climate change in Africa, Latin America, Asia, and the Caribbean. In the United States, the Foundation is focused on helping children and adults live full and active lives by working to combat the rise in childhood obesity through the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, a partnership forged with the American Heart Association; reduce health disparities and address emerging health threats like the opioid epidemic by partnering with local communities through the Clinton Health Matters Initiative; and increase awareness about the importance of early childhood development through the Foundation’s Too Small to Fail initiative.
The Clinton Presidential Center in Little Rock remains the heart and soul of the Clinton Foundation, and since it opened its doors in 2004, the Clinton Center has hosted hundreds of thousands of visitors each year, catalyzing $3.3 billion in economic impact throughout the community. Today, the Clinton Center also cooperatively manages the Presidential Leadership Scholars Program—a joint effort between the George W. Bush Presidential Center, the George Bush Presidential Library Foundation, and the Lyndon Baines Johnson Foundation that seeks to equip emerging leaders with the tools they need to drive positive change in their communities.
Above all, President Clinton has always believed that we can do more together than any of us can do on our own. In 2005, he founded the Clinton Global Initiative to foster partnerships among governments, businesses, nongovernmental organizations and private citizens to turn good ideas into measurable results. To date, over 3,600 CGI commitments have already improved the lives of more than 435 million people in more than 180 countries. CGI’s work continues through these ongoing commitments and through the Clinton Global Initiative University which this year, celebrates 10 years of bringing together college and university students from every corner of the globe to turn good ideas into action.
In addition to his continuing roles with the Foundation and CHAI, President Clinton has joined with other former Presidents to support relief efforts for communities recovering from natural disasters—partnering with President George H.W. Bush three times to organize aid and support for those affected by the 2004 tsunami in South Asia, Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and Hurricane Ike in 2008, and with President George W. Bush in the aftermath of the 2010 earthquake in Haiti to raise money and assistance for communities devastated by the storm. To this day, the Clinton Foundation continues to support economic growth, job creation and sustainability in communities across Haiti.
President Clinton was born on August 19, 1946, in Hope, Arkansas. He and his wife Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton have one daughter, Chelsea; two grandchildren, and live in Chappaqua, New York.
George W. Bush, the 43rd President of the United States, was sworn into office on January 20, 2001, and served as Commander in Chief for two consecutive terms. Before his presidency, he served for six years as Governor of the State of Texas. President Bush was born July 6, 1946, in New Haven, Connecticut, to Barbara and George H.W. Bush – later the 41st President of the United States. In 1948, the family moved to Texas, where President Bush grew up in Midland and Houston. He received a bachelor’s degree in history from Yale University in 1968 and then served as a pilot in the Texas Air National Guard. President Bush received a master’s degree in business administration from Harvard Business School in 1975. Following graduation, he moved back to Midland and began a career in the energy business. After working on his father’s successful 1988 Presidential campaign, President Bush led a group of partners that purchased the Texas Rangers baseball franchise in 1989.
On November 8, 1994, George W. Bush was elected the 46th Governor of Texas. He became the first governor in Texas history to be elected to consecutive four-year terms when he was re-elected on November 3, 1998. In Austin, he earned a reputation for his bipartisan governing approach and his compassionate conservative philosophy, which was based on education reform, limited government, personal responsibility, strong families and local control. As President, George W. Bush worked to expand freedom, opportunity and security at home and abroad. His first initiative as President was the No Child Left Behind Act, a bipartisan measure that raised standards in schools, insisted on accountability in return for federal dollars and led to measurable gains in achievement – especially among minority students. Faced with a recession when he took office, President Bush cut taxes for every federal income taxpayer, which helped lead to an unprecedented 52 straight months of job creation. President Bush also modernized Medicare by adding a prescription drug benefit that provided access to needed medicine for 40 million seniors and other beneficiaries.
President Bush implemented free trade agreements with more than a dozen nations; empowered America’s armies of compassion by creating USA Freedom Corps and the Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives; promoted a culture of life; improved air quality and made America’s energy supply more secure; designated more ocean area habitats for environmental protection than any predecessor; transformed the military to meet the changing threats of the 21st century and nearly doubled government support for veterans; pioneered a new development strategy that tied American foreign aid to reform and good governance; launched global HIV/AIDS and malaria initiatives that have saved millions of lives; expanded the NATO alliance; forged a historic new partnership with India; and appointed Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The most significant event of President Bush’s tenure came on September 11, 2001, when terrorists killed nearly 3,000 people on American soil. President Bush responded with a comprehensive strategy to protect the American people. He led the most dramatic reorganization of the federal government since the beginning of the Cold War, reforming the intelligence community and establishing new institutions like the Department of Homeland Security. He built global coalitions to remove violent regimes in Afghanistan and Iraq that threatened America, liberating more than 50 million people from tyranny. Recognizing that freedom and hope are the best alternative to the extremist ideology of the terrorists, he provided unprecedented American support for young democracies and dissidents in the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and elsewhere. In the more than seven years President Bush remained in office following September 11, 2001, the United States was not attacked again.
Since leaving office, President Bush has returned to Texas, where he has focused his attention on the development of the George W. Bush Presidential Center at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, which opened in May 2013. The Bush Center encompasses President Bush’s presidential library, museum and archives, as well as the George W. Bush Institute. The Bush Institute seeks to improve the human condition, and its work is based on the principles that have guided President Bush throughout his life: freedom is universal; each human life is precious; to whom much is given, much is required; and the marketplace is the best way to allocate resources. President Bush has continued to promote these values through the work of the Bush Institute in economic growth, education reform, global health, human freedom, the Military Service Initiative and the Women’s Initiative. Through events like the Warrior Open Golf Tournament, a 36-hole competition that brings together patriots who volunteered to defend our Nation in the face of danger and were severely wounded in the War on Terror and programs such as Pink Ribbon Red Ribbon, an innovative partnership established to leverage public and private investments in global health to combat breast and cervical cancer in developing nations in Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America, President Bush continues his public service and advancing the policies he has championed throughout his life through the work of the Bush Institute.
In addition to his work with the Bush Center, President Bush published his memoir, Decision Points, a personal and candid account of the most defining decisions of his personal life and presidency in the fall of 2010. He is also the author Connecting You with the World's Greatest Minds of an intimate biography of his father, President George H.W. Bush, entitled 41: A Portrait of My Father. In the spring of 2017, President Bush will release another book entitled Portraits of Courage: A Commander in Chief’s Tribute to
America’s Warriors, a vibrant collection of oil paintings and stories by President Bush honoring the sacrifice and courage of America’s military veterans. President Bush partnered with President Bill Clinton in the wake of Haiti’s devastating earthquake to lead a major fundraising effort to assist the Haitian people. President Bush also serves as the Honorary Chairman of the First Tee, an organization that provides young people with character-building and life skills lessons using golf as the platform. President Bush is married to Laura Welch Bush, a former teacher and librarian whom he met at a friend’s backyard barbeque. They have twin daughters, Barbara and Jenna, a son-in-law, Henry Hager, and two granddaughters, Mila and Poppy Louise Hager. The Bush family also includes two cats, Bob and Bernadette.
Warner Thomas officially assumed the role of Ochsner Health System President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) on September 1, 2012. As the CEO of Ochsner, Louisiana’s largest non-profit health system, Mr. Thomas is responsible for the system’s overall strategic growth and development.
Mr. Thomas joined Ochsner in 1998 and served for 14 years as Ochsner’s President and Chief Operating Officer (COO). As COO, Mr. Thomas was instrumental in Ochsner’s growth in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, which devastated much of the medical infrastructure in south Louisiana. In the years since the storm, Ochsner has acquired six hospitals and developed strategic partnerships and affiliations with 22 others – growing its presence across Louisiana and throughout the Gulf South region. Mr. Thomas has been instrumental in creating the largest healthcare system in the Gulf South.
Since joining Ochsner, Mr. Thomas has focused on implementing industry best practices and developing innovative partnerships with major companies such as General Electric, which has resulted in developing the operating capability required to successfully run a health system of Ochsner’s size. Mr. Thomas was the driving force behind the creation of Innovation Ochsner, an innovation accelerator designed to create health innovations as well as support and partner with companies working to revolutionize patient-centered care. He also spearheaded the creation of the Ochsner Learning Institute, which provides free professional education for all Ochsner leaders to better prepare them to confront challenges, seek opportunity and ignite enthusiasm around best practices in healthcare.
Mr. Thomas’ expertise and ability are nationally recognized. In 2014, Mr. Thomas was appointed to the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, which advises Congress on issues affecting Medicare. He has served as Chairman of the American Hospital Association Section for Health Systems Governing Council, and is a past member of the Board of the American Medical Group Association and Association of American Medical Colleges Advisory Panel for Health Care and Council of Teaching Hospitals.
Mr. Thomas received his Masters Degree in Business Administration in 1994 from Boston University Graduate School of Management, and an undergraduate degree in Accounting and Computer Information Systems from New Hampshire College in Manchester, NH. He was a Certified Public Accountant, served on the board of the American Medical Group Association, is a Fellow in The American College of Healthcare Executives, a member of the Young Presidents Organization (YPO) and New Orleans Business Council; and a Louisiana Hospital Association (LHA) board member.
Ochsner Health System is Louisiana’s largest non-profit, academic, healthcare system. Driven by a mission to Serve, Heal, Lead, Educate and Innovate, coordinated clinical and hospital patient care is provided across the region by Ochsner's 29 owned, managed and affiliated hospitals and more than 80 health centers and urgent care centers. Ochsner is the only Louisiana hospital recognized by U.S. News & World Report as a “Best Hospital” across three specialty categories caring for patients from all 50 states and more than 80 countries worldwide each year. Ochsner employs more than 18,000 employees and over 1,100 physicians in over 90 medical specialties and subspecialties, and conducts more than 600 clinical research studies. Ochsner Health System is proud to be a tobacco-free environment.
William F. Carpenter III is Chairman and CEO of LifePoint Health. He has served as CEO since 2006 and assumed the additional position of Chairman of the Board in 2010. He is a founding employee of the company, which was established in 1999, having previously served in various roles as Executive Vice President, Senior Vice President, General Counsel, Secretary and Corporate Governance Officer.
Mr. Carpenter is secretary and past chairman of the board of directors for the Federation of American Hospitals, the national public policy organization for investor-owned hospitals. He is a member and past chairman of the Nashville Health Care Council Board of Directors, and also serves on the boards of directors of the American Hospital Association, Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce, NashvilleHealth, the Center for Medical Interoperability, United Way of Metropolitan Nashville, Avondale's Advisory Board and Nashville Public Radio.
Bernard J. Tyson is the chairman and CEO of Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc. and Hospitals — known as Kaiser Permanente, one of America’s leading integrated health care providers and not-for-profit health plans. With annual operating revenue of nearly $65 billion, Kaiser Permanente serves 11.8 million members in eight states and the District of Columbia.
Tyson assumed the role of chairman in January 2014 and has served as CEO since 2013. His career at Kaiser Permanente has spanned more than 30 years. During that time, Tyson has successfully managed all major aspects of the organization, serving in roles from hospital administrator to division president to president and chief operating officer of the Oakland, California-based health care organization.
John H. Noseworthy, M.D. serves as CEO and President for Mayo Clinic. Dr. Noseworthy joined the board in 2009.
Dalhousie University; Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada; University of Western Ontario; Harvard Medical School; Professor of Neurology, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine; Consultant, Department of Neurology, 1992-present; Department Chair, 1997-2006; Editor-in-Chief, Neurology, 2007-2009; Vice Chair, Mayo Clinic Rochester Executive Board, 2006-2009; Medical Director for Development, 2006-2009. President and CEO, Mayo Clinic, 2009-present.
Sarah Kliff is one of the country's leading health policy journalists, who has spent seven years chronicling Washington's
battle over the Affordable Care Act. Recently, her reporting has taken her to the White House for a wide-ranging interview
with President Obama on the health law—and to rural Kentucky, for a widely-read story about why Obamacare enrollees
voted for Donald Trump.
Kliff is a senior policy correspondent at Vox.com, where she focuses on the Republicans' effort to repeal Obamacare—and
what that will mean for the millions of Americans who rely on the law for coverage. At Vox, she is also a co-host of The
Weeds, a policy podcast with Ezra Klein and Matt Yglesias. She is developing a second podcast, also about policy, that
will launch in summer 2017.
Prior to joining Vox, Kliff covered health policy for the Washington Post, where she was a founding writer at Wonkblog, a
blog dedicated to making complicated policy easily understandable. She has also covered health policy for Politico and
Newsweek magazine.
Kliff's work has impact: the Supreme Court cited her work in their 2012 decision upholding the health care law. She is the
recipient of multiple reporting awards, including fellowships from the Association of Health Care Journalists and the
Annenberg School of Journalism at the University of Southern California.
Kliff is a frequent television guest and has appeared on CBS, PBS, Fox News, CNN, and MSNBC. She enjoys public
speaking and, most recently, has presented at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, the Aspen Ideas Festival,
and the Colorado Health Institute.
Kliff resides in Washington, D.C. with her fiancé and a very friendly beagle named Spencer.
Penny Wheeler, MD, is the president and chief executive officer of Allina Health. Prior to her appointment as CEO, she served as the chief clinical officer of Allina Health, responsible for leading the organization's quality and value agenda through alignment of the clinical and operational leadership to optimally benefit those served by Allina Health. A board-certified obstetrician/gynecologist, Dr. Wheeler served patients at Women's Health Consultants in Minneapolis, was the president of Abbott Northwestern Hospital's medical staff, chaired the Allina Health Quality Committee and served on the Allina Health Board of Directors.
In addition to her current role, Dr. Wheeler chairs the Minnesota Community Measurement board, a regional health quality collaborative, and is on the board of Portico Healthnet, an organization dedicated to helping uninsured Minnesotans receive affordable health coverage and care. She has presented nationally on Allina Health’s approach and success in quality advancement and outcomes-based quality payment models. Dr. Wheeler was named the 2012 Outstanding Health Care Executive, largely based on her ability to form internal and external care collaboratives and their impact on community health.
Her educational background includes an undergraduate degree with honors from the University of Minnesota, and a doctorate of medicine degree from the University of Minnesota Medical School.
