Griffith Leadership Center

Debbie I. Chang, MPH

Debbie is Senior Vice President and Executive Director of Nemours Division of Health and Prevention Services where she is creating and leading a division devoted to developing, implementing, evaluating and promoting model programs in the area of child health promotion and disease prevention. Debbie has 20 years of federal and state government experience in the health field, primarily working on the Medicaid program and child health programs, in particular the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). She is a national expert on child health policy and programs and Medicaid. Debbie was previously Deputy Secretary for Health Care Financing at the Maryland Department of Health where she oversaw Medicaid and SCHIP. She has held several high-level positions with the federal government, including leading the national implementation of SCHIP. Before Nemours, she was Director of Strategic Development and Policy at the National Academy for State Health Policy, where she led an effort to improve the Medicaid Program. She is a graduate of MIT with a master’s degree in public health from the University of Michigan.

Keith W. Cooley

Keith is the Director of the Department of Labor & Economic Growth (often called D-LEG). In this capacity, he directs the activities of more than 4,000 employees in 35 agencies with oversight of a budget totaling $1.3 billion. His principal objective–after appointment by Governor Jennifer M. Granholm in March 2007–has been to “upskill” Michigan’s workforce to compete in a global community and provide opportunities for economic uplift. And he is well-prepared to do so!

Mr. Cooley has played significant roles in the corporate sector with General Electric, General Motors and Motorola Corporations, as founder of a private consulting company, and as a leader in the non-profit community. His experience ranges from work as an experimental physicist, strategic planner crisis manager, marketing and sales executive to CEO of Focus: HOPE; where he championed the celebrated civil and human rights organization to become a leader in manufacturing technology and workforce development serving underrepresented urban youth.

His professional activities and affiliations include the Engineering Society of Detroit and boards of trustees for Te University of Michigan Engineering Advisory Board, the Michigan Environmental Council, the Michigan Climate Action Council and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation Executive Committee.

Previously he served on the boards of trustees the Detroit Institute of Ophthalmology, WIRED (Workforce Innovation for Regional Economic Development) West Michigan, and the University Prep Academy.

He has been recognized in Who’s Who in the World, Tau Beta Pi Eminent Engineer, and the General Motors President’s Council Honors. He is also a life member of the National Black MBA Association and the Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honorary Society.

Cooley received a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering physics and a Master of Science degree in nuclear engineering from the University of Michigan (U-M) in 1967 and 1972, respectively. As a graduate student, he founded the Minority Engineering Programs Office, College of Engineering. In addition, he was a gymnast; the first African-American to compete in that sport at the school and was a member of U-M’s 1966 Big Ten Championship team.

Mr. Cooley is married and has four adult children and 6 grandsons.

Patricia A. Gabow, M.D.

Dr. Gabow is Chief Executive Officer and Medical Director of Denver Health. She received her undergraduate degree from Seton Hill College, and her M.D. Degree from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. She trained in Internal Medicine at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Harbor General Hospital in Torrance, California. She received further training in Nephrology at San Francisco General Hospital and the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.

Dr. Gabow joined the staff of Denver Health and Hospitals in 1973 as Chief of the Renal Division.

In 1981 she became Director of the Medical Service. She became Deputy Manager of Medical Affairs in 1989 and Manager (CEO) of DHH in 1992. Currently, she is CEO of Denver Health. Denver Health is a highly integrated public healthcare system, which is the principal safety-net institution for Denver and Colorado.

She is also a Professor of Medicine in the Division of Renal Disease at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. She has authored 150 articles and book chapters. Dr. Gabow is a member of numerous professional societies including the Association of American Physicians and is the recipient of numerous awards and professional distinctions including the American Medical Association’s Nathan Davis Award for an Outstanding Public Servant; the University of Colorado’s Florence Rena Sabin Award and has been inducted to Colorado’s Women Hall of Fame. She has been named as one of the top 25 women in health care, one of the top 50 physician executives, and one of the 100 most powerful people in American health care. She is recipient of the 2008 National Healthcare Leadership Award.

Peter Jacobson, JD, MPH

Peter is Professor of Health Law and Policy, and Director, Center for Law, Ethics, and Health, at the University of Michigan School of Public Health. He teaches courses on health law, public health law, and health care regulations. Before coming to the University of Michigan, Professor Jacobson was a senior behavioral scientist at the RAND Corporation in Santa Monica, California.

In 1995, he received an Investigator Award in Health Policy Research from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to examine the role of the courts in shaping health care policy. The project culminated in the publication of the book Strangers in the Night: Law and Medicine in the Managed Care Era (Oxford University Press, 2002). Jacobson co-authored a law school casebook with Lawrence O. Gostin titled Law and the Health System (Foundation Press, 2005), and is also a co-author of False Hope vs. Evidence-Based Medicine: The Story of a Failed Treatment for Breast Cancer (Oxford University Press, 2007).

Professor Jacobson’s current research interests focus on the relationship between law and health care delivery, law and public health systems, public health ethics, and health care safety net services. Currently, he is the Principal Investigator (PI) on studies examining how public health practitioners define and resolve day-to-day ethical challenges, the impact of state and federal law on public health preparedness, and enhancing organizational and operational efficiencies in Michigan’s health care safety net providers.

David Kennedy, MSW, MHSA

David Kennedy is a 2006 graduate from the Schools of Social Work and Public Health (MHSA). David knew early in his life that he was to work in a field serving others. During high school and college his focus shifted from becoming a physician to creating an organization that would serve the elderly. After finishing up his BA in History from the University of Michigan in 2003, he enrolled in the School of Social Work and began laying the foundation for his home care agency Kennedy Care (www.kennedycare.com). He managed and grew Kennedy Care in Ann Arbor while completing graduate school and has since seen his organization double in size for the last two consecutive years. A staff of 120 caregivers serves the elderly and chronically ill with mostly non-medical services in a variety of care settings. Kennedy Care also began operating in Raleigh, NC in August 2007 with plans to open another office in the next few months. In October 2008 David became a managing partner of Home Care Solutions, a Medicare certified home care agency out of Southfield, MI. This has enabled Kennedy Care to service both private pay clients and Medicare patients in their homes across southeast Michigan and northern Ohio. 

In addition to founding Kennedy Care, in June 2008 David launched an online business called TheCaringSpace (www.thecaringspace.com). The mission of this site is the connect families with privately hired health practitioners. Having been in the home health field for 5 years, David saw an opportunity to fill a gap that had not yet been addressed in long term care – locating, interviewing, hiring, and managing private pay caregivers. His idea to create the website came about while he was researching ways to recruit caregivers for the North Carolina office. TheCaringSpace not only connects families with caregivers, but also assists in providing knowledge and tools for families manage private caregivers in the same manner as if a home care agency was being used.

David’s future plans include continuing to expand and develop Kennedy Care as a leader in private duty and certified home health care.  He plans to offer TheCaringSpace worldwide while continually enhancing the tools and features found on the site. At only 26 years old, he sees himself founding more businesses related to long term care while working to discover new ways to meet the needs of our nation’s elderly population.

Robert M. Lane, MSBA

Robert is Chairman and CEO of Saint Catherine Healthcare, LLC. Mr. Lane is a successful hospital entrepreneur having founded a number of healthcare companies, most notably Cancer Treatment Centers of America, Bariatric Treatment Centers (later renamed Barix), Specialty Health, and Saint Catherine Healthcare. He has served as President of all these firms from their founding. Having more than thirty years of healthcare executive experience, Mr. Lane has significant expertise in developing companies in specialized niches of healthcare. Further, he has turned around a number of community hospitals as well as started several hospitals from scratch. He received a Bachelor of Science degree summa cum laude in Business Administration from the University of Detroit and a Masters in Health Services Administration in Hospital Administration from the University of Michigan. Additionally, he obtained a Master of Science degree in Healthcare Finance from the University of South Carolina. Mr. Lane has been a Fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives and a member of the Board of Governors of the Federation of American Healthcare Systems in Washington, D.C. Mr. Lane serves on the Board of Directors of a number of healthcare companies and not-for-profit charitable organizations. He has published several books in the healthcare field including An Administrator’s Guide to Physician Relations.

George Leahy, MSC

George worked in the NHS for over 20 years. The majority of that time was spent working in Public Health in Hackney, Tower Hamlets and Newham, 3 of the most deprived areas in the UK. From 2001-2006 George was Director of Public Health & Health Improvement for Tower Hamlets, based in the Primary Care Trust. George joined the Department of Health, in March 2006 as the Head of Public Health Development. George trained as a Health Economist by background. He has worked on a variety subjects and projects including HIV services, development of community orientated diabetes services and bilingual advocacy services.

George is currently on secondment as Director of Research & Policy for the Social Enterprise Coalition–the UK voice for social enterprise.

Christy Harris Lemak, PhD

Christy is Associate Professor in the Department of Health Management and Policy at the University of Michigan. Dr. Lemak’s research focuses on various aspects of organizations that serve vulnerable populations. In recent years, her funded research has focused on Medicaid programs and providers, community-based collaboratives, and substance abuse treatment providers. She is currently part of a team conducting an independent evaluation of Florida’s Medicaid Reform Initiative and has studied other Medicaid demonstrations, including a minority physician network and a provider service network.

Dr. Lemak teaches management, strategy, and leadership at the University of Michigan. Before coming to Michigan, she was on the faculty of the Department of Health Services Research, Management and Policy at the University of Florida. At Florida, she was recipient of Department and College teaching awards and the 2005 College of Public Health and Health Professions Faculty Leadership Award. Dr. Lemak is currently Chair of the Academy of Management Health Care Management Division.

Sarah Loughran, MHSA, MBA

Sarah is the Executive Vice President of Health Grades, Inc. She has helped to drive HealthGrades’ mission to guide America to better healthcare and directed much of its development since 1998. As Executive Vice President, Ms. Loughran has strategic and operational responsibility for HealthGrades’ business-development and quality improvement services for hospitals.

Ms. Loughran led company product development from 1998 to 2006, including the creation of the initial methodologies used for HealthGrades’ hospital, nursing home, and home health ratings. Ms. Loughran also directs HealthGrades’ corporate communications and marketing initiatives.

Ms. Loughran received a BA in Economics from Vanderbilt University and an MBA and MHSA from the University of Michigan.

Phyllis D. Meadows, Ph.D, MSN, RN

Dr. Meadows currently serves as the Director and Public Health Officer for the City of Detroit. Her responsibilities include Executive oversight for the Department of Health and its comprehensive public health programs and services. Dr. Meadows has provided leadership for several existing and developing community partnerships to address critical health issues impacting children, adolescents, adults, and families. She serves on numerous local, state, and national boards; and serves as an advisor to national foundations and health organizations. Her interest and involvement in community based approaches to outreach, education and early screening and care spans over 20 years. Dr. Meadows had received local, state and national awards for her work in nursing and public health. In 2006, she received the Wayne State University School of Nursing’s Lifetime Achievement Award; and was most recently the recipient of Michigan Department of Community Health State’s Directors Award for innovation in public health programming.

Dr. Meadows has served as a Lead Program Director for the W. K. Kellogg Foundation in areas of Health, Youth and Education and Technology. During her 12 years of service with the Kellogg Foundation, Dr. Meadows provided support for community based programs, developed international programs; and facilitated the conceptualization of a $55 million national initiative to support early learning and development of children 0-6 years of life. She has held a variety of management and leadership roles in community health, oncology, home care and maternal and child health.

Randel E. Richner, BSN, MPH

Randel founded Neocure Group in June 2006, a consulting firm specializing in reimbursement, health policy, economics, and government advocacy support for biopharmaceutical and medical technology companies. Prior to founding the Neocure Group, Richner was Vice President, Global Government Affairs, Reimbursement and Outcomes Planning for Boston Scientific Corporation (BSC) for 9 years.

At Boston Scientific, Richner built a global reimbursement and outcomes strategic process for new and existing less invasive medical technologies for BSC product platforms. During this time, she was actively engaged in national and international policy and legislative arenas as an advocate for the benefits of innovative medical technology, FDA, regulatory, international trade and payment issues.

Richner has been a leader in policy initiatives in Washington with Congress and the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). She served on a four-year term as the first industry representative to the Executive Committee(EC) of the Medicare Coverage Advisory Committee (MCAC), contributing to the development of national coverage and MCAC process guidelines. In 2007, she was reappointed to MedCAC for a 2 year term. She is a frequent contributor on policy panels on health care issues related to the technology industry, such as an Institute of Medicine (IOM) special committee on cost-effectiveness and post-market surveillance in 2005. Richner is on the College of Fellows of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineers (AIMBE); National Institute of Health Commercialization Program (NIH-CAP) Advisor; Executive Advisory Board of the Center for the Evaluation of Value and Risk in Health (CEVRH) Tufts New England Medical Center; Executive Advisory Board to the Dean of the University of Michigan’s School of Public Health and the University of Michigan Ross Business School Healthcare Life Sciences Corporate Advisory Board. She serves on the board of Entellus Medical.

Prior to BSC, Richner worked for GlaxoSmithKline (formerly SmithKline Beecham) in both London, England and Philadelphia, focusing on global pricing and economic issues for cardiopulmonary and diabetic drugs, publishing extensively. She was a member of the Global Health Policy Group (GHPG) consortium of leaders of health economics groups in the pharmaceutical and device industry. Richner has been an active member of the International Society of Pharmacoeconomics and Research (ISPOR) serving as a Board member for 2 years, founder of the US Medical Device Council of ISPOR, and Asia-Pacific Medical Device Council.

Richner has a master’s degree in public health policy and administration from the University of Michigan where she is also a magna cum laude graduate of the bachelor’s in science nursing program. Before her career in health economics and policy, she was a practicing dialysis and transplant nurse for 13 years at the University of Michigan Hospital and Northern Michigan Hospital.

Mark L. Vachon

Mark is the President and CEO for GE Healthcare’s Global Diagnostic Imaging business, is committed to helping the world see life more clearly and to advancing the promise of early health by providing world class technology in imaging and diagnostics. Since joining GE in 1982, and graduating GE’s leadership programs, Vachon has provided leadership in a number of GE’s businesses, including the Global Research Center, GE Appliances, GE Plastics (recently sold to Saudi Basic Industries Corp), NBC, and led GE’s investor relations organization under both CEO Jack Welch and Jeff Immelt. In recognition for his contribution to GE, Vachon was appointed a Corporate Officer in 1999. Today, Vachon leads a global organization headquartered in Waukesha, Wis., of more than 12,000 employees who share his commitment and enthusiasm for realizing the benefits of early health.

Vachon is an active member of the Center for Corporate Innovation and a director of the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce. He is the Vice Chair for the Imaging Sector of the Advanced Medical Technology Association. Vachon also serves on the Board of Overseers for Northeastern University, Boston, his alma mater.

Vachon is dedicated to supporting clinicians around the world re-imagine new ways to predict, diagnose, inform, treat and monitor disease, so people can live their lives to the fullest.