Current Events • Fusion Learning Partners

ABOUT TRESSA SPRINGMANN

Tressa Springmann has been Chief Information Officer for LifeBridge Health since 2012. Further she has had responsibility as Senior Vice President over Performance Improvement including the organization’s Lean transformation work (prior) and currently over the systems HIM function. LifeBridge Health, a $2B in revenue not for profit system, consists of Sinai Hospital, Northwest Hospital, Carroll Hospital, Levindale Hebrew Geriatric Center and Hospital, and its subsidiaries and affiliated units, with nearly 10,000 employees and a vast physician network, LifeBridge Health provides patients with a continuum of care as a partner for lifelong health. As one of the largest and most comprehensive providers of health-related services to the people of Maryland, LifeBridge Health has the technology, skills and expertise of an academic system with the warmth and personal attention of a community continuum of care.

Tressa is chairman of the technology committee for CRISP, Maryland’s State Health Information Exchange (HIE), and a member of the Premier Member Technology Committee (MTIC).

She is also currently on The Healthcare Management Program Advisory Board for Towson University and is an adjunct professor at Mount St Mary’s University previously teaching Healthcare Information Technology as part of their Masters in Healthcare Administration (MHA) program.

She is the Past President of Maryland HIMSS (MDHIMSS), is a certified professional in Health Information Systems Management (CPHIMSS) and has attained her certification as a Healthcare CIO. (CHCIO). Tressa has served multiple years on the AHA ‘Most Wired’ Selection Committee, was a question writer for both the CPHIMSS and CHCIO exams. She has been on the program planning committee for multiple CHIME forums and is currently active on the CHIME membership committee and recent CHIME Foundation feedback sessions. She has regularly attended CHIME Forums and various educational events including participation in many vendor focus group sessions. She holds her Masters from The Johns Hopkins University and her BA in Biology from St. Mary’s College of Maryland.

Prior to joining LifeBridge Health, Tressa Springmann served as Vice President and Chief Information Officer (CIO) for Greater Baltimore Medical Center (GBMC) of Towson, Maryland, which includes a 300 bed acute hospital, an employed and community physician organization and the region’s largest hospice provider. Ms. Springmann has also held information technology positions at Integrated Health Services (IHS), Georgetown University Hospital, Dimensions Healthcare System, CMC Occupational Health, Pharmacia Diagnostics, Electronic Data Systems (EDS) and The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.

Tressa recently received her Wine Production Certificate from Penn State.

ABOUT MICKY TRIPATHI

Micky Tripathi is the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, where he leads the formulation of the federal health IT strategy and coordinates federal health IT policies, standards, programs, and investments.

Mr. Tripathi has over 20 years of experience across the health IT landscape. He most recently served as Chief Alliance Officer for Arcadia, a health care data and software company focused on population health management and value-based care, the project manager of the Argonaut Project, an industry collaboration to accelerate the adoption of FHIR, and a board member of HL7, the Sequoia Project, the CommonWell Health Alliance, and the CARIN Alliance.

Mr. Tripathi served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Massachusetts eHealth Collaborative (MAeHC), a non-profit health IT advisory and clinical data analytics company. He was also the founding President and CEO of the Indiana Health Information Exchange, a statewide HIE partnered with the Regenstrief Institute, an Executive Advisor to investment firm LRVHealth, and a Fellow at the Berkman-Klein Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University.

He holds a PhD in political science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a Master of Public Policy from Harvard University, and an AB in political science from Vassar College. Prior to receiving his PhD, he was a Presidential Management Fellow and a senior operations research analyst in the Office of the Secretary of Defense in Washington, DC, for which he received the Secretary of Defense Meritorious Civilian Service Medal.

Jim Hall is an innovative, high-achieving Senior IT Leader with over twenty years’ experience in IT Leadership. Jim believes in developing the next generation of IT Leadership, to help IT organizations better respond to the changing technology landscape.

After serving more than eight years as Chief Information Officer in government and higher education, Jim founded Hallmentum to empower IT Leaders to drive meaningful change through hands-on training, workshops, and coaching.

Jim is a featured speaker on IT Leadership and Technology Innovation at conferences including Government IT Symposium, SINC Midwest IT Forum, International Institute of Business Analysis, Premier CIO Forum, Minnesota e-Learning Summit, CIC CIO TechForum, and UBTech.

Jim is a published author on IT Leadership, and is the author of Coaching Buttons, a collection of essays about leadership and vision in information technology: how to be a leader, how to lead through change, how to do strategic planning. Jim has also contributed chapters to several other books on IT Leadership, including The Open Organization Leaders Manual (2nd Edition), The Open Organization Workbook, and Cultivating Change in the Academy.

Jim contributes feature articles about IT Leadership and Technology Innovation in magazines and journals including Government CIO Outlook, CIO Review, University Business, OpenSource, Linux Journal, and The Open Organization book series. Jim has also been interviewed and cited as an expert on IT Leadership and Technology Innovation for publications including The Forecast by Nutanix, Government CIO Outlook, University Business Magazine, and MinnPost.

ABOUT DEAN BOORMAN
Account Manager of Strategic Accounts with H.B. Fuller, Owner of Minnesota Management Consulting, LLC and CFO of No Rush Hour Productions, LLC. 30 years in Project Program and Portfolio Management, MBA, PMP®, LSSGB, ITIL, and CSM®.

ABOUT LISA BROWN
Director Program Management at Surescripts with 30+ years of project, program, portfolio and PMO management across multiple industries and organizational sizes. A proven professional with a consistent track record of implementing solutions to address business, technical and strategic challenges within complex organizations.

ABOUT RICK RIETOW
Associate Partner at Project Consulting Group. 30+ years in Project, Program, Portfolio Management and leading PMOs. Built, matured, or scaled PMO’s in 10+ companies from mid-size to fortune 100. MBA, PMP®, Lean Six Sigma MBB.

ABOUT JOE PERZEL
Sr. Portfolio Manager with Surescripts, owner of JPerzel Inc & CEO of No Rush Hour Productions, LLC. 40+ years in Project Program and Portfolio Management, PMP®.

ABOUT GEORGE S. HAWKINS, ESQ.

George Hawkins launched his innovation-focused enterprises Moonshot Missions after stepping down as CEO of DC Water, where he served for eleven years. George helps agencies identify and adopt strategies to deliver better service and lower cost.

George transformed DC Water into an innovative enterprise while tripling its investment in clean water. DC Water’s innovations ranged from Green Infrastructure to a $500 million investment in clean energy. DC Water issued the first century bond, first environmental impact bond, and spearheaded programs to support low-income customers and provide for local workforce development.

George serves on the National Infrastructure Advisory Council, which advises the White House. George is an advisor to Xylem, Inc. and serves on the Board of the North American Electric Reliability Corporation. George has served as a Senior Lecturer at Princeton University and an Executive in Residence for American University.

Mr. Hawkins also served as Director of the DC Department of the Environment and served as Director of non-profit organizations and held positions with the USEPA and the firm Ropes & Gray.

George is a popular speaker on water and environmental issues. He has been the recipient of many awards, including the AWWA’s Fuller Award, Governing Magazine’s Public Official of the Year in 2015, WEF Public Official of the Year in 2016, and the Water Leader of the Year Prize in 2017. DC Water was awarded the US Water Prize in 2016.

He graduated from Princeton University (Summa Cum Laude) and from Harvard Law School (Cum Laude).

ABOUT DR. UMAIR SHAH

Umair Shah, MD, MPH, was appointed Secretary of Health by Governor Jay Inslee on December 21, 2020. Prior to this, Dr. Shah served as Executive Director and Local Health Authority for Harris County Public Health (HCPH) – the nationally accredited county public health agency for the nation’s third largest county with 4.7 million people.

Dr. Shah earned his BA (philosophy) from Vanderbilt University; his MD from the University of Toledo Health Science Center; and completed an Internal Medicine Residency, Primary Care/General Medicine Fellowship, and MPH (management), at the University of Texas Health Science Center. He also completed an international health policy internship at World Health Organization headquarters in Switzerland.

Upon completing training, Dr. Shah began a distinguished career as an emergency department physician at Houston’s Michael DeBakey VA Medical Center. He started his formal public health journey as Chief Medical Officer at Galveston County’s Health District before joining HCPH to oversee its clinical health system and infectious disease portfolio. Under his leadership, HCPH has won numerous national awards including recognition as Local Health Department of the Year from the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) in 2016.

Dr. Shah currently holds numerous leadership positions with respected entities like the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Trust for America’s Health; Network for Public Health Law; and Texas Medical Association. He previously served as president of NACCHO (and its Texas affiliate) representing the nation’s nearly 3,000 local health departments.

Over his career, Dr. Shah has been a clinician, an innovator, an educator, and a leader in health.

ABOUT EDWARD W. MARX
Edward Marx serves as the Chief Digital Officer for Tech Mahindra Health and Life Sciences. As CDO, he oversees digital strategy and execution for providers, payors, pharma and bio-tech. Edward is active on Boards, writing books and speaks globally as a Partner in Marx & Marx LLC.

Edward was Chief Information Officer at Cleveland Clinic, an $11B health system with facilities in Florida, Nevada, Toronto, Abu Dhabi and London. His responsibilities included digital solutions and information technology. Prior to joining Cleveland Clinic, Edward served as CIO for The Advisory Board/NYC Health & Hospitals, Texas Health Resources and University Hospitals. Concurrent with his healthcare career, he served 15 years in the Army Reserve as a combat medic and combat engineer officer.

Edward is a Fellow of the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives and Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society. He has won numerous awards, including HIMSS/CHIME 2013 CIO of the Year, and has been recognized by CIO and Computer World as one of the “Top 100 Leaders.” Becker’s named Marx as the 2015 “Top Healthcare IT Executive” and the 2016 “17 Most Influential People in Healthcare.”

Edward is the author of 5 books including the 2019 healthcare bestseller “Voices of Innovation” and the 2020 bestseller “Healthcare Digital Transformation; How Consumerism, Technology and Pandemic are Accelerating the Future”. Ed is currently writing a book on “Patient Experience” from the perspectives of a cancer and heart attack survivor. Edward received his Bachelor of Science in psychology and a Master of Science in design, merchandising, and consumer sciences from Colorado State University.

ABOUT CRIS ROSS
Christopher Ross is currently the Chief Information Officer of Mayo Clinic. Prior to that, he was Executive Vice President and General Manager of the Clinical Interoperability business for Surescripts. He has 28 years of diverse experience in healthcare, information technology and government. He serves on the Health and Human Services Health IT Standards Committee, the Markle Foundation Connecting for Health Steering Committee, and previously served on the Patient Centered Primary Care Collaborative and the CDC’s National Biosurveillance Advisory Subcommittee. Before Surescripts, Cris most recently was Executive Vice President for Product and Information Services and Chief Information Officer for CVS/MinuteClinic, the pioneer and leader in retail-based healthcare. Cris holds a BS degree in Economics from the University of Minnesota and an MBA from the Yale School of Management. He serves on the Boards of Directors of the Walk-In Counseling Center and Central Presbyterian Church.

Maurice Ashley made history in 1999 when he became the first African-American chess grandmaster. He is a three-time national championship coach, author of Chess for Success: Using an Old Game to Build New Strengths in Children and Teens, Chess commentator, iPhone app designer, puzzle inventor, and motivational speaker.

Maurice is well known for providing dynamic live tournament coverage of world-class chess competitions and matches. His high-energy, unapologetic, and irreverent commentary combines Brooklyn street smarts with professional ESPN-style sports analysis. He has covered every class of elite event, including the World Chess Championships, the US Chess Championships, the Grand Chess Tour, and the legendary “man vs. machine” matches between Garry Kasparov and IBM’s Deep Blue.

Traveling the world as an ardent spokesperson for the many character-building effects of chess, Maurice shares how chess principles and strategies can be applied to improve business practices and assist with personal growth. Maurice also acts as a master of ceremonies and inspirational speaker at business conferences and high-class chess events.

Maurice has received multiple community service awards from city governments, universities, and community groups for his work. In recognition of his immense contribution to the game, he was inducted into the US Chess Hall of Fame in 2016 and the Brooklyn Technical High School Hall of Fame in 2018.

About Janel Anderson

Dr. Janel Anderson is the founder of Working Conversations, LLC and holds a PhD in organizational communication from Purdue University where she wrote her dissertation on virtual teams 20 years ago. Part professor, part coach, part comedian, she offers practical strategies that can be implemented immediately.

Twitter: @janelanderson
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/janelanderson

About Hayley Cohen

Hayley Cohen is an Executive Security Advisor and Threat Gamification Engineer for IBM Security Command, and is based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She leads companies, intelligence agencies and governments through simulated cyber-attacks, and builds one-of-a-kind scenarios for custom client experiences.

Aside from sharing best practices from a business perspective, Hayley also demonstrates hacking techniques and tools to provide insight into how threat actors conduct attacks.

Prior to joining IBM Security Command, Hayley was a software engineer for various IBM Security teams, where she worked with leading technologists to develop world class security products. Hayley holds a B.S. in Computer Science from the Tufts University School of Engineering and a Credential of Readiness from Harvard Business School Online.

Hayley is currently pursuing an M.S in Cybersecurity Policy and Governance from Boston College.

Hayley has run simulations and demonstrations for business and technical leaders around the world. Her recent engagements include FS-ISAC Americas Virtual Summit, IBM Security Master Skills Munich, Massachusetts Digital Government Summit and Minnesota Government IT Symposium.

Twitter: @HayleyBCohen
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hayleybcohen

About John Nerge

John Nerge is the GIS Coordinator for the City of Brooklyn Park. John works will all city departments, empowering their business decisions with spatial and data analysis, cartography, and storytelling. To achieve this, he uses human centered decision to fit the app to the audience, not the other way around.

Twitter: @GISJohnMN
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnnerge/

About Thomas Fisher

Thomas Fisher is professor, director of the Minnesota Design Center, and Dayton Hudson Chair in Urban Design in the College of Design at the University of Minnesota.

Fisher served for 19 years as a dean at the University of Minnesota and became the director of the Minnesota Design Center in 2015. His research has focused on sustainable architecture, design ethics, and community-based service design.

Recognized in 2005 as the fifth most published writer about architecture in the United States, Fisher has written 9 books, over 50 book chapters or introductions, and over 400 articles in professional journals and major publications. Named a top-25 design educator four times by Design Intelligence, he has lectured at 36 universities and over 150 professional and public meetings. He has written extensively about architectural design, practice, and ethics. His latest book, Designing our Way to a Better World (Minnesota) came out in 2016.

Mandy Froehlich passionately encourages educators to create innovative change in their classrooms. A former Director of Innovation and Technology, technology integrator, and teacher, she has experience at many levels of the organizational structure. Her interest lies in reinvigorating and re-engaging teachers back into their profession, as well as what’s needed to support teachers in their pursuit of innovative and divergent thinking and teaching. She consults internationally with school districts and post-secondary institutions in the effective use of technology to support great teaching, mental health support for educators, and how to create organizational change. Her first book, The Fire Within: Lessons from Defeat that have ignited a passion for learning, discusses mental health awareness for teachers. Her second book, Divergent EDU, is based on an organizational structure she developed to support teachers in innovative and divergent thinking. Her third book, Reignite the Flames, is based on educator engagement and mental health. And check out here newly released book, The Educator’s Matchbook, a weekly guide for educators looking to reignite their love of teaching.

About Mark Lanterman

Mark Lanterman is the Chief Technology Officer of Computer Forensic Services. Before entering the private sector, Mark was a member of the U.S. Secret Service Electronic Crimes Taskforce.
Mark has 28 years of security and forensic experience and has testified in over 2000 cases.

Mark is faculty for the Federal Judicial Center in Washington, D.C., the National Judicial College in Reno, Nevada, the University of Minnesota and the Mitchell Hamline Law School. Mark is a professor in the cybersecurity program at the St. Thomas School of Law in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Mark has provided training in digital evidence, computer forensics and cyber security to the United States Supreme Court. He has also presented to the 8th and 11th Circuit Federal Judicial Conferences as well as numerous State and Federal Judicial Conferences across the United States.

Mark completed his postgrad studies in cybersecurity at Harvard University and is certified as a Seized Computer Evidence Recovery Specialist (SCERS) by the Department of Homeland Security.

Mark is a member of the Minnesota Lawyers Professional Responsibility Board and serves as Chairman of its Opinions Committee.

About Angela Maldonado

In her role as Partner, Angela oversees work in 3 states and leads the leadership development practices team for TNTP. In her role, she works with state departments, philanthropic organizations and foundations, CMOs and districts on a range of work that includes leadership development, talent diversification, access to high quality academics and implementation, and authentic community engagement. In her work at TNTP Angela has led principal preparation programs in Philadelphia and Kansas City and supported districts in designing comprehensive talent management and human capital strategies.

Prior to her work at TNTP, she supported district staff and principals in Prince George’s County with the implementation of a new teacher evaluation system. Prior to her work there, she joined education as a Teach For America corps member in Philadelphia, where she taught middle school English in the district, leading her students to significant gains on city wide tests. During this time, she was featured on NBC’s Education Nation as an exemplary model of teaching. Following her teaching experience, Angela joined Teach For America staff as a Manager of Teacher Leadership Development, coaching first and second year teachers throughout Philadelphia, reaching more than 2000 students via the teachers she coached. In 2015, Angela was named to Forbes 30 Under 30 list of influential educators. Angela completed her Bachelor of Science in Finance at Penn State University and holds a Masters from the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education.

About Brian Johnson

Brian Johnson is the president of 7 Minute Security, which specializes in security assessments, penetration testing and training. He is especially passionate about teaching others about security and hosts a weekly podcast to help consumers and businesses strengthen their security posture. When he isn’t camped out behind a keyboard, he enjoys outdoor activities with his family, as well as singing and playing guitar in an acoustic duo.

About Lynette Crane

Lynette Crane, corporate trainer, coach, international speaker, and author, has had 40 years of experience in helping people address stress under many different challenging circumstances, including economic chaos and natural disasters as well as personal crises.

She was a pioneer in 1978 when she created the first college course on The Psychology of Stress, then went on to do organizational training for such institutions as Pacific Bell Telephone Company (during their divestiture from AT&T), San Francisco Veterans’ Affairs, San Francisco Airport, and more. Her training has additionally impacted companies such as Hewlett Packard, Target, and a hot of others over her 40 years of experience.

Recognizing the old stress management techniques were not delivering what was needed in the modern era, she turned to latest in neuroscience and quantum physics to create a unique scientifically-validated program in which participants can gain the tools to deal successfully with the losses and disruptions of our pandemic by learning, easily and quickly, how to prepare for, recover from and adapt in the face of adversity.

Seen on The Ellen Show and NBC Nightly News, educator, speaker, and author Michael Bonner is an energizing voice in education. Michael has presented to more than 200 education conferences, school district meetings and leadership development audiences across the U.S. & Canada to share his “lessons learned” from teaching in a Title I school with children that experience high levels of trauma and adverse situations.

Mr. Bonner’s candid, enthusiastic seminars challenge listeners to create diverse, inclusive education plans “where students can see themselves within the lessons and assessments” as a means to increase student success rates. He empowers his audiences to build genuine relationships with their students because “you can’t demand a withdrawal from someone you have never invested in.”

Administrators and educators alike leave Mr. Bonner’s presence ready to make an impact that affects eternity. He is consistently seen as a visionary leader who strives to create a positive mindset among all of his students. His students come to class each day with diverse backgrounds, strengths, needs, and challenges. Therefore, he identifies strategies to ensure their growth socially, emotionally, academically, and psychologically. Due to his educational approach, students leave more hopeful, challenged, inspired, and forever a part of Bonnerville.

Today, Mr. Bonner lives in Atlanta, Ga. where he is beginning a new educational journey as a fourth and sixth grade English teacher at the famed Ron Clark Academy!

Glen has been in education for over 20 years and he currently works as an instructional coach in Sauk Rapids, Minnesota. Glen was previously a Spanish teacher. Glen is well known by the Schoology community as a Gamification expert, Schoology Ambassador, and he was the 2016-2017 Schoology Educator of the Year. He is the co-host of OnEducation Podcast whose goal is to have honest conversations about teachers, teaching and everything in between.

Co-convener Stratis Health is proud to provide continuing medical education credit for physicians and advanced practice professionals for the MN HIMSS and Minnesota e-Health Initiative Conference, through their CME accreditation by the Minnesota Medical Association.

Physician Continuing Medical Education (CME) AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™
This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the Essential Areas and Policies of the Minnesota Medical Association (MMA) through the joint sponsorship of Stratis Health and the MN HIMSS and Minnesota e-Health Initiative Conference. Stratis Health is accredited by the MMA to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

Stratis Health designates this activity for 7 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Physicians should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

CME certificates will be emailed after completion of these steps:

An online evaluation survey will be emailed after the conference.
Complete the survey, indicate only those keynotes/sessions you attended.
Electronically sign and submit the survey.
A CME certificate will be emailed to you from Stratis Health.

Speaker and Planning Committee Disclosure: To comply with MMA Standards for Commercial Support, Stratis Health requires presenters to disclose the existence of any significant financial interest or other relationships with companies whose products or services are related to the subject matter of the presentation. Each presenter will submit a signed disclosure form prior to the conference. No presenter or planning committee member involved with the MN HIMSS and Minnesota e-Health Initiative Conference will have a financial relationship that could be perceived as a real or apparent conflict of interest in the context of their presentation; nor will any speaker discuss research or unlabeled uses of commercial products.

Continuing Education and Contact Hours for Nurses
The University of Minnesota School of Nursing, Office of Practice, Partnerships and Professional Development, is accredited as a provider of continuing nursing education by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation. The MN HIMSS and Minnesota e-Health Initiative Conference is designed to meet the Minnesota Board of Nursing requirements for continuing education. It is the responsibility of the individual nurse to determine if the course fulfills that requirement.

Continuing Education Credits and Contact Hours for Other Health Professionals
The MN HIMSS and Minnesota e-Health Initiative Conference may meet continuing education requirements for your focus. Attendees will receive a certificate of attendance following completion of a post-conference online evaluation survey. It is the responsibility of the individual to determine if the course fulfills that requirement.

Amanda VanDerHeyden, Ph.D., is a private consultant and researcher who has directed and evaluated numerous school-wide intervention and reform efforts. Amanda is founder of Spring Math (www.springmath.com), a web-based comprehensive mathematics RtI system covering numeracy to algebra, which is widely used in the U.S. and has shown strong gains in math achievement. Her work has been featured on “Education News Parents Can Use” on PBS and The Learning Channel.

Dr. VanDerHeyden has held faculty positions at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center and University of California at Santa Barbara. She is President of Education Research & Consulting, Inc. in Fairhope. Dr. VanDerHeyden serves as scientific advisor to TIES and the Center on Innovations in Learning. She has served as a guest or standing panel member for NIH, IES at the U.S. Department of Education and on numerous boards including the RTI Advisory Board for the National Center for Learning Disabilities and SEDL, one of 10 regional laboratories funded by the U.S. Department of Education since merged with the American Institutes for Research). Dr. VanDerHeyden has published more than 100 scholarly articles and chapters, 7 books, and has given keynote addresses to state school psychology associations and state departments of education in 32 states and Singapore. She is co- author of the Evidence-Based Mathematics Innovation Configuration for the National Comprehensive Center for Teacher Quality at Vanderbilt University and now the Collaboration for Effective Education Development, Accountability, and Reform at University of Florida. Her most recent book (Kovaleski, VanDerHeyden, & Shapiro—The RTI Approach to Evaluating Learning Disabilities) was featured at a forum for policymakers hosted by the National Center for Learning Disabilities as a best-practice guide for identifying and serving children with Learning Disabilities in October of 2013 in New York, NY. She actively conducts research focused on improving learning outcomes for students and her scholarly work has been recognized in the form of article of the year awards in 2007 from Journal of School Psychology and 2016 from Journal of Learning Disabilities Research & Practice, the Lightner Witmer Early Career Contributions Award from Division 16 (School Psychology) of the American Psychological Association, and her 2012 induction into the 150-member Society for the Study of School Psychology. Amanda believes that most academic failure is preventable and that all children can learn when provided with the right instruction.

Ruth Lynfield is State Epidemiologist and Medical Director at Minnesota Dept of Health. She joined MDH as a medical epidemiologist in 1997. She has investigated and responded to outbreaks, developed surveillance systems, and conducted public health research, evaluation and planning. She has served on a number of federal advisory committees including the National Vaccine Advisory Committee, the FDA Vaccine and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee and chairs the CDC Board of Scientific Counselors for the Deputy Director for Infectious Diseases. She is an Adjunct Professor of Medicine and of Epidemiology and Community Health at the University of Minnesota.

Elissa Hansen, President & CEC at Northspan

Elissa Hansen invests her time creatively advancing others’ capabilities. Recently, she has facilitated strategic planning processes for numerous public, private, and nonprofit organizations in the Upper Midwest. She also spearheaded the creation of the Minnesota Opportunity Collaborative and has worked to expand and enhance Northspan’s programs. She leads Northspan with over 20 years of experience in business and economic development across Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Karl Schuettler, Research Director & Consultant at Northspan

Karl Schuettler manages the Northland Connection program, provides support services to local communities, and researches and analyzes economic trends. In the past year, Karl’s work has included numerous economic analyses, reports on business visit programs, and staffing support for several regional partnerships. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University and a master’s degree in urban and regional planning from the University of Minnesota.

Terri Thao

Terri Thao is passionate about building power with community. She is currently a program director at Nexus Community Partners, a non-profit community building intermediary where she runs the Boards and Commissions Leadership Institute (BCLI). Terri has spent most of her professional career in the fields of community economic development, community building, leadership development, and philanthropy. She also teaches classes on leadership and advocacy at Metropolitan State University. She serves on the boards of the F.R. Bigelow Foundation, Minnesota Housing and Voices for Racial Justice. She obtained her Bachelors’ and Masters’ degrees from the University of Minnesota. She lives with her family on the East Side of St. Paul and loves to read in her spare time.

Dannielle Lewis
Dannielle Lewis is a senior manager in the tax practice, focused on serving clients in the construction and real estate industry. She leads Wipfli’s team of Qualified Opportunity Zone specialists and is a frequent speaker on this topic. She also advises clients on complex tax transactions involving partnership interest exchanges or business sales. Dannielle stays up to date on the ever-changing tax laws and recognizes opportunities for new and potential clients to help save and structure their funds. She leverages her proactive planning and advising to ensure clients reach their goals and are successful.

Seventeen. That’s how many years Jana has worked as a journalist for KARE 11 news here in Minneapolis – it is also the same amount of time she has spent wondering if she could ever really be that much needed addition to the now defunct Destiny’s Child. But she’s for sure gonna name her first child, Destiny, just to get remotely close to that brand.

Other tidbits. She is from a town you’ve never heard of but it’s a 40 minute drive from St. Louis. She once sold her ten year anniversary gift from KARE 11 to an ex so she could buy a pair of Air Jordan’s.

Jana graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia a very long time ago and had it not been for a persistent journalism professor would have spent her adult life driving the Wienermobile. Jana has won 6 regional Emmy awards. You can see Jana weeknights on Breaking The News, KARE 11, at 6:30 pm.

Research Scientist

Jacob seeks to strengthen communities’ resilience by promoting the use of data and careful analysis. At Wilder, he generates and curates content for the Minnesota Compass website and manages a portfolio of related research projects. He brings experience in research, geospatial analysis, writing, and outreach from previous positions at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, the Center for Urban and Regional Affairs, and the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, among others.

He holds a master’s degree in urban and regional planning from the Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota and a bachelor’s degree in English from James Madison University in Virginia.

Outside of work, he enjoys bicycling around the Twin Cities and getting lost in the woods as he forages for mushrooms. In his opinion, a perfect day would somehow combine the two.

Kathlene Campbell is the Dean of Education at the University of St. Thomas where she oversees the departments of educational leadership, special education, and teacher education as well as the charter school authorizing unit. Dr. Campbell’s multifaceted experience as a classroom teacher, community college and state college professor, state college interim dean, university instructor and supervisor, and non-profit consultant have shaped all of her strategic and scholarly pursuits. She holds a B.A. in Elementary Education and M.Ed. in Early Childhood Intervention and Family Studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction from The University of Texas at Austin.

Michael Baran, PhD is a Senior Partner and Digital Solutions Lead at inQUEST Consulting. He has been working with organizations for almost 20 years, helping support their diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. By training, he has a doctorate in cultural anthropology and cognitive psychology, studying questions like: how do we all develop unconscious biases? And what are the subtle ways that cultures include some people and exclude others?

Michael has taught courses at Harvard University and the University of Michigan. He has lead projects aiming to reduce racial disparities in education, health, housing, and criminal justice at the FrameWorks Institute and at the American Institutes of Research.

He is also the coauthor of the recently launched book Subtle Acts of Exclusion: How to Understand, Identify, and Stop Microaggressions, cited in Forbes as one of the “11 Books To Read If You Want To Be A More Inclusive Leader.”

Andy Zimney is a Principal Advisor and Team Performance Coach at Employe Strategies, Inc.—a boutique firm in Minneapolis that partners with leaders to create highly effective work cultures. He has two decades of experience in the conference room as an organizational executive and on the stage as a profession improviser. Andy has lead learning seminars and coached teams from a wide variety of industries across the country to help them adapt to change and support more innovative cultures. Andy spends the rest of his time with his wife and 3 fantastic children in St. Paul, MN.

Minnesota State Demographer

Susan Brower is the Minnesota State Demographer and directs the MN State Demographic Center. Susan became the State Demographer in February 2012. In that capacity, she travels the state talking with Minnesotans about the new social and economic realities that are brought about by recent demographic shifts. Susan’s work applies an understanding of demographic trends to changes in a range of areas including the state’s economy and workforce, education, health, immigration and rural population changes.

Susan joined the State Demographic Center after working as a researcher on the Minnesota Compass project at Wilder Research in St. Paul. Prior to that, she worked at the Population Studies Center at the University of Michigan.

Susan earned her Ph.D. in sociology at the University of Michigan, specializing in demography and family sociology. She also holds a master’s degree in public policy from Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota.

For media or other inquiries, please contact Susan at susan.brower@state.mn.us (preferred) or 651-201-2472. Download a high resolution photo of Susan. Note: If you would like Susan to present at an event, please email her with your request.

Kori Land, Attorney at LeVander, Gillen & Miller, P.A.

Korine Land is a shareholder at LeVander, Gillen & Miller, located in South St. Paul, Minnesota. She is the City Attorney for the cities of West St. Paul, Stillwater, Cottage Grove, Randolph and Hampton. Ms. Land is the Chair of her Firm’s Municipal Practice Group, a past president of the Minnesota City Attorneys’ Association and a frequent speaker for the League of Minnesota Cities on various municipal matters. She graduated from Augustana University and Mitchell-Hamline College of Law.

Molly Just, Senior Planner at WSB

Molly has nearly 20 years of experience in local and regional government, as well as in the private sector. While her experience includes long-range planning and current planning, Molly finds planning nirvana when helping to solve problems. She finds that the answers are often hiding in plain sight – in the zoning ordinance or comprehensive plan. Molly’s planning career started in the Washington, DC area, then moved to Maine, and finally to Minnesota in 2015; attracted by the evident quality of life. Molly lives in Minneapolis with her husband, son, and pets. In her free time, Molly is always trying to carve out time to walk the lakes with her dog or strengthen her yoga practice.

Erin Perdu, Director of Community Planning & Economic Development at WSB

Erin Perdu, AICP, is the Community Planning and Economic Development Director for WSB in Minneapolis. She has been a practicing planner for over 20 years, working primarily in the upper-Midwest and Texas. Her career spans both the public and private sectors, including a 12-year stint at the helm of the consulting firm she founded, ENP & Associates. Erin’s passions include long-range planning, community engagement, and bringing national best practices to communities of all sizes. She holds a Bachelor of Science from Stanford University (Earth Systems) and Master of Science (Natural Resources) and Master of Urban Planning degrees from the University of Michigan.

Mike Couri, Attorney at Couri & Ruppe, P.L.L.P.

Michael C. Couri is a partner with Couri & Ruppe. Mr. Couri received his Bachelor of Science degree in accounting from Illinois State University in 1985. He then received his Certified Public Accountant certificate and Juris Doctorate from the University of Illinois in 1988. He was admitted to the Illinois Bar in 1988 and the Minnesota Bar in 1991. Mr. Couri has been continuously engaged in the practice of Municipal Law in Minnesota since 1991. He has been the City Attorney for the City of Albertville since 1992, the City of St. Augusta since 2000, and the City of Rockford since 2002. He has also represented a number of Townships since his entry into the practice of Municipal Law in 1991. Mr. Couri has attended City and Township sponsored continuing legal education seminars annually since 1991 and has periodically spoken on Municipal issues before City and Township organizations.

Phil Carlson, Associate at Stantec

Phil Carlson has practiced as a planning consultant in the region for more than forty years, assisting dozens of cities with comprehensive plans, neighborhood studies, urban design guidelines, zoning codes, and planning advice. He has designed residential, commercial, industrial, and mixed use developments, and wrote one of the first form-based codes in Minnesota. He has taught planning and zoning to city staff and leaders for over thirty years and is frequently called as an expert witness in land use and zoning cases.

Senior Demographer

Megan Dayton is a Senior Demographer at Minnesota’s State Demographic Center. Since 2012, she has been responsible for preparing demographic projections for the State of Minnesota, 13 Economic Development Regions, and 87 counties. Serving in this role, Megan is Minnesota’s state representative to the Federal-State Cooperative Program for Population Projections (FSCPP) with the U.S. Census Bureau. Megan’s work involves the creation of school district estimates upon request for intercensal levy cycle funding and providing data analysis for state agencies, councils, and legislators.

Megan’s research interests include improving upon existing data modeling techniques used for state and sub-state areas, as well as social stratification and more general demographic trends related to fertility, mortality, and migration patterns. Megan has hands-on knowledge of social and economic realities brought about by recent demographic shifts. Her work engages an attentive approach to relating current demographic trends with the resulting likelihoods.

Megan holds a master’s degree in applied demography from the Center for Demography and Population Health at the Florida State University.

Contact Megan at megan.dayton@state.mn.us (preferred) or 651-201-2461. Download a high resolution photo of Megan. Note: If you would like Megan to present at an event, please email her with your request.

Dr. Archelle Georgiou is a nationally recognized physician, advocate, advisor and author. She earned her medical degree from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and enjoyed practicing internal medicine in Northern California. However, wanting to have a broader impact on the healthcare system, she shifted her focus to the managed care industry. Between 1995 and 2007, she was a senior executive and Chief Medical Officer of UnitedHealthcare where she dismantled many of the company’s legacy policies in order to minimize the bureaucratic burdens imposed on patients and physicians.

Since 2008, Archelle has served as a senior advisor for a diverse group of companies serving health needs in industries ranging from education to analytics and financial services to mining. She worked with former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Newt Gingrich at his Center for Health Transformation, a non-partisan think tank focused on advancing patient-centric sustainable healthcare policies. In 2009, she was the medical correspondent for the Blue Zones international expedition to Ikaria, Greece, where she explored lifestyle factors underlying the island’s longevity with National Geographic researcher and best-selling author, Dan Buettner.

Archelle is an executive in residence at the University of Minnesota Carlson School of Management where she teaches anatomy and physiology to MBA students, to help future industry leaders appreciate the medical complexities of the human body. She serves as a member of the board of directors for Nashville-based Tivity Health (NASDAQ:TVTY).

She is passionate about using the power of media to educate consumers. Since 2007, she has been an on-air medical expert in Minneapolis-St. Paul, covering more than 900 different topics, from research, technology and clinical care to health insurance and healthcare policy. Currently, she has a weekly news segment and presents regular health specials on KSTP-TV, the ABC affiliate in the Twin Cities. Her appearances on national news programs include Fox Business News, CNN, Good Morning America, and Katie’s Take with Katie Couric.

In February 2017, Archelle’s book, Healthcare Choices: 5 Steps to Getting the Medical Care You Want and Need, was published by Rowman & Littlefield. Based on her 20+ years of experience in patient care, managed care, media, and business, Archelle wrote Healthcare Choices to share the CARES model, an approach she developed to teach consumers how to make smart healthcare decisions that balance the best medical options with individual preferences.

Archelle and her family live in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

COVID-19 and the Transforming Learning Summit

The Transforming Learning Summit is proceeding with safety as a top priority. Our planning committee closely follows the CDC guidelines, local and state public health authorities and US State Department/Federal Government rules related to the COVID-19 virus. We recognize the situation is fluid and changing daily. We’ve instituted the following policy that only applies to COVID-19 related cancellations:

» 100% of attendee and sponsor/exhibitor registration fees will be refunded if a company has instituted travel restrictions for its employees that is effective during the dates of the Summit, and an attendee or sponsor/exhibitor cannot attend the event. Cancellation must be communicated by email to gts@fusionlp.org accompanied by the company proof of policy. Refunds will not be issued for cancellations before July 15, 2020.

» 100% of registration fees will be refunded if cancellation of the event is mandated by local health authorities

GTS Educational Events is actively exploring Digital Conferencing tools and the potential benefits that sponsors and exhibitors would receive, in the event that the in-person event is canceled. We will ensure sponsors and exhibitors receive comparable or even enhanced benefits associated with a captive digital audience. We welcome your ideas and input.

COVID-19 and the Government IT Symposium

The Government IT Symposium is proceeding with safety as a top priority. Our planning closely follows the CDC guidelines, local and state public health authorities and US State Department/Federal Government rules related to the COVID-19 virus. We recognize the situation is fluid and changing daily. We’ve instituted the following policy that only applies to COVID-19 related cancellations:

» 100% of attendee and sponsor/exhibitor registration fees will be refunded if a company has instituted travel restrictions for its employees that is effective during the dates of the Conference, and an attendee or sponsor/exhibitor cannot attend the event. Cancellation must be communicated by email to gts@fusionlp.org after November 16, 2020, accompanied by the company proof of policy. Refunds will not be issued for cancellations before November 16, 2020.

» 100% of registration fees will be refunded if cancellation of the event is mandated by local health authorities

GTS Educational Events is actively exploring Digital Conferencing tools and the potential benefits that sponsors and exhibitors would receive, in the event that the in-person event is canceled. We will ensure sponsors and exhibitors receive comparable or even enhanced benefits associated with a captive digital audience. We welcome your ideas and input.

Madhulika Gaur, Business and Quality Analysis Supervisor for Minnesota IT services at Minnesota Management and Budget (MMB), has over fifteen years of experience in multiple aspects of critical software systems and custom applications, including experience in automation, Functional, performance testing. Madhulika currently manages Business Analysts team and QA teams working on variety of Functional, Accessibility, automation and performance testing efforts.

Brian is the Chief Technology Officer at Collier IT. He has over 36 years in the Information Technology field starting in the US Navy in 1981. Although proficient in many technologies his passion has been in the Operating Environment, Engineered Systems, Data Center grade servers, Big Data/Hadoop, and storage, and now Cloud Computing and the associated MSP aspects. He has been teaching for Sun Microsystems / Oracle since 2000. Brian actively writes a blog and provides formal presentations on various Oracle and related technology topics. @Snatchbrain Brian presents at a number of technology gatherings and is currently focused in Cloud connectivity, Docker in the Cloud, Hadoop, and Data Analytics in the Cloud. Brian is an Oracle Ace Director for Engineered Systems / Solaris and was recently awarded the 2018 Oracle Excellence Award: Leadership in Infrastructure Transformation.

Kristy Dalton is the CEO of Government Social Media LLC and executive director of the Government Social Media Organization. She has been called on as an industry influencer and her unique background includes serving as a delegate at a NATO social media summit in Sarajevo, advising government agencies on digital strategy and delivering keynotes on social media and tech innovation all across the United States. Kristy has authored several social media courses for the LinkedIn Learning platform and pens a regular social media column in Government Technology Magazine. She founded the nation’s first social media conference for U.S. city, county and state agencies, the Government Social Media Conference.

Chris Dancy is touted as “the Most Connected Man on Earth,” and the world is watching those connections carefully. For 25 years, Dancy has served in leadership within the technology and healthcare industries, specializing in the intersection of the two. Chris entered the public dialog concerning digital health as the media started to focus on wearable technology. He earned his moniker by utilizing up to 700 sensors, devices, applications, and services to track, analyze, and optimize his life–from his calorie intake to his spiritual well-being. This quantification enables him to see the connections of otherwise invisible data, resulting in dramatic upgrades to his health, productivity, and quality of life.

A noted keynote speaker and executive workshop retreat facilitator, Chris guides organizations and audiences on a journey–a disruptive, breathtaking journey–into the future of computing, when behavior becomes the ultimate interface. As a author his digital wellness journey will transform how we look at the technology of our lives.

RCLLG Meeting and Educational Program Dates

Health Information Exchange (HIE) Task Force Updates

2019 RailVolution Poster

2019 RailVolution Poster