Western PA HIMSS Board of Directors

President: Ryan Brown is a Solutions Architect with FormFast, a healthcare technology company focused on improving efficiency and quality of care in hospitals with electronic signature and workflow automation solutions. He is responsible for providing consultative assistance to C-Level and key IT leaders to identify solution needs and best integration options into the hospital EMR. Brown contributes to the FormFast solution roadmap and overall strategy through representation of the technical buyer’s needs and marketplace direction. He has over 10 years of healthcare IT experience and previously served as a Senior Technical Account Manager at Vocollect Healthcare by Honeywell. Brown earned a Bachelor’s degree in Information Sciences from the University of Pittsburgh.

 

President-Elect: Erika Burkart is a Systems Engineer for the Enterprise Architecture Team at UPMC. She has been in this role for a year. This position exposes her to multiple areas of Healthcare IT gaining a 360-degree view of the industry. Erika is engaged in multiple projects that expand across the organization and is tasked with various responsibilities ranging from creating architectural reviews, researching vendors, documenting technical requirements, project management, and much more. Erika was appointed the Cloud Governance Lead to guide UPMC with migrating and implementing its services to the Cloud. The variety allows her to display her various strengths. Erika radiates motivation and passion in all the things she does and it is infectious to the people around her. She has the unique ability to command any meeting, drive change, and enhance performance. Erika has a diverse background which started with her 8-year career as a Pittsburgh Police Officer. She accomplished many certificates in Law Enforcement. After obtaining her last degree in IT, she transitioned into the Healthcare Industry as a Security and Compliance Analyst for ClinicalConnect Health Information Exchange. In her spare time, she teaches Bachelor and Master’s level college courses at La Roche College and Penn State Beaver Campus, teaches the martial art form of Krav Maga, and enjoys spending time with her loved ones in the outdoors whenever possible

 

Immediate Past President: Jenny Sabol, MS, is currently a Project Consultant at Highmark Inc., working on the Clinical Systems team under the Clinical Services division. She previously worked as a Project Manager on the Date Integration Team in the IT Department at Allegheny Health Network, as well as for Aspen Advisors, a healthcare technology consulting firm, serving as an analyst on various system implementation and optimization projects. Prior to joining Aspen, Jenny worked for as a consultant with SDLC Partners in Pittsburgh, working for a large payer client implementing a new care management technology system. Jenny graduated from Carnegie Mellon University’s Heinz College with her Master of Science in Health Care Policy and Management and from the University of Pittsburgh with her Bachelor of Science in Rehabilitation Science. She is also passionate about health and wellness and works part-time as a cycling and aerobics instructor. This is Jenny's 6th year on the WPHIMSS Board of Directors.

 

Treasurer: Christopher Dunn (Bio Forthcoming)

 

Secretary: Shireen Thomas, RHIA is the Staff Associate to the Chief Information Officer (CIO) at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC). In her role, Shireen is responsible for managing all aspects of the Office of the CIO in the planning, organization, and execution of strategic technology initiatives for UPMC’s Information Services Division (ISD), which employs 1,500 information technology professionals. Serving as Staff Associate for over two years, Shireen has experience with collaborating and building partnerships with all levels of staff, executive management, and customers to facilitate strategies and operational plans for all ISD programs. Shireen began her career in the inaugural class of UPMC’s Information Services Division Rotation (ISDR) Program, which is a full-time, accelerated leadership development program where participants rotate through four unique ISD areas over two years to develop a holistic perspective of health care information technology. Upon successful completion of the ISDR Program, Shireen was selected to be the Junior Executive Sponsor of the ISDR Program by providing mentorship, oversight, and strategic direction for all ISDR Program activities and recruitment events. Shireen holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Health Information Management from the University of Pittsburgh with an earned Registered Health Information Management Administrator (RHIA) credential.

 

Marketing & Communications: Jim "Oz" Osborn (Bio Forthcoming)

 

Advocacy: John Ritter, MS, has an Expert Appointment to the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics. John began focusing his computer experience towards the field of health information (HIT) technology about fifteen years ago and has further refined that focus towards HIT standards for about the past eight years. As such, John has been involved with Health Level Seven, International (HL7) and ISO Technical Committee 215 – creating standards for Electronic Health Record (EHR) systems and Personal Health Record (PHR) Systems. He serves as co-chair of the HL7 EHR Work Group, PHR WG, and EHR Usability WG, and is a founding mentor of the Mobile Health Work Group. He also co-founded and continues to lead the HL7 International Mentoring Committee, whose charge is to support the creation and nurturing of HL7 Affiliate chapters worldwide. John is also actively involved in the Education WG, Marketing WG, and a Technical Steering Committee subgroup. HL7 recognized John's service to the organization with a Volunteer of the Year award in 2009. John served on the Office of the National Coordinators' (FACA) HIT Standard Committee's Consumer Technology Work Group. John holds degrees in Health Education (B.S.) from Slippery Rock University, Computer Science (B.A.) from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, and Computer Science Applications (M.S.) from Virginia Tech.

 

Innovation & Entrepreneurship: Diana Cugliari is an accomplished entrepreneur with expertise in managing and providing strategic counsel to portfolio start-up companies. Her experience in guiding portfolio companies, coupled with her sharp business acumen, has served her well during her time at Pittsburgh Life Sciences Greenhouse (PLSG). Cugliari has been instrumental to the continued success of the company after coming on board in April 2012, and has filled many crucial roles within the business, having assisted in grant proposal writing, branding and marketing, incubator management, IT network management and controller duties among other tasks. Cugliari, who currently serves as Senior Executive Associate and Associate Director of the Accelerator Fund, an early-stage venture capital fund focused on high impact investments in the life sciences and health care sectors, joined PLSG in 2012 as Executive Assistant to the President and CEO, Office Manager. In her current role, she is responsible for providing strategic and tactical guidance during a company’s crucial formative stages while also assisting in the fundamental business strategy for PLSG’s growing portfolio company roster. In addition, she is also tasked with identifying funding strategies and sources of potential capital among other tasks. Prior to her time at PLSG, Cugliari ran a successful startup company from 1999 to 2009; The Money Tree Financial Corp., a provider of mortgage banking products and solutions. During her time with the Money Tree Financial Corp., she expanded the company footprint from a one-state licensed mortgage broker to a 10-state mortgage banking operation, generating annual sales in excess of $170 million. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Masters in Business Administration both from the University of Pittsburgh.

 

Programs: Lauren Richards (Bio Forthcoming)

 

Informatics: Nancy Gorsha (Bio Forthcoming)

 

Students & Young Professionals: John Wright Cordier (Bio Forthcoming)