2022 Thomas C. Dolan Executive Diversity Program Scholars
Juana Hutchinson-Colas, MD, associate professor; obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences/division chief, female pelvic medicine and reconstructive surgery, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, N.J.
Juana Hutchinson-Colas, MD, is a clinical expertise is in women’s health, pelvic floor disorders and gender-affirming gynecologic pelvic surgery for transgender men.
Hutchinson-Colas serves on several national committees, including the Association of Professors in Gynecology and Obstetrics: Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee, and is a board member and corporate trustee for the National Medical Association. Locally, she serves as the faculty advisor for RWJMS White Coats 4 Black Lives chapter and is a member of the PROUD Gender Center Advisory Council at Rutgers Health.
Megha Kachalia, FACHE, assistant vice president, physician and ambulatory planning, MedStar Health, Washington, D.C./Baltimore
Megha Kachalia, FACHE, leads the strategic and business planning activities related to the medical group and ambulatory growth for the largest health system in the Washington, D.C. metro area. Previously, she was the senior director of practice operations and practice administrator for The George Washington University Medical Faculty Associates. She has also served in various roles for the Kaiser Permanente of Mid-Atlantic States.
Kachalia has more than 20 years of healthcare experience. She is a physician by training and pursued her Master in Health Administration from The George Washington University. She is known as a savvy administrator and a strategic thinker. Having a clinical background and business acumen helps her understand healthcare’s nuances and find innovative solutions to critical problems. She is recognized for her innovative, results-driven and thoughtful leadership.
Kachalia is the president for the Maryland Chapter of American College of Healthcare Executives and an active member of Society for Health Care Strategy and Market Development. She is part of George Washington University Student Alumni Mentorship Program and enjoys working with new and graduating students.
Beyond her professional endeavors, Kachalia is the mother of two and lives with her husband and two children in Potomac, Md.
Pranav C. Mehta, MD, FACHE, CPE, CMO and vice president, clinical operations, HCA Healthcare Group, Nashville, Tenn.
Pranav Mehta, MD, FACHE, CPE, is responsible for all quality initiatives for 89 hospitals in Colorado, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Tennessee, Texas and the United Kingdom. He proactively and collaboratively promotes high-quality, cost-effective medical care by leading interactions with hospital medical staff, hospital administrative leadership, and other division and corporate leadership and staff.
Mehta provides direct oversight for enterprise preparedness and emergency operations, and leadership and expertise for hospital quality and clinical effectiveness in the areas of infection control, risk management, patient safety, patient experience, and medical staff credentialing functions to ensure the collaboration and coordination of all stakeholders in these processes.
He has served as a senior examiner for the prestigious National Malcolm Baldrige Performance Excellence Program. He received his training in internal medicine, pediatrics, clinical informatics and has completed fellowships in the medical education at the University of Southern California's Keck School of Medicine and in Underserved Medicine at the University of California San Diego. Mehta was an assistant professor of medicine and pediatrics and the Hofstra North Shore LIJ School of Medicine. He is also board-certified by ACHE and the American College of Physician Executives.
Mehta received his physician executive MBA from the University of Tennessee and has found this to be instrumental in his success as a physician executive in an increasingly complex healthcare environment, having gained a deeper understanding of cutting-edge business concepts and technology. Mehta is a Certified Professional in Healthcare Information and Management Systems, and recipient of the University Partnership for Health Informatics Scholars Program.
Kristan M. Murray, FACHE, associate director, VA Southern Nevada Healthcare System, North Las Vegas
Kristan Murray, FACHE, began her VA career in 2007 as an administrative intern at the Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center in Charleston, S.C., and has served in various positions of increasing responsibility at several VA facilities across the country.
Murray holds a Master of Health Administration degree from the Medical University of South Carolina and a Bachelor of Science degree in biology from Columbia College.
She is board certified as a Fellow of ACHE and is a member of the National Association of Health Service Executives. Murray is also a 2021 Excellence in Government Fellow with the Partnership for Public Service.
Stacey-Ann Okoth, DNP, RN, NEA-BC, CNO, Jefferson Health-Abington (Pa.) Division
“Stacey-Ann is a seasoned nurse executive with comprehensive experience and clinical leadership skills, coupled with a resolute commitment to patient safety, quality and satisfaction,” says Alison L. Ferren, president and COO, Jefferson Health—Abington. “Her impressive educational background confirms her commitment to lifelong learning.”
Most recently, Okoth served as the CNO and vice president of patient care services for University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Altoona and Bedford campuses. She has held nursing and service line leadership positions at the manager, director and associate vice president levels for Geisinger, WellSpan and Kaiser Permanente health systems.
Okoth earned her Bachelor of Science in nursing from Penn State University and holds a bachelor’s and Master of Business Administration degree from Strayer University. She earned her Master of Science in nursing from Jacksonville University and recently earned her Doctor of Nursing Practice from Old Dominion University.
Okoth is currently a member of the southwestern chapter of the Pennsylvania Organization of Nurse Leaders Board of Directors. In 2020, Okoth was named one of Diversity MBA Magazine’s Top 100 Executives under 50.
Sonney Sapra, CIO, Samaritan Health Services, Corvallis, Ore.
Sonney Sapra, CHCIO, is responsible for the strategic direction for Samaritan Health Services specific to information services, information security and business intelligence. With more than 19 years in the field, Sapra’s previous positions included senior vice president and CIO for the University of Louisville Health, an academic medical center and Level 1 Trauma center with more than 15,000 employees. He also spent 10 years in a similar role at Hillsboro (Ore.) Medical Center in and had project leadership role at Seattle Children’s.
Sapra is a member of the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives and the Health Information and Management Systems Society. Sapra is a Certified Healthcare CIO through CHIME. He has been awarded Best Hospital IT Team and earned a Forty Under 40 Award by the Portland Business Journal. Sapra earned his MBA at the University of Oregon and a bachelor’s degree in audio engineering from Middlesex University in the United Kingdom.
Sanjit Sodhi, CFO and interim COO, Kaiser Permanente, Oakland, Calif.
As CFO for Kaiser Permanente’s Napa-Solano Area, Sanjit Sodhi is responsible for the overall hospital and health plan fiscal operations of two hospitals—Vallejo Medical and Inpatient Acute Rehabilitation Center and Vacaville Medical & Level II Trauma Center, with a combined 388 beds and 24 ORs—and medical office buildings in Fairfield and Napa.
Playing a part in making high-quality healthcare accessible and affordable is a burning ambition for Sodhi, and she has proudly served Kaiser Permanente members and communities for the past 21 years, working across two California regions and Kaiser’s National Program Office. Her journey with KP started in 2000 as a finance consultant in Southern California Region’s Financial Planning and Analysis department, where in a few years she progressed to become the director, with accountability for the region’s rate setting, 10-year strategic planning, budgeting and business planning activities. From 2010 to 2014, Sodhi served as the area CFO for the region’s tertiary care, 560-bed Los Angeles Medical Center. In 2014, Sodhi joined Kaiser’s National Financial Planning and Analysis team in Oakland as executive director, where she oversaw the planning and performance management activities of all KP regions and national functions with reporting to the National Executive Team and the Board of Directors. Sodhi’s love of operations prompted her to join the Napa-Solano team as the area’s CFO in May 2017. She has served as an interim COO for Kaiser’s Santa Clara Medical Center, a 343-bed tertiary hospital, from February to August 2021, and for the Vacaville Medical Center from December 2021 to March 2022, where she directed and coordinated all day-to-day hospital operations with a focus on delivering quality, safety, service and affordability commitments.
Sodhi has a bachelor’s degree in accounting and a Master of Business Administration from California State University, Fullerton.
Marilyn A. Swindle, DNP, RN, CPHQ, associate vice president, clinical effectiveness, Memorial Hermann Health System, Houston
Marilyn A. Swindle, DNP, RN, CPHQ, is the associate vice president of regional clinical effectiveness for Memorial Hermann Health System, the largest not-for-profit health system in Southeast Texas. As a healthcare executive leader with more than 20 years of experience in delivering measurable results, Swindle is responsible for executing, integrating and implementing all components of the quality and patient safety program and provides oversight for accreditation and regulatory continuous compliance with The Joint Commission, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and Texas Health and Human Services Commission for the North and South Regions. Swindle’s previously held positions include director of quality, patient safety and infection control, division director of quality assurance, chief clinical officer and multiple leadership and service opportunities in civilian and military medical command and in the medical device industry.
Swindle earned her Doctor of Nursing Practice degree from Samford University, a Master of Business Administration from Webster University, and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Stephen F. Austin State University. She is a Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality and completed an Interprofessional Fellowship in Innovative Healthcare Leadership from Arizona State University, the Patient Safety Executive Development Program at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement and received a Safety, Quality, Informatics and Leadership certificate from Harvard Medical School’s Postgraduate Medical Education Program.
Swindle is also a member of several national professional organizations, including ACHE, National Association of Health Services Executives, American Organization of Nursing Leadership, National Association for Healthcare Quality and Sigma Theta Tau International. She currently serves as a member of the inaugural Doctor in Nursing Practice Advisory Board for Herzing University and has held previous board appointments. Swindle is a relationship builder and collaborator who connects people, purpose and potential to achieve individual and overall organizational goals.
Amanda S. Tufano, FACHE, CEO, Genevive, Minneapolis
Amanda Tufano, FACHE, CMPE, holds a Master of Healthcare Administration degree from the University of Minnesota, is a Fellow of ACHE and is a Certified Medical Practice Executive. Tufano holds additional certifications in Lean; Six Sigma; project management; and diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace.
She received her Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Arts undergraduate degrees from the University of Texas at Austin. Tufano is faculty for the Home Centered Care Institute in Chicago, a board member of the Minnesota chapter of ACHE and is the treasurer of the Minnesota Association of Geriatric Inspired Clinicians. Additionally, she sits on the National ACHE CEO Committee, is the immediate Past Chair of the National ACHE LGBTQ Forum Committee and volunteers as a graduate student mentor.
Alen Voskanian, MD, medical director, Cedars-Sinai Medical Group, Los Angeles
Alen Voskanian MD, FAAHPM, AAHIVS, is board-certified in hospice and palliative medicine, and family medicine. Voskanian oversees clinical, administrative and educational activities within Cedars-Sinai Medical Group and enjoys developing collaborative relationships and facilitating strong team performance. Voskanian focuses on optimizing the patient-centered nature of the practice and creating an inclusive environment that supports efficiency and clinical best practices.
Voskanian served as an innovation advisor for the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation. He is a graduate of UC Berkeley and UC Irvine Medical School. He completed his residency at UCLA, followed by a fellowship in HIV at the AIDS Healthcare Foundation. He earned his Business of Medicine MBA from Indiana University, Kelley School of Business. In recognition of his high academic achievement, he was elected to Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society in medical school and Beta Gamma Sigma International Honor Society in business school. He is the recipient of Cunniff-Dixon/Hasting Center’s physician award for excellence in end-of-life care, a Fellow of the third class of the Health Innovators Fellowship and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.
Dorian L. Williams, FACHE, assistant vice president, operations, West Virginia University Medicine, Morgantown, W.Va.
Dorian Williams, FACHE, LSSBB, received both his undergraduate and graduate degrees from Marshall University and is a Fellow of ACHE. As assistant vice president of operations at WVU Medicine Camden Clark Medical Center, he is responsible for construction management, engineering, safety management, security, environmental services, valet services, linen services, real estate, food and nutrition services.
"Healthcare was an easy choice for me. I've worked in different sectors of healthcare, but my mission remains the same—one, put people first; two, build trust; three, hold myself accountable; and four, do what's best for those that serve,” says Williams. “The last few years have been extremely challenging with the pandemic, but it's brought us all closer. It's brought a sense of empathy, compassion and understanding for all involved. I've been extremely blessed to serve the community of Parkersburg and the surrounding communities. Additionally, the tutelage that I'm receiving under the guidance of Steve Altmiller and Sean Smith, the CEO and COO at Camden Clark Medical Center, has benefited my continuous development."
Williams continues, "I believe with all the success I've been able to accomplish, it's minimal in comparison to my greatest achievements of being a girl dad to Payton and Britynn Williams; and a husband to my wife Michelle Williams.”
Robin Womeodu, MD, senior vice president and chief academic officer, Methodist Healthcare, Memphis, Tenn.
As the senior vice president and chief academic officer at Methodist Healthcare, Robin Womeodu, MD, leads the office of medical education and academic affairs, and serves as the director for the Methodist Internal Medicine residency program. Prior to transitioning into this role, she served as CMO for Methodist University Hospital for 17 years.
Her leadership roles have focused on building interdisciplinary teams to address patient safety, improve experience outcomes and implement systemic changes that complement population health strategies. Womeodu is a staunch advocate for medical education learners along the full continuum, advocating for optimizing clinical learning environments that welcome and support learners from diverse backgrounds to reach their full potential.