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AHLA Announces Fiscal Year 2027 Election Results and Leadership Appointments

President-Elect Designate

Carol Carden, PYA, Knoxville, TN

Carol joined the AHLA Board of Directors in 2021, holding positions on the Education, Finance, Governance, Membership-IDEA, and Nominating Committees, and the Development and Advancement Council. Prior to her Board service, Carol was an inaugural member and then chair of the Women’s Leadership Council. Carol speaks at AHLA’s in-person programs, has led podcasts, and is a contributor to the Association’s publications.

Board Members Elected to a 5-Year Term

Ryan S. Johnson, Fredrikson & Byron, P.A., Minneapolis, MN

Ryan served as a vice chair of the HIT - Tech Licensing and Intellectual Property Affinity Group from 2020-2022. He also served as a vice chair of the Life Sciences Practice Group for six years from 2013-2019. Ryan has been a speaker and author for AHLA, contributing to Annual Meetings, webinars, and publications on topics such as digital health, interoperability, innovation, and emerging regulatory frameworks. 

Annie H. Shieh, Optum Health, Los Angeles, CA

Annie is serving on the Annual Meeting planning committee this year. She previously served as a vice chair and then chair of the Payers, Plans, and Managed Care (PPMC) Practice Group from 2020-2025. Prior to these roles, she served as a vice chair, co-chair, and chair of the PPMC Affinity Group, served as an at-large member of the Nominating Committee, was a member of the Technology Task Force, and the Young Professionals Council. She was also the first AHLA Law Student Intern when the program began in 2007. She has been a frequent speaker and author for AHLA, contributing to Annual Meetings, webinars, PG toolkits, and podcasts. 

Patrick D. (Pat) Souter, Gray Reed, Dallas, TX

Pat served as a social media coordinator, a vice chair and then chair of the Physicians Organizations Practice Group during 2017-2024. He also was a Leadership Development Program participant from 2014-2015. Pat co-chaired AHLA's On-Line Dispute Resolution Working Group in 2020, which designed a platform for patients and providers to resolve billing disputes through negotiations or mediation; and the AHLA State Associations Coordinating Council to provide a connection between AHLA and various individual State health care law associations to improve coordinated efforts for membership and programs. Pat has been a frequent speaker and author for AHLA. 

Brian A. White, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC

Brian is currently serving as a member of the In-House Counsel planning committee. He previously served as a social media coordinator, a vice chair, and then chair of the In-House Counsel Practice Group from 2017-2024. He also was a Leadership Development Program participant from 2016-2017. Brian has been a speaker and author for AHLA. 


Board Members Elected to a Second 3-Year Term

  • Jennifer Csik Hutchens, Dechert LLP, Charlotte, NC
  • Michael (Mike) E. Paulhus, King & Spalding LLP, Atlanta, GA

Early Career Professional Board Delegate

  • AlĂ© Dalton, Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP, Nashville, TN

At-Large Members on the Nominating Committee

  • Michael (Mike) E. Paulhus, King & Spalding LLP, Atlanta, GA
  • Tiffany Buckley-Norwood, Trinity Health, Livonia, MI

AHLA's volunteer leaders serve on planning committees, practice groups, and councils that shape the association's programs, resources, and community. The individuals listed below have dedicated their time and expertise to advancing health law education and the AHLA membership.

Councils and Special Boards

Development and Advancement Council

  • S. Craig Holden, S. Craig Holden Dispute Resolution — Chair
  • Andrea Ferrari, Hancock Daniel & Johnson PC — Member
  • Jody Joiner, Sound Physicians — Member
  • Tynan O. Kugler, PYA — Member
  • Brett McNeal, CAN Community Health, Inc. — Member

Dispute Resolution Service Council

  • Abraham Joel Richlin, U.S. District Court, Central District of California — Chair
  • Mary Clare Bonaccorsi, Polsinelli PC — Member
  • Daniel M. Glassman, Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP — Member
  • Vickie Yates Glisson, The Glisson Group — Member
  • Kevin Khachatryan, Husch Blackwell LLP — Member
  • Linda A. Michler, Linda A Michler, Esquire, Mediator, Arbitrator — Member
  • Glenn J. Waldman, Waldman Law Firm PA — Member

Dispute Resolution Service Review Board

  • Glenn J. Waldman, Waldman Law Firm PA — Chair
  • Peter W. Benner — Member
  • Cavender C. Kimble, Balch & Bingham LLP — Member
  • Diana Kruze, ADR by Diana — Member
  • Patricia A. Nolan — Member

Early Career Professionals Council

  • Viren Doshi, Silver Cross Hospital — Chair
  • Emily Marie Brodkin, Athenahealth Inc — Vice Chair
  • Tyler C. Strobel, Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C. — Vice Chair
  • Emily Walden, NERA Economic Consulting — Vice Chair
  • K. Tyler Dysart, King & Spalding LLP — Member
  • Emily Gerry, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP — Member
  • Samantha Marie Hawkins, Mintz Levin Cohn Ferris Glovsky & Popeo PC — Member
  • Barbara L. Jones-Binns, Alston & Bird LLP — Member
  • Dylan Mason — Member
  • Michael Menconi, Proskauer Rose LLP — Member
  • Natalie Moszczynski, Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz PC — Member
  • Emily M. Palmer, McDermott Will & Schulte LLP — Member
  • Mitchell James Surface, Maynard Nexsen PC — Member
  • Sarah Lucia Winston, Dentons US LLP — Member
  • Jeffrey Parker Zopp, Jackson Kelly PLLC — Member

Fellows Coordinating Council

  • Alan E. Schabes, Benesch Friedlander Coplan & Aronoff LLP — Chair
  • Robert Andrew Gerberry, Summa Health System — Liaison
  • Timothy Bryan Adelman, Luminis Health — Member
  • Elizabeth M. Mills — Member
  • Robert A. Pelaia, University of South Florida — Member
  • Dorthula H. Powell-Woodson, Wiley Rein LLP — Member
  • Lisa D. Taylor, Inglesino Taylor — Member
  • Teresa A. Williams, University of Oklahoma College of Law — Member

Women's Leadership Council

  • Kathryn Anne Taylor, ECG Management Consultants — Chair
  • Alaina N. Crislip, Jackson Kelly PLLC — Vice Chair
  • Keri Wood, Spring Health — Vice Chair
  • Annapoorani Bhat, PYA — Member
  • Kelly Champney, MaineHealth — Member
  • Barri T. Dean, Jackson Walker LLP — Member
  • Halle Diaz, Husch Blackwell LLP — Member
  • Amy J. Dilcher, Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP — Member
  • Jessica Totten Johnson, Norton Rose Fulbright — Member
  • Kelly Koeninger, Novant Health — Member
  • Richelle D. Marting, Marting Law, LLC — Member
  • Oluwaremilekun Mehner, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP — Member
  • Fatima Naeem, Naeem Law Firm, PLLC — Member
  • Payal Shah, Vituity — Member
  • Ramona Helen Thomas, Planned Parenthood of Orange and San Bernardino Counties — Member

Practice Groups

Academic Medical Centers and Teaching Hospitals Practice Group

  • Allison Marie Cohen, Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz PC — Chair
  • Jon DeBardeleben, UF Health — Vice Chair
  • Jeanna Palmer Gunville, Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP — Vice Chair
  • Robert L. Hess, Husch Blackwell LLP — Vice Chair
  • Rudd Kierstead, VMG Health — Vice Chair
  • Rebecca Waltuch, Holland & Knight LLP — Vice Chair

Antitrust Practice Group

  • Herbert F. Allen, Honigman LLP — Chair
  • Adam Acosta, Pierson Ferdinand — Vice Chair
  • Robin Crauthers, McCarter & English LLP — Vice Chair
  • Jonathan Elsasser, Clifford Chance US LLP — Vice Chair
  • Kenneth Field, Hogan Lovells LLP — Vice Chair
  • Lauren Kearney Peay, Federal Trade Commission — Vice Chair

Behavioral Health Practice Group

  • Kirti Vaidya Reddy — Chair
  • Alicia Macklin, Hooper Lundy & Bookman PC — Vice Chair
  • Michaela D. Poizner, Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz PC — Vice Chair
  • David Shillcutt, Epstein Becker & Green PC — Vice Chair
  • Brian Arthur Smith, Trident Health Law, LLC — Vice Chair
  • Shalyn Smith Watkins, Holland & Knight LLP — Vice Chair

Business Law and Governance Practice Group

  • Jessica E. Stack, TriCurve — Chair
  • Ragini Acharya, Husch Blackwell LLP — Vice Chair
  • Jeremy Lawrence Belanger, Studebaker Nault — Vice Chair
  • Clinton R. Mikel, The Health Law Partners PC — Vice Chair
  • Vinal Patel, Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP — Vice Chair
  • John C. Saran, Holland & Knight LLP — Vice Chair

Fraud and Abuse Practice Group

  • Stewart W. Kameen, Bass Berry & Sims PLC — Chair
  • David DeVito, Jones Day — Vice Chair
  • Brandon Helms, Hall Render Killian Heath & Lyman PC — Vice Chair
  • Allison Smith Newsome, Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP — Vice Chair
  • Benjamin Wallfisch, Polsinelli PC — Vice Chair
  • Matthew J. Westbrook, Proskauer Rose LLP — Vice Chair

Health Care Liability and Litigation Practice Group

  • Michelle A. Meloche, Bartosiak Makepeace, PC — Chair
  • Rachel Freyman, MultiCare Health System — Vice Chair
  • David O'Neal, Parker Hudson Rainer & Dobbs LLP — Vice Chair
  • Bryan J. Perry, FTI Consulting Inc — Vice Chair
  • Jennifer L. Smith, Wright Lindsey & Jennings, LLP — Vice Chair
  • Danica J. Sun, Cleveland Clinic — Vice Chair

Health Information and Technology Practice Group

  • Adam H. Greene, Davis Wright Tremaine LLP — Chair
  • Andria R. Adigwe, Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC — Vice Chair
  • Aastha Farr, SCAN Health Plan — Vice Chair
  • Amy M. Joseph, Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP — Vice Chair
  • Elizabeth A. Ortmann-Vincenzo, Banner Health — Vice Chair
  • Brian Scarpelli, Connected Health Initiative — Vice Chair

Hospitals and Health Systems Practice Group

  • Jacquelyn Papish, Barnes & Thornburg LLP — Chair
  • Alison S. Bassett, Best Best & Krieger LLP — Vice Chair
  • Kristin M. Bohl, Bass Berry & Sims PLC — Vice Chair
  • Miriam E. Chambliss, CommonSpirit Health — Vice Chair
  • Hayley White Coley, Humana — Vice Chair
  • Joseph N. Wolfe, Hall Render Killian Heath & Lyman PC — Vice Chair

In-House Counsel Practice Group

  • Alex T. Krouse, Parkview Health — Chair
  • Alissa D. Fleming, Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz PC — Vice Chair
  • Milada R. Goturi, Thompson Coburn LLP — Vice Chair
  • Ryan Kerr, The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio — Vice Chair
  • Anna Lozoya, Physician Alliance Group P.C. — Vice Chair
  • Jamie S. McIntyre, Stout — Vice Chair

Labor and Employment Practice Group

  • Jenna Paige Brofsky, Husch Blackwell LLP — Chair
  • Hadeel Abouhasira, Holland & Knight LLP — Vice Chair
  • Thomas M. Donohoe, Banner Health — Vice Chair
  • Dennis Hursh, Physician Agreements Health Law — Vice Chair
  • Sarah Skubas, Jackson Lewis PC — Vice Chair
  • Christopher K. Smith, LashGoldberg — Vice Chair

Life Sciences Practice Group

  • Mara Smith, Bristol-Myers Squibb — Chair
  • Kristen Hsi-Meing Chang, McGuireWoods LLP — Vice Chair
  • Mary R. Kohler, Kohler Health Law, PC — Vice Chair
  • Jacob Madden, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP — Vice Chair
  • Esther Vinarov, Jones Day — Vice Chair
  • James P. Wabby, AbbVie Inc — Vice Chair

Medical Staff, Credentialing, and Peer Review Practice Group

  • Laura M. Alfredo, Greater New York Hospital Association — Chair
  • Robert K. Blaisdell, Husch Blackwell LLP — Vice Chair
  • William J. George, AdventHealth — Vice Chair
  • Christina Mott Hesse, Duke Evett, PLLC — Vice Chair
  • M. Elizabeth Nillen, Spencer Fane LLP — Vice Chair
  • Samantha Roth, Quarles & Brady LLP — Vice Chair

Payers, Plans, and Managed Care Practice Group

  • Kathy Roe, Health Law Consultancy — Chair
  • Jennifer L. Hatchett, Hall Render Killian Heath & Lyman PC — Vice Chair
  • James P. Kidder — Vice Chair
  • Shana Logue, Berkeley Research Group LLC — Vice Chair
  • Jamie Ostroff, California Medical Association — Vice Chair
  • Whitney M. Phelps, Nixon Peabody LLP — Vice Chair

Physician Organizations Practice Group

  • Jessica Marie Belle, Elevance Health — Chair
  • Amy Bolian — Vice Chair
  • Jamaal Jones, Jones Health Law, P.A. — Vice Chair
  • Adam Haynes Laughton, Greenberg Traurig LLP — Vice Chair
  • Taryn Nasr, VMG Health — Vice Chair
  • Gabriel Scott, K & L Gates LLP — Vice Chair

Post-Acute and Long Term Services Practice Group

  • Emily M. Solum, Husch Blackwell LLP — Chair
  • Brittney Cafero-Mieckowski, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia — Vice Chair
  • Judith A. Eisen, Garfunkel Wild PC — Vice Chair
  • Elizabeth A. Johnson, Stites & Harbison PLLC — Vice Chair
  • Jaya Frances White, Quarles & Brady LLP — Vice Chair
  • Jonathan P. York, Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP — Vice Chair

Regulation, Accreditation, and Payment Practice Group

  • Neal Shah, Polsinelli PC — Chair
  • John Gramlich, Husch Blackwell LLP — Vice Chair
  • Louis Walter Metcalfe, Chambliss Bahner & Stophel PC — Vice Chair
  • Kaitlin A. Nucci, Hall Render Killian Heath & Lyman PC — Vice Chair
  • Rachel Polzin, SSM Health — Vice Chair
  • Courtney G. Tito, Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC — Vice Chair

Tax and Finance Practice Group

  • Michael Kuczynski, Polsinelli PC — Chair
  • David Block, Groom Law Group Chartered — Vice Chair
  • Amy Ciminello, Plante Moran, PLLC — Vice Chair
  • Kevin Erb, Husch Blackwell LLP — Vice Chair
  • Patrick Murphy — Vice Chair
  • Kendall A. Schnurpel, Krieg DeVault LLP — Vice Chair

Conference Planning Committees

Advising Providers Planning Committee

  • Allison Petersen, Integris Health — Chair
  • Kelly R. Anderson, Baptist Health — Member
  • Michelle Garvey Brennfleck, Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC — Member
  • Bradley Cunningham, Association of American Medical Colleges — Member
  • Vic Domen, Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP — Member
  • Albert D. Hutzler, HMS Valuation Partners — Member
  • John E. Kelly, Barnes & Thornburg LLP — Member
  • Zubin P. Khambatta, Holland & Knight LLP — Member

Fraud and Compliance Forum Planning Committee

  • Tony R. Maida, McDermott Will & Schulte LLP — Chair
  • Kristin Cilento Carter, Johns Hopkins Health System — Member
  • Robert K. DeConti, King & Spalding LLP — Member
  • Tiana L. Korley, DHHS Office of the Inspector General — Member
  • David G. Lazarus, Foley Hoag LLP — Member
  • William T. Mathias, Bass Berry & Sims PLC — Member
  • Donald Yoo, UCLA Health — Member

Fundamentals of Health Law Planning Committee

  • Nicholas Francis Alarif, McDermott Will & Schulte LLP — Chair
  • Shawn Gilman, Providence St Joseph Health — Member
  • Joan B. Killgore, Polsinelli PC — Member
  • Avery Schumacher, Epstein Becker & Green PC — Member
  • Wedad Suleiman, Radiology Partners — Member

Health Care Transactions Planning Committee

  • Glenn Prives, Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz PC — Chair
  • Danielle Bangs, VMG Health — Member
  • Lona Fowdur, Econic Partners LLC — Member
  • Elizabeth A. Kastner, TriHealth, Inc. — Member
  • Travis G. Lloyd, Bass Berry & Sims PLC — Member
  • Ethan E. Rii, Ice Miller LLP — Member
  • Jeanne L. Vance, Weintraub Tobin — Member

Institute on Medicare and Medicaid Payment Issues Planning Committee

  • Charles A. Luband, Dentons US LLP — Chair
  • Kelsey Leingang Bagheri, University of California San Francisco — Member
  • Lynn M. Barrett, Barrett Law, PA — Member
  • Jesse A. Berg, Lathrop GPM — Member
  • Margia K. Corner, Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP — Member
  • Caroline L. Farrell, Foley Hoag LLP — Member
  • K. Michael Nichols, University of Illinois — Member

Long Term and Post-Acute Care Law and Compliance Planning Committee

  • Kirstin B. Sumner, Brookdale Senior Living — Chair
  • Richard Y. Cheng, Ritter Spencer Cheng, PLLC — Member
  • Daniel Merriman, LeadingAge Southeast — Member
  • Gabriela Sanchez, Ballard Spahr LLP — Member
  • Jennifer R. Sourk, Midwest Health — Member
  • Katie Wehri, National Association for Home Care & Hospice — Member

Tax Issues for Health Care Organizations Planning Committee

  • Alicia Janisch, Deloitte Tax LLP — Chair
  • Catherine Qualseth Bernard, Sanford Health — Member
  • Michael N. Fine, Wyatt Tarrant & Combs LLP — Member
  • Brittney Kocaj, Crowe LLP — Member
  • Albert Lin, Husch Blackwell LLP — Member
  • Jennifer R. Noel, Christiana Care Health Services — Member

 

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