Neal Baker currently serves as Privacy Officer for Froedtert ThedaCare Health (FTCH), a not-for-profit integrated healthcare delivery system serving communities throughout the eastern half of Wisconsin. Formed through the 2024 combination of Froedtert Health and ThedaCare, FTCH includes approximately 20 hospitals, more than 360 outpatient locations, and over 28,000 employees, physicians, and clinicians.

Before joining FTCH, Neal served as Privacy Counsel for iRhythm Technologies, a Silicon Valley-based, Medicare-certified independent diagnostic testing facility that leverages artificial intelligence to diagnose cardiac arrhythmias. In that role, he supported the organization’s privacy, compliance, research, and commercial functions. Prior to iRhythm, Neal spent more than 18 years with CVS Health, where he held a variety of leadership positions, culminating in his service as Chief Privacy Officer during the final five years of his tenure.

With more than four decades of experience in healthcare, Neal has built a distinguished career at the intersection of health law, policy, privacy, and compliance. He began his professional journey with the American Academy of Pediatrics in 1983 upon graduating from Michigan’s School of Public Health and later joined the American Medical Association (AMA) as a health policy analyst. While working full-time, he attended law school at night before transitioning into healthcare law with Gardner, Carton & Douglas (now Faegre Drinker) following graduation.

Before the enactment of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) in 1996, Neal represented the AMA on the national Workgroup for Electronic Data Interchange (WEDI), where he helped advance the healthcare industry's transition from paper-based medical records to electronic health information exchange. This work contributed to the policy framework that ultimately led to the passage of HIPAA in 1996 and sparked a commitment to healthcare privacy and data protection.

Neal is certified by the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP) as a Certified Information Privacy Professional for both the United States and Europe (CIPP/US and CIPP/E) and as a Certified Information Privacy Manager (CIPM). He also holds the Privacy Law Specialist (PLS) credential accredited jointly by the American Bar Association* and the IAPP.

He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Michigan State University, a Master of Health Services Administration from the University of Michigan, and a Juris Doctor from DePaul University College of Law. During law school, Neal served on the Law Review, became Managing Editor of the Journal of Health & Hospital Law published by the American Hospital Association, and earned a certificate in Health Law.

Beyond his professional activities, Neal has a longstanding commitment to community service. He previously served on the School Board of St. Norbert in Northbrook, IL and the Board of Directors of La Rabida Children’s Hospital in Chicago, serving on the Audit and Quality Committees.  Today, he volunteers with the Greenville Area Community Foundation in Greenville, Michigan.

Neal and his wife, Beth, met while Neal was working at the American Academy of Pediatrics in Evanston, Illinois, and have been married for nearly four decades. They have three adult daughters—Caitlin, Aiden, and Maggie—and enjoy spending time together, especially cheering on the Cubs at Wrigley Field (except when the Tigers come to town). Outside of work and family, Neal enjoys skiing, golf, and travel.

Matthew C. Comstock, MBA, MHSA, serves as the Executive Director for Administration and Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the University of Michigan Medical School. In this role, he is responsible for the planning, organization, and evaluation of administrative operations to ensure alignment with the school’s strategic priorities. He oversees a $2.5 billion all-funds operating portfolio and ensures that the resources and infrastructure necessary to support the Medical School’s tripartite mission of education, research, and clinical care are effectively in place.

Mr. Comstock acts as the primary administrative liaison between the Dean’s Office and leadership across academic departments, centers, and institutes. He sits on multiple institutional leadership bodies, including the Dean’s Cabinet and the Dean’s Advisory Council, chairs senior administrative networks, and serves as a long-standing executive preceptor for Michigan Medicine’s Administrative Fellowship and Internship programs.

Before his current role, he held numerous leadership positions in finance, strategy, and operations within the Medical School and Michigan Medicine, most recently as the school’s Senior Finance Executive. He began his University of Michigan career in 2000 at the Center for Health Care Economics within the Stephen M. Ross School of Business.

He holds a BBA and MBA, both with High Distinction, from the University of Michigan Ross School of Business, as well as a Master of Health Services Administration (MHSA) from the U-M School of Public Health.

In addition to his administrative leadership, Mr. Comstock is a committed educator. For more than 16 years, he has served as a lecturer in the Health Management and Policy Department at the School of Public Health, where he teaches healthcare financial accounting and management. He also teaches the Michigan Medicine Introductory Field Experience for first-year MHSA students and the Integrated Learning Experience, a capstone course for second-year students.

He further contributes as a lecturer in the Department of Learning Health Sciences within the Medical School, where he provides instruction in the Strategic Management and Leadership for Physicians program, focusing on core concepts in corporate finance and accounting for clinician-leaders.

Associate Director, Residential Master's Program
Director, SEP-HEALTHSpark
University of Michigan School of Public Health

Jamie Dixon is an AI systems builder with a career spanning pre-LLM NLP through today's agentic AI. Currently a Principal Engineer at Microsoft applying data science and graph analysis to Azure workload resiliency, previously a data scientist at IEM building models for infectious disease spread, crowd dynamics, and disaster response. Combines deep classical ML foundations with hands-on experience in multi-agent systems and LLM orchestration to turn complex problems into real-world impact.  Graduated from Michigan with a HSMP in 1995.  Will talk about coffee farming anytime.

Anika Gardenhire serves as the inaugural Chief Digital and Information Officer for Michigan Medicine, where she leads enterprise-wide digital strategy, technology and information services across the academic medical center, University of Michigan Medical School and the statewide U-M Health regional network. In this role, she is responsible for advancing a cohesive digital ecosystem that supports Michigan Medicine’s missions of patient care, research and education.

Gardenhire provides strategic leadership for the development and execution of a multi-year information technology roadmap, driving the integration of data, advanced analytics, cybersecurity and emerging technologies to enhance clinical outcomes, accelerate scientific discovery and strengthen modern learning environments across the institution.

She brings more than two decades of experience leading digital transformation across complex health systems. Prior to joining Michigan Medicine, she served as Chief Digital and Transformation Officer at Ardent Health, where she led enterprise digital strategy across a system of 30 hospitals and more than 200 sites of care. She previously held senior leadership roles at Centene Corporation and Intermountain Healthcare.

A registered nurse, Gardenhire brings a distinctive perspective shaped by frontline care, with a focus on advancing technology that is intuitive, scalable and aligned with the needs of patients, care teams, researchers and learners.

Gardenhire earned a Master of Management in Clinical Informatics from Duke University and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of South Carolina.

Dan Gentry, PhD, MHA

Dan Gentry is President & CEO of the Association of University Programs in Health Administration (AUPHA). Previously, he held faculty and academic leadership positions at Saint Louis University, Rush University, the University of Memphis, and the University of Iowa. 

Dan has taught in the areas of health policy, health systems, healthcare management and leadership, human resources management, and professional development. His research has included the financing, organization, and delivery of health services; health policy; the patient experience; and, healthcare payment models. 

Dan has served in chapter leadership for the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) in three regions of the U.S. and as Chair of ACHE’s LGBTQ Forum. He is a current member of ACHE, AcademyHealth, N.A.H.S.E, and NALHE. He is a past Fellow, Board Member, and Board Chair of CAHME; and, a past and current Board Member of AUPHA.

Dan earned his BA from the College of Charleston, MHA from the Medical University of South Carolina, and PhD in Health Services & Policy Analysis from the University of California, Berkeley.

A Michigan native, Dana Habers, MPH serves as University of Michigan Health System’s Chief Innovation Officer and Chief Operating Officer for Pharmacy Services. In this dual role, Dana leads the Department of Pharmacy as well as several transformative initiatives in the Office of Innovation including the rapid expansion of our in-house specialty pharmacy; implementation of AI tools to solve real world operational challenges; and statewide health system integration efforts to bring high quality health care services to communities across the state.

Dana joined U of M in 2016 as Chief Department Administrator for Radiology, and in late 2020 lead efforts to bring Covid-19 vaccination and therapeutics to our entire U of M system and the surrounding community. She holds a BS in Economics from Grand Valley State University, and an MPH from University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.

A senior leader in health care for over 19 years, her track record of contributions spans hospital and ambulatory care operations, medical group management, business development and strategy, revenue cycle, quality improvement, finance, and analytics.

Additional achievements throughout her career include graduation from The Health Management Academy Executive Fellowship, Rudi Ansbacher Women in Academic Medicine Leadership Scholars Program, completing the Harvard Medical School’s Executive Education series on AI in Health Care: From Strategies to Implementation, and finally being recognized as Business Woman of the Year in 2012 by the Mississippi Business Journal.

Dana is passionate about the health and well-being of communities, patient care, education & research. She demonstrates continuous commitment to leading in an environment where individuals thrive, and multi-disciplinary teams are organized to conquer the many challenges facing our field.

Richard Lichtenstein, PhD, MPH, is the founder of the UMSEP program and served as its director for 30 years. He taught courses on the US health care system at the University of Michigan School of Public Health for 41 years. He retired as S. J. Axelrod Collegiate Professor of Health Management and Policy in 2016. 

Dr. Lichtenstein received MPH and PhD degrees from the University of Michigan in medical care organization and a BS degree from Cornell University in industrial and labor relations.

Largely because of his dedicated leadership of UMSEP, Dr. Lichtenstein won several awards from the University of Michigan and the UM School of Public Health that recognized his efforts to increase diversity in public health. In 2015, he was awarded the Association of University Programs in Health Administration (AUPHA) Gary L. Filerman Prize, which recognizes individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the field of health administration education during their careers.

Kedar Mate, MD is the Founder & Chief Medical Officer of Qualified Health AI, a digital health company deploying the critical infrastructure needed to create the AI-enabled health system of the future. Prior to his work at Qualified Health, Dr. Mate was the President and CEO of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, the world’s leading international healthcare quality and patient safety organization. Widely published, with numerous honors, and over 25 years of healthcare leadership experience, Dr, Mate enjoys working on the persistent challenge of creating a safer, higher value health system, that everyone have access to and can enjoy. You can follow his work on LinkedIn @KedarMateMD. 

Jodyn Platt, of the University of Michigan, is an Associate Professor of Learning Health Sciences in the Medical School. Her work explores how data and technology can be used responsibly to improve health while earning and sustaining public trust. She studies the ethical, social, and policy questions that arise as health systems become more data-driven and powered by artificial intelligence. She works closely with patients, communities, and healthcare organizations to understand how people think about and experience data use in health and medicine.

Andrew Rosenberg, M.D. is the Chief Information Officer for Michigan Medicine. He is a tenured associate professor of Anesthesiology, Critical Care, and Internal Medicine at the University of Michigan Medical School.

Since 2016, as the inaugural system CIO, Dr. Rosenberg has guided the strategic planning and operations of technology and information services across University of Michigan Health and the University of Michigan Medical School.

Previously, he was the Chief Medical Information Officer and the Executive Director of Information and Data Management for the University of Michigan Health System, where he oversaw reporting, data warehousing, enterprise document management, and health information exchange services. From 2017 to 2018, Dr. Rosenberg also served as the interim Vice President for Information Technology and Chief Information Officer for the University of Michigan.

Dr. Rosenberg attended the University of Michigan as an undergraduate and then the Johns Hopkins Medical School where he subsequently completed a residency in Internal Medicine. He then pursued a fellowship in Critical Care Medicine at the George Washington Hospital, and an Anesthesiology Residency at the University of Michigan. Dr Rosenberg was also a Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholar at the University of Michigan and is an early diplomat with board certification in Clinical Informatics.

With over 30 years in healthcare as an executive and leadership consultant, Alexis H. Stiles advises and recruits CEOs, board directors and senior-level executives across the healthcare industry, with a focus on healthcare services.

Alexis leads Spencer Stuart’s global Healthcare Practice and is a member of the Board and CEO Practice. Her experience in healthcare, deep understanding of the industry’s complexity and stakeholders, and knowledge of the talent market all enable Alexis to provide unique insights into what it takes to lead a healthcare organization into the future.

Above all, Alexis’ work is purpose driven. She knows firsthand that our healthcare system is composed of people who care deeply about taking care of patients, families and communities. She is passionate about getting the right people in the right roles to make our complex healthcare system work better for everyone.

In 2024, Alexis was elected to serve on the Spencer Stuart Board of Directors. She previously served on the firm’s nominations committee for almost 10 years, including as chair in 2023, and is a two-time recipient of the Lou Rieger Quality Award, the firm’s annual award for the highest-quality client service.

In her almost 20 years at Spencer Stuart, Alexis has led over 1,000 projects for senior executives and board directors, including 250+ succession projects for CEOs, presidents, deans, chancellors and EVP/SVPs of health affairs. Alexis previously served as Spencer Stuart’s global Healthcare Services sector leader for nine years.

Prior to joining Spencer Stuart, Alexis served as a managing director at The Advisory Board Company, a membership-based organization providing business strategy, operations and general management best-practice research and analysis to the healthcare industry. She began her professional services career at McKinsey & Company, where she was a leader in the payer/provider practice. Prior, Alexis held several positions at Duke University Health System, with a focus on strategy, finance and value-based care.

Alexis holds postgraduate degrees from the University of Michigan including an MBA from the Ross School of Business and an MHSA from the School of Public Health. She holds a BA with high distinction in psychology from the University of Michigan’s College of Literature, Science and the Arts.

Vaughn A. Williams, MHSA, is a health system leader passionate about advancing health equity and reducing health disparities. Currently, Vaughn is the Managing Partner for Corae Partners, where he works with health systems, innovators and investors to drive results through consulting, management and new ventures. Previously Vaughn has worked for the past decade as an executive with Universal Health Services (UHS), Sutter Health and Commonspirit Health, leading teams in operational and strategic roles across the nation.

A native of Brooklyn, NY, Vaughn holds a Bachelors’ degree in Biology from the University of Wisconsin, a Masters’ Degree in Health Services Administration (MHSA) from the University of Michigan and is currently a PhD candidate in Health Law, Policy and Management at Meharry College. He is engaged in several professional organizations including the University of Michigan Health Management and Policy (HMP) Board, National Association of Health Services Executives (NAHSE) and the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE).

Vaughn has received numerous accolades for his achievements including the California Association of Healthcare Leaders (CAHL) Young Healthcare Executive of the Year and a 2024 Black Health Connect 40 under 40 honoree.

David Wittenburg is a strategic advisor at Wittenburg Consulting and a Visiting Senior Faculty Specialist at the University of Maryland's Center for Transition and Career Innovation. Over 25 years he has directed more than 20 federally funded evaluations for the Social Security Administration, the Department of Labor, and the Peterson Center on Healthcare, work organized around one question: did the program actually do what it claimed? He testified before the House Ways and Means Committee in 2011 and served on two National Academies committees. He has used AI to improve workflows in large organizations, academic centers, and his own consulting practice, and he is currently evaluating an AI job-retention tool in a national disability demonstration.