Gregory H. Bledsoe MD MPH

Freelance MD | Expedition Medicine | Medical Fusion

Dr. Bledsoe is a Board Certified Emergency Medicine physician and the founder and CEO of ExpedMed. After completing medical school and residency at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Dr. Bledsoe spent five years on faculty in the Johns Hopkins Department of Emergency Medicine completing a two-year fellowship in International Emergency Medicine and a Masters in Public Health (MPH) from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. In 2005, he received the “Teacher of the Year” award from the Johns Hopkins Department of Emergency Medicine.

Dr. Bledsoe has extensive experience in international travel having visited over 40 countries. His international medical experience includes serving as a field physician in Honduras, teaching disaster preparedness in Tanzania, leading a nutritional survey among the Beja tribe in northeast Sudan, working as a medical consultant in Beijing, China, and acting as the medical officer for ships in both Antarctica and the Arctic.

In addition to his clinical duties, Dr. Bledsoe has been an instructor and medical consultant for the United States Secret Service. He was the personal physician to former President Bill Clinton during Clinton’s tour of Africa in September 2002, and served in Uganda and Senegal on the advance team of President George W. Bush when the President visited the African continent in July of 2003.

Dr. Bledsoe’s research has been published in many prestigious medical journals including the Journal of Trauma, Prehospital & Disaster Medicine, Southern Medical Journal, Journal of Emergency Medicine, Wilderness & Environmental Medicine, Pediatric Emergency Care, and The Journal of Sports Science and Medicine. He is the chief editor of Expedition and Wilderness Medicine, published by Cambridge University Press in the spring of 2008.  He is a frequent public speaker and has been interviewed by numerous regional and national media outlets including The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, The Baltimore Sun, The Naperville Sun, Fort Worth Weekly, Austin-American Statesman, Cincinnati Magazine, El Mundo, ESPN the Magazine, USA Today, FOX 5 New York City, and 60 Minutes.

When not working overseas, Dr. Bledsoe lives and works on Saint Simons Island, Georgia.  In addition to his medical practice, Dr. Bledsoe is a private pilot, a scuba diver, a student in Brazilian jiu jitsu, and a member of The Explorers Club.

Jeff Barson

Freelance MD | Medical Spa MD | Surface Medical

Jeff Barson is a serial/parallel entrepreneur. He loves the world of innovation and ideas who councils physicians and businesses around the world on the emerging revolution in cosmetic medical businesses and delivery systems. Jeff has opened numerous clinics, spoken at medical spa and aesthetic medical conventions, and consulted hundreds of physicians and businesses about how to compete and succeed in retail medicine.

In 2001, Jeff began publishing Medical Spa MD to connect physicians in cosmetic medical practices and help them run their businesses more effectively while dealing with the overwhelming needs of real business marketing, staffing, and operations. Medical Spa MD is now the primier destination and largest community of physicians practicing non-surgical and cosmetic medicine with more than 5,000 physician members and 1.5 million page views each year.

Besides Medical Spa MD, Jeff has also founded a number of other medical communities that include Freelance MD and Uncommon Student MD.

After ten years as an artist in Manhattan, Jeff retired for the art world and started founding medical and technology companies. Jeff is an avid snowboarder, scuba diver, technologist, entrepreneur and angel investor. He lives in Park City, Utah with his lovely wife Shelly, daughter Madison, dog Jai, cocatoo Loki, and horses; Maverick, Cakee, and Moon.

Zubin Damania MD (ZDoggMD)

Medical Satirist | Hospitalist

Dr. Damania (AKA ZDoggMD) been writing parody songs since 4th grade and counts Weird Al as one of his role models. With music and comedy as his first loves, he nonetheless was attracted to medicine by its synthesis of the technical and the humanistic. At UCSF medical school, he produced the second-year class play and was selected as graduation speaker, experiences which further nurtured his comedic tendencies. During his internal medicine residency at Stanford, he was active doing stand-up comedy for medical and pharmaceutical audiences. Prior to starting full time clinical work as a hospitalist, he worked with a startup involved in medical e-learning as a content developer, directing a team of artists, writers, voice actors, and programmers.

Currently, despite (or perhaps because of) a busy full-time position as a clinical hospitalist at Stanford, he writes, performs, produces, and edits a popular video blog at ZDoggMD.com (winner of the MedGadget Best New Weblog of 2010). The primary aim is to use humor, something generally scarce in the medical profession, to promote education, awareness, and burnout prophylaxis for patients and practitioners alike. But above all, he is constantly striving to be slightly funnier than placebo...

Invterview: Zubin Damania MD aka ZDoggMD

Franz Wiesbauer MD MPH

Founder | MedCrunch + 123sonography.com

Franz Wiesbauer MD MPH is associate professor and clinical specialist for internal medicine. His passion for healthcare and technology led him to found a physician e-learning company in 2010 (123sonography.com) and to co-found MedCrunch.net together with Lukas Zinnagl MD.

 Dr. Wiesbauer's medical education includes a MPH from Johns Hopkins University as part of the Fulbright Program, an MD the University of Vienna where he is a Fellow and internal medicine specialist in cardiology and epidemiology. He has published extensively in the cardiovascular arena and has a passion for matters relating to healthcare and technology

Dr. Wiesbauer is also an angel investor and advisor to healthcare startups around how to reach and ineteract with physicians.

Dr Wiesbauer currently teaches at the University of Vienna in Austria.

Steven Knope MD

Concierge Medicine

Dr. Knope is a board-certified internist and sports medicine expert. He completed his premedical studies at Columbia University and graduated with honors in internal medicine from Cornell University Medical College in 1988. He completed his residency training at UCLA, where he was awarded the first Sherman Melinkoff Teacher of the Year Award. He has served as Chief of Medicine, Chairman of the Department of Medicine, and Director of the ICU in the Carondelet system in Tucson, Arizona. He is a pioneer in the field of concierge medicine, opening one of the first concierge practices in America in December 2000. He authored the first book on concierge medicine entitled, Concierge Medicine; A New System to Get the Best Healthcare (Praeger, 2008).

Knope has received local and national media attention for his work as an uncompromising patient advocate and opponent of the HMO industry. He has been covered in the Arizona Daily Star, Money magazine and The Wall Street Journal. In his fight against a local HMO, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and inventor of the cardiac defibrillator, Dr. Bernard Lown, praised Knope as “courageous” and “deeply principled.”

Knope has served as the official internist for the Colorado Rockies baseball team during their spring training in Tucson and has been a member of the editorial board of The American College of Sports Medicine’s Health & Fitness Journal. He is a highly regarded national speaker on the subjects of obesity, fitness and exercise.

Before entering the field of medicine, Knope was a professional French horn player who performed extensively in New York and Europe, including performances as a featured soloist at Lincoln Center and on New York radio station WNYC. He earned his Bachelor’s of Music from the Mannes College of Musicin New York.

Knope practices the lifestyle that he preaches. He is a four-time Ironman triathlete. The Ironman is composed of a 2.4-mile open-water swim, a 112-mile bike ride and 26.2-mile marathon. In January 2000, Knope published his first book, The Body/Mind Connection, a groundbreaking book that examines the power of physical strength and the positive impact a strong body can have on our overall health and psychological well being. Knope is a practicing martial artist and holds a 3rd degree black belt in Kenpo Karate. He has competed in international martial arts tournaments in Europe and studied for a decade with Master Gilbert Velez, a 9th degree black belt and senior instructor of the International Kenpo Karate Association.

Ashley Wendel MA CMC PDC

Executive Physician Coaching

Ashley Wendel is a Physician Executive Coach and Healthcare Organization Consultant dedicated to helping healthcare professionals create meaningful and sustainable change that positively impacts their professional lives. She is a former “Big 4” management consultant with a unique background in both individual / organizational change and clinical psychology, and over 15 years combined experience.

In 2007 Ashley founded High Agility Healthcare, a coaching and consulting practice which specializes in working with physicians and/or healthcare organizations “in transition”.  As a Physician Executive Coach, Ashley helps doctors to identify/assess, plan and implement strategic changes in their professional lives. She acts as both a career transition coach, working with physicians who are exploring non-clinical options or actively leaving clinical medicine, as well as an executive coach with physician leaders who are looking to build their core skills in communication, conflict resolution, EQ development, influence, and expert management of change.

As a Health Organization Consultant, Ashley works with executive leadership and healthcare teams to identify and address systemic / team challenges that are hindering critical factors such as patient safety, clinical outcomes, credibility/referrals, and the overall financial viability of the healthcare organization.  She partners with physician and administrative teams to build core competencies in leadership, collaboration, effective communication, and sustainability of change within complex health organizations.

Gary Taff MD

Real Estate Investing | Occupational Medicine

Dr. Gary Taff brings a unique perspective on real estate investing. Born in New Jersey, and schooled in New York City, Gary followed a well-worn family tradition by becoming a physician. As a foreshadow of a life- lon~ tendency towards ''getting there frrst", he started college at the age of 16 and became a doctor after just turning 23.

Gary attained Board-Certification in Emergency Medicine in the first year of that field of medicine's recognition as a specialty. He went on to direct several hospital emergency departments in Southern California. In 1983, Gary opened one of the nations' first urgent care centers. He grew that first site into a seven medical center, 70 employee, 60,000 patient visits-per-year medical group. This achievement earned Gary several awards, including the California Inland Empire Crescendo Award, Small Business Person of the Year and finally, Ernst and Young's Entrepreneur of the Year in 1993.

Gary sold his medical group in 1998 at the peak of the health-care market cycle, and moved to Northern California. After creating a hospital-based occupational medicine program and directing an ambulance company, Gary turned his attention to real estate investing.

Despite previously negative experiences of "buying high and selling low", he started with $20,000 capital, and used equity sharing, intensive market research and an eye for buying the best deal in emerging small to medium- sized markets. This plan allowed Gary to purchase 190 properties in 13 states over a five year period. The portfolio spanned a wide range of residential properties from single family homes to condos, duplex to fourplexes, rehab projects, condo conversions and multi-unit apartment complexes. Gary is most proud of the fact that his portfolio has achieved a 39% per annum appreciation rate, mainly based on buying below market value.

Over the past two years, Gary has turned his attention to wholesaling, in which he buys multiple properties at significant discounts and then sells or assigns the properties to investors at prices below current market values. He has served as the Northern California Area Manager for a nation-wide clearing-house type of real estate network, as well as other real estate networks. He has given several seminars on value investing, use ofleverage, understanding and taking advantage of the five stages of a real estate cycle, and working with wholesalers.

Setu Mazumdar MD

Physician Wealth Management | Physician Investing

Setu Mazumdar MD graduated as the valedictorian of Woodward Academy, the largest independent day school in the US. He then attended Johns Hopkins University and was admitted to the Phi Beta Kappa honor society for ranking among the top 1% in his class. After earning his MD degree from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, he practiced emergency medicine in Atlanta, GA. As his passion for financial planning and investment portfolio management grew, he completed the CFP Board registered professional education program and passed the rigorous 10-hour CFP Certification Examination. He then worked for a finacial planning firm in Atlanta before launching his own wealth management firm, Lotus Wealth Solutions.

Setu is an affiliate of the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA) and a member of the Financial Planning Association (FPA>, the National Association of Tax Professionals (NATP, and the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP).

Arlen Meyers MD MBA

Professor | Bioentrepreneur

Arlen D. Meyers, MD MBA is the cofounder, and Chief Medical Officer of MedVoy, a medical tourism company. He is also a Professor of Otolaryngology, Dentistry and Engineering at the University of Colorado at Denver and CEO and President of the Society of Physician Entrepreneurs at www.sopenet.org

Dr. Meyers received his B.S. degree from Dickinson College, his M. D. from Jefferson Medical College and did his residency in Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at the University of Pennsylvania. His received his MBA from the University of Colorado and is a former Harvard-Macy fellow.

Dr. Meyers is the author of over 300 articles and book chapters and is Editor-in Chief of eMedicine.com: Otolaryngology-Facial Plastic Surgery. He is the cofounder of two medical biophotonics companies and is a consultant to several other bioscience investment and medical device and biotech companies.

He presently serves on the Executive Committee of the University of Colorado Bioengineering Center and is a member of the executive committee of the Colorado Advanced Photonics Technology Center at the University of Colorado-Denver. He is Vice-President of the Biomedical Division of VentureQuest, a technology development consulting company, President and CEO of Oncolux, a biophotonics company, and former founder of Oncolight.Dr. Meyers was a member of the Colorado Governor's Commission on Science and Technology, a member of the Colorado Nanotechnology Task Force and was formerly the Executive Director of the Colorado Alliance for Bioengineering. In addition, he is cofounder and former director of the University of Colorado MD/MBA program and former director of the Bard Center Bioscience Entrepreneurship Program.

Dr. Meyers was named as a member of the Denver Business Journal’s 2004 Who’s Who in Healthcare and has received multiple awards for teaching, clinical care and research. He is on the Fulbright Senior Scholars Roster. Dr. Meyers serves on the editorial boards of The Archives of Facial Plastic Surgery, Biotechnology Healthcare, The Journal of Comparative Technology Transfer and Society and the Journal of Commercial Biotechnology.

Julie Silver MD

Professor | Publishing Expert

Julie K. Silver, MD is an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and is the Chief Editor of Books at Harvard Health Publications (www.HarvardHealthBooks.org), the consumer health branch of Harvard Medical School. She is the director of the annual Harvard CME course titled "Publishing Books, Memoirs and Other Creative Nonfiction" (www.HarvardWriters.com).

Dr. Silver is an award-winning author and has edited/written more than 20 books that focus on rehabilitation medicine and physical recovery. She has a special interest in oncology rehabilitation and is the author of After Cancer Treatment: Heal Faster, Better, Stronger (Johns Hopkins Press). After Cancer Treatment was the first book to offer a step-by-step plan for physical healing from the devastation of cancer treatment. Cure magazine, in its review, stated, "This is one you need... I like that she understands." And Library Journal named After Cancer Treatment one of the top 20 health books released in 2006. Her latest book, What Helped Get Me Through: Cancer Survivors Share Wisdom and Hope (American Cancer Society) has won two national writing awards.

In addition to her clinical work as a physiatrist, Dr. Silver is the founder of Oncology Rehab Partners (www.OncRehab.com) a healthcare company dedicated to helping hospitals and cancer centers develop and implement oncology rehab services through the STAR (Survivorship Training and Rehabilitation) Products.

Dr. Silver’s work has been featured on many national media outlets including The Today Show, The Early Show, ABC News Now, AARP Radio and NPR. She has been quoted by USA Today, Shape, Prevention, Newsweek and The Saturday Evening Post, among others. She has written numerous articles for magazines, including Newsweek, AARP The Magazine, All You and Coping with Cancer. She currently blogs for AOL and Livestrong.com in addition to Freelance MD.

F.Joseph Halcomb III, MD

Independent Consultant | Private Equity
Drug Product & Device Development

Dr. Joe Halcomb is Founder & CEO of Phoenix InVentures, a private equity firm dedicated to helping select, business start-ups achieve their growth objectives. He is also an independent consultant and senior advisor to companies in the medical device, biotechnology, life sciences and pharmaceutical sector. He served as Vice President of Drug Product and Device Development at Amgen from 2006 to 2010. He also served in other executive capacities related to operations, compliance, and cell therapy at Amgen since 1995. Prior to joining Amgen, Dr. Halcomb served as President of the Hall Surgical Division and in numerous executive and managerial capacities at Zimmer, Inc. (then a Bristol-Myers Squibb Company) from 1980 to 1995. He has also served as a director of two medical device companies, one involved in orthopaedic implants and the other related to biotechnology.

Dr. Halcomb has also served as a member of the Governing Board and Operating Committee of the MIT Leaders for Global Operations Program. In addition, he has served as the Industry Representative on the FDA Advisory Panel for Orthopaedic and Rehabilitation Devices and as Chairman of the Orthopaedic Committee for the Health Manufacturers Association.

Dr. Halcomb earned a Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of Kentucky and completed post-graduate training in Internal Medicine. He also holds Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Kentucky and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), respectively. His postdoctoral research experience included a joint appointment in the Biomechanics and Human Rehabilitation Engineering Laboratory at MIT, and the Hip and Implant Surgery Unit at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.

Joe is married to his college sweetheart, Joani Spears, and they reside in Camarillo, CA. Their daughter Allison and her husband, Jim, live in San Diego, CA and have four children. Their daughter Alyssa also resides in San Diego.

Joe is a classic car buff and loves driving his restored, 1957 Mercedes-Benz 190 SL Roadster. He also enjoys snow skiing with a group of college classmates—a tradition which has continued for 21 years. In addition, Joe is an avid drummer and plays a custom kit made of wood from a 300 year-old European tree.

Mark Kroll PhD FACC FHRS

Inventor | Entrepreneur

Retired, in 2005, as CTO (Chief Technology Officer) and Sr. VP from St. Jude Medical, Inc.’s main division which is the second largest manufacturer of cardiac rhythm management products. St. Jude was twice named as a "Top 50" performing large company by BusinessWeek during this tenure. Now sits on 3 public and several private boards.

Adjunct Professor of Biomedical Engineering, California Polytechnic University. Adjunct Professor of Biomedical Engineering, University of Minnesota. Distinguished guest faculty for UCLA Creativity and Innovation program.

B.S. Mathematics and M.S. and Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Minnesota. M.B.A. from the University of St. Thomas.

Research specialty is the effects of electricity on the human body. Discoverer of the "burping" effect explaining biphasic defibrillation waveforms. Holds over 300 issued U.S. patents. Honored by U.S. Patent and Trademark Office as prolific inventor.

Senior member of IEEE. Listed in Who's Who In Science And Engineering since 1992. Awarded "Fellow" recognition by the American College of Cardiology. Fellow of the Heart Rhythm Society. Co-author of 4 books:

Implantable-Cardioverter Defibrillator Therapy Cardiac Bioelectric Therapy TASER® Conducted Electrical Weapons: Physiology, Pathology and Law Electrical Injuries: Medical and Bioengineering Aspects

Mark has lectured in over 30 countries on topics including defibrillation, invention process, electrical safety, and medical device startups.

Most prolific inventor of medical devices in the world. All ICDs sold have at least one licensed Kroll patent. Over 1 million human beings have his patents in their bodies. Honored with the 2010 "Career Achievement Award" in Biomedical Engineering.

Michael VanRooyen MD MPH FACEP

Harvard Humanitarian Initiative | Emergency Medicine | Professor

Director, Harvard Humanitarian Initiative

Director, Division of International Health and Humanitarian Programs, Department of Emergency Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital

Associate Professor in the Department of Global Health and Population, Harvard School of Public Health

Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School

Dr. VanRooyen has worked extensively in humanitarian assistance in over thirty countries affected by war and disaster, including Somalia, Bosnia, Rwanda, Iraq, North Korea, Darfur-Chad and the Democratic Republic of Congo, both as a physician and a policy advisor with numerous relief organizations, including CARE, Save the Children, Physicians for Human Rights and Samaritans Purse International Relief. He has served as a special advisor for the World Health Organization and as a member of the UN Inter-Agency Standing Committee's Health Cluster. Domestically, Dr. VanRooyen has provided relief assistance at the site of the World Trade Center in New York on September 11th with the American Red Cross and also helped to coordinate the American Red Cross public health response to Hurricane Katrina, sending over twenty physicians from the Harvard system to hurricane-devastated regions.

Dr. VanRooyen teaches courses on humanitarian operations in war at the Harvard School of Public Health. His textbook, Emergency Field Medicine, is considered one of the key reference texts in this area, and he has authored over 50 publications related to international emergency medicine development and humanitarian assistance. Dr. VanRooyen has served on numerous advisory panels and boards, including International Rescue Committee, the National Academies/GAO evaluation of mortality studies in Darfur, and is chairman of the Humanitarian Action Summit. Dr. VanRooyen has also been awarded the Reader's Digest Health Heroes Award, the Raoul Wallenburg Foundation Humanitarian Award, the Hippocrates Society Humanitarian Award and the AMA Pride in the Profession Award. He was given the University of Illinois Alumni Humanitarian Award and was featured as one of two US physicians in the American Medical Association's publication entitled Caring Physicians of the World.

Craig Koniver MD

Physician | Author | Entrepreneur

Craig Koniver, MD graduated from Jefferson Medical College in 2000. There he met his wife, Laura Koniver, MD. After living in Virginia and Arizona, Dr. Koniver and his family settled down in Charleston, SC where Dr. Koniver opened his medical practice, Primary Plus Organic Medicine, LLC in 2006. Dr. Laura Koniver has since left traditional medicine to home-school their two children.

As part of his natural approach to medicine, Dr. Koniver enjoys helping his patients reach optimal health by helping them get off their prescription medicines, improving their nutrition and exercise regimens and by incorporating nutritional supplements. Many of Dr. Koniver's patients receive nutritional IVs that are all individually formulated for each patient. Dr. Koniver has also recently introduced Biopuncture and Embryonic Organ Therapy into his practice. In his spare time, Dr. Koniver relishes time with his wife and two children at home and at the beach!

Dr. Koniver created his own iPhone App: 42 Healthy Solutions, the first and only iPhone App that allows patients to subscribe to very specific nutritional supplement protocols.

Barry Silbaugh MD MS FACEP

Former CEO American College of Physician Executives (ACPE)

Dr. Silbaugh is the former CEO of the American College of Physician Executives (ACPE), the world’s premier organization for lifelong growth and support of physician leaders.

He is on the Board of Governors of the National Patient Safety Foundation. He was named to Modern Healthcare’s 100 Most Powerful People in Healthcare list for 2009.

Dr. Silbaugh does frequent keynote presentations focused on clinical leadership, innovation, moving from autonomy to teamwork, and creating a culture of high reliability in health care. He is co-author of "Landing on the Hudson River: Lessons for Health Care" (PEJ May/June 2010) with Jeff Skiles, the co-pilot of Flight 1549, which outlines key principles of safety and teamwork important to health care. Passionately curious about people and their efforts to improve their world, he has represented ACPE on professional delegations to China, Tibet, Rwanda, Nigeria, and Saudi Arabia in the past five years.

Dr. Silbaugh’s career has included full-time clinical work as an internist/hematologist, medical director of a Blue Cross Blue Shield plan, vice president of medical operations for a large national health system, Chief Medical Officer of a consumer-focused Internet start up, and consulting focused on patient safety and high reliability using lessons from aviation, nuclear power, and other high consequence industries.

He is certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine and the American Board of Medical Management. He has a BA and MD from the University of Iowa, and a Master’s in Administrative Medicine from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Ryan Flesher MD

Physician Film Maker

Ryan S. Flesher, MD, is a Board Certified Emergency Medicine physician, screenwriter, director and producer.

His peers in film and medicine recognize him as an outstanding clinician with an eye for the human-interest story. Dr. Flesher explores and exposes nuance in a realistic and accurate manner. His clinical expertise brings a rich knowledge that appeals to advertising agencies, marketing firms, medical vendors and pharmaceutical organizations. His knowledge of the film industry makes him an invaluable technical consultant, creative director, writer and key team member.

His film education has been through various outlets including, advanced screen-writing seminars at the acclaimed Grub Street in Boston, two independent short films of his own and work on major motion pictures. He wrote, directed, produced and edited a feature length independent film in 2002 while finishing his residency. His most recent work, The Vanishing Oath, is a feature length documentary: a view of health care from the inside.

Dr. Flesher was featured on the Learning Channel’s Trauma: Life in the ER in which the episode was focused on the fact that a physician was making an independent film, as it was, on his medical cases.

Mike Woo-Ming MD MPH

Internet Entrepreneur

Once working a full-time income as a Mayo Clinic trained physician, Dr. Mike built a passive income by starting his own internet business while still maintaining a 60 hour work week. His companies have created over 80 information products in the last few years and maintains a seven figure income that started from his bedroom.

An expert in lead generation, he has personally generated over 700,000 leads in 11 different markets. Dr. Mike consults regularly with million dollar companies in the corporate world, while still traveling around the world to sold-out workshops helping small business owners and solo entrepreneurs attain their own financial success.

A graduate in family practice, at the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Arizona, Dr. Mike also hold's a master's degree in public health at the University of Michigan. A devoted health advocate and educator, he believes there is no doubt that the stresses and pressures of working full-time in society leads to the many health problems that are prevalent today including depression, anxiety, and obesity.

Kenneth Cohn MD MBA FACS

Recovering Academic Surgeon

Dr. Cohn describes himself as a recovering academic surgeon. A sign in his office that reads, "It’s never too late to change what you want to be when you grow up." His current passion is helping physicians, nurses, and hospital leaders work more interdependently to improve performance.

He is a board-certified general surgeon who obtained his M.D. degree from Columbia College of Physicians Medical School, completed his residency at the Harvard-Deaconess Surgical Service. He was Assistant Professor of Surgery at SUNY Health Science Center at Brooklyn and later moved to Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center as Associate Professor of Surgery and Chief of Surgical Oncology at the VA Hospital at White River Junction.

With the change in the medical economic climate, Dr. Cohn entered the MBA program of the Tuck School at Dartmouth and graduated June 1998. He worked initially as a consultant at Health Advances, assisting 6 firms to commercialize new products. After joining the Cambridge Management Group in 1999, he led change-management initiatives for physicians at affiliated hospitals within the Yale New Haven, Banner Colorado, Cottage Santa Barbara, and Sutter Sacramento Health Systems.

In 2006, Dr. Cohn founded HealthcareCollaboration.com to leverage the Internet to improve his service.

Dr. Cohn remains clinically active, covering surgical practices in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont. He has been mentoring physicians in leadership development since 1999, finding that physicians enjoy learning from fellow physicians.

Dr. Cohn’s writing experience includes over 45 published articles in peer-reviewed healthcare journals. His article, "The Tectonic Plates Are Shifting: Cultural Change vs. Mural Dyslexia," won the Dean Conley Award in 2009 from the American College of Healthcare Executives for the best article in a healthcare management publication.

He has written two books, Better Communication for Better Care: Mastering Physician-Administration Collaboration, and Collaborate for Success! Breakthrough Strategies for Engaging Physicians, Nurses, and Hospital Executives, published by Health Administration Press, 2005 and 2006.

Fred Tobis MD FAAC

Physician Leadership Consultant

As a cardiologist, physician leader, and healthcare consultant for over 25 years, Fredric Tobis, MD, has coached physician leaders and executives in building strong teams that consistently improve quality and contain costs in a variety of healthcare enterprises. He was one of the first physician leaders to integrate a specialty practice into a hospital system and develop a successful, integrated, cardiovascular service line within a highly competitive, mature urban market, including recruiting and partnering with a team of intensivists, nephrologists, cardiovascular anesthesiologists, and cardiac surgeons.

Fred models and teaches the interpersonal qualities of leadership in practical ways that physicians and executives connect with personally, and he coaches them to refine their skills through ongoing mentoring and follow-up.

Fred is a member of the American College of Physician Executives and the American College of Health Care Executives. A Fellow of the American College of Cardiology, he completed his residency in internal medicine at the Medical College of Pennsylvania and his fellowship in Cardiovascular Disease at the University of Washington.

Fred is a Certified Physician Development Coach and a member of the Association of Physician Speakers, Experts, and Consultants. As the current chairman of Washington State's Eighth District Healthcare Advisory Committee, he facilitates communication from local healthcare leaders into consensus recommendations for national healthcare policy.

Maria Simbra MD

Emmy Award Winning Medical Journalist

Dr. Maria Simbra is an Emmy award-winning medical journalist, who brings a unique set of skills to her position as medical reporter on KDKA-TV Pittsburg. A member of the KDKA news team since May 2002, this physician and formally trained journalism professional provides expert and informative reports on health care issues — from new medical technology, to trends in health care, to diseases.

As a physician with the added credential of an advanced journalism degree, she has been recognized for her work with the Award of Excellence from the National Association of Medical Communicators in 2006, two nominations for a Mid-Atlantic National Association of Television Arts and Sciences Emmy Award in 2006 and 2007, and an Emmy award in 2008. She was named on Pittsburgh Magazine’s “40 under 40″ list, honoring the area’s influential young people.

A leader in medical journalism — she served on the Association of Health Care Journalists Board of Directors from 2005 to 2007. She was elected to the National Association of Medical Communicators Board of Directors in 2007.

In addition to reporting for KDKA, she has been a clinical assistant professor of neurology at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, and was in private practice neurology in Beaver County prior to that. Transitioning into a new specialty, she is pursuing a masters degree in public health, focusing on how the mass media affect public health.

In 2001, she decided to explore her long-standing interest in mass media, and entered the journalism and mass communications masters program at Point Park University. By 2003, she had completed her M.A. in journalism and mass communications. She now teaches medical journalism to both journalism students and medical students at Pittsburgh area universities.

Her other teaching activities include serving as faculty on the NIH’s "Medicine and the Media Symposium" in July 2004, as a Hearst Visiting Professional at Arizona State University in September 2005, and as a conference panelist for the Agency of Healthcare Research and Quality in July 2006. She has written for PLoS (Public Library of Science) Medicine, Neurology Reviews, and the Pittsburgh Business Times. Her book review of the Health Writer’s Handbook appeared in the Journal of the American Medical Association. She’s been featured in USA Today and Television Week.

Dr. Maria grew up in Morgantown, W.Va. She and her husband, Jeffrey Burket, an infectious disease physician, reside in the western suburbs of Pittsburgh. They welcomed their beautiful daughter into the world in January 2009.

Lisa Tener

Author | Harvard Medical School's CME Publishing Course

Lisa Tener is a Book Writing Coach, published author, speaker and creator of the Bring Your Book to Life Program. She has appeared on national television - on ABC World News with Peter Jennings, NiteBeat, New Morning, HealthBeat, and PBS-TV. She has been quoted in Glamour, Family Circle, The Boston Globe and WebMD, and interviewed on dozens of radio shows throughout the nation.

Lisa serves on the faculty of the Harvard Medical School continuing education course on writing and publishing books. She appears regularly on radio and through teleseminars. She is a regular columnist for Aspire Magazine and serves on the magazine’s advisory board, as well as the advisory board of the International Association of Writers.

Her clients have appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show, CBS Early Show, Good Morning America, The Montel Williams Show, CNN, Fox News, New Morning and in countless magazines and newspapers. Her clients include doctors, consultants, company presidents and managers, success and life coaches, people with unusual true stories, musicians, university professors, therapists, holistic practitioners, healing professionals, moms and others.

Tannus Quatre PT MBA

Principal | Consultant

Tannus Quatre is a private practice consultant and marketing strategist for Vantage Clinical Solutions, a practice management and consulting firm located in Bend, Oregon and Denver, Colorado.  Tannus holds a graduate degree in physical therapy from UCSF and has practiced as a physical therapist in outpatient, inpatient and home health settings.   Tannus maintains certifications in athletic training and strength and conditioning, and has provided athletic training services to high school, college and professional athletes.  Tannus holds an MBA from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, and in 2006, he co-founded Vantage Clinical Solutions with the simple mission of improving healthcare through entrepreneurship.  Tannus speaks nationally on the topics of entrepreneurship, marketing, and finance, and writes for PT in Motion, Impact Magazine, Advance for Directors in Rehabilitation, and The Healthcare Entrepreneur Blog.

Michelle Mudge-Riley DO

Physician Consultant

Michelle Mudge-Riley DO works with doctors and health systems as a business development and compliance consultant after she successfully made the transition from clinical practice to non-clinical work. She has spent the past eight years advising other doctors through Physicians Helping Physicians LLC and has worked with hundreds of doctors located in various locations and health systems throughout the United States. She’s been called the "Doctor’s Doctor" in a 2010 book because she works to help physicians in practice avoid burnout and find non-traditional ways to increase their revenue. She helps other doctors diversify their career or successfully transition into a non-clinical career.

Dr. Mudge-Riley has conducted seminars and spoken on topics related to change management, career transition, motivation, wellness and health education. She has also been published in a variety of books and journals including Physicians Practice Magazine, The Physician Executive Journal and The D.O.

Gautam Gulati MD, MBA, MPH

Professor | Idea Experimenter | Digital Doc

Dr. Gautam Gulati works and plays at the intersection of health, education, innovation, design, and entrepreneurship. He currently serves as Chief Medical Officer and SVP Product Management for Physicians Interactive Holdings, responsible for building a product portfolio designed to fit the future state of the health industry. Additionally,

Dr. Gulati is an adjunct professor at Johns Hopkins University Carey Business School where he teaches a course titled "Medical Innovation and Entrepreneurship". As an outpost to his academic musings, Dr. Gulati acts as an industry advisor to a number of change-makers and innovators in the health field through his idea experiment lab called GULATI.

In his spare time, Dr. Gulati is actively involved as a business mentor, advisor and competition judge for both Johns Hopkins Carey Business School as well as Columbia Business School; while also sitting on the advisory boards of Digital Health Coalition, Blueprint Health, Health & Wellness IDEAS Salon, Global Voices of Health, and several other start-ups/non-profits. Oftentimes he can be found at various industry events sharing a few words of wisdom and authoring written pieces through several blog outlets, including MM&M, Freelance MD and Gulatology.

Prior to the above, Dr. Gulati served as SVP for Digitas Health, leading the Science & Medicine Division of the NYC office. Additionally, he served as a Life Sciences Strategy Consultant with The Frankel Group and Global Medical Director for IntraMed/Sudler & Hennessey. As an entrepreneur, he had co-founded Medical Acumen - a medical market research and physician KOL communications firm. As a physician consultant, he provided strategic recommendations for the FDA as well as for various healthcare related Internet companies, including MDLinx.

Dr. Gulati obtained both his medical doctorate (MD) and masters in public health (MPH) degrees from The George Washington University School of Medicine and Public Health; and Masters in Business Administration (MBA) from Johns Hopkins University Carey Business School. He is clinically trained in Internal Medicine from Union Memorial Hospital in Baltimore, MD.

Currently, Dr. Gulati lives in the NYC area with his beautiful wife and baby boy, and has clocked hundreds of thousands of miles driving up and down the northeast corridor of I-95.

James Winston Phillips MD MBA JD LLM

Physician | Lawyer | Business Educator

James Winston Phillips, MD, MBA, JD, LLM is President and founder of The OTHER Medical Education, Inc. Dr. Phillips academic credentials include a B.A. and M.D. from the University of Louisville, a M.B.A. from Jacksonville University, a J.D. from Florida Coastal School of Law and a LL.M. from Thomas Jefferson School of Law in International Taxation with concentrations in 1) International Financial Services and 2) Wealth Management and Private Banking. Additional course work was completed at Stetson University College of Law LL.M. program in Elder Law and the University of Alabama School of Law LL.M. program in U.S. Taxation. Course work has been completed for a Ph.D. with the thesis pending. Dr. Phillips completed a general surgery residency at University of Florida/Jacksonville, a plastic surgery fellowship at University of Florida/Gainesville and a Hand Fellowship at the University of Miami. Dr. Phillips clinical career includes positions in academic medicine, private practice and as an independent contractor. Dr. Phillips is also a summa cum laude graduate of the School of Hard Knocks having personally been awarded a bankruptcy, a failed business and the corresponding associated legal problems. The business failure was the driving force behind Dr. Phillips’s quest for higher education and has led to the founding of The OTHER Medical Education, Inc., a place where health care professionals can obtain the business education they need.

Bob Uslander MD

Physician Lifestyle Coach

Dr. Uslander was born and raised near Chicago, Illinois, and while he still considers himself a "midwesterner" he has lived most of his adult life near the beach or in the mountains of California.

Dr. Uslander graduated from the University of Illinois summa cum laude with a degree in Biology before attending UCLA School of Medicine and graduating in the top 10% of his class in 1988. He completed a residency at the University of Illinois in Chicago in 1991 and is Board Certified in Emergency Medicine.

After finishing residency, Dr. Uslander became the Director of Emergency Medicine at Guam Memorial Hospital and built a successful ER program before relocating back to California and becomming an attending physician in the Emergency Department at Sonora Regional Medical Center where he continues to practice part time.

Dr. Uslander has been married to his lovely wife, Sandy, for 23 years, having met her in his first year of medical school. Together, they have 3 children- Eric, a sophomore at UC Santa Barbara, Carly, a high school senior, and Levi, their "later life" blessing who just turned 5. While he feels that his family is his greatest gift, he is especially grateful to Levi, who helps bring out the "inner child" in Dr. Uslander, that he believes is so important for all of us to stay connected with.

In addition to practicing emergency medicine for the past 20 years, Dr. Uslander has applied his knowledge, resources and passion to create several successful health-related businesses, allowing him great flexibility in how and when he works as a physician. These businesses include a medical housecall practice, a Hospitalist program for inpatient care, an urgent care clinic, a private in-home care company for seniors, and a non-profit corporation that operates an Adult Day Health Care Program.

Dr. Uslander currently serves as the Medical Director and Advisor for a startup healthcare technology company that is developing an online platform designed to reduce unplanned readmissions after major surgery and serves as a member of the Advisory Board for Soul Sitters, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting those who are caring for loved ones at end-of-life.

Recognizing a dire need in the medical community, Dr. Uslander now coaches and mentors other physicians to assist them in gaining more clarity about their purpose and life direction, reigniting their passions and creating more happiness and success in their lives. Through this work, he is helping doctors experience more joy and meaning, while improving the positive impact they have on their patients, their families and their communities.

In addition to coaching doctors, Dr. Uslander, through Doctors On Purpose, is connecting with and promoting physicians who are doing great work in the world through innovative medical practices, non-profit organizations or through their dedication to living inspiring and committed lives.

Dr. Uslander enjoys running, sailing, snowboarding, travel, writing, and being with his family. He is an accomplished marathon runner and aspires to learn to surf someday.

Pam Wible MD

Founder of Ideal Clinics

Pamela Wible, M.D., is a family physician born into a family of physicians. Her parents warned her not to pursue medicine. She followed her heart only to discover that to heal her patients she had to first heal her profession. So she led a series of town hall meetings inviting citizens to design the clinic of their dreams. Celebrated since 2005, Wibleʼs pioneering model has sparked a populist movement that has inspired Americans to create ideal clinics and hospitals nationwide.

Dr. Wible is co-author of the award-winning anthology Goddess Shift: Women Leading for a Change with Michelle Obama and Oprah Winfrey. She is also co-author of the anthology Optimism: Cultivating the Magic Quality that can Extend Your Lifespan, Boost Your Energy, and Make You Happy Now alongside world-famous leaders Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, and Dr. Mehmet Oz. Wibleʼs model is featured in the Harvard School of Public Healthʼs newest edition of Renegotiating Health Care: Resolving Conflict to Build Collaboration, a textbook examining major trends with the potential to change the dynamics of health care.

Pamela Wible is a graduate of Wellesley College, University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston and University of Arizona's Department of Family and Community Medicine. Now hospitals and medical schools across America are calling on Dr. Wible to help students, physicians—even hospital CEOs—recapture their dreams

Hatem Abou-Sayed

Plastic Surgery at Modernizing Medicine

Dr. Sayed is a board-certified plastic surgeon practicing in south Florida, focusing on aesthetic surgery of the breast, body and face. An innovator and a leader in local and national organizations, he holds a bachelor's in Electrical Engineering/Computer Sciences from Berkeley, his MD from UCSF, and a Kellogg MBA. He completed residency in general surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital and plastic surgery at UCSF, and has been honored by the Patient's Choice Award and America's Top Plastic Surgeons, among numerous accolades.

In 2012, he joined Modernizing Medicine, one of Forbes Magazine's Top 50 Companies to Watch. As Medical Director for EMA Plastic Surgery and EMA Cosmetic, he oversees the development of plastic/cosmetic surgery-specific EMR systems and other information technology tools. He consults to the private equity/VC space and is a sought-after speaker to the media regarding healthcare IT and plastic surgery. He is an avid musician and was a 3-time champion on Jeopardy!.