Parisa “Risa” Vatanka, PharmD, CTTS is a thought leader and strategic thinker with 27+ years of experience creating novel health care delivery solutions from concept to marketplace. She has a proven record of alliance building and is a key contributor and facilitator, with keen ability to bridge efforts among diverse internal and external cross-functional groups. Risa’s background includes heading high-visibility initiatives implemented nationwide and globally. She is currently championing health care delivery optimization through digital health integration.

Risa is Senior Director of Corporate Alliances at the American Pharmacists Association (APhA). She holds a faculty appointment at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) School of Pharmacy and volunteers as a tobacco treatment specialist at the UCSF Fontana Tobacco Treatment Center. Risa is an elected leader on the California Pharmacists Association (CPhA) Board of Trustees, Editor of the Digital Health Corner e-newsletter, and Founder/Chair of DHX Virtual (digital health conference).

Risa is a graduate of the University of Kansas, School of Pharmacy. Her professional training includes completing a Post-Graduate Year 1 (PGY1) Pharmacy Practice Residency at UCSF, a PGY2 Administrative Pharmacy Residency at Stanford University, and two externships with the United States Public Health Service (USPHS) Indian Health Service (IHS). Risa is a Certified Tobacco Treatment Specialist (CTTS), trained at the Mayo Clinic Nicotine Dependence Center. These experiences instilled in Risa an appreciation of the tremendous value of a team-based, patient-centered approach to care to foster health promotion and disease prevention, ultimately contributing to a healthier society.

Daniel Kraft is a Stanford and Harvard trained physician-scientist, inventor, entrepreneur, and innovator. With over 25 years of experience in clinical practice, biomedical research and healthcare innovation, Kraft has served as Faculty Chair for Medicine at Singularity University since its inception in 2008, and is the Founder and Chair of Exponential Medicine, a program that explores convergent, rapidly developing technologies and their potential in biomedicine and healthcare.

Following undergraduate degrees from Brown University and medical school at Stanford, Daniel was Board Certified in both Internal Medicine & Pediatrics after completing a Harvard residency at the Massachusetts General Hospital & Boston Children’s Hospital, and fellowships in hematology, oncology and bone marrow transplantation at Stanford.

He has multiple scientific publications and medical device, immunology and stem cell related patents through faculty positions with Stanford University School of Medicine and as clinical faculty for the pediatric bone marrow transplantation service at University of California San Francisco.

Daniel is a member of the Kaufman Fellows Society (Class 13) and member of the Inaugural (2015) class of the Aspen Institute Health Innovators Fellowship.

Daniel’s academic research has focused on: stem cell biology and regenerative medicine, stem cell derived immunotherapies for cancer, bioengineering human T-cell differentiation, and humanized animal models. Clinical work focuses on: bone marrow/hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for malignant and non-malignant diseases in adults and children, medical devices to enable stem cell based regenerative medicine, including marrow derived stem cell harvesting, processing and delivery. He also implemented the first text-paging system at Stanford Hospital.

He is also the inventor of the MarrowMiner, an FDA approved device for the minimally invasive harvest of bone marrow, and founded RegenMed Systems, a company developing technologies to enable stem cell-based regenerative therapies. He is also the founder of IntelliMedicine, focused on data driven, precision medicine.

Daniel is an avid pilot and has served in the Massachusetts and California Air National Guard as an officer and flight surgeon with F-15 & F-16 Fighter Squadrons. He has conducted research on aerospace medicine that was published with NASA, with whom he was a finalist for astronaut selection.

Dr. Jennifer Schneider is the President of Livongo. In this role, she is responsible for product, data science, engineering, marketing, and clinical operations. Dr. Schneider previously served as the company’s Chief Medical Officer where she led the company’s strategic clinical product vision, data science, clinical trials, and the organization’s certified diabetes educators and coaches. She is the author of Decoding Health Signals: Silicon Valley’s Consumer-First Approach to a New Era of Health, which offers a guide to the depth of the chronic conditions problem facing the industry today and explores how companies are using big data analytics and artificial intelligence to reinvent care delivery for people with chronic conditions.

Prior to Livongo, Dr. Schneider held several key leadership roles at Castlight Health, most recently as Chief Medical Officer. She also has held leadership roles in the provider setting as a health outcomes researcher and Chief Resident at Stanford University, and has practiced medicine as an attending physician at Stanford University, the VA Palo Alto Health Care System, and Kaiser Permanente. Dr. Schneider has an undergraduate degree from the College of the Holy Cross, a Doctor of Medicine degree from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, and a Master of Science degree in Health Services Research from Stanford University. She completed her internal medicine residency at Stanford University Hospital.

Dr. Schneider is a frequent speaker about innovation in healthcare, where she shares her unique perspective as a practicing physician, health services researcher, senior executive and individual who has lived with Type 1 diabetes for more than 30 years. In 2020, Modern Healthcare named Dr. Schneider one of the 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives for her work improving the healthcare experience for people living with chronic conditions. She has three children and is an avid runner and athlete, having completed her first IronMan in 2016.

Timothy Aungst, PharmD is an Associate Professor of Pharmacy Practice at MCPHS University, Worcester, MA. He graduated from Wilkes University Nesbitt School of Pharmacy, Wilkes-Barre, PA, in 2011. Afterwards, he pursued a PGY-1 Pharmacy Practice Residency at St. Luke’s University Hospital, Bethlehem, PA, with an emphasis on Internal Medicine, Cardiology, and Geriatric Care. He then completed a fellowship program focused on geriatic care, Medicare/Medicaid and drug management, and academia. While completing his post-grad training, he started writing for multiple companies on mHealth and Digital Health, with a focus on mobile apps. Since then, he has conducted research on digital health technologies in the pharmacy space and published in multiple peer review journals and spoken at multiple venues on the topic. He hopes to inspire the pharmacy profession to further integrate digital health into patient care and raise awareness on the future possibilities posed in the coming decades.

An author, entrepreneur, and journalist, Thomas helps people understand complicated things with data, design, and stories.

He is presently the Chief of Research at GoodRx, the nation’s leading resource for medication pricing intelligence. Previously he co-founded Iodine.com, the Webby-award winning “Yelp for medicine” (as Time called it) that let people understand which medications work best for them, based on a database of more than 100,000 real-world experiences.

In collaboration with the Food and Drug Administration’s office of innovation, Thomas led Iodine’s development of openFDA.gov, a landmark effort to unleash public data to a community of developers, researchers, and consumers. Thomas also writes the LaunchPad column for Inc. Magazine.

Thomas served as executive editor at WIRED, which he led to a dozen National Magazine Awards from 2001 through 2012, and where he wrote dozens of cover stories on technology, science, and medicine. His last book, The Remedy, about the quest to cure tuberculosis, was chosen by Amazon as a Best Book of 2014. His previous book, The Decision Tree, was chosen by the Wall Street Journal as a Best Book of 2010, and widely hailed as offering a new vision for patient-centered healthcare in the United States. His writing has been repeatedly selected for the Best American Science Writing and Best Technology Writing anthologies.

He served as the first Entrepreneur-in-Residence for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, where he founded Flip the Clinic, an RWJ Signature Program working to transform the practitioner-patient encounter. He also served as Curator-in-Residence for the Adobe Digital Museum. His 2010 TED talk on visualizing medical data has been viewed more than half a million times.

Lisa Suennen has spent 30 years in healthcare as entrepreneur, advisor and venture capitalist. Today she is Leader of Manatt Phelps & Phillips’ Digital and Technology Practice and Leader of the Manatt Venture Fund.   

Lisa spent the prior 20 years as a partner at venture capital firms: GE Ventures and Psilos Group. Previously, she was part of the leadership team that built Merit Behavioral Care to a successful IPO and exit. 

Lisa serves on the Health Reveal, Inc. and HealthXL Boards and chairs the advisory board of the NASA-funded Translational Research Institute for Space Health. Lisa is on faculty at the UC Berkeley Haas School of Business and is a Fellow of the Aspen Institute’s Health Innovators Fellowship. She writes the Venture Valkyrie blog and co-hosts the Tech Tonics podcast.

Marcus Osborne serves as Senior Vice President, Walmart Health, where he is focused on furthering Walmart’s goal of providing quality healthcare that is affordable and accessible.  Walmart Health is a first of its kind health center in Dallas, GA, that provides integrated care of key health services like primacy care, dental, counseling and diagnostics all under one roof with affordable and transparent pricing.  Prior to joining Walmart, Marcus was a Senior Management Consultant with Alliance Consulting Group in Boston, Massachusetts.  He also served as the Chief Financial Officer of the Clinton Foundation HIV/AIDS Initiative. Marcus attended the Harvard Business School and received his Master’s in Business Administration, graduating with honors.

Yoona serves as the CEO of Arine. Prior to Arine, she was the Head of Clinical Modeling and Analytics at Proteus Digital Health. She was responsible for health economic and clinical implementation activities for Proteus Digital Health. Her team developed health economic value propositions from strategic conceptualization to business case development to actualization in the real-world. Yoona has also built population and clinical analytic offerings, including predictive analytics and novel algorithms for clinical decision making and population stratification. Prior to Proteus, she led health economic activities and supported multiple blockbuster launches at Novartis and Gilead, and also implemented innovative healthcare design, such as value-based insurance programs, with large self-insured employers while working at Mercer. Yoona holds a Bachelor’s Degree from Stanford University, a PharmD with an emphasis in health policy and management from the University of California, San Francisco and a PhD in health economics and outcomes from the University of Texas at Austin.

Megan Coder, PharmD, MBA, is Executive Director of the Digital Therapeutics Alliance (DTA), an international non-profit trade association of industry leaders and stakeholders dedicated to improving clinical and health economic outcomes through the use of high quality, evidence-based digital therapeutics. DTA’s membership spans 15 countries across four major healthcare industries.

Trained as a pharmacist, Megan graduated from the University of Wisconsin—Madison and completed an Executive Residency in Association Management & Leadership with the American Pharmacists Association Foundation. Prior to joining DTA, Megan worked with Voluntis, Iodine, the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association, and the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board.

Aman is a physician, digital health futurist, and pharmaceutical executive focused on developing revolutionary technologies to increase healthcare accessibility, predict disease onset, prevent diseases and progression, and improve health outcomes worldwide. He is currently the VP of Global Medical Affairs & Head of BioPharma Partnerships at AliveCor where he oversees all medical and clinical activities, and partnerships with CROs and pharmaceutical companies globally for Kardia Mobile, the most clinically validated EKG available to consumers. Aman is a firm believer in holistic digital healthcare practice that offers patients products and services that go beyond just treating their disease and symptoms. Aman has over a decade of experience as a global medical leader for major household OTC brands such as Mucinex, Theraflu, Flonase, Nicorette, Allegra, and Nasacort at leading pharmaceutical companies including Reckitt Benckiser, Novartis, GSK, and Sanofi. 

Jennifer C. Goldsack co-founded and serves as the Executive Director of the Digital Medicine Society (DiMe), a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to advancing digital medicine to optimize human health. Jen’s research focuses on applied approaches to the safe, effective, and equitable use of digital technologies to improve health, healthcare, and health research. She is a member of the Roundtable on Genomics and Precision Health at the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine.

Previously, Jen spent several years at the Clinical Trials Transformation Initiative (CTTI), a public-private partnership co-founded by Duke University and the FDA. There, she led development and implementation of several projects within CTTI’s Digital Program and was the operational co-lead on the first randomized clinical trial using FDA’s Sentinel System.

Jen spent five years working in research at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, first in Outcomes Research in the Department of Surgery and later in the Department of Medicine. More recently, she helped launch the Value Institute, a pragmatic research and innovation center embedded in a large academic medical center in Delaware. 

Jen earned her master’s degree in chemistry from the University of Oxford, England, her masters in the history and sociology of medicine from the University of Pennsylvania, and her MBA from the George Washington University. Additionally, she is a certified Lean Six Sigma Green Belt and a Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality. Ms Goldsack is a retired athlete, formerly a Pan American Games Champion.

David Stempel, MD, is a clinical consultant to Propeller Heath. David completed his residency and allergy fellowship at Stanford University, then joined the faculty at the University of North Carolina to develop a pediatric program. He then moved to Seattle where he spent the next two decades at a large multi-specialty clinic practicing clinical allergy, heading the P&T committee and doing clinical research. The next phase of his career took him to GlaxoSmithKline where he did pharmacoeconomic studies, randomized clinical trials and was the medical affairs lead for the Advair franchise. David joined Propeller Health in 2016. David’s interest is to enhance patient and healthcare provider communication through shared decision making.

Nimesh Jhaveri is president of Health Mart and senior vice president of McKesson Corporation. In his role, Nimesh is responsible to provide visionary and strategic leadership that ensures growth and stability for more than 5,000 Health Mart pharmacies. He oversees Health Mart field operations, support operations, strategy, and business development.

Nimesh joined McKesson in 2018. Previously, Nimesh led healthcare services for the Walgreen Co., where he spent 29 years in various leadership roles leading business development for pharmacy practice design, automation and technology, pharmacy operations, human resources and corporate operations. During this time, he drove the creation of market leading technology and design and earning numerous patents granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

He is respected as a credible voice in decision making, identifying and fostering strategic partners, and creating highly engaged and functional teams. He was featured on the cover as one of the “Champions of Pharmacy” in Drug Topics’ in May 2012. In addition, Nimesh has spoken at numerous events including being a TEDx speaker.

Jhaveri earned an undergraduate and professional degree in pharmacy from Rutgers University and was a Rutgers Scholar. He also received an MBA in organizational behavior from Lake Forest Graduate School of Management and graduated as a Hotchkiss Scholar.

He serves on the board of trustees for Rutgers University, Rutgers Research and Educational Foundation, the executive board of directors for Imerman Angels, a 1-1 cancer support organization and the pharmacy advisory and Innovation and Research External Advisory Boards for the Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science. 

Randy Parker is the founder & CEO of GeniusRx, a full-service digital pharmacy that simplifies the process of managing medications through a combination of convenient packaging, modern technology, and personalized service. He brings more than 30 years of experience starting and building successful, disruptive, consumer-focused companies using the latest technologies. Randy is the Founder & was the former CEO of the telemedicine company MDLIVE from 2009 to 2016 where he has established deep industry relationships at the highest levels with a broad range of the country’s premier health organizations. Prior to MDLIVE, he served as CEO of several other companies including Flexplay Technologies, Clear-Vu Products, and Entertainment Resource. Randy has a degree in Business and Public Administration from New York University.

He enjoys cycling, hiking, and skiing in Colorado with his wife, Ellen, and four sons.

Sandra Leal, PharmD, MPH, CDCES, FAPhA Executive Vice President, SinfoníaRx, A TRHC Solution Health Plans and Payers Business Unit for Tabula Rasa Health Care.

Sandra Leal is the Executive Vice President for SinfoníaRx, A TRHC Solution. Dr. Leal is responsible for oversight and expansion of progressive pharmacists’ services that focus on outcomes, access, and quality.

Dr. Leal received her PharmD from the University of Colorado and her MPH in Public Health Practice from the University of Massachusetts. Dr. Leal completed her residency at the Southern Arizona VA Health Care System and a Primary Health Care Policy Fellowship with the Department of Health and Human Services. 

Her work has been published in Diabetes Care, Advances in Chronic Kidney Disease, American Journal of HealthSystem Pharmacy, Journal of the American Pharmacists Association, Annals of Internal Medicines and a discussion paper published by the Institute of Medicine entitled, “Patients and Health Care Teams Forging Effective Partnerships”.

Her programs are a two-time recipient of the American Pharmacists Associations (APhA) Foundation Pinnacle Award, ASHP Best Practice Award in Health-System Pharmacy and the National Association of Community Health Centers Innovative Research in Primary Care Award. Dr. Leal was recognized as APhA’s Good Government Pharmacist-of-the-Year for her advocacy work on pharmacist provider status and was installed as President-Elect for the American Pharmacists Association for the 2020-2022 term. 

Dr. Randy McDonough is co-owner of Towncrest, Solon Towncrest, and Towncrest Compounding Pharmacies.  He is also co-founder/co-owner of Innovative Pharmacy Solutions.  Dr. McDonough is Professor of Pharmacy Management and Innovation, Loma Linda University School of Pharmacy (LLUSP).

As a community pharmacy owner, Dr. McDonough oversees Towncrest Pharmacy’s clinical services including MTM services, nursing home consulting, wellness screenings, immunizations, and adherence services.  He is responsible for development, implementation, and quality assurance for all aspects of the clinic and services.  

As faculty for LLUSP, he teaches courses to pharmacy students in the areas of practice management, entrepreneurism, and innovation.  He also serves as coordinator for the Community Pharmacy Residency program as LLUSP.  He provides outreach and oversight to pharmacy practice transformation with community pharmacy practices associated with LLUSP.

Dr. McDonough is board certified in geriatrics and as a pharmacotherapy specialist.  His areas of interest include community-based outcomes research, pharmaceutical education, geriatrics, disease state management, student development, and the development of patient care initiatives in the community pharmacy setting. 

Dr. McDonough has published and presented extensively on the subject of pharmaceutical care and MTM in the community pharmacy setting.  In particular he is recognized for his efforts in developing and implementing patient care services. He has co-authored a book on pharmaceutical care and has written chapters for several other texts.  He has presented nationally and internationally on pharmaceutical care, MTM services and Performance Measures in the community pharmacy setting.  More recently, two papers have been published that highlight his work in developing and implementing a new workflow process that emphasizes the role of community pharmacists of ensuring that patients are achieving their therapeutic outcomes with safe and effective medications.  This led to a pilot program with the largest payer in the state of Iowa and resulted in Towncrest Pharmacy saving the payer $300.00 per member per month in total health care costs. 

Randy is a member of the American Pharmacists Association, National Community Pharmacists Association, American Society of Consultant Pharmacists, American College of Clinical Pharmacy, and the Iowa Pharmacists Association.  He has served in various roles in these organizations.  He has been recognized nationally for his work and he has received the APhA Daniel B. Smith Award, NCPA Independent Pharmacist of the Year, IPA Innovative Pharmacist of the Year, and Parata’s Entrepreneurial Pharmacist of the Year.   He is currently on the Board of Trustees with the American Pharmacists Association.

Carrie Chitsey Wells, a native Austinite, is a digital technology innovator currently on her 7th company. She loves to stay busy running companies like healthcare (One Touch Telehealth), digital banking (One Touch Video Chat) and recruiting/HR (Live Video Interviews). She is extremely passionate about youth mental health and the opioid crisis, which led her to start the non-profit Humans Helping Humans and expand her podcast “Executive Innovation Show” to gain awareness. She is nationally recognized as Top 100 Female Founders, Top 50 Mobile Experts and Top 40 Under 40 Marketing executives, she calls Austin home and bleeds burnt orange.

Dr. Kevin B. Sneed is a tenured Professor and the founding Dean of the University of South Florida Taneja College of Pharmacy. He also serves as a Senior Associate Vice-President for USF Health. Dr. Sneed earned his Bachelor of Science Degree in Biology with a concentration in Microbiology from the University of Central Florida. He received his Doctor of Pharmacy from Xavier University of Louisiana College of Pharmacy. He completed an Ambulatory Care Pharmacy Practice Specialty Residency at Bay Pines Veteran’s Administration Medical Center. He has received numerous clinical and leadership awards and most recently received the Distinguished Fellow National Academies of Practice award from the National Academies of Practice, Chauncey I. Cooper Medal from the National Pharmaceutical Association, and the National Pharmaceutical Association Fellow from the National Pharmaceutical Association. Dr. Sneed serves on the board of several organizations and participates in many community endeavors.

Dr. Scott Kjelson is the executive host of the Disruptive Front vlogcast, and assistant professor and director of student transitions at Nova Southeastern University’s College of Pharmacy. Dr. Kjelson started his healthcare career as a corpsman in the U.S. Navy. He later received his Doctorate Degree from Nova Southeastern University College of Pharmacy. His professional career has included areas such as oncology, long terms care, public health policy, academia, and healthcare branding. He is the owner of Creative Cortex, which specializes in branding within educational institutions and healthcare firms. In his current role as assistant professor and director of student transitions at Nova Southeastern University’s College of Pharmacy, he teaches personal and professional development, develops community and state-wide public health initiatives and events, and serves as the faculty advisor to the Entrepreneurs in Healthcare, an interprofessional organization focused on innovative solutions to health. He is also the host of TEDxNSU. Scott has been featured on Spike TV, Discovery Life, PBS, NPR, and multiple news-media outlets for his work in point-of-care testing, wellness, and public health advocacy.

Dr. Komal Patel is a Clinical Pharmacist at Catalia Health and excels in finding innovative means to achieve better patient outcomes. She brings in a unique understanding of the healthcare industry through her consulting experiences, leading clinical program development in the outpatient setting, and heading operations management for specialty pharmacies. Finding success in her engagements has largely revolved around improving the patient experience and crafting ways to better engage patients in their overall care. While at Catalia Health, Dr. Patel has been using her clinical and patient insights to contribute to the company’s care management platform, which utilizes an AI driven robot health coach as an interface to engage and empower patients in their care. Dr. Patel graduated from the University of Southern California, and was awarded 2014 Outstanding Alumna of the Year by the School of Pharmacy for her role in the advancement of healthcare.

Davis Liu, MD, is the chief clinical officer of Lemonaid Health and a board certified family physician, patient advocate, physician leader, blogger, and the author of two books, including The Thrifty Patient – Vital Insider Tips for Saving Money and Staying Healthy. He’s passionate about making healthcare more convenient, personalized, and affordable. Prior to Lemonaid Health, Dr. Liu was a practicing primary-care doctor for fifteen years at Kaiser Permanente in Roseville, California and served on the Permanente Medical Group (TPMG) Board of Directors.  Dr. Liu graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. He received his medical degree from the University of Connecticut School of Medicine.

Eland Siddle, PharmD, earned his degree from St. Louis College of Pharmacy. Eland had 15 years of community pharmacy operations experience with Supervalu Pharmacies prior to starting the Lemonaid Pharmacy Team. At Supervalu he was involved in all aspects of the pharmacy operations while holding titles of Summer Intern Market Coordinator and Pharmacy Operations Manager all while being a Pharmacy Manager at several locations. Eland is passionate about growing a team who’s focus is to provide patients with affordable, easily accessible healthcare all while WOW’ing them with outstanding customer service. Outside of work Eland loves going to Disney with his wife and young son and rooting on the Stanley Cup Champion St. Louis Blues!

Dr. Amit Gir is the co-founder and CEO of Phox Health. He and his team have created a new category of digital health which collectively supports small business pharmacies, virtual medical practices, and entire health systems with on-demand therapies.

Previously, he practiced inpatient care as a board-certified Internal Medicine hospitalist with Inova in Virginia and in the past five years with Kaiser Permanente in Riverside, CA.  In 2014 he co-founded Doctomize, a “for doctors, by doctors” service which provided in-person EMR training for physicians. Upon moving to California, he focused efforts on medication adherence with a mobile app called Pillbug which later pivoted to Phox Health.                                                               

Dr. Gir holds a medical degree from the American University of the Caribbean and a Bachelor’s in biomedical engineering from Tulane. Amit now lives with his wife and daughter in a Southern California city that should probably change its name – Corona.                    

Ritesh bills himself as a digital and social evangelist, and he has been evangelizing digital since the early days of the dot com boom in the late 1990’s. As a young man, he joined Agency.com and quickly began to consult with major fortune 500 companies to evangelize the merits of the World Wide Web. 

Along the way, he has worked for the likes of Havas, Cushman & Wakefield and began a deep dive into the healthcare arena in 2009 when he joined Inventiv Health as Head of Digital & innovation There he was a pioneer in the use of  the emerging social media platforms, winning a Clio award in 2010 for the Novartis Tobi Facebook page under the category of “Best Use of Social Media in 2010” for that work. Then in 2011 came the digital and social ecosystem for DRIVE4COPD, a highly successful campaign for Boeringher Ingelheim to raise awareness of COPD that used Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Twibbon and a custom Windows-based mobile app to screen potential patients at NASCAR events.

He joined Ogilvy in 2014, as the Chief Digital Officer for Ogilvy CommonHealth, the specialist health care agency within the Ogilvy Group. There he worked with the digital team at OCHWW to create the industry’s first marketing cloud that enabled clients to truly have a 360 view of their HCP customer. Ritesh has also led the team here that successfully created an EHR practice enabling clients to directly message HCPs on an EHR platform. The majority of OCHWW client brands know this innovative solution.

Additionally, Ritesh supported and led the creation of the OCHWW Innovation Lab. The Lab has been responsible for showcasing the art of the possible. Voice-activated systems like Alexa and Google Home, connected homes, wearables, chatbots and AI are the subjects the Lab are focused to showcase how these tools and technologies have and will continue to impact healthcare in the not-too-distant future.

Now working for Ogilvy Consultant, Ritesh consults with major healthcare clients on digital transformation and innovation in the digital health arena. He is an outspoken digital evangelist who has lent his expert POV in a variety of forums. He is passionate about educating his peers and his clients about what the future of digital looks like for healthcare and, in addition to all the innovations he’s been responsible for bringing forward, he has taken his mission on the road and speaks at a wide variety of digital and healthcare-centered events across the world.

Benjamin Bluml is the Senior Vice President for Research and Innovation at the APhA Foundation. Along with his 24-plus years as the principal architect for the clinical and technology models in the Foundation’s patient care programs and 12 years of pharmacy practice experience, Bluml is the author of numerous innovative health care software applications and professional journal publications related to his work on collaborative practice, health information technology, interdisciplinary patient care, and quality improvement. He works with pharmacists, physicians, payers, technology companies, research and public health organizations across the United States to design and implement innovative patient-centered, team-based care programs and health care service delivery systems.

Bluml received his Pharmacy Degree from the University of Missouri Kansas City School of Pharmacy. His professional passion is improving people’s lives by optimizing the way health care is delivered. He focuses system change efforts on empowering patients, increasing collaboration, enhancing patient safety, improving outcomes, and reducing total costs for care. Bluml believes that the best way to improve health care is to put patients first, properly align incentives, optimize medication use, increase communication, and to effectively and securely exchange health information.

Susan Bonilla is the Chief Executive Officer of the California Pharmacists Association.

Susan excels in member relations and promotes the importance of building relationships in order to move initiatives forward.  Having served as a member of the California State Assembly and County Board of Supervisors representing Contra Costa County, Bonilla has dedicated herself to finding solutions and implementing strategies to create positive change.  While serving in the State Legislature, Bonilla chaired the Assembly Business and Professions Committee, and served on the Budget and Health committees.  She brings her leadership skills and strong relationships within the State Capitol to advocate for the profession of pharmacy.

Melissa Murer Corrigan was founding Executive Director and CEO of the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board (PTCB) in Washington, D.C. from 1994-2011.  She also is an innovator in credentialing and pharmacy workforce initiatives.  Melissa’s leadership launched the PTCB program that has now certified over 700,000 pharmacy technicians working across the United States in large chains such as Walgreens and CVS, health systems and community pharmacies. PTCB certified technicians serve millions of patients annually.  Murer Corrigan embraced ambition, took risks, and was the only women on the PTCB Board of Governors during her 17-year tenure as CEO.

 In 2012 Melissa joined educational assessment leader ACT in Iowa City as an executive leader for the Workforce Development Division and then progressed to serve as Vice President of Social Impact for ACT’s Center for Equity in Learning. Her current chapter includes leading the healthcare and credentialing consultancy Manville Heights LLC.   She currently serves on the Board of Directors for the American Institute for the History of Pharmacy and is the host of the MelisRxScripts podcast. 

Melissa has served as adjunct faculty with the University of Iowa College of Pharmacy since 2013. In 2015, she was named a Fellow of the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists and in 2016 Melissa was named a Fellow of the American Pharmacists Association. Also in 2016, she received the Honorary Alumni Award from the University of Iowa College of Pharmacy.  She had the honor of being the commencement speaker for the University of Iowa College of Pharmacy in 2013 and Drake University in 2014.  

Passionate about both leadership and encouraging women leaders, Melissa provided the vision for the inaugural Zada Cooper Leadership Symposium. This now annual event features women in pharmacy leadership roles and celebrates the legacy of Locally in Eastern Iowa, Melissa has been recognized as a Woman of Influence and has served on the Board of Directors for Corridor Women Connect.

Melissa is a graduate of Drake University’s College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. She received the 2010 Weaver Medal which is Drake University College of Pharmacy’s highest honor. Melissa is a past president of the Institute for Credentialing Excellence and received the association’s distinguished Certification Industry Leadership Award in 2008. She has served as President of the Board of Directors for the Council on Credentialing in Pharmacy. Melissa also received the Henry Cade Memorial Award from the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy in 2012.

Tony Dao, PharmD, CPHIMS, CSSBB, LSSBB, PMC HI, is a pharmacy informatics specialist for CHOC Children’s and co-founder of the Pharmacy Informatics Academy. He received his pharmacy degree from USC School of Pharmacy in 2012 and worked on the EHR build and implementation at Ventura County Healthcare Agency, remaining there for multiple projects until 2017. He is also a per-diem clinical pharmacist for Kindred Hospital Los Angeles. He started the first pharmacy informatics podcast in 2019, Pharmacy, IT, & Me, as a means to educate students and pharmacists on the ever-evolving field. He has been a past president and Pharmacist of the Year of the Orange County Pharmacists Association and is a current Editorial Advisory Board member of Pharmacy Times and a member of the ASHP Section of Pharmacy Informatics and Technology.

David Berkowitz, PharmD, is currently an Omnicell One Field Strategist and the Director of the Omnicell Fellowships in Data Analytics and Automation Research. Previously he worked for approximately 10 years in various inpatient pharmacy administrative roles at Partners Healthcare and Boston Medical Center, both in Boston, Massachusetts. In addition to his inpatient pharmacy experience, Dr. Berkowitz has also worked for two digital health startups serving as the Director of Pharmacy Strategy at Pillo health and the President of VeriCurious. He is a graduate of Massachusetts College of Pharmacy where he is also an associate professor of pharmacy practice and he serves on their Digital Health Advisory Committee. Other organization involvements include serving on the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists Section of Pharmacy Informatics Professional Development Advisory Group and he is an advisor for the digital health platform, HealthXL. He was selected as preceptor of the year for the Massachusetts Society of Health-Systems Pharmacy in 2018.

Dr. Adrijana Kekic, PharmD, BCACP is a pharmacogenomics (PGx) pharmacist and Associate Program Director of Education, Outpatient Pharmacy at Mayo Clinic.  As a pharmacogenomics leader, researcher and educator, she spearheads implementation of pharmacogenomics services at Mayo Clinic in Arizona.  Her research work includes pharmacogenomics studies in anesthesia, transplant, oncology, cardiology, and other areas. As an international speaker and a PGx subject expert, she is engaged on various precision medicine communication platforms.

Dr. Kekic earned the Doctor of Pharmacy degree from Midwestern University College of Pharmacy and Board Certified Ambulatory Care Pharmacist.  She is also a Master of Healthcare Innovation Candidate from Arizona State University. 

With almost two decades of pharmacy leadership and clinical expertise in personalized medication therapy management, Adrijana continues to advance pharmacy practice. Her focus in on healthcare innovation, science communication, and healthcare disparities, especially sex based differences in pharmacotherapy. She is a founder of a networking platform dedicated to high impact professional women in healthcare.

David Vu is a recent 2018 graduate from VCU School of Pharmacy.  He works as a Quality Assurance Engineer for a health technology company that focuses on medication intelligence, where they provide products that involve RFID technology and drug diversion software systems.  He is passionate about empowering pharmacists and pharmacy students in seeking nontraditional careers, particularly in health technology and pharmacy informatics. 

My name is Thomas Brazeal, PharmD, APh, BCACP and I am a Clinical Pharmacist with Desert Oasis Healthcare. I attended Pharmacy school at Pacific University in Oregon and completed a PGY-1 at Desert Oasis Healthcare in Palm Springs, California. During my residency, I helped to launch our Pulmonary Clinic, which treats asthma and COPD patients under a collaborative drug therapy protocol. I have since become the lead pharmacist for the Pulmonary Clinic with Desert Oasis Healthcare in which we have one main objective, prevent all-cause utilizations. Since inception, we have continually evaluated the outcomes and seen positive results, a formal analysis is pending and will provide detailed evidence on the impact of a pharmacist-led Pulmonary Clinic on the management of patients with asthma and/or COPD. At Desert Oasis Healthcare, we have a number of other clinics including Anticoagulation (warfarin and DOAC), Hepatitis C/Infectious disease, Cardiometabolic (diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, CHF), Anemia, and Behavioral Medicine.

Leah Rosenbaum is an Assistant Editor at Forbes covering healthcare. Before Forbes, she was a graduate student at UC Berkeley where she got her Master’s of Journalism and Master’s of Public Health, with a specialization in infectious disease.

Varun Goyal is the CEO and Co-Founder of illuminate.Health, a digital health startup helping patients and family caregivers optimize medication therapies supported via telehealth. Only 12% of US adults have proficient health literacy and as a result $528B is spent on non-optimized medication therapies impacting millions of people. Illuminate.health is on a mission to be the digital care assistant to help people with self-care at home where majority of healthcare happens.

Mr. Goyal is a healthcare technology executive with 18+ years of consulting, product management and strategy experience. He has held global leadership roles with Availity, Hill-Rom, Oracle, and Motorola.  

Mr. Goyal holds a B.S., Computer Engineering from Illinois Institute of Technology, M.S. Computer Science from University of Chicago, and an MBA in Healthcare, Strategy and Marketing from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. 

Eric Teye Matey PharmD, RPh, BCACP, MBA, has been a pharmacist at Mayo Clinic since graduating from Howard University School of Pharmacy in 2004. From 2006 through 2009, he worked with Mayo Specialty Pharmacists in charge of Growth Hormone Deficiency, Primary Immune Deficiency and Hepatitis C to ensure appropriate medication dosing and patient education. In 2009, he began working as a Medication Therapy Management (MTM) pharmacist with interest in pharmacogenomics and Macrobacterium Avium Complex (MAC). He became a Board Certified Ambulatory Care Pharmacist (BCACP) in 2012. In his current role as Pharmacogenomics pharmacist at Mayo Clinic with the Center for Individual Medicine (CIM), Dr. Matey has been instrumental in the implementation of a pharmacogenomics consult service at Mayo Clinic. He is the pharmacogenomics residency program director for Mayo Clinic program. He also works closely with the CIM education team to develop educational materials for patients, pharmacists and other health care providers. Dr. Matey is also involved in a number of pharmacogenomic practice improvement pilots with various departments at the Mayo Clinic to assess the utility of pharmacogenomics testing in various patient populations. Dr. Matey is a member of the pharmacogenomics task force at Mayo Clinic and serves as an advisor regarding pharmacogenomics related decisions implemented at his institution.

 In his spare time, he enjoys biking and as a past captain of Team Humphrey’s (Tour de Cure-ADA) he raised funds for diabetes research and awareness. He is a board member of Africa Partners Medical, a nonprofit organization, which primary goal is to stop needless death in Africa. Professional memberships include, CPIC, MPhA, APhA, ACCP and ASHP.

Nancy A. Alvarez, PharmD, BCPS, FAPhA is Associate Dean for Academic and Professional Affairs at The University of Arizona College of Pharmacy – Phoenix Campus, Associate Professor, Pharmacy Practice and Science and newly appointed Chief Diversity Officer.  Previously, she was part of the founding leadership team and faculty at Chapman University School of Pharmacy; and held a variety of roles at Endo Pharmaceuticals in the Medical Affairs Department; hospice pharmacia (later excelleRx) in end of life care; and the Walgreens Company.  She is a graduate of the University of Arizona College of Pharmacy and a board-certified pharmacotherapy specialist.  She is a former president of the American Pharmacists Association and Phi Lambda Sigma Leadership Society.  She is a fellow of the American Pharmacists Association and received its Gloria Niemeyer Franke Leadership Mentor Award in March 2020.  She is a board member of the Pharmacy Leadership and Education Institute and has served as a co-director for the California Pharmacist Association’s Leader Development Institute since its inception in 2013.

Bruce Berger is President of Berger Consulting, LLC and Emeritus Professor at Auburn University. He has developed comMIt (Comprehensive Motivational Interviewing Training for health care providers) and AU MITI (Auburn University Motivational Interviewing Training Institute) and AU MITI (Auburn University Motivational Training Institute.  He has taught motivational interviewing in health care and methods for improving treatment adherence for over 30 years.

He was born in Cleveland, Ohio.  Bruce received his BS in Pharmacy from The Ohio State University. After practicing pharmacy for two years he returned to Ohio State and received his Masters and Ph.D. in social and behavioral pharmacy.  He taught at Ohio State before moving to West Virginia University in January, 1980.  After two years at WVU, Bruce moved to Auburn University and taught there until his retirement from the university in September of 2009.

His research interests include health behavior change and improving treatment adherence.  He has written three books, written or presented over 900 papers (88 peer reviewed) or seminars (94 peer reviewed) on these topics.  He has attracted over $3.5 million in funding to support his research.

He has been a consultant and trainer for the US Air Force, VA, US Army, Pfizer, Inc., Procter & Gamble, Abbvie, Novartis, Astra-Zeneca, Sanofi-Aventis, GSK, and over 50 health plans, including Humana, Harvard Pilgrim, Tufts Health, ConnectiCare, Medical Mutual of Ohio and numerous BlueCross BlueShield plans.

He is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Lyman Award and the first American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy’s Award of Excellence for his research.  He is the 2001 recipient of the Jack L. Beal Post baccalaureate Alumni Award from the Ohio State University.

In March of 2004 Bruce was awarded a fellowship by the American Pharmacists Association (APhA) Academy of Pharmaceutical Research and Science for a lifetime of quality research. 

Bruce is the 2007 and 2009 winner of the APhA Wierderholt Prize for the best research publication in the social, behavioral, and administrative sciences in pharmacy in the Journal of the APhA.  The first study focused on the impact of motivational interviewing.

Bruce is the 2009 recipient of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy’s Robert Chalmers Distinguished Pharmacy Educator Award, one of the Association’s three highest honors. 

Bruce is the author of the book, Motivational Interviewing for Health Care Professionals:  A Sensible Approach, APhA, Washington, DC, August, 2020, 2nd edition, and the 8 hour accredited Motivational Interviewing E-Learning Program for Health Care Professionals (2015), along with William A. Villaume.

Smit Patel is an Innovator, Technology enthusiast, and a TEDx speaker who is fascinated by the future of healthcare and how technology aids in innovation. He is a Consultant RA in Digital Therapeutics with Xcenda, crafting novel strategies for key decision-making for the Payers and Pharma industry. Currently, he is a final year PharmD candidate at The Ohio State University. His passion for next-gen digital tech has allowed him to venture in-depth in the field of Digital health. Working with technologies like Artificial intelligence, Virtual reality, Voice tech, mHealth, Sensor tech/Wearables, etc. he loves turning ideas into assets; from creating novel medical devices to helping FDA to improve guidance on Technology Modernization Action Plan. Never the one to slow down, he is currently patenting a non-invasive VNS (Vagal Nerve Stimulation) device after witnessing a problem with post-stroke rehab on his neurocritical care unit rotation. To be a part of innovators’ DNA, he was selected as Forbes under 30 scholar in 2019 and was also invited to give a TED talk on “How to smartly navigate your health access choices using innovative technology”. With the excitement over the years, he has diversified his skill sets and loves to continuously be challenged to solve problems creatively. From his work at a HealthTech startup and Venture Capital has taught him early-stage product development, while working with Payers and Pharma helped him to strategically commercialize products to fulfill the unmet need and make such innovation accessible. He is passionate to give back and mentors young healthcare leaders frequently at MIT hackathon, Techstars startup weekend, etc. He advocates strongly for how digital technology is crafting the new blueprint in our system and hopes to be a part of the unstoppable change-maker who are ready to transform US healthcare, digitally!”

Clifford A. Young, RPh, BCGP, FCPhA, 2020-2021 President California Pharmacist Association. Associate Clinical Professor, University of the Pacific. Principal, Apothecary Services, institutional care consultant. Graduate of the University of California Davis (undergraduate) and University of Washington School of Pharmacy.

Dalton Fabian, PharmD, RPh, is a pharmacist with a passion for technology and data science who serves as a Data Science Analyst at UnityPoint Health in Des Moines, IA. In his role, Dalton utilizes machine learning to improve clinical care, promote value-based care, and assist strategic planning within a large health system. His team’s work has been featured in national press and most recently won the Creative Technology Solution of the Year in the 2020 Prometheus Awards hosted by the Technology Association of Iowa. Dalton is passionate about helping more pharmacists find roles in data science. He is also active in the Iowa Pharmacy Association and American Pharmacists Association.

Christy Cheung, PharmD, is a Medical Science Liaison, Neurology at Sanofi Genzyme and founder of the Think Digital Health blog. She graduated from the University of British Columbia in Canada in 2019 and completed a Medical Affairs Fellowship at Sanofi Genzyme (2019-2020). As a student and digital health enthusiast, she attended a number of healthcare hackathons, which fueled her passion in this area and led to the creation of her blog. She has been a guest on podcast episodes such as Pharmacy, IT, & Me, and recently became a contributor for the Pharmacy Informatics Academy. She also co-developed the “Roadmap to Learning AI for Healthcare” series and hopes to increase awareness of digital health within the profession.

Luke has built a career bridging disparate disciplines as a scientist, clinician and product manager with over 10 years of experience developing innovative pharmacy businesses from the Walgreen’s at UCSF outpatient pharmacy to OptumRx’s Medication Therapy Management program. He served as e-prescribing product manager at OptumRx before transitioning to a role in corporate strategy developing new products in emerging areas of Pharmacogenomics and rare diseases. Luke’s passion is in bettering the healthcare system by leveraging innovation and technology and by advancing the role of pharmacists as valued patient care team members.

Ellen Berkley, PharmD Candidate, University of California, San Francisco, Class of 2021 is currently doing her Advanced Practice Pharmacy Experiences (APPEs) in the North Bay region.

Her experience working at the pharmacist-driven clinical service and data science start-up, Arine, fueled her interest in leveraging technology to help clinicians provide high value, patient centered care. She has been especially inspired to see the pandemic acting as a catalyst for utilization of these virtual services to reach more patients and connect them with pharmacists and the healthcare system. Networking has since led her to forming a weekly digital health group with two amazing pharmacy colleagues to share updates and brainstorm our vision in health-tech. We believe there’s a tremendous future for technological integration in the pharmacy space to drive positive change in the industry. She is looking forward to developing a strong clinical foundation and deep understanding of the pharmacy enterprise to be able to bridge her interest in digital health and innovate as a pharmacy leader, while continuously learning new things to enhance patient care. 

Speaking during his session as a patient advocate, Tom Boyer possesses over 30 years of professional experience in health care government relations activities focused on diabetes. He currently serves as Director, Government Affairs for Novo Nordisk Inc in the Western USA. The focus of his work involves handling government affairs issues for the company before elected officials and regulators in the western half of the United States. As of early May 2016, authorship credits over the course of his career include over 75 health insurance, Medicare, Medicaid and related laws directly credited with helping families affected by diabetes. Working directly with the diabetes community he helped convince President Bill Clinton and Speaker Newt Gingrich of the need to improve diabetes coverage for the Medicare population, wrote the legislative language to implement this aim and oversaw the public affairs efforts credited with achieving the benefits. He worked more recently with Members of Congress including then Congressman, now Governor, Jay Inslee (WA) and the Bush Administration to create, pass and implement laws providing coverage for diabetes needs within Medicare Part D the prescription drug insurance program for America’s senior citizens. He joins us for this event to discuss his life as patient, the importance of information and technology in aiding his life with a chronic condition, and the importance of his relationship with health practitioners like pharmacists in improving his management of his condition.