SFLHIMSS Board of Directors
President: Ganesh Persad
Ganesh Persad is a highly accomplished and visionary healthcare IT leader with an exceptional track record of over a decade in the industry. Renowned for his unwavering commitment to advancing healthcare technology and transforming patient care, Ganesh has consistently made remarkable contributions to the field.
In his current role as the Director of IT Clinical Systems at Memorial Healthcare System, Ganesh's influence extends across the organization as he spearheads strategic planning, implementation, and maintenance of a wide range of clinical information systems. His expertise and foresight play a pivotal role in optimizing the use of technology to revolutionize healthcare delivery and drive digital innovation.
Ganesh's exceptional leadership abilities and technical acumen have been instrumental in propelling the organization's digital transformation initiatives to new heights. Through close collaboration with multidisciplinary teams comprising clinicians, administrators, and IT professionals, he ensures seamless integration and interoperability of clinical systems, resulting in streamlined workflows and enhanced patient outcomes.
As a forward-thinking professional, Ganesh maintains a comprehensive understanding of emerging trends and breakthroughs in healthcare technology. Leveraging his vast knowledge and experience, he identifies opportunities for process improvement and advocates for the adoption of cutting-edge solutions. His strategic vision and ability to align technology with clinical workflows have yielded remarkable improvements in patient outcomes, operational efficiency, and consumer experience.
Ganesh's educational background further strengthens his expertise. He earned a Bachelor's degree in Health Information Management from Rutgers University and went on to complete a Master of Science in Biomedical Informatics from Nova Southeastern University, graduating with High Honors. His remarkable achievements and exceptional qualities of scholarship, leadership, integrity, humanity, and loyalty to the profession were recognized with the prestigious 2018 Chancellor's Award for the Biomedical Informatics program.
Ganesh Persad is an influential thought leader and change agent in the healthcare IT landscape, continuously pushing boundaries to shape the future of healthcare through innovative technology solutions. His unwavering commitment to improving patient care and driving digital transformation cements his position as a highly respected and sought-after professional in the field.
President-Elect: Lou Mendez
Lucianil “Lou” Mendez is a dedicated and experienced Technology leader serving the South Florida community for over 20 years as a Member and Board Member of various organizations: South Florida Technology Alliance (currently known as Tech Hub), The Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce - Technology and Bioscience Committee, The First Tee of Miami (Killian Greens Chapter Board Member), Toastmaster International, South Florida Healthcare and Hospital Association, InfraGard and HIMSS.
He has been a member of the South Florida HIMSS chapter for over 12 years, 7 of which have been in a very active role chairing the Sponsorship and the Golf Tournament Committees. Under Lou’s leadership, during the last seven years, there has been a year-over-year double-digit growth of annual Chapter sponsorship. The Golf Tournament, now in its 11th anniversary, has been organized by Lou for the last seven years and has consistently accomplished the goal of giving out a student scholarship annually from 2016 to 2022. The scholarship for 2023 has already been secured and will be given out during this year’s tournament. Mendez helped organize the South Carolina & North Carolina HIMSS Chapter’s 1st Golf Tournament with great success.
Lou also worked with the Advocacy Committee on various trips to Tallahassee to meet with policymakers and was part of the team that made it possible to get the Interoperability Bill HB-1391 passed and to obtain the recognition of Health IT Day.
Lou studied at the prestigious Instituto Tecnológico de Santo Domingo (INTEC) in the Dominican Republic with a degree in Marketing and a minor in psychology, where he developed a passion for service and a commitment to making a difference in people's lives.
With a strong belief in HIMSS and its high impact on the healthcare community, Lou Mendez is passionate about working to fulfill the responsibilities and challenges of the office of President. Known for his amazing people skills, his approachability, Lou will lead as a skilled communicator and collaborator with the commitment to work closely with members and other leaders to achieve the goals of the South Florida HIMSS Chapter.
Past-President: Kendall Brown
HIMSS Chapter Leader Volunteer Award, 2024
HIMSS Chapter Advocate of the Year, 2019-2020
Kendall Brown has over 25 years of experience in Healthcare IT and a member of HIMSS for most of her career. Kendall has worked at Xerox, McKesson, and Allscripts, and most recently employed as Southeast Sales Director at CenTrak.
Kendall was nationally recognized as a HIMSS Changemaker Chapter Leader Volunteer Award in 2024. Kendall's involvement in South Florida HIMSS Chapter emails: 1 two-year term of President-elect, 1 two-year term of President, and 3 one-year terms as Chapter advocate, and has been a SFLHIMSS Board member for the last 10 years. In this time, she has put the chapter in HIMSS spotlight, earning the chapter recognition as Silver (2022) and Gold (2023). She has put the Chapter's Advocacy program on the national map. As such, Kendall was Nationally Recognized and Awarded by HIMSS as Chapter Advocate of the Year 2019-2020. Under her leadership, the SFLHIMSS Chapter has been awarded the Presidential Seal for Advocacy for 2017 & 2018. While Chair of SFLHIMSS Advocacy, the chapter has won two Chapter Advocacy Roundtable (CAR) Challenges from HIMSS highlighting South Florida as an Advocacy leader. In 2020, South Florida HIMSS passed the Florida Interoperability Bill (Florida Interoperability Bill Passes! | HIMSS South Florida Chapter (himsschapter.org) In 2019, Kendall led the submission of Senate Resolution #1814 declaring Health Information Technology Week in the State of Florida (http://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2019/01814). The resolution was adopted by the Florida Senate on April 24, 2019. Kendall has been instrumental in planning three separate Health IT Days at Florida’s Capitol in Tallahassee raising awareness of the importance of both HIMSS and Healthcare IT with our elected officials and government officials.
Kendall has fostered key relationships with many elected officials such as Senator Gayle Harrell, the Agency of Healthcare Administration (AHCA), and other key healthcare leaders such as Florida’s Agency of State Technology CIO, and the Florida Department of Health.
Kendall has brought new ideas to the South Florida HIMSS Chapter, like the creation of the South Florida HIMSS Chapter Mentor/Mentee Program. Kendall has attended the HIMSS Chapter Leader Exchange (annual HIMSS Leadership training) in Cleveland, Ohio. She regularly attends HIMSS Chapter Leadership Training at HIMSS and represented the South Florida Chapter as a speaker on a Hurricane panel at HIMSS17 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
President Emeritus: Karen Ondo
Karen Ondo has 30+ years of healthcare experience ranging from VP/CIO of a multi-entity IDN (49 sites), vendor, and now Executive Vice President, KLAS Enterprises, a market research and intelligence firm specializing in healthcare IT performance monitoring. FHIMSS, HIMSS Board of Directors; national/international speaker.
Treasurer: Pua Cooper
National HIMSS Chapter Leader of the Year, 2019-2020
Pua Cooper MSN, RN, FHIMSS, CHCIO is a seasoned nurse with over 30 years of leadership & clinical experience. She currently serves as the Assistant Vice President & Chief Clinical Informatics Officer for Boca Raton Regional Hospital where she is responsible for the oversight of the Clinical Informatics, Quality, and Infection Prevention departments. She holds a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) with a specialty in Nursing Informatics and is a Certified Healthcare CIO (CHCIO).
In 2017, she was recognized as a HIMSS Fellow. She currently sits on the South Florida HIMSS Chapter Board of Directors as the chapter’s Secretary. She has previously held the offices of President & Chapter Advocate. In 2020, she was recognized as the HIMSS Chapter Leader of the Year recognizing an individual who demonstrates significant leadership and extraordinary contributions to HIMSS Chapters, the society, and a commitment to driving thought leadership within the industry. She has spoken at various local and national conferences on how to leverage technology to improve organizational performance and clinical practice.
Secretary: Ellen Hurst
Ellen Hurst brings over three decades of expertise to the healthcare sector, spanning bedside nursing to advanced healthcare informatics. Her clinical experience covers diverse areas, including the Medical-Surgical, Emergency Department, Critical Care Unit, and Post-Anesthesia Care Unit. Ellen earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Southwestern University in the Philippines in 1991 and later pursued and graduated with a Master of Science in Healthcare Administration and Informatics from the University of Phoenix in 2017.
Since 2015, Ellen has been an active member of HIMSS and has served on SFLHIMSS as one of the advocacy committees. During that time, SFLHIMSS's advocacy was pivotal in advocating for Tallahassee during Health IT Week in 2019. SFLHIMSS efforts contributed to the passage of the Florida Technology & Innovation Bill HB1391, which became law in July 2020.
In recognition of her innovative contributions, Ellen and her team at Boca Raton Regional Hospital received the SFLHIMSS Innovation Award in 2019. The award celebrated their groundbreaking work in enhancing the efficiency of Tele-Wound visits in acute nursing settings.
Currently, Ellen is one of the technical project managers at Baptist Health South Florida's corporate headquarters. Along with her EHR PM team, she manages enterprise healthcare projects to drive advancements in healthcare technology and patient care.
Program Co-Chair: Grant McGaugh
“Integrity doesn’t have a price tag!”
Grant is a veteran information technology (IT) sales professional with over 20 years of experience and loves connecting with people with similar interests. He attended DeVry Institute of Technology where he received a degree in Electrical Electronics & Communications Engineering. Throughout the years he has racked up certifications such as Cloud Technology Associate, AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner, IT Business Conversations-HPE, Selling Business Outcomes – Cisco and Dell EMC certified Associate-Converged Systems, and Hybrid Data Center Cloud Platforms. McGaugh provides leadership for the continued development of an innovative, robust, and secure information technology environment for his clients. The primary responsibilities include a wide variety of strategic technology issues: governance and policy, data center analytics, collaboration, communication, and information technology protocols. With his training and drive, Grant has become an accomplished and versatile business development leader with demonstrated success in managing the end-to-end consulting, engagement, and service delivery process from cradle to grave. He is also adept at leveraging deep expertise in enterprise-level business needs analysis and relationship development to deliver highly competitive service offerings and portfolios for his clients.
He has become quite skilled at identifying opportunities for sizeable gains across internal and customer-facing performance indicators, including revenue generation and customer acquisition. Grant has worked at the expert and executive level for multiple Fortune 500 organizations such as Volico Data Centers, Connection, Zones, Inc., CenturyLink, and Avaya. He has received numerous awards and special recognitions, such as the 2019 nomination for Healthcare Leadership by Legacy Magazine, the 2018 Gold Sales Achiever, TOP SALES Achiever, Gold Award Honors, and the President’s Club. Grant McGaugh is the CEO and owner of his professional career.
He is an accomplished business leader and entrepreneur who has served as the president and esteemed board member for several professional organizations including the National Association of Healthcare Executives (NAHSE) and South Florida HIMSS. He has also shared his expertise when asked to speak on healthcare and technology panels and is the host of the Follow The Brand Podcast.
Program Co-Chair: Stephen Bronsburg
Dr. Stephen E. Bronsburg is an Associate Professor, Academic Advisor, and Practicum Course Director at Nova Southeastern University, Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine (NSU-KPCOM), Department of Health Informatics, Biomedical Informatics Program, Fort Lauderdale, Florida. In addition to teaching graduate-level courses, Dr. Bronsburg actively conducts collaborative health information technology (HIT) research with other healthcare professionals. In his research, he often uses telemedicine strategies including Health Technologies to address chronic disease and addiction. He has presented and published nationally and internationally on HIT. He is an active editorial review board member for the Online Journal of Applied Knowledge Management, he is a peer reviewer for the American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA) and the International Knowledge Management Conference.
Communications Co-Chair: Lynne Cotton Nesbitt
Lynne Cotton has over 25 years of experience in healthcare administration, and 15+ years of experience in integrating electronic health record (EHR) systems with health information technologies.
Lynne received her Bachelor's in Healthcare Administration from Florida Atlantic University (FAU) in 1996, and completed a Master's of Science in Information Systems Management in 2008 and a Master's of Science in Project Management in 2010.
Currently, Lynne is employed at Memorial Healthcare System at the Digital Innovation Office in the I.T. department in the area of clinical informatics as a Senior Application Analyst.
Communications Co-Chair: Natalie Cohen
Natalie Cohen is the South Florida Healthcare Enterprise Account Executive for Pure Storage. Pure is redefining the storage experience and empowering innovators by simplifying how people consume and interact with data. Pure uncomplicates storage with innovative, cloud-ready solutions and the best experience in technology to transform data into powerful outcomes. Natalie has been supporting the IT community in South Florida for over 10 years. Natalie is a new member of the SFL HIMSS Chapter and now serves as the Communication Co-Chair. Natalie is also a member of the South Florida Women in Technology Group along with the South Florida Tech Friends Group.
Natalie achieved her Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration from University of South Carolina.
Professional Development Co-Chair: Erik Ilyayev
Dr. Erik Ilyayev is the founder and former CEO of MyHouseVisit.com which is an organization that provides medical home visits to the elderly and home-bound. He founded the company right after he completed his residency at New York-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital. His team of physicians, nurse practitioners, nurses, and care coordinators have serviced more than 5,000 patients in the New York metropolitan area. In 3/2021 MyHouseVisit.com was acquired via a Merger & Acquisition by a venture-backed healthcare organization called ConcertoCare.
Dr. Ilyayev also served as the regional medical director of hospice for the Visiting Nurse Service Of New York, which is the largest not-for-profit home- and community-based healthcare organization in the nation.
Being very passionate about medical education, he held academic appointments as Associate Professor of Medicine at Touro College, St. Georges Medical University, and is the Vice Director of Undergraduate Medical Education for Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center and now at Nova Southeastern University.
Seeing the complexity of chronic disease and the opportunity for optimized coordination of care, Dr. Ilyayev co-founded iKonnect.io, a technology platform, which currently delivers care coordination to physician practices nationally.
One of Dr. Ilyayev’s most rewarding roles is being a father to six beautiful children and spending time with his family. In his spare time he produces music with his latest music video focusing on bringing awareness to substance abuse in teens “chains” having more than 200K views on Facebook.
Professional Development Co-Chair: Jennifer Goldman, DO, MBA, FAAFP
Jennifer Goldman is a practicing family physician and Chief Medical Information Officer for Memorial Healthcare System in South Florida, one of the largest public healthcare systems in the country. Previously, Dr Goldman served as Chief of Memorial Primary Care for 9 years where she re-imagined workflow for providers and care teams, putting in place automation for quality metrics and implementing a system for clinical documentation which led to improved patient outcomes, increased provider satisfaction, and significant success in value-based care. Dr. Goldman’s expertise in operations and informatics includes physician workflow optimization, implementation of value-based protocols, social determinants of health screening and documentation automation, telehealth, behavioral health/primary care integration, HEDIS quality metrics, risk coding, pharmacy integration, and care coordination.
Named one of the 2021 Inspiring Women of Health by the Health Foundation of South Florida for championing the idea and practice of addressing the social and economic needs of patients in a healthcare setting, Dr. Goldman is committed to breaking down barriers to care for her community. Her focus is on re-designing clinician workflows and incorporating team-based care to identify health disparities and promote equity. Dr. Goldman volunteers as co-founder and past president of Primary Care Haiti, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing evidence-based, practical training to Haitian medical professionals. She was awarded the Memorial HERO Heart of the Community Award and the South Florida Digital Alliance Community Award for her work in Haiti.
Dr. Goldman is fluent in Haitian Creole, conversational in Spanish, and has basic proficiency in American Sign Language. She completed undergraduate studies at McGill University and earned her medical degree from the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine in 2004. Her internship and residency in family medicine were completed in South Florida in 2007 in affiliation with Nova Southeastern University. Dr. Goldman is also a graduate of the Memorial Healthcare System Physician Leadership Development Program. She completed her Executive Master of Business Administration in Healthcare Leadership and Policy at the University of Miami in 2019.
Membership Co-Chair: Leon Green
Leon Green is Vice President of, Enterprise Project Management Office (EPMO) and IT Program Delivery at AmeriLife Group, LLC, a national leader in developing, marketing, distributing, and administering life and health insurance, annuities, and retirement planning solutions to enhance the lives of pre-retirees and retirees. Leon spearheads the company’s EPMO, an expansion of its existing IT Program Delivery team, contributing to enterprise optimization, new capabilities initiatives, and IT services, while ensuring EPMO operations and improvement strategies align with business objectives. His has over 25 years of experience in Health Information Technology (HIT), transportation & logistics, consulting, and systems integration. He has a passion for improving the lives of people through the use of technology while lowering costs, increasing efficiency, and improving their experience.
Leon has served on the HIMSS South Florida Chapter Board as Co-Chair of the Membership committee for the last 2 years. In this time, he has raised the levels of member experience and awareness with the monthly New Member Welcome Letter, and established the Quarterly New Member Orientation and Recruitment Breakfast events for Organizational Affiliates. The welcome letter and orientation ensure a great onboarding experience for new members and serves as a connection with the chapter Board members, as well as, their peers from various local organizations. The new member orientation provides new members a path to chapter engagement and valuable onboarding experience, which is key in providing an exquisite first impression for retention. The Membership committee's goal is the continuous engagement of members and the provision of an exquisite member experience that keeps the chapter in the top tier at the national level.
Membership Co-Chair: Jim McKeen
Jim McKeen has earned the Fellow Member Status FHIMSS. This designation indicates the professional status and advancement within HIMSS. A seasoned technology and business professional with over 25 years of experience in the technology sector. Experienced in Healthcare Information Technology, consultative solution sales, relationship management, account management, sales management, business development, channel management, vendor management, customer service, and sales to SMB, Mid-Market, and Enterprise Accounts. Focusing on the Digital Transformation vision which helps businesses enjoy seamless online interactions. Assisting companies with change, optimizing processes, elevating technology, and competing in a digital world and excelling in newer technologies like RPA and Machine learning. Jim has assisted businesses in remediating gaps against multiple standard industry security frameworks such as NIST-CSF, ISO27001, HITRUST, PCI-DSS, SOC2, and others.
Sponsorship Co-Chair: Dawn Herrera
Dawn Herrera has been supporting the IT community in South Florida for 27 years. She has been a South Florida HIMSS member for the last four years and has been a member of the South Florida HIMSS IntegraTe and Golf Tournament Committees for three years. She also served on the Membership Committee for 1 year. Dawn is currently the South Florida Advanced Technology Account Executive for CDW Healthcare and has been actively involved in helping healthcare customers solve key business challenges related to patient care, data protection, and digital transformation. Dawn is also a member of the CDW LIFT Mentoring Program and the CDW Women’s Opportunity Network.
Dawn achieved her Bachelor of Business Administration from Eastern Kentucky University.
Sponsorship Co-Chair: Otto Sidan
Otto Sidan is the South Florida Healthcare Manager for Nutanix. Nutanix is the industry leader in providing data center solutions that unify private, public, and distributed clouds. Otto is a South Florida native and has spent the last 20 years helping customers achieve their business objectives with innovative and transformative solutions with a passion for unwavering customer service.
Otto is a Miami-Dade College graduate, studied MIS and Computer Science at Florida International University, and has a degree in Organizational Leadership from Trinity University.
Student Co-Chair: Tala Mirzaei
Dr. Tala Mirzaei serves as an Associate Professor and the Director of the Master of Health Informatics and Analytics program in the Department of Information Systems and Business Analytics at Florida International University. Dr. Mirzaei has established a line of research at the intersection of information systems and health informatics, focusing on the impact of health information technology on the performance of health systems, improving the quality and efficiency of the delivery of care, and enhancing the engagement of patients in managing their care. Her work appears in premier Information Systems and Health Informatics journals such as Information and Management, International Journal of Medical Informatics, and Journal of Medical Internet Research.
Dr. Mirzaei has also engaged in significant service to her professional community. In addition to serving as a reviewer for a wide variety of journals and conferences for the Information Systems and Health Informatics communities, she has also taken on roles with greater responsibility, serving as Associate Editor for the Electronic Commerce Research journal and International Conference on Information Systems – Health Informatics Track.
Student Co-Chair: Mical (Michelle) Ramim
Michelle Ramim, Ph.D., MBA serves as the Healthcare Sector Chief of the South Florida InfraGard Chapter. She is an Assistant Professor at Dr.Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine, Nova Southeastern University. Additionally, she serves as the Interim Director of the Bachelor of Science in Health Informatics (BSHI) Program. Dr. Ramim has over 25 years of experience in both the healthcare and information technology fields, serving in various roles across the medical insurance industry, nursing home and assisted living facility industries, information technology industry, and academia. Her research, teaching, and consulting work resonant in the security and privacy of wearable and implantable medical devices, data privacy and ethics, system design and implementation, risk assessment, information security governance, and medical education simulations. Dr. Ramim published over 33 papers in peer-reviewed journals and conference proceedings as well as provided presentations and keynotes in academic and industry events. Dr. Ramim has been actively contributing to the community and has been serving in numerous academic committees and professional associations including serving as a Board Member also of the South Florida Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (SFLHIMSS).
Advocacy Co-Chair: Joshua Tarkoff MS, MBA
Dr. Joshua Tarkoff is a Pediatric Endocrinologist at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital. He also is one of the Medical Directors of IT for the medical system. On the clinical side, he is a specialist in obesity medicine and disorders of insulin resistance and diabetes. He has also helped to implement significant workflow improvements to help endocrinologists see patients with diabetes. He established one of the early Telehealth clinics in the hospital before the COVID-19 pandemic for children with hypothyroidism. He has spoken at a multitude of events and is a longstanding member of the Endocrine Society.
As a member of the informatics team, Joshua has been a leader of multiple EHR optimization projects resulting in improved clinician efficiency with the medical record. He provides at-the-elbow support for providers from the perspective of a clinician which is generally unique in the space. He is passionate about making the experience for both patient and clinician as seamless as possible. His digital interests include Telehealth, clinical decision support, remote patient monitoring, blockchain, and AI in medicine. He has been a member of HIMSS since 2019 and after his first year on the board and working with the Advocacy Team, he is going to take on a larger role as Advocacy Co-Chair.
Advocacy Co-Chair: Roosevelt De Los Santos, MD, MBA, MS (Population Health), FACHE, FAAP
Dr. De Los Santos has over 15 years of experience in healthcare delivery. He currently serves as the Medical Director of Health Informatics at Holy Cross Health/Trinity Health and has served in clinical informatics and pediatrics executive leadership roles with the EHR industry, healthcare systems, and provider organizations. He is a practicing board-certified pediatric physician and has obtained board certification in Clinical Informatics and Healthcare management. Dr. De Los Santos received his Doctor of Medicine degree from Instituto Tecnologico de Santo Domingo. He received his Master of Business Administration from the University of Florida and his Master of Science in Population Health Management from Thomas Jefferson University. He serves as a Member of the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) Physician Committee and on the Board of Directors of the HIMSS South Florida Chapter, where he is Co-Chair of the Advocacy Committee.
Member-at-Large: Oscar Perez
Mr. Oscar E Perez is the Chief Application & Innovation Officer at Health Choice Network in South Florida. He is a transformational and innovative leader with extensive experience in a healthcare executive leadership role. He has a proven record of achievement in strategic planning and digital transformation. Known for developing and building high-performing teams that enable technology throughout the entire organization. Mr. Perez is accomplished in addressing business and clinical critical issues, utilizing technology and innovative approaches while managing costs and reducing risks.
Mr. Perez has been in healthcare IT for over 28+ years. He’s worked at various healthcare systems including large academic medical centers like the University of Miami Healthcare System and large public healthcare safety net systems like Jackson Memorial in south Florida. Most recently he was Vice President of IT at Memorial Healthcare System, a 6-hospital public healthcare system that includes Joe DiMaggio’s Children’s Hospital in Broward County, Florida. In addition, he’s consulted at many large healthcare systems throughout the country like Emory in Atlanta, MD Anderson in Houston, and many more. His well-rounded healthcare experience has allowed him to make an impact wherever he’s been.
Mr. Perez currently lives with his family in South Florida where he received a Bachelor’ in Management Information Systems (MIS) from FIU and a Masters’ in Healthcare Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Miami. He also serves on the board for South Florida HIMSS, as past president and is a member of CHIME and NACHC.
Member at Large: Sanal Benny
Sanal Benny has served as the Director of Revenue Cycle Management and Coding for Physician Care Centers, a large primary care group spread across South Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and Texas since 2020. Originally from Houston, Texas, he earned his Bachelor of Science in Health Promotion from University of Houston in 2011. He then went on to earn a Master of Science in Health Informatics from the University of Maryland Global Campus in 2019. He has 7 years of Healthcare IT experience, with a passion for digital health, revenue cycle processes, and analytics. In his spare time, he enjoys spending time with his family, going to the beach, and watching sports. He is excited to serve on the board as a Member at Large.
Member at Large: Michael Mendella
Mike Mendella is the National Practice Lead for Gravity IT & Digital Healthcare. Mike oversees Gravity’s Commercial and Federal Healthcare strategy and service delivery. Gravity IT Healthcare provides three areas of capability to payers, providers, and health tech organizations. Traditional recruitment and staff augmentation, nearshore staffing in Mexico and Columbia, and professional services for clients migrating data from on-prem to AWS with the intent of solving problems through advanced analytics.
Mike is a proud alum of Florida State University and is currently pursuing his MBA from Florida Atlantic University.
Mike has been a South Florida HIMSS member for 3.5 years and has supported the chapter in a variety of capacities. Mike provides career coaching and interviewing tips to students at NSU, HIMMS Golf Tournament, and Integrate and has been on the HIMMS membership committee for 2 years
Administrative Assistant: Riley Shurack, MPH
Riley Shurack, MPH is a Master’s student in Health Informatics & Analytics at Florida International University. She also holds a Master of Public Health and a Bachelor’s in Health Sciences.
Before entering the healthcare technology arena, Riley was an academic research coordinator on community-based health promotion programs for children and adults with autism spectrum disorder, having published in leading scientific journals and presenting at local and national conferences. She also helped establish her alma mater as a World Health Organization Collaboration Center for Environmental & Occupational Health.
She serves as the South Florida HIMSS Administrative Assistant and has participated as a mentee in the Mentorship Program. She also volunteers for Memorial Healthcare System. Her interests in healthcare technology include project management, data analysis, and interoperability standards.