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ACIS Alumni

CIL (Certified Improvement Leader) credential indicates the individual graduated from the Advanced Course in Improvement Science (ACIS)

ACIS 2020-2021

Cohort 1

Karthik Balakrishnan, MD, MPH, FAAP, FACS, CIL

Professor of Otolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery, Stanford Children’s Hospital

Monique Bouvier, PhD, RN, PNP-BC, CIL

Corporate Director for Nursing Science, Emory Healthcare

Kathleen Carrothers, MS, MPH, CIL

Sr Director Quality & Performance Improvement, Stanford Medicine Tri-Valley

Lauren Destino, MD, CIL

Associate Division Chief of the Pediatric Hospital Medicine Division and co-Medical Director of Acute Care and Case Management at Stanford Children’s Hospital

Fouzel Dhebar, CIL

Vice President, Health Navigation, Global Services & Corporate Partner Solutions, Stanford Health Care

Kathryn Eden, CIL

Chief of Staff at Second Harvest of Silicon Valley

Maureen Fay, DNP, RN, CCRN, NEA-BC, CIL

Senior Director, Clinical Services, Stanford Health Care

Carl Gold, MD, CIL

Clinical Professor, Adult Neurology and Clinical Associate Professor, Neurosurgery, Stanford Medicine

Gloria Hwang, MD, CIL

Clinical Professor, Radiology, Stanford Medicine

Justin Ko, MD, MBA, CIL

Clinical Professor, Dermatology, Stanford Medicine

Joe Gayk, CIL

Senior Director of Accreditation and Strategy, Stanford Health Care

Will Hicken, CIL

Rural Health Clinic Compliance Coordinator, Uintah Basin Healthcare

Alaina Kipps, MD, CIL

Clinical Professor, Pediatrics - Cardiology, Stanford Children’s Health

Shenee Laurence, MPH, BSN, RN, CPHQ, CIL

Executive Director, Quality & Operations, Stanford Health Care

Yohan Lee, CIL

Director, Quality & Clinical Effectiveness, Stanford Health Care

Amy Lu, MD, MPH

Chief Quality Officer, UCSF Health

Barbara Mayer, PhD, RN, CIL

Senior Nurse Consultant, Evidence-Based Practice, Stanford Health Care

Rachelle Mirkin, MPH, CIL

Executive Director, Health Education, Engagement and Promotion, Stanford Health Care

Sheri Nakamura, RN, CNS, CIL

Capability Development Manager, Stanford Children’s Health

Elisa Nguyen, DNP, RN, CMSRN, CIL

Vice President & Chief Nursing Officer for Inpatient, Stanford Health Care

Jay Pahade, MD, CIL

Associate Professor of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging

Sean Paulsen, MD, CIL

Radiologist, Uintah Basin Medical Center

Jay Shah, MD, CIL

Immediate Past Chief of Medical Staff, Stanford Health Care, and Associate Professor of Urology, Stanford Medicine

Jacob Shepherd, MSN, CIL

Executive Director of Access, Throughput, & Efficiency and Hospital Operations Center, Stanford Health Care

Lisa Shieh, MD, PhD, CIL

Clinical Professor and Medical Director of Quality, Medicine, Stanford Medicine

Greg Staker, MD, CIL

Chief Medical Officer, UBMC Clinic at Uintah Basin Healthcare

Marc Willis, MD, CIL

Clinical Professor, Radiology, Stanford Medicine

Laurice Yang, MD, MHA, FAAN, CIL

Clinical Professor, Adult Neurology, Stanford Medicine

Yun-Ting Yeh, MBA, CIL

Director, Finance and Administration, Stanford University School of Medicine

James Ramos, CIL

Director of Process Excellence & Senior Financial Analyst

ACIS 2021-2022

Cohort 2

Tricia Britt, DNP, RN, CNS, NEA-BC, CIL

Vice President, Chief Nursing Officer - Ambulatory and Nursing Practice

Whitney Chadwick, MD, CIL

Clinical Assistant Professor, Division of Pediatric Hospital Medicine; Associate CMIO Stanford Children's Hospital

Charlene Chow, PA-C, CIL

Physician Assistant with the Urologic Oncology Department at Stanford Health Care

Mihaela Damian, MD, CIL

Associate Professor, Pediatric Critical Care Medicine, Emory University

Ryan Darke, MHA, MBB, FACHE, CIL

Interim Executive Administrator, Stanford Medicine Center for Improvement & Principal Improvement Professional, Stanford Health Care

Jon Davies

Director, Business Analytics/Enterprise BI, Stanford University School of Medicine

Benjamin Franc, MD, MBA, CIL

Interim Vice Chair for Clinical Strategy and Networks, Department of Radiology

Lisa Goldthwaite, MD, MPH, CIL

Adjunct Clinical Assistant Professor, Stanford University School of Medicine

Alison Holmes Tisch, MSN

Director of Clinical Services, Cancer Center Palo Alto & Redwood City, Stanford Health Care

Brad Johnson, PT, MS, MBA, CIL

Vice President, Orthopaedic Destination Service Line and Outpatient Rehabilitation Services, Stanford Health Care

Leslie Garavaglia, MBA

Director, Financial Analysis, BJC Health System

Grissel Hernandez, PhD, MPH, RN

VP, Professional Development, Research & Magnet, Stanford Health Care

Neville Irani, MD, CIL

Founder, Healthcare Quality Improvement Platform (HQuIP)

Joseph Kim, MD

Clinical Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Emergency Medicine at the Stanford University School of Medicine

Marcie Levine, MD, FACP, CIL

General Internist and the Medical Director of the Stanford Primary Care Santa Clara Clinic

Ron Li, MD, CIL

Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine in the Division of Hospital Medicine and Center for Biomedical Informatics Research at Stanford University School of Medicine

Javier Lorenzo, MD

Associate Division Chief of Anesthesia Critical Care in the Department of Anesthesia, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, Stanford Medicine

Ann Mitchell Ellsworth, MSN, RN, PHN, CNS, Caritas Nurse®, CIL

Senior Director, Center for Professional Practice, Stanford Health Care

Rahim Nazerali, MD, MHS, FACS, CIL

Clinical Associate Professor, Surgery - Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery, Stanford Medicine

Shilpa Patel, MD, CIL

Chief Quality Officer, Hawaii Pacific Health & Hospitalist - Pediatrics, Kapiolani Medical Center for Women & Children

Sarah Pittman, MD, CIL

Clinical Associate Professor, Radiology, Stanford Medicine

Andrei Purysko, MD, CIL

Section Head, Abdominal Imaging Associate Professor of Radiology, CCLCM Staff, Nuclear Medicine and Urology Cleveland Clinic

Nivedita Srinivas, MD, CIL

Clinical Professor, Pediatric Hospital Medicine, Stanford Children’s Health

Kristan Staudenmayer, MD, MS, FACS, CIL

Associate Professor of Surgery - General Surgery & Associate Chief of the Section of Acute Care Surgery

Kathan Vollrath, MD, MPH, CIL

Primary Care Physician, Evaluation Researcher, Stanford University

Ben Wandtke, MD, MS, CIL

Vice Chair, Quality and Safety, Department of Imaging Sciences, University of Rochester Medical Center

ACIS 2022-2023

Cohort 3

Paden Angelo, MD, CIL

Clinical Assistant Professor, Medicine - Primary Care and Population Health, Stanford Medicine

Sarah Aranha, MSN, CIL

Director, Access & Patient Flow, The Royal Melbourne Hospital

Michelle Arteaga, MS, MHA, CIL

Global Engagement Programs Manager, Stanford University School of Medicine

Robin Asido, CIL

Sr. Manager, IT Informatics Education, Stanford Health Care

Tracy Burk, MFA

Sr. Program Manager, Quality and Clinical Initiatives, Stanford University School of Medicine

Dot Cordova, CIL

Point of Care Ultrasound Program Manager, Stanford Health Care

David Crichton, CIL

Manager, Quality and Clinical Effectiveness, Quality, Patient Safety and Effectiveness, Stanford Health Care

Kaniksha Desai, MD, CIL

Clinical Professor of Medicine and Quality Director in Endocrinology at Stanford University School of Medicine

Heidy Garcia, CIL

Chief Nurse, Acute Care Hospital Operations, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

Joy Goor, MBA, MBB, CIL

Principal Improvement Consultant, Stanford Health Care

Michelle DeCoux Hampton, PhD, RN

Editor in Chief, Journal of the American Psychiatric Nurses Association

Allison Faust

Sr. Financial Analyst, Stanford University School of Medicine

Nitay Gill, CIL

Director, Navigation & Stanford Personalized Services, Stanford Health Care

William Gostic, MD, CIL

Clinical Assistant Professor & Physician Improvement Leader, Department of Anesthesiology, Stanford University School of Medicine

Dionne Hunte-Macon, MHA

Executive Director of Strategic Initiatives, Stanford Medicine Partners

Jyotsna Janardan, MD, CIL

Lead General Physician at South Australian Virtual Care Service and Consultant General Physician

Tara Neary, MHA, MBA, CPHQ

Senior Quality Consultant, Stanford Health Care

Salma Mansour, DNP, MBA, CIL

Director of Clinical Services & The Hospital Operations Center, Stanford Health Care

Lisa Morse, PhD, MS, RN, AGCNS-BC, CIL

Nurse Scientist - Quality Scholar Postdoctoral Fellow, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

Tracy Ou, MS, BSN, RN, CPHQ, LSSBB, CIL

Senior Program Manager, Nursing Quality, Stanford Health Care

Ashley Peterson, MD

Clinical Associate Professor, Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine

Mona Sidhu, MHA, CIL

Senior Manager - Ambulatory and Provider Optimization, Stanford Health Care

Elidia Tafoya, MPH, CIL

Manager, Office of Research, Patient Care Services, Stanford Health Care

Hirut Truneh, MSN

Senior Director of Clinical Services, Stanford Health Care

Gabe Tse, MD, MS, CIL

Clinical Assistant Professor, Stanford Children’s Health

Laura Vaughan, MD, CIL

Clinical Assistant Professor, Medicine - Primary Care and Population Health, Stanford Health Care

Margaret Wang, PhD, CIL

Senior Program Manager, Stanford Health Care

Marianne Yeung, MD, MPS, FACP, CIL

Deputy Chief of Staff, Acute Care Hospital Operations, VA Health Care Systems

ACIS 2023-2024

Cohort 4

Chris Albini, MBA, CIL

Executive Director, Business Operations, Analytics and PgMO, Stanford Health Care

Lynette Apen, DNP, RN, CNS, CNE

Associate Dean, Academic Affairs and Faculty Development, University of San Francisco School of Nursing and Health Professions

Teri Ard, PhD, MBA, CIL

Director, Environmental Health and Safety, Stanford Children’s Health

Katherine Boyd, MD, CIL

Clinical Associate Professor, Pediatrics, Stanford Children’s Health

Michael Chen, MD

Clinical Assistant Professor, Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine

Nathalie Cheng, CIL

Senior Quality Consultant, Cardiovascular Health DSL, Stanford Health Care

Anisia Dugala, MPH

Senior Quality Manager, Stanford Health Care

Angela Flowers, DNP, MSN, MBA, BSEE, CIL

Senior Director, Strategic Operations, Stanford Health Care

Kim Hoang, MD, CIL

Clinical Associate Professor, Pediatrics, Stanford Children’s Health

Dana Jones, CIL

Senior Program Manager, Stanford Health Care

Megan Faughnan, MD, CIL

Clinical Associate Professor, Pediatrics, Stanford Children’s Health

Neil Gordon, MBA, CIL

Health System Administrator; Associate Director, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

Colin James

Patient Care Manager, Cancer Destination Service Line, Stanford Health Care

Matt Kinsella, MHA, CIL

Regional Chief Financial Officer, SSM Health Wisconsin-Care Delivery

John Lavelle, MD, CIL

Associate Chief of Staff for Quality, Safety & Value, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, & Assoc. Professor, Stanford University School of Medicine

Craig Lindquist, MD, PhD

Adjunct Professor, Clinical Excellence Research Center (CERC), Stanford University School of Medicine

Mary Lough, PhD, RN, FCCM, FAHA, FCNS, CIL

Implementation Scientist, Clinical Nurse Specialist, Stanford Health Care & Clinical Associate Professor, Stanford University Department of Medicine

Kyle Nondorf, CIL

Regional Chief Operating Officer - Mid Missouri/Oklahoma, SSM Health

Chungmei Shih, DNP, RN, CNS, CWON

Executive Director, Professional Practice & Clinical Improvement, Center for Professional Practice Leadership, Stanford Health Care

Kim Spencer, PharmD, MHA, BCPS, CIL

Chief Clinical Officer, Model Oncology

Stephanie Squires, MD, CIL

Clinical Assistant Professor, Pediatrics, Stanford Children’s Health

Kevin Tsui, DNP, RN, NEA-BC

Vice President, Hospital Medicine Service Line & Strategy, Stanford Health Care

Alicia Wilson, CIL

Sr. Quality Consultant, Stanford Health Care

Amy Wilson, DNP, RN, CPHQ, CIL

System Chief Nursing Executive, SSM Health

Shephali Wulff, MD, CIL

System Vice President/Chief Quality Officer, SSM Health

Alice Yan, PhD, CIL

Research Scientist and Director, Stanford Health Care

Lauren Zimmer, CIL

System Vice President - Continuous Improvement, SSM Health

ACIS 2024-2025

Cohort 5

Sumit Bhargava, MD, CIL

Clinical Professor, Pediatrics, Stanford University School of Medicine & Medical Director, Stanford Children’s Hospital Pediatric Sleep Laboratory

Bilwa Buchake, MPH, CIL

Director of Quality Analytics, Stanford Health Care

Karen Calderon, CIL

Senior Manager, Stanford Health Care

Ana Calugar, MHSA

Sr. Quality Consultant, Stanford Health Care

Jaime Chavarria, MD, CIL

Chief Medical Officer, Ravenswood Family Health Network

Amy Cruz, MSN

High Reliability Executive, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

Richard Elles, PMP, CIL

Project Manager, Health Equity Research, Stanford Health Care

Rhonda Hamilton, MD, CIL

Section Chief General Medical Clinic (Primary Care Clinic), U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs - Palo Alto

Regine Lopez, MPH, CIL

Program Manager, Interventional Platform, Pharmacy & Imaging, Stanford Health Care

Colleen Moreno, DNP, CNM, CIL

Director of Midwifery Services, Clinical Instructor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Stanford University School of Medicine

Isaac Moreno, MBA, FACHE, CIL

Clinic Manager, Advanced Wound Care, Stanford Health Care

Karen Ellis, DPT, LSSBB, CIL

Manager, Performance Improvement, Stanford Children’s Health

Khatra Latifi, MBA, CIL

Senior Director, Finance and Business Operations, Stanford Health Care

Billie-Jean Martin, MD

Clinical Assistant Professor, Cardiothoracic Surgery, Stanford Health Care

Kathryn Eden

Chief of Staff at Second Harvest of Silicon Valley

Manchula Navaratnam, MD

Clinical Professor, Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, Stanford Children’s Health

Hayden Schwenk, MD, MPH, CIL

Clinical Professor, Pediatrics - Infectious Diseases, Stanford Children’s Health

Areeya Segarra

Sr. Patient Safety Specialist, Stanford Health Care

Sapana Shah, MD

Clinical Associate Professor, Pediatrics - Gastroenterology, Stanford University School of Medicine

Danielle Shoaf

Executive Director, Surgical Services, Stanford Children’s Health

Zachary Threlkeld, MD, FAAN, CIL

Clinical Associate Professor, Adult Neurology, Stanford Health Care, Co-Director, Unit-Based Medical Director Program, and Associate Physician Improvement Leader, Inpatient Neurology

James McAvoy, MD, CIL

Anesthesiologist & Intensivist, Stanford Health Care

Jennifer Meaney, CIL

Manager, Quality Improvement & Reporting, Stanford Health Care

James Xie, MD, CIL

Clinical Associate Professor, Anesthesiology, Stanford University School of Medicine

Aimee Torbela, MSN, RN, CCRN-K, LSSBB, CIL

Senior Clinical Quality Specialist, Stanford Health Care

Uzma Waheed, MD

Clinical Associate Professor, Radiology, Stanford Health Care

ACIS 2025-2026

Cohort 6

Gregory Auda, MD, MS, CIL

Clinical Assistant Professor, Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine

Yuliya Behey, RN, MSN, CIL

Senior Clinical Quality Specialist, Quality, Safety & Clinical Effectiveness, Stanford Health Care

Jan Boublik, MD, CIL

Assistant Professor, Regional Anesthesiology, Stanford University School of Medicine

Wendy Bravo, CIL

Senior Manager, Accountable Care & Employer Solutions, Stanford Health Care

Heather Buie, DBH, MS-HCA, CPHQ, CIL

Manager, Quality Management and Regulatory Affairs, Stanford Health Care

Jimmy Dang, BSN, RN

Senior Manager, Accountable Care Clinical Improvement, Stanford Health Care

Cedar Fowler, MD, PhD, MPH, CIL

Clinical Assistant Professor, Anesthesiology, Stanford University School of Medicine

Rebecca Kameny, MD, CIL

Medical Director, Pediatric CVICU, Stanford University School of Medicine

Cat Lee, MHA, CIL

Senior Quality Consultant, Stanford Health Care

Janice Man, MD, CIL

Clinical Assistant Professor, Pediatric Anesthesiology, Stanford Children’s Health

Helene Chokron Garneau, PhD, MPH, CIL

Co-Director, Center for Dissemination & Implementation At Stanford (C-DIAS), Stanford University School of Medicine

Karen Kim, MD, CIL

Gastroenterologist, Medical Director, Enterprise Contact Center, Stanford Health Care

Christina Lin, MD, CIL

Clinical Assistant Professor, Hospital Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine

Michael-Alice Moga, MD, MSc, MBA, CHE, CIL

Medical Director, Patient Safety and Professional Practice, Stanford Medicine Children’s Health

Lauren O’Brien, MD, CIL

Clinical Assistant Professor, Stanford Children’s Health

Meghna Patel, MD, CIL

Clinical Associate Professor, Stanford University School of Medicine

Mike Polisso, MSW, LCSW, APHSW-C, CIL

Lead Palliative Care Social Worker, Stanford Health Care

Michael Powers, MHA, MBB

Chief of Staff at Second Harvest of Silicon Valley

Ashwin Ramayya, MD, PhD, CIL

Assistant Professor, Neurosurgery, Stanford University School of Medicine

Jennifer Rillston, MSN, RN, PHN, NEA-BC, CIL

Manager, Quality and Nursing Outcomes, Stanford Health Care - Tri-Valley

Caryl Schroeder, CIL

Manager, Healthcare Analytics, Stanford Health Care

Stephan Schwarzwaelder, RN, MS, PMP, CIL

Quality Consultant, Stanford Health Care

Regina Serebriani, MS, OTR/L, CNS, CSRS, CIL

Manager, Inpatient Rehabilitation Services, Stanford Health Care

Andrew Shelton, MD, FACS, FACRS, CIL

Clinical Professor, Surgery - General Surgery, Stanford University School of Medicine