GET TO KNOW US
Our Team
OUR TEAM
Leadership
Terry Platchek
Dr. Terry Platchek serves as the Executive Director for the Stanford Medicine Center for Improvement, as Vice President for Performance Improvement and Associate Chief Quality Officer at Stanford Children’s Health, as the Fellowship Director of Stanford’s Clinical Excellence Research Center and as a Clinical Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Medicine, and Emergency Medicine at Stanford University. Dr. Platchek is co-author of the book Advanced Lean in Healthcare and is an author to dozens of peer-reviewed publications describing improvements in healthcare delivery and advocating for higher-value models of care. He is a founder and co-convener of the Lean Healthcare Academic Conference and helped found the Stanford Medicine Center for Improvement. Dr. Platchek holds degrees from Georgetown University and the University of Michigan Medical School. He completed his residency in Internal Medicine and Pediatrics at the University of Michigan, followed by a Chief Residency in the Department Pediatrics and Communicable Diseases.
Gorette Amaral
Gorette Amaral serves as the Executive Administrator for the Stanford Medicine Center for Improvement. As SMCI’s operations leader, Gorette partners with faculty, staff, and leaders across the Stanford School of Medicine, Stanford Health Care, and Stanford Medicine Children’s Health to advance SMCI’s strategy, strengthen the systems that support our work, and expands the Center’s impact across Stanford Medicine and beyond. Gorette brings more than 20 years of experience in health care operations, performance improvement, and strategic planning. Throughout her career, she has focused on building the teams, management systems, and improvement capabilities that enable people to do their best work and create greater value for patients and the people who care for them.Gorette earned a bachelor’s degree in Human Biology from Stanford University and a Master of Health Sciences from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. She is a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt and a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives.
Grace Lee
Dr. Grace Lee is Chief Quality Officer and the Christopher G. Dawes Endowed Director of Quality at Stanford Medicine Children’s Health and Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford, and Professor of Pediatrics at Stanford University School of Medicine. She oversees the Center for Pediatric and Maternal Value. Dr. Lee previously served as a member of the Institute of Medicine Committee (IOM) to Review Priorities in the National Vaccine Plan, the IOM Committee on the Ethical and Scientific Issues in Studying the Safety of Approved Drugs, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) Committee on Vaccine Research and Development Recommendations for Advancing Pandemic and Seasonal Influenza Preparedness and Response. She is currently the Chair of the U.S. Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) that recommends vaccines for the U.S. population. She is an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine.
Paul Maggio
Dr. Paul Maggio is the Chief Quality Officer of Stanford Health Care. Prior to being appointed the SHC CQO, he was Vice Chair of Surgery for Clinical Affairs, Associate Chief Medical Officer of Operational Effectiveness, and Associate Director of the Adult Intensive Care Unit. He trained in General Surgery at Brown University and obtained advanced training in Adult Surgical Critical Care and Trauma at the University of Michigan. He holds a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Michigan and is triple board certified in General Surgery, Critical Care, and Medical Informatics. In addition to being a clinician and surgeon, Dr. Maggio participates in the National Committee on Healthcare Engineering for the American College of Surgeons, and his research interests are focused on the delivery of high-value care. Dr. Maggio received the SHC Board of Hospital Director’s Denise O’Leary Award for Clinical Excellence in 2013.
Ryan Darke
Ryan Darke serves as the Director of Education for the Stanford Medicine Center for Improvement, where he directs the Specialist Course in Improvement Science (SCIS), the Advanced Course in Improvement Science (ACIS) and Stanford Community of Improvement Professionals (SCIP). He also acts as a Principal Improvement Professional for Stanford Medicine - Health Care, where he consults with departments in the Stanford School of Medicine and Stanford Hospital. Prior to his work at Stanford, he worked for Kaiser Permanente for 22 years in multiple roles, including the final 12 years as Director of Performance Improvement/Area Portfolio Leader. He has a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of California, Davis in Physiology and a Master of Health Administration degree from the University of Missouri. He is a Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt and a Fellow in the American College of Health Care Executives.
Celina Meza
Celina Meza is a Senior Project Program Coordinator in the office of the Chief Quality Officer for Stanford Health Care. She provides program support for the Stanford Medicine Center for Improvement. Celina began her career at Stanford Health Care in 2008 in Ambulatory Care in the Orthopedic Clinic as an office assistant. And later supported Aging Adult Services, a department connecting patients discharged from the hospital with resources in the community. She assisted in projects regarding discharge and readmission from Skilled Nursing Facilities to Stanford Health Care.
Elizabeth (Lisa) Joyce Freeman
Elizabeth (Lisa) Joyce Freeman serves SMCI as a Special Advisor. She formerly served as a Senior Advisor in the School of Medicine at Stanford University and was the Executive Administrator the Stanford Medicine Center for Improvement until December 2025. From 2001 through 2016, she was the Chief Executive Officer of the VA Palo Alto Health Care System (VAPAHCS). She was responsible for all administrative and clinical aspects of VA Palo Alto, including strategy and master planning for facilities. She has a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Notre Dame in Civil Engineering and a Masters of Business Administration degree from Louisiana Tech University. She is a licensed professional engineer and a Fellow in the American College of Health Care Executives. She is the recipient of two Presidential Rank Awards, one at the meritorious level and the second at the distinguished level.