MIQS Faculty

Executive Vice President, Medical Affairs, and Chief Medical Officer, MedStar Health

Dr. Evans brings strong strategic, operational, and medical leadership to MedStar Health; a $5 billion, multi-jurisdictional health system comprised of 10 hospitals and 20 other health-related businesses across Maryland and the Washington, D.C. region. In this position, Dr. Evans oversees the medical education, research, clinical quality, and risk management initiatives for the system, as well as the academic partnership with Georgetown University School of Medicine and MedStar Health’s other academic affiliations.

PharmD, MBA, FASHP
Assistant Vice President, Pharmacy Service, MedStar Health

Dr. Levin leads the pharmacy enterprise’s strategy, technology, and supply chain. She co-chairs the system Pharmacy & Therapeutics Committee, 340B Steering Committee, and oversees networks of leaders, clinicians, buyers, informaticists, oncology practitioners, and medication safety pharmacists.

Attending Physician and Patient Safety Operations Coordinator, MedStar Franklin Square Medical Center

Dr. Murray is a practicing emergency physician and is the Patient Safety Operations Coordinator in MedStar Health Quality & Safety implementing CANDOR/Go Team across MedStar North. The CANDOR/Go Team goal is to improve the interface between patient, family, provider, and health system in the setting of a serious unanticipated outcome in clinical care.

Her additional education in public health and law lends itself to a multi-faceted approach to the complexities of healthcare delivery. She is excited about furthering the MIQS mission to make healthcare more safe, compassionate, and trustworthy.

Assistant Professor of Economics, Health Management Program, University of Minnesota Duluth

Annalisa Peterson is an Assistant Professor of Economics within the Healthcare Management Program at the Labovitz School of Business and Economics at the University of Minnesota Duluth, where she teaches Health Care Law and Ethics. She is also Deputy Title IX Coordinator and Associate to the Director of the University of Minnesota's Office for Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action, where she investigates concerns of discrimination and sexual misconduct within the university.

Previously, Annalisa worked as a HealthCare Ombudsman/Mediator at Kaiser Permanente in Northern California, as a California State Long-Term Care Ombudsman in Los Angeles County, and as a Litigation Associate at Kirkland & Ellis’ Los Angeles office. Annalisa is an experienced mediator and has directed non-profit mediation programs in Illinois and Minnesota. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Dartmouth College and Juris Doctor and Master of Dispute Resolution (MDR) degrees from Pepperdine University School of Law.

Annalisa's healthcare quality and safety interests include the development of systems that foster transparent and effective communication and provide meaningful, timely support for patients, families, and providers following unanticipated health outcomes or other unresolved care-related concerns.

Chairman and Director of the Department of Medicine and Director of Critical Care Services at MedStar Franklin Square Medical Center

Dr. Selinger graduated from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in 1979. He did his Internal Medicine training and Pulmonary and Critical Care fellowship at the Johns Hopkins Hospital where he was subsequently Assistant Chief of Service and Faculty Member in the Pulmonary and Critical Care Division.

Dr. Selinger was the Director of the ICU and Chief of Pulmonary at Medstar Good Samaritan Hospital between 1987 and 1995. He was one of two founders of Pulmonary and Critical Care Associates of Baltimore in 1995. He has been Director of Critical Care Services at Medstar Franklin Square Medical Center since 1995, and Chairman of the Department of Medicine since July 2015.

Healthcare Data Analyst, MedStar Health

Wenyi is a Healthcare Data Analyst at Quality & Safety. She conducts statistical analysis using SAS and Tableau and supports the monthly reporting process. Previously, she worked as a Research Associate at the American College of Radiology where she provided data analysis results for three public healthcare data tools and published more than 10 peer-reviewed papers.

Wenyi earned a master’s degree in Economics with a focus on Econometrics Modeling Analysis from George Washington University and a bachelor’s degree in economics with quantitative emphasis from the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Bio coming soon

Sr. Director, Clinical Data & Analytics, Quality and Safety

Karol Wicker joined MedStar Health in July 2014 and is Senior Director, Clinical Data & Analytics, responsible for the overall direction and management of the data & analytics team, including strategic planning and tactical and operational processes of the unit. She oversees a team responsible for work aimed at improving clinical outcomes across the enterprise. The functions include but are not limited to: clinical data management, analysis, and reporting for both acute and non-acute entities across MedStar Health.

Prior to joining MedStar Health, Karol held various roles at the Maryland Hospital Association and its Center for Performance Sciences during her 17-year tenure, providing strategic direction, tactical oversight, management, design, and implementation of clinical performance measurement products with an emphasis on quality, productivity, and consistency. She was responsible for day-to-day resource allocation, and architecting and managing the processing, interpretation, and presentation of clinical data for hospital improvement initiatives and research projects.

In addition to her Master of Health Science in International Health and Population Policy from the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Karol holds a Bachelor’s in Economics and is Six Sigma Green Belt certified.

Professor Emeritus at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Nursing

Dr. Gwen Sherwood is a Professor Emeritus at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Nursing. She previously served as Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and inaugural Associate Dean for Global Initiatives. Long a leader in patient safety, she was Co-PI to launch QSEN, the Quality and Safety Education for Nurses project to integrate a competency model to improve patient safety.

Dr. Sherwood helped develop the first nursing graduate education on the Texas Mexico border, worked with the China Medical Board to implement the first nursing Master’s program in China, partnered with USAID-funded projects in Kazakhstan and Sakhalin, joined IntraHealth International to scale up health professions education in Kenya, and served as Visiting Professor in Thailand, China, Sweden, and Taiwan.

Widely published, she is co-editor of Quality and Safety in Nursing: A Competency Approach (translated into four languages) and three books on reflective practice. Dr. Sherwood is faculty in the Academy for Emerging Leaders in Patient Safety to transform nursing and medical students as patient safety champions, served on the National Patient Safety Foundation Research Committee, presents for the Interprofessional Education Faculty Development Conference (IPEC). Among many awards, she received a Prince Mahidol Conference International Interprofessional Education Award and Sigma’s Founders Award for Excellence in Leadership.

Dr. Ryan E. Anderson is a practicing internist and the Associate Medical Director for Ambulatory Quality for MedStar Health. Dr. Anderson attended medical school at Washington University in St. Louis and completed his residency in internal medicine and primary care at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, a Harvard Medical School affiliate. He received a Master’s in Public Policy from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, where his thesis focused on quality measurement in health care was selected as the year’s Outstanding Policy Analysis. His interests include ambulatory quality metrics, clinical performance improvement, value-based alternative payment models, and quality improvement through patient engagement.

Clinical Quality and Regulatory Programs Director, MedStar Health

Tony holds a BS is Psychology and an MA in Experimental Psychology, as well as certifications in healthcare quality (CPHQ - Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality) and Lean/Six Sigma (CSSBB - Certified Lean/Six Sigma Black Belt). He has over 15 years of experience in healthcare quality and process improvement, with expertise in data analysis, interpretation, and reporting, as well as using improvement techniques and methods such as Lean, Six Sigma, and PDSA.

As a member of the MedStar Health Quality Team for nearly 4 years, Tony has facilitated and led system-wide clinical quality improvement initiatives involving analysis and interpretation of clinical quality data, process/workflow analysis, and process redesign activities. Such initiatives include the development and implementation of a standardized mortality review process and facilitating multidisciplinary improvement teams focused on reducing hospital acquired conditions. Additionally, he serves as the subject matter expert for CMS and HSCRC Pay for Performance Programs impacting inpatient areas, such as VBP/QBR and HAC/MAHC, and other publicly available data, such as Leapfrog and CMS Star Ratings.

Tony is currently active in the Healthcare Quality Community as a board and committee member for the Maryland Association for Healthcare Quality (MAHQ) and as an instructor for the Executive Master's Program in Clinical Quality, Safety & Leadership at Georgetown University.

Tony’s goals and interests include improving the quality of care by supporting those who do the work and encourage shared learning through educational activities, research, and other methods of disseminating knowledge.

Administrator II, Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, MedStar Georgetown University Hospital

Cory serves as the Regional Administrator for the MMG Pathology Southern Practice and Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital (MGUH). He holds a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Health Services Administration from the University of Central Florida and a dual Master’s degree in both Business Administration and Healthcare Administration from Florida Atlantic University. In addition, Cory serves as a board member on the Patient Family Advisory Council for Quality and Safety (PFACQS) at MGUH and as the department’s Safety Coach. He is also an active member of the American College of Healthcare Executives. Cory prides his focus on patient safety, patient and family advocacy, and quality and performance improvement. He is actively involved with the Center for Engaging Patients as Partners and Center for Integrated Healthcare Learning.

Mary Herold is a System Clinical Safety Program Operations Manager for MedStar Health Institute for Quality and Safety. Mary started her career as a bedside nurse at Georgetown University Hospital. Within 5 years, she took on the role of Assistant Nurse Manager of the Medical Intensive Care unit, after which she became the Manager of this same unit. Her passion has always been centered on safety and engaging patients and families in decision-making around care. This led her to become a Clinical Risk Manager for MedStar Georgetown University hospital. During this time, she assisted with the initiation of the Patient Family Advisory Council for Quality and Safety (PFACQS). Mary presently serves as PFACQS steering committee co-lead. Mary is currently enrolled in Executive Master's in Clinical Quality, Safety & Leadership with anticipated graduation date of May 2019.

Performance Improvement Manager for MedStar Health

Julie Irvine, BSN, RN, CCRN, CSSGB, is a Performance Improvement Manager for MedStar Health. Julie joined the PI team in November 2020. Julie is a certified critical care nurse with 20 years of professional healthcare experience. She shares her passion for creating a culture of continuous improvement by providing training, mentoring, and modeling PI methodology for operational teams. She has previously served as a Stroke Coordinator, Emergency Department Nurse Manager, Transportation Operations Director, and Performance Improvement Consultant in various health care organizations.

Julie has led workplace improvement initiatives implementing an associate recognition and wellness program and an onboarding framework to transition nursing graduates into the nursing field safely. Julie’s commitment to improving quality standards was recognized by achieving consecutive American Heart Associate Gold plus Target Elite awards for adherence to rigid core standards in treating acute stroke patients. Julie continues to serve as a consultant for organizations wanting to improve stroke outcomes.

Julie is an active member of the Maryland Organization of Nurse Leaders, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, American College of Health Executives, and Toastmasters International.

Medical Director, Hyperbaric Medicine in the Center for Wound Healing and Hyperbaric Medicine, MedStar Georgetown University Hospital

Dr. Johnson-Arbor is board-certified in Emergency Medicine, Medical Toxicology, and Undersea and Hyperbaric Medicine through the American Board of Emergency Medicine. She completed her residency in Emergency Medicine at the University of Rochester Medical Center as well a fellowship in Medical Toxicology at the University of Connecticut.

Currently, Dr. Johnson-Arbor serves as the medical director of hyperbaric medicine at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, DC and is co-medical director of National Capital Poison Center. Dr. Johnson-Arbor maintains medical toxicology and hyperbaric medicine clinics at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, and regularly teaches medical toxicology and hyperbaric medicine topics to third- and fourth-year medical students, residents, and pharmacology students.

As part of her hyperbaric medicine practice, Dr. Johnson-Arbor has become interested and involved in the management of bloodless medicine patients. She has authored content for the MedStar bloodless medicine website and enjoys teaching the topic to other medical professionals. As a MIQS faculty member, Dr. Johnson-Arbor is excited to promote awareness, education, and incorporation of bloodless medicine techniques across the MedStar community and beyond.

Director, Infection Prevention, MedStar Health

Lynne V. Karanfil is the Corporate Director for Infection Prevention at MedStar Health. She facilitates strategic development of best practices of infection prevention across ten hospitals and business units including a large ambulatory practice. She is on the SHEA Awards Committee and also served APIC as President for the Greater Baltimore Chapter. She was awarded fellowship in APIC in their first cohort in 2016. In 2009, she spearheaded a mandatory influenza vaccination program among their associates and affiliated physicians and achieved a 98% vaccination rate. She was the Associate Director, Hospital Epidemiology and Infection Control at The Johns Hopkins Hospital.

Ms. Karanfil began in infection control in 1982 and has been board-certified in infection control since 1988. She has published numerous articles and book chapters and has lectured both nationally and internationally. Ms. Karanfil received her BS degree in Nursing from Wagner College and her MA degree from New York University.

System Clinical Safety Program Operations Manager, MedStar Health

Travis Mitchell is a System Clinical Safety Program Operations Manager for MedStar Health. In his current role, Travis leads adverse events reviews in both the ambulatory in acute care environment and collaborates with stakeholders across the system to implement meaningful and sustainable solutions.

Travis brings significant experience as a paramedic and EMS leader where he saw the value in collaborating across hierarchical boundaries to improve the quality of care. He has an MS degree in Health Administration from Virginia Commonwealth University and is currently pursuing a DrPH at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School.

Ian Oppenheim is a pulmonologist and intensivist practicing at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital. He attended medical school at the University of Maryland followed by internal medicine residency at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania where he and pulmonary/critical care fellowship at Johns Hopkins Hospital. Ian is interested in team communication within the ICU, and how the ICU team communicates information to surrogate decision makers of critically ill patients.

Director of Pharmacy, MedStar National Rehabilitation Network

Eric has been with MedStar Health for over 10 years. He started as a nightshift pharmacist, then Sr. Clinical Pharmacist, then Pharmacy Manager, Director of Pharmacy at NRH since January 2017.

He received an undergraduate degree in Neuroscience and a master’s degree in Counseling Psychology. Prior to becoming a pharmacist, Eric had various roles counseling at-risk adolescents in a variety of settings: a juvenile detention center, in-home counseling, and in a hospital outpatient setting.

His research interests include patient safety, medication reconciliation, and hospital operations. Eric’s ultimate goal is to be a hospital administrator focusing on operations and performance improvement initiatives for a Medstar entity. Credentials: Lean Six Sigma Green Belt (2014) MBA (2013) MBA (2014). Faculty member at Howard University School of Pharmacy and University of Maryland School of Pharmacy. CPHQ (2013).

Administrator, Center for Patient Safety & Quality Improvement, MedStar Georgetown University Hospital

Yasmin Yusuf is Administrator for the Center for Patient Safety and Quality Improvement at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital (MGUH). She holds a BS degree in psychology and a master’s degree in Health Care Administration and Policy, with a concentration in Patient Safety and Quality from George Mason University.

In her role as Administrator, Yasmin serves as an integral part of the MGUH Go Team by conducting event reviews, strategizing action items, and sharing lessons learned from safety-related events. Yasmin assisted in the development and manages the Quality & Safety Resident Elective Rotation. Yasmin also serves as the administrative lead for the Care for the Caregiver program, Patient Communication Consult Service, and Safety Coach Program.

Additionally, Yasmin serves as the Steering Committee member of the MedStar Georgetown University Hospital Patient & Family Advisory Council for Quality & Safety (PFACQS), as well as the NICU PFACQS.

Yasmin has joined MIQS as Associate Faculty for the Center for Integrated Healthcare Learning.

Clinical Data & Analytics, Quality Assurance manager, MedStar Health

David has held a variety of positions in healthcare, ranging from providing direct bedside nursing care in cardiac ICU areas to running Nurse Triage call centers.

Interest in education and patient experience within healthcare started early for David and has continued through to today. He has addressed groups of all sizes, professional- and community-based, all over the country. Most recently, his work has focused on men and sexual minority members to address concerns and to provide life-balancing tools for each group.

Project Manager, MedStar Health

Jen McQueeney has 20+ years of consulting experience in various industries. Much of that time was spent as a Project Manager ensuring client satisfaction, while managing to scope, cost, and schedule. Prior to joining MedStar Health, Jen worked as a Performance Improvement Lean Facilitator at Anne Arundel Medical Center (AAMC) focused on reducing hospital denials and rolling out the Inpatient Care Model (Pilot to Program) with interdisciplinary rounding, which resulted in LOS reduction, earlier discharge time of day, improved team communication, and reduced denials. In her current role as Performance Improvement Manager for MedStar Health, she focuses on managing the Sepsis Collaborative work.

Education and Certifications:
M.Eng., Healthcare Systems Engineer, Lehigh University
BS, Industrial Engineering, Lehigh University
Masters Certificate in Project Management, George Washington University
Foundation Certificate in IT Service Management/ITIL
Certified Scrum Master (CSM)

Bio coming soon

Director, Operational Communications

Lori is a Director of Operational Communications where she develops strategic communications regarding systemwide initiatives, including cybersecurity, associate safety, technology, compliance, and other subjects. She joined MedStar Health in 2014 after several years as a top editor of an international medical news wire service and editor of Hospitalist News and Chest Physician, multimedia clinical publications of Elsevier, Inc. and Frontline Medical News. Previously, she worked as a news editor and writer for a major U.S. news magazine as well as for newspapers.

She earned the 2016 Patient and Family HeRO Award for her dedicated efforts on behalf of a patient in need at MedStar Washington Hospital while working as an internal communicator for the entity. She has worked with storytelling in video and print to advance High Reliability Organization behavior and has applied her Safety Coach perspective to all facets of her work at MedStar. She has served as a leader on the Operational Communications team since 2017.

Lori holds a BA in journalism/management from Howard University and has also studied Spanish and deaf culture and language. She has completed certificates from Lean in Healthcare, National Incident Management System, and Healthcare Equality Index (promoting equitable and inclusive care for LGBTQ patients).

Associate Director, Liaison Services, MedStar Physicians' Billing Services

Chris Gunzel is a Liaison for MedStar Physicians' Billing Services. He’s worked for MedStar for 15 years with experience in multiple areas, including finance, revenue cycle, and professional billing. He earned a BS in Healthcare Administration and an MBA.

Since the inception of the local MGUH PFACQS in September, 2014, Chris has been an active Associate member, Co-Vice Chair, and Co-Chair of the group. He was recently nominated to serve a second term as Co-Vice Chair and Co-Chair. Chris loves engaging with this group on PFACQS projects, and often feels it is the most rewarding and invigorating work he’s involved with. His interests include patient and family engagement, open and honest communication, and development opportunities for leaders in patient safety

Director, Operational Communications

Bonnie Pitt, RPh, MAS, is a pharmacist and healthcare leader experienced in developing, initiating and maintaining safe and effective patient-centered services.  Her skills include staff motivation and empowerment, facilitation and completion of interdisciplinary redesign and performance improvements.  In her recent position as Corporate Director of Pharmacy for Valley Health in Winchester, Virginia, she partnered with anesthesia, forming a task force to conduct a gap analysis of the controlled substance program, resulting in improved diversion software, enhanced visibility of medication activities, and safer processes for patients and staff.  Bonnie has supported implementation and upgrades of closed loop systems for safe medication management including, pharmacy automation, bedside scanning, EHR and IV pump enhancements and integration.  Bonnie played a leadership role in the implementation of daily Safety Calls and rounding, incorporating the principles of high reliability.  In her position as Pharmacy Director at Frederick Memorial Hospital in Frederick, Maryland Bonnie initiated the interdisciplinary medication safety committee and developed the organization Patient Safety Plan.

Bonnie has a B.S in Pharmacy from the University of Maryland and Masters of Administrative Science from John Hopkins.  She is active in pharmacy and risk management organizations.

Sarveshwari Singh has been working at MedStar Health in patient safety and quality improvement for the Corporate Vice President of Patient Safety and Quality Improvement and for the Assistant Vice President for education since July 2012 as a part-time employee. Since January 2016, she has transitioned to a full-time position, working as a consultant and research assistant in the same department. Sarveshwari is an Adjunct Faculty member at MIQS.

At MedStar, she has written papers on topics of patient and family engagement, high reliability, and failure to rescue. She presented a poster on the evaluation of the summer program for the Academy for Emerging Leaders in Patient Safety and presented work on rapid response systems at the MedStar PFAC meeting.

She holds an MS in physiology and biophysics from Georgetown University and a BS in biology from George Washington University. She plans on attending medical school in the future and continuing work in patient safety and quality improvement.

Director, Practice Operations, Evolent Health

Lisa L. (Hockett) White, MS, has spent the bulk of her career in long-term care leadership, pharmacy, and health plan operations. An expert in issues such as transitions of care, institutional pharmacy practice, population health, and value-based care, Lisa has a particular passion for at-risk and vulnerable patients.

In all her healthcare roles, she has been successful in overlaying patient safety best practices and systems thinking to improve the performance and efficiency of clinical service lines. Most recently, Lisa redesigned and operationalized a Population Health Management program for Passport Health Plan, a non-profit Medicaid insurer in Kentucky. As a member of the Evolent Health team, she also successfully built and led the governance process for all facets of Passport Health Plan’s inaugural Value Based Care Shared Savings program, working closely with health systems and participating provider groups.

A 2013 graduate of the University of Illinois at Chicago’s Patient Safety Leadership master’s program, Lisa is a determined and vocal advocate for assessing human factors and bias in creating clinical operation service lines to better serve both providers and the patients they care for. Lisa also holds a BS in biology from Georgia State University, with a specialty in human disease. Balancing both financial drivers and clinical outcomes, Lisa uses her patient safety, quality, Six Sigma, and healthcare operations expertise to bring stakeholders together for high-quality, safe patient care.