Mark B. McClellan, MD, PhD, is a doctor and an economist whose work has addressed a wide range of strategies and policy reforms to improve health care, including payment reforms to promote better outcomes and lower costs, methods for development and use of real-world evidence and approaches for more effective drug and device innovation.

McClellan is a former administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and former commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), where he developed and implemented major reforms in health policy. McClellan has served as a member of the President’s Council of Economic Advisors and as deputy assistant secretary of the Treasury for Economic Policy. He was also a Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution and a professor of economics and medicine at Stanford University where he directed the Program on Health Outcomes Research.

xxx

A nationally recognized leader in academic medicine, Mary E. Klotman, MD, is executive vice president for health affairs at Duke University, dean of the Duke University School of Medicine, and chief academic officer for Duke Health.

Klotman was appointed as Duke’s first executive vice president for health affairs in June 2023 and assumed her new role on July 1, 2023. She was named dean of the School of Medicine in January 2017 and was appointed to a second five-year term in 2022. Prior to her appointment as dean, Klotman served with distinction as chair of the Department of Medicine in the Duke University School of Medicine for seven years.

Klotman earned her undergraduate and medical degrees from Duke University. She completed her internal medicine residency and a fellowship in Infectious Diseases in the Department of Medicine at Duke before joining the faculty as assistant professor of medicine. She joined the National Institutes of Health in 1991, where she was a member of the Public Health Service and trained and worked in the Laboratory of Tumor Cell Biology under the direction of Robert C. Gallo, MD.

Before returning to Duke in 2010, Klotman joined Mount Sinai School of Medicine where she was the Irene and Dr. Arthur M. Fishberg Professor of Medicine and served as chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases for 13 years. She was also co-director of Mount Sinai’s Global Health and Emerging Pathogens Institute, a program designed to translate basic science discoveries into clinical therapeutics for newly emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases. 

A pioneering physician-scientist, Klotman’s research interests are focused on the molecular pathogenesis of Human Immunodeficiency Virus 1 (HIV-1) infection. Among many important contributions to this field, Klotman and her team demonstrated that HIV resides in and evolves separately in kidney cells, a critical step in HIV-associated kidney disease. Most recently, her group has been defining the role of integrase-defective lentiviral vectors for the delivery of an HIV vaccine.

Klotman is a councilor of the Association of American Physicians and past president of the Association of Professors of Medicine. She was elected to membership in the Academy of Medicine in 2014. Klotman is a former president of the Duke Medical Alumni Association and received a Duke University School of Medicine Distinguished Alumni Award in 2015.

Leigh Bleecker, MBA, MHA, is the Assistant Vice President for Finance and Chief Financial Officer for Duke Raleigh Hospital, a Campus of Duke University Hospital and Duke Regional Hospital. She has been a part of the Duke Health Finance team since 2002. Leigh has also had the privilege of serving as Interim President of Duke Raleigh Hospital on two occasions.

Prior to joining Duke Health, Bleecker worked as a financial consultant with OSI Systems in Atlanta, Georgia.  She is a native of North Carolina, originally from Fayetteville.

She received her bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and her MBA and MHA from Georgia State University.

In 2007, Bleecker received the Triangle Business Journal’s 40 under 40 award and was named CFO of the Year in 2012.

She is active in community outreach and serves on several community boards, including current board member of Urban Ministries of Wake County, member of Holt Brothers Foundation, former treasurer and board chair of InterAct of Wake County, and former NC Commissioner of Tryon Palace. Bleecker began volunteering in 2001 as a camp counselor for Camp Sunshine, a summer camp for children with cancer and still serves in that role today.

Lori Pickens, is the Associate Vice President, Oncology Services for Duke University Health System, as well as Administrator and Associate Dean, Duke Cancer Institute, Duke University School of Medicine.Previously she served as Assistant Vice President, Clinical Programs, Duke Cancer Institute. Pickens joined Duke in 2007, serving as Director of the Duke Raleigh Cancer Center and in 2009 was named Administrative Director for the Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center.Before coming to Duke, she served as CEO of the American Lung Association of Missouri. Pickens also served as a director for a health plan operated by BJC Health System and Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.Prior to her transition into health care, Pickens spent more than 12 years working in corporate America in a variety of management capacities. She received her bachelor’s degree in business administration from Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts, and her MHA from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri, followed by an administrative fellowship at Henry Ford Health System in Detroit, Michigan.

Michael Kastan, MD, PhD, is the Executive Director of the Duke Cancer Institute and William and Jane Shingleton Professor of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology.

As a pediatric oncologist and a cancer biologist, Kastan conducts laboratory research concentrated on DNA damage and repair, tumor suppressor genes, and causes of cancer related to genetic predisposition and environmental exposures. His discoveries have made a major impact on our understanding of both how cancers develop and how they respond to chemotherapy and radiation therapy, and his publications reporting the roles of p53 and ATM in DNA damage signaling are among the most highly cited publications in the biomedical literature of the past 25 years. He has received numerous honors for his highly cited work, including election to the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Medicine, and the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, as well as receipt of the AACR-G.H.A. Clowes Memorial Award for outstanding contributions to basic cancer research. He has served as Chairman of the Board of Scientific Counselors of the National Cancer Institute, on the Boards of Directors of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) and the American Association of Cancer Institutes (AACI), as editor-in-chief of the journal Molecular Cancer Research, and as editor of the textbook Clinical Oncology.

Kastan earned his degrees from the Washington University School of Medicine and did his clinical training in Pediatrics and Pediatric Hematology-Oncology at Johns Hopkins University. Before moving to Duke in 2011, Kastan was a Professor of Oncology, Pediatrics and Molecular Biology at Johns Hopkins University and Chair of the Hematology-Oncology department, as well as the Cancer Center Director at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. 

Paul Vick is the Associate Vice President for Government Relations at Duke University Health System. He has headed Duke Health’s government relations office since its inception in 1999. He has more than three decades of experience in government relations and public policy work at the federal, state and local levels, including a three-year stint in Washington, DC, as chief of staff to United States Senator (and Duke University President) Terry Sanford.

During his career at Duke, Vick was director for nine years of Duke University’s Office of Government Relations and Community Affairs and has held several other university positions overseeing local, state and federal relations, alumni affairs, and special events. He has served as an elected official at the local level as well as an appointed member of numerous state and national boards. He spearheaded the creation of Project Medical Education, as a coalition of America’s leading medical schools and hospitals working together to inform Congress about medical education, and served for four years as its executive director.

A 1966 graduate of Duke University, he holds a master’s degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

A. Eugene Washington, MD, MPH, MSc, is Chancellor Emeritus at Duke University. An internationally renowned clinical investigator and health policy scholar, Dr. Washington has been a leader in assessing medical technologies, developing clinical practice guidelines, and establishing disease prevention policies, particularly in women’s health. The thread that runs throughout all of this work is improving quality of healthcare and eliminating racial/ethnic disparities in health outcomes. His research and numerous publications have greatly impacted the practice of medicine in prenatal genetic testing, cervical cancer screening and prevention, noncancerous uterine conditions management, and reproduction-related infections. His executive leadership has inspired academic health systems to adopt public health principles as core to their mission. His service to the nation through professional and government boards and committees has emphasized the importance of health equity and community engagement in health policy and public discourse.

Dr. Washington has held academic leadership positions and senior executive posts in three prominent academic health systems. Previously, Dr. Washington was the Chancellor for Health Affairs at Duke University, where he also served as President and CEO of the Duke University Health System from 2015-2023. Dr. Washington was appointed as Chancellor Emeritus in 2023. Just prior to Duke, Dr. Washington served as Vice Chancellor of Health Sciences, Dean of the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and Chief Executive Officer of the UCLA Health System. At the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), Dr. Washington served as Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost. There, he co-founded and directed the Medical Effectiveness Research Center for Diverse Populations, one of the first centers of excellence conducting research on health services for minority populations. Before joining the faculty at UCSF, Dr. Washington was an epidemiologist and clinical investigator at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta.

Dr. Washington is known as one of the most vocal proponents in the U.S. of Academic Health Systems adopting health improvement as their ultimate mission, beyond the traditional missions of research, education and patient care. At Duke University, he initiated and led the transition of Duke Medicine to Duke Health, which is today demonstratively more focused on socio-economic determinants of health and building healthy communities. At UCLA, Dr. Washington consolidated disparate and widespread projects into a comprehensive and organized community engagement entity that magnified the impact of these activities. And at UCSF, he strengthened the institution’s commitment to service by building lasting partnerships with the community and by creating alignment across the entire enterprise.

Dr. Washington has also impacted the national health and healthcare agenda through his thought leadership. He was elected to the Institute of Medicine (IOM) (now the National Academy of Medicine) in 1997 and to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2014. He chaired the Boards of Directors of both the California HealthCare Foundation and The California Wellness Foundation, served on the Board of Trustees of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and was a director of Johnson and Johnson. Dr. Washington is founding Chair of the Board of Governors of the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), a national research organization authorized by the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. He currently serves on the Boards of Directors of the Kaiser Foundation Hospitals and Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc.

Rhonda Brandon is the Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer for Duke University Health System.

In her role, Brandon oversees efforts to advance a world-class workforce that positions the health system to meet our long-term strategic goals. She is a key driver of our initiatives to improve performance measurement, professional development and our work culture. She offers trusted counsel to senior staff, advocating on behalf of all of our employees.

Brandon was most recently the Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer for BJC Healthcare in St. Louis, MO. She joined BJC Healthcare in 2006 as Vice President of Human Resources for Missouri Baptist Medical Center and was named Vice President of Operations for BJC’s Shared Services Human Resources team in 2010.

Prior to her service to BJC Healthcare, Brandon served as Vice President of Human Resources for Colonial Pipeline Company and prior to that, as Director of Human Resources and Global Information Technology for Nike. She is a cum laude graduate of Hampton University (BA, mass communications) and American University (MS, organization development.)

Bio will go here.

test

William J. Fulkerson, Jr., MD, is professor of medicine at Duke University School of Medicine and former Executive Vice President for Duke University Health System (DUHS). As executive vice president, he oversaw over a decade of unprecedented quality, growth and community benefit across the health system clinical enterprise.

Fulkerson is a North Carolina native and received his undergraduate and medical degrees from the University of North Carolina School of Medicine. He completed his internship and residency at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, where he also completed a fellowship in pulmonary and critical care medicine. Fulkerson earned his MBA from Duke University Fuqua School of Business in 2002. 

Fulkerson has served previously as Senior Vice President of Clinical Affairs for DUHS, CEO of Duke University Hospital, and Vice President of the Duke University Health System. He is a nationally recognized specialist in pulmonary and critical care medicine, and has authored/co-authored numerous books, chapters and peer-reviewed publications. Dr. Fulkerson has twice received the Eugene A. Stead Jr. Award for Excellence in Teaching from the Duke Department of Medicine. He is past Chairman of the Board of Trustees, North Carolina Hospital Association. In 2021, he was awarded The Order of the Long Leaf Pine, North Carolina’s highest honor, which recognizes persons who have made significant contributions to the state and their communities through their exemplary service and exceptional accomplishments.

Kevin W. Sowers, MSN, RN, FAAN, is the President of Duke University Hospital. Sowers joined Duke University Hospital in 1985 as a staff nurse in oncology and has been in leadership roles within Duke University Health System over the last 20 years.Prior to becoming president, Sowers served as the Chief Operating Officer for Duke University Hospital from 2003 to 2009. He received his BSN from Capital University in Columbus, Ohio and his MSN from Duke University School of Nursing. Sowers is accountable for the operations of the 957-bed academic teaching hospital with over 10,000 faculty, staff and volunteers. He is responsible for driving organizational excellence and implementing the strategic plan of the organization in collaboration with the Duke Health physician group. Sowers is internationally known for his lectures and writings on the issues of leadership, organizational change, mentorship and cancer care. He is currently on the Board of Directors for University Healthcare Consortium and the Counsel of Teaching Hospitals. He is adjunct faculty at Duke University School of Nursing, Duke University Fuqua School of Business and UNC School of Public Health. He has also served in leadership roles with the American Heart Association, Susan G. Komen and a variety of leadership roles at the national level within the Oncology Nursing Society.  

Shilpa Shelton, MHA, FACHE, is Associate Vice President for Musculoskeletal & Spine Services at Duke University Health System.

Prior to this role, Shelton was the vice president for Duke University Hospital and provided senior administrative oversight for neuroscience and orthopedic clinical services, including procedural and diagnostic services such as neurodiagnostic services, pain services, and physical therapy and occupational therapy services. In addition, she oversees hospital-based outpatient clinics for orthopaedic trauma, spine and pain services.

Prior to being appointed to vice president, Shelton served as senior strategic services associate and led strategic planning efforts for the integration of the newly formed Duke University Health System. In prior roles, she spearheaded operations improvement initiatives and breakthrough clinical quality improvement. In addition, she has successfully led several financial turn-around initiatives, as well as hospital-wide physician satisfaction initiatives.

She received her undergraduate degree in biology from Wheaton College in Norton, Massachusetts and her master’s in health care administration from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business. Shelton completed her Administrative Fellowship at Mercy Health System in Michigan.

Shelton is a Fellow of the American College of Health Care Executives and served on its National Chapter Leaders Committee. She is Past President of the Triangle Healthcare Executive Forum. Shelton also served as an adjunct faculty member for Pfeiffer University’s MHA/MBA program teaching Healthcare Finance. She is often a speaker at Fuqua School of Business’ Health Sector Management Program, as well as orthopedic conferences across the country.

Michael Relf, PhD, RN, ANEF, FAAN, is the Associate Chief Nurse Executive (ACNE) of Academic Partnerships and Innovation for Duke University Health System, Professor of Nursing and Global Health, and Dean of the Duke University School of Nursing. He previously served as Associate Dean for Global and Community Affairs from 2014-2023 and as the Assistant Dean for Undergraduate Education and Director of the Accelerated BSN Program for the School of Nursing from 2008-2014.

His research focuses on the psychosocial aspects of HIV using mixed-methods, particularly focusing on intimate partner violence, HIV-related stigma, and interventions to promote engagement in HIV-oriented primary medical care. Additionally, through his research, he has documented the role of the professional and advanced practice nurse in the prevention, care and treatment of persons at risk for or living with HIV.

Dr. Relf’s work examining the intersection of intimate partner violence and HIV risk behaviors among men who have sex with men received international press attention. As a co-investigator on a President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) funded project to build nursing capacity in the context of HIV and AIDS in Southern Africa, Dr. Relf, in collaboration with colleagues from Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, South Africa, Eswatini (formerly Swaziland) and Zimbabwe, published the Essential Nursing Competencies related to HIV and AIDS endorsed by the International Council of Nurses, the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, and the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care. In collaboration with Dr. Julie Barroso from the Medical University of South Carolina, Dr. Relf has tested the efficacy of an internalized stigma reduction intervention among women living with HIV in the United States. He is now collaborating with partners in Rwanda (University of Rwanda) and Tanzania (Muhimbili University of Health and Applied Sciences) to adapt the intervention to the culture and context in these two countries.

Dr. Relf’s work examining the intersection of intimate partner violence and HIV risk behaviors among men who have sex with men received international press attention. As a co-investigator on a President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) funded project to build nursing capacity in the context of HIV and AIDS in Southern Africa, Dr. Relf, in collaboration with colleagues from Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, South Africa, Swaziland and Zimbabwe, published the Essential Nursing Competencies related to HIV and AIDS endorsed by the International Council of Nurses, the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, and the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care. In collaboration with Dr. Julie Barroso from the Medical University of South Carolina, Dr. Relf has tested the efficacy of an internalized stigma reduction intervention among women living with HIV in the United States. He is now collaborating with partners in Rwanda (University of Rwanda) and Tanzania (Muhimbili University of Health and Applied Sciences) to adapt the intervention to the culture and context in these two countries.

Dr. Relf is an Advanced HIV/AIDS Certified Registered Nurse (AACRN) and certified nurse educator (CNE). Prior to joining the School of Nursing in 2008, Dr. Relf was a tenured faculty member and Chair of the Department of Nursing at Georgetown University and the Associate Medical Administrator/Director of Nursing and Clinical Support Services at Whitman-Walker Clinic. He earned his BS with a major in nursing from South Dakota University, his MS in nursing administration in healthcare services from Georgetown University and his PhD in nursing from Johns Hopkins University. He has been a visiting professor at Queen University Belfast (Northern Ireland), the University of Zululand (South Africa) and Fudan University (China). In September 2023, he was appointed a Consulting Professor at the Fudan University School of Nursing (Shanghai, PRC). He is a 2019 Fellow of the NLN’s Academy of Nursing Education and a 2008 Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing.