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Sponsors

Board of Directors
John F. Morton, PhD, Board Chair, Director-at-Large
Vice President for Community Colleges, University of Hawaii System
 
Dr. John Morton is responsible for executive leadership, policy decision-making, resource allocation and development of support services for the University of Hawaii's seven community colleges. In January 2002, Dr. Morton became project coordinator, overseeing the planning, development, and implementation of the first unified Student Information System for the University of Hawaii System and continues to oversee this project. Dr. Morton earned a B.S. in chemistry and M.A. in political science from the University of Illinois and a Ph.D. in Communication and Information Sciences from the University of Hawaii at Manoa.
Virginia M. Pressler, MD, MBA, FACS, Vice Chair
Executive Vice President and Chief Strategic Officer, Hawaii Pacific Health
 
Dr. Virginia (Ginny) Pressler is Executive Vice President and Chief Strategic Officer for Hawaii Pacific Health (HPH), a non-profit healthcare family that includes Kapi'olani Medical Center for Women & Children, Straub Clinic & Hospital, Pali Momi Medical Center, and Wilcox Hospital & Kauai Medical Clinic on Kauai.  HPH is the largest healthcare provider in Hawaii. Dr. Pressler joined HPH in 2002 and is responsible for specialty service line development, philanthropy and government relations.  She also serves as President and Chair of HPH Partners, the subsidiary of Hawaii Pacific Health that oversees all joint ventures.
Prior to joining Hawaii Pacific Health, Dr. Pressler's career included Deputy Director of the Hawaii State Dept. of Health, President & CEO of the Queen's/HMSA Premier Plan, Vice President at The Queen's Health Systems, Director of Surgical Education at Queen's, Associate Professor of surgery at the John A. Burns School of Medicine, private practice in general surgery, and five years in management at Bank of Hawaii.  Dr. Pressler holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Cornell University, and MBA, MS in physiology and MD degrees from the University of Hawaii at Manoa.
Hilton Raethel, MPH, MHA, Treasurer
Senior Vice President, HMSA

Mr. Raethel has over 20 years of experience in the health care industry, twelve years in Southern California and 11 years in Hawaii, with a focus on business development, expected reimbursement, decision support, and payer/provider contracting.  In his position at HMSA, Mr. Raethel is responsible for the Health Services Delivery Division and the Provider Services Department.  He has a Masters in Public Health with an emphasis in healthcare administration, and a Masters in Health Administration with an emphasis in information systems.
George Greene, JD, Member representing the HAH
President & CEO, Healthcare Association of Hawaii

On September 1, 2009, George W. Greene took over the reigns of the Healthcare Association of Hawaii.  Prior to joining HAH, George was Region 9 Director of the American Hospital Association, working on advocacy and membership relations with hospital executives in Hawaii, California, Washington, Alaska, Oregon, and Nevada. Mr. Greene holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in English with a minor in Communications from Clemson University and a Juris Doctorate from the University of Tennessee College of Law.
 
Dr. Jerris Hedges, MD, Director At-Large
Dean - John A. Burns School of Medicine - University of Hawaii
 
Dr. Jerris Hedges became Dean of The John A. Burns School of Medicine in March 2008. Previously he spent 20 years at Oregon Health & Science University’s School of medicine. He has also served as President of both the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine and the Association of Academic Chairs of Emergency Medicine.  In October 2000, Dr. Hedges was elected to the prestigious National Academy of Sciences’ Institute of medicine. Dr. Hedges earned his bachelor’s degree in aeronautics and astronautics, his master’s degree in chemical engineering, and his medical degree at the University of Washington. He also holds a Master of Medical Management from the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California.
Jean H. Hamakawa, MBA, Director-at-Large
Executive Vice President & Director of Human Resources, Bank of Hawaii
 
Ms. Hamakawa is the Executive Vice President & Director of Human Resources at Bank of Hawaii and is responsible for directing all human resource programs for 2700+ employees spread across the state of Hawaii, Guam, Saipan, Palau, and American Samoa. Ms. Hamakawa received her Masters in Business Administration and Bachelors of Arts degrees from Indiana University.

Linda M. Rosen, MD, MPH, Director-at-Large
Chief, State of Hawaii Department of Health Emergency Medical Services and Injury Prevention Branch

Dr. Rosen is currently the Chief of the Emergency Medical Services and Injury Prevention Systems Branch of the Hawaii Department of Health. She has a strong interest in epidemiology and improving available data to better address public health problems.
Todd Seto, MD, Director-at-Large
Medical Director, Center for Outcomes Research and Evaluation (CORE) and the Cardiac Non-Invasive Laboratory

Dr. Seto oversees nurses, data analysts and performance improvement specialists working on hospital-wide quality improvement projects. Dr. Seto's intrests include the economic and quality-of-life analyses of new technology and he has led NIH-funded projects evaluating the quality of care of patients with breast and colon cancer and developing methods to improve the quality of heart failure care for Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders.
Linda Chu Takayama, JD, Director-at-Large
Attorney at Law
 
Ms. Takayama is an attorney with practice areas in state and federal regulatory and governmental affairs, health, insurance, and corporate business law. Previously, she served as Deputy Director of the State Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Hawaii Insurance Commissioner, and Administrative Assistant and General Counsel to the U.S. Senate Sergeant at Arms in Washington, D.C. Ms. Takayama received her B.A. in Journalism from the University of Hawaii, and earned her Juris Doctor degree from the George Mason University School of Law.
William M. Dang Jr, MD, Member representing Hawaii Medical Association
Physician
 
Dr. Dang received his medical degree in Internal Medicine training and Cardiology Fellowship at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska. He returned to Honolulu, starting his private cardiology practice in 1985. Dr. Dang presently has hospital privileges at Hawaii Medical Center – East, Hawaii Medical Center – West, Kapiolani Medical Center at Pali Momi, The Queens Medical Center, Wahiawa General Hospital and Kuakini Medical Center.
Geoffrey Sewell, MD, Member representing Hawaii Permanente Medical Group
President & Executive Medical Director, Hawaii Premanente Medical Group

Dr. Geoffrey Sewell is President and Executive Medical Director of the Hawaii Permanente Medical Group, which provides medical care for the Hawaii Region’s 223,284 Kaiser Permanente members. Prior to becoming Executive Medical Director in July, 2007, Dr. Sewell served as a hospitalist at Kaiser Permanente, Hawaii Region, and as Chief to both the Department of Continuing Care (2001-2004) and the Department of Hospital Specialties (2005-2006). He is board certified in internal medicine and hospice and palliative care medicine. Dr. Sewell earned his MD degree from the University of California, San Diego. Prior to joining KP, Hawaii, he was the medical director of ambulatory and chronic care services at Legacy Health System in Portland, Oregon (1999-2000), as well as the medical director for the Legacy Clinics (1997-2000).

COL Michael L. Kiefer, MHA, FACHE, Military Liaison
Chief of Staff/Deputy Commander for Administration, Pacific Regional Medical Command & Tripler Army Medical Center

COL Kiefer graduated from Lehigh University in Bethlehem Pennsylvania in 1986 and earned a master’s degree from the U.S. Army-Baylor University Graduate Program in Healthcare Administration in 1994. COL Kiefer completed the didactic phase of the U.S. Army-Baylor University Graduate Program in Healthcare Administration in 1993 and then performed his administrative residency at Tripler Army Medical Center, Honolulu, Hawaii. COL Kiefer is currently the Chief of Staff at Tripler Army Medical Center, Honolulu, Hawaii. 
 
Peter A. Sybinsky, PhD, Ex-Officio Member
President and Chief Executive Officer, Hawaii Health Information Corporation

Peter A. Sybinsky, Ph.D. comes to HHIC with over twenty-nine years in public health, health care delivery and human service programs.  Dr. Sybinsky's background includes heading two large departments of state government, as Director of Hawaii's Department of Health and as Secretary of Indiana's Family and Social Services Administration (FSSA). In these roles, he directed a wide range of programs including Medicaid, mental health/substance abuse, services for persons with disabilities, health promotion/education, emergency medical services, environmental health, communicable disease control, and maternal and child health. As Deputy Director of Health for the State of Hawaii from 1987 to 1994, Dr. Sybinsky implemented innovations such as the State Health Insurance Program (SHIP) and Hawaii Access. In the private sector, Dr. Sybinsky served as CEO of the Association of Maternal and Child Health Services in Washington, DC.  Dr. Sybinsky's career is marked by a record of innovation and accomplishment including, expansion of health care coverage in two states, involvement in health reform efforts at the national level, leadership in creative approaches to HIV/AIDS, care of children with severe behavioral problems, public health/human service information and referral, tobacco control and the prevention of child abuse and neglect.  An East-West Center grantee, he received his Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Hawaii.