David J. Fine
President & Chief Executive Officer - St. Luke's Episcopal Health System
David Fine serves as president and chief executive officer of St. Luke’s Episcopal Health System. He has 36 years of experience as a healthcare executive, including more than 25 years as chief executive officer of university hospitals, multi-hospital systems, medical groups and managed care organizations.
Prior to joining St. Luke’s in June 2004, Fine was chief executive officer of the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Health System, a joint venture of the University of Alabama Health Services Foundation and The University of Alabama Board of Trustees. During his tenure, UAB managed publicly and privately owned healthcare delivery assets, comprising $2.0 billion in net patient revenues, 11,000 employees and 800 physicians.
In 1972, Fine received a Bachelor of Arts degree magna cum laude from Tufts University and in 1974 a Master of Hospital Administration degree from the University of Minnesota School of Public Health, where he was a U.S. Public Health Service Trainee and winner of the James A. Hamilton Prize. Prior employers include The University of California–San Francisco and Tulane University.
Concurrent with his management responsibilities, Fine has held university teaching appointments for most of his career, including five years as tenured Professor of Health Services Administration and Senior Scholar in the Center for Outcomes and Effectiveness Research at the University of Alabama, Birmingham and nine years as Regents Professor and Chair of the Department of Health Systems Management at Tulane University. His academic bibliography includes some 75 entries as author or coauthor of refereed articles, monographs, chapters and books, and he has given numerous national and international presentations. He has been listed in many editions of “Who’s Who in American Medicine,” “Who’s Who in America” and “Who’s Who in the World.” He presently holds professorial appointments at Rice University, Texas A&M University, Baylor College of Medicine (with tenure) and the University of Texas Health Science Center–Houston.
Fine is active in civic and professional organizations. He is past chairman of the Board of Directors of the Association of University Programs in Health Administration, was founding vice-chairman of the National Center for Healthcare Leadership and is a past Regent of the American College of Healthcare Executives. He is currently a Director of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education and Chair of The Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Management Education. Fine is the recipient of numerous awards and honors, including a Doctor of Philosophy honoris causa from The University of Southern Mississippi in 2007. Modern Healthcare named him one of the “100 Most Powerful People in Healthcare” in 2004. Fine received the Birmingham Business Journal Health Care Executive of the Year in 2003, the Robert S. Hudgens Medal of the American College of Healthcare Executives, of which he is a Fellow, the Martin Luther King Special Humanitarian Award of the University of Cincinnati and the Champion of Public Health Award of Tulane University.
Steve Pickett, CPA, MPH, FHFMA
Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer - St. Luke's Episcopal Health System
Steve Pickett is executive vice president and chief financial officer of St. Luke’s Episcopal Health System, offering more than 25 years of healthcare experience to St. Luke’s. Prior to joining St. Luke’s, Mr. Pickett served as executive vice president and CFO of the UAB Health System in Birmingham, Alabama, which includes seven hospitals, a health management organization, joint ventures and a large physician practice plan. He also has served in executive management positions at the University of Alabama Health Services Foundation, PC, as chief financial officer; Tulane University Hospital and Clinic as chief operating officer and chief executive officer; and West Virginia University Hospitals as chief operating officer. Mr. Pickett earned his Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Montevallo in Montevallo, Alabama, and a Master of Public Health from Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana. He is affiliated with the American College of Healthcare Executives and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, and is a fellow of the Healthcare Financial Management Association.
David Koontz, MBA, MPH
Senior Vice President - St. Luke's Episcopal Health System
David S. Koontz, is a senior vice president of the System. Mr. Koontz brings more than 25 years of healthcare management experience to the System. Mr. Koontz has executive oversight of strategic planning, business development, new ventures, St. Luke's Sugar Land Hospital, St. Luke's Hospital at The Vintage, physician employment, medical staff development, government relations and real estate management. Prior to joining the System in 2007, Mr. Koontz served as vice president of Nashville-based Vanguard Health Systems in Phoenix, Arizona, for three years, where he helped grow physician practices and improve managed care contracts for the health systems’ six hospitals. A graduate of Wake Forest University, Mr. Koontz earned his Master of Business Administration from the A.B. Freeman School of Business at Tulane University in New Orleans, and earned his Master of Public Health in health systems management at the Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. He is a Certified Healthcare Executive and Certified Management Accountant.
Beryl Vallejo, MSN, DrPH,
Senior Vice President & Chief Quality Officer - St. Luke's Episcopal Health System
Beryl Vallejo is a senior vice president and chief quality officer of the System, where she is tasked with the development of a data-driven quality/performance improvement program for the System's hospitals that will result in world class recognition. Prior to joining St. Luke’s in May 2007, Dr. Vallejo served as the vice president of Quality, Safety and Outcomes Management for the Centura Health System in Englewood, Colorado. She has an extensive healthcare background that includes the use and implementation of evidence-based data-driven clinical decision-support systems. Dr. Vallejo earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing at Texas Woman’s University and her master and doctoral degrees from The University of Texas School of Public Health, where she serves as an adjunct professor.
Ann Theilke, RN, JD
Vice President & General Counsel - St. Luke's Episcopal Health System
Ann Thielke, RN, JD is the general counsel and vice president of St. Luke’s Episcopal Health System. Ms. Thielke joined St. Luke’s in February 2005. Prior to joining St. Luke’s, Ms. Thielke practiced health law in Ohio, with the law firm of Kegler, Brown, Hill & Ritter, and in Houston with Andrews Kurth.
Ms. Thielke focused her private practice of law on advising and representing hospitals (including St. Luke’s), physicians, and other healthcare entities and providers on a variety of health care regulatory and operational issues. Her scope of practice included compliance with state and federal laws, compliance with health care information privacy regulations, facility business transactions, facility regulatory and licensure matters, medical staff credentialing, and patient care issues.
Prior to becoming a lawyer, Ms. Thielke was a nurse and remains a licensed registered nurse.
Ms. Thielke graduated from Ohio State College of Law, obtaining a J.D. with honors, in 1998. She also attended Pacific Lutheran University where she obtained a B.S. in Nursing, with honors, in 1984. In 2005, Ms. Thielke was named as a “Texas Rising Star” in Healthcare Law by the publishers of Texas Monthly magazine. In 2008, Ms. Thielke was the only attorney in Texas to pass the health law certification test and become one of less than sixty attorneys in Houston recognized as “Board certified in Health Law” by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.
Margaret Van Bree, MHA, DrPH
Senior Vice President – St. Luke's Episcopal Health System; Chief Executive Officer – St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital
Peg Van Bree is chief executive officer of St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital and senior vice president of St. Luke’s Episcopal Health System. She is administratively responsible for all aspects of SLEHS’ flagship hospital.
A graduate of the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse with a bachelor degree in community health education, Van Bree earned a Master of Hospital Administration degree from the University of Minnesota’s School of Public Health. She completed her Doctor of Public Health from Tulane University’s School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine in 1998.
Prior to joining St. Luke’s in October 2009, Van Bree served as senior vice president and chief operating officer at the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics in Madison since 2007. She also held the same or similar roles since 1999 at the University of Virginia Health System and Fairview-University Medical Center in Minneapolis. Van Bree is a member of the University HealthSystem Consortium Operations Officers Steering Committee, which she serves as council chair. She also is a member of the Consortium’s Business Strategy Council.
Debra F. Sukin, MHA
Group Vice President – St. Luke's Episcopal Health System; Chief Executive Officer – St. Luke's The Woodlands Hospital
Debra Sukin is chief executive officer, St. Luke's The Woodlands Hospital, and group vice president, St. Luke’s Episcopal Health System.
A Houston native, Ms. Sukin earned a bachelor degree, with honors, in health care administration from Virginia's Mary Baldwin College and a Master of Health Administration from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri. She was accepted as a fellow, and later served as manager of Corporate and International Programs, at Duke University Hospital and Health Network.
In 1998, she returned to Houston to join The Methodist Hospital as director of Heart Center Development and Transplant Services. A year later, she was named vice president of Operations and added governance responsibility for The Methodist DeBakey Heart Center Board. She was also responsible for radiology, pharmacy, bed control and international services.
Ms. Sukin is an active member of the American College of Healthcare Executives, the American Heart Association and the Houston Junior League. She is currently a member of the Mary Baldwin College Alumnae Board and has served on the Washington University Health Administration Board.
Bryan J. Hargis, MBA, CPA, FACHE
Vice President - St. Luke's Episcopal Health System; Chief Executive Officer - St. Luke's Sugar Land Hospital
Bryan J. Hargis is chief executive officer of St. Luke’s Sugar Land Hospital and vice president of St. Luke’s Episcopal Health System. Mr. Hargis is accomplished in leading mid-sized community hospitals to prominence and good financial health, serving as the CEO of Mineral Area Regional Medical Center in Farmington, Missouri, a member facility of Capella Healthcare since 2008. Prior to Mineral Area Regional Medical Center, Mr. Hargis served as CEO of facilities in other for-profit health systems. In 2005, he was awarded the Outstanding Achievement Award by Community Health Systems for best performance out of the seventy two hospitals in its corporation for year-over-year financial improvement. His background has provided him a strong, interdisciplinary skill set, including operations, business development and financial analysis.
Mr. Hargis has been recognized for creating a culture of customer service, improving staff empowerment, and enhancing both public awareness and reputation of facilities. He began his career as an accountant working in two “big four” accounting firms, before being recruited to serve as regional controller with Lab Corporation of America.
Mr. Hargis, a certified public accountant, completed his Master of Business Administration at Auburn University, graduating with a 4.0 GPA, and received a bachelor of science in both accounting and marketing at Arizona State University.
Francis X.Speidel, MD, MBA, FACEP
Vice President – St. Luke's Episcopal Health System; Chief Executive Officer – St. Luke's Hospital at The Vintage
Dr. Speidel received his undergraduate degree in physics at Kalamazoo College in Kalamazoo Michigan, where he received the Oakley Prize in physics. Only after he earned his MBA at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania did he pursue a career in medicine.He received his MD from Temple University and completed his post-graduate training in Emergency Medicine at the Medical College of Pennsylvania where he was chief resident. He was one of the first residency-trained and board certified physicians in emergency medicine. In November of 2008 he again recertified in emergency medicine. He has been, and remains, an active instructor in ATLS, ACLS and PALS.
His clinical career has included department directorships of emergency medicine at Chester County Hospital, West Chester, Pennsylvania; Brandywine Hospital and Trauma Center, Pennsylvania Community General Hospital in Reading, Pennsylvania;and St. Francis Hospital, Wilmington, Delaware. From 1982 to 1986, he served as the EMS medical director for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Since 1998, Dr. Speidel has served as vice president /senior vice president for medical affairs at Roxborough Hospital in Philadelphia and Mount Nittany Medical Center in State College Pennsylvania. His duties have included serving as a compliance officer, privacy officer, chief quality officer and ethicist. He also served as the senior medical officer aboard the USS Dwight D Eisenhower, (CVN 69) and executive /commanding officer of 4th Marine Air Wing Marine Air Group 49 Medical.
Bill Simmons
Chief Executive Officer - St. Luke's Patients Medical Center
Bill Simmons is the chief executive officer of St. Luke’s Patients Medical Center. With over 30 years in the healthcare field, he has served in positions at nine Texas hospitals ranging from assistant controller to CEO. His CEO roles have included positions at San Jacinto Methodist Hospital for over 14 years as well as Select Specialty Hospital and North Cypress Medical Center. In addition, he held positions of chief financial officer and chief operating officer at four area hospitals as well as director of operations for Triumph Healthcare.
Mr. Simmons received a bachelor of business administration in accounting from Southwest Texas State University. His broad operational background in hospitals and physician relations make him well suited for his role of CEO at St. Luke’s Patients Medical Center. He is also active in the community, serving as a member of several boards, including the Baytown and Pasadena Chambers of Commerce, Baytown Rotary, United Way, and YMCA as well as chairing two Goose Creek Independent School District bond elections.
Gail Bray, PhD.
Executive Director and Chief Administrative and Academic Officer – St. Luke's Episcopal Health Charities
Dr. Bray is the executive director of the St. Luke’s Episcopal Health Charities (the Charities), a non-profit public charity formed with a $150 million endowment from the St. Luke’s Episcopal Health System. Guided by its Center for Community-Based Research, the Charities, to date, has funded 1,649 grants totaling approximately $82 million since its inception in 1997. Prior to this position, Dr. Bray was the founding director of research for the Charities.
Other professional experience includes working in the public and private sectors at various levels of government, corporate and philanthropic institutions. Dr. Bray’s leadership experience draws on the multidisciplinary fields of computer science, political science, ethics, biostatistics, public policy and public health. She is also a trained mediator, lay chaplain and cellist.
Dr. Bray received her PhD. in management and policy sciences from The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, School of Public Health. Her major field of study was in management and policy sciences and her minor fields of study were ethics, biostatistics and health economics. She currently holds an adjunct appointment at the School of Public Health and is a senior fellow with the American Leadership Forum.
