Executive MBA Healthcare Management Program

Faculty Spotlight

Paula E. Anthony, Ph.D., MBAPaula Anthony

CIO – UT Health, President and CEO – Syndeti LLC, Adjunct Instructor – UT Tyler 
Course Taught in the EMBA-HCM Program:
EMBA 5361 Introduction to the American Healthcare System

Paula is the President and CEO of Syndeti LLC delivering business advisory services to the healthcare strategy, business development, and information technology sectors. Services include strategic planning, business development, IT leadership, compliance services, information security, business intelligence, M&A planning and transition, and organizational development. Currently, she is also serving as the Chief Strategy Officer for UT Health East Texas.

Previously, she spent 23 years as the Vice President and Chief Information Officer for ETMC Regional Healthcare System, responsible for the planning, acquisition, operation, support and security of information systems and telecommunications services for all ETMC businesses and facilities. She was also the CEO of HealthFirst, ETMC’s health benefits solutions subsidiary, which serves over 50,000 member lives across Texas.

Prior to joining ETMC, Paula spent 10 years with Ernst & Young responsible for the firm’s Southwest Health Care Information Technology practice. She has also worked for healthcare information systems vendors in various capacities. Paula has a BA from Wesleyan University in Connecticut, an MBA from Case Western Reserve University in Ohio, and a Ph.D. in human resource development from The University of Texas at Tyler.

Paula is a Fellow with the American College of Healthcare Executives. In 2016, she was appointed to the Texas Health Services Authority Board of Directors by Governor Greg Abbott, and she also serves on the Board of Directors for the Texas Hospital Association Foundation. She is an active member of both the College of Health Information Management Executives and the Health Information and Management Systems Society.

 

 

Leon J. Leach, Ph.D., MBALeon Leach

Consultant/Presidential Strategist The University of Texas at Tyler
Course Taught in the EMBA-HCM Program:
MANA 5395 Formulating and Implementing Strategy

Leon J. Leach, PhD joined the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in 1997 where, for two decades, he was responsible for their business and financial functions. Prior to that, Dr. Leach held executive leadership positions with Cornerstone Physicians Corporation, CareAmerica Health Plans, Candle SubAcute Services and the Prudential Insurance Company of America. 

Upon retiring from MD Anderson in 2017, Dr. Leach continued to serve the University of Texas as a consultant instrumental in the acquisition of East Texas Medical Center, the formation of UT Health East Texas where he serves on the Board of Directors and chairs the Finance Committee and serves as the Presidential Strategist for the University of Texas at Tyler. 

Leon also serves on the Finance Committee of the Board of Directors of the Memorial Hermann Health System, is Chairman of the Board of Governors of the BH Carroll Theological Institute, serves on the Board of Directors of FaithSearch Partners and of Island Packet Yachts.

Leon holds a BS from Rutgers University, an MBA from Widener University, an MA from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and a PhD from the University of Texas School of Public Health. He lives in Tyler, Texas, with his wife, Tensel. 

 

 

Bryan Pannagl, MBABryan Pannagl

Executive Director; Finance/Administration UT Tyler School of Medicine
Course Taught in the EMBA-HCM Program:
FINA 5320 Advanced Financial Management

Bryan Pannagl is the Executive Director for Finance/Administration in the UT Tyler School of Medicine. Bryan was the former Chief Financial Officer at CHRISTUS Highland Medical Center; prior to that role he served as the Executive Director of Finance for Trinity Mother Frances Hospital – Tyler, CHRISTUS® Trinity Mother Frances Health System.

 

 

Jessica A. McCann, Ph.D., PCCJessica McCann

Leadership Practitioner, Leadership Institute, The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center
Courses Taught in the EMBA-HCM Program:
EMBA 5345 Strategic Healthcare Leadership Processes
MANA 5350 Strategic Human Resources Management

Dr. Jessica A. McCann is a Leadership Practitioner at the Leadership Institute at The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas. In that role, she designs, develops, and delivers blended leadership development programs for all levels of clinical, operational, and faculty leaders and teaches in the CoachRICE program that trains leaders in coaching skills per the International Coaching Federation guidelines in partnership with Rice University. She is a Professional Certified Coach (ICF) and coaches executives and senior leaders in the healthcare industry. In addition to teaching at M.D. Anderson, Jessica consults and teaches with FranklinCovey to enterprise clients around the country, many of which are healthcare institutions. 

With 15 years of experience in HR and change management, Jessica has worked and consulted with organizations across a wide spectrum of industries. Her particular focus has been on talent management and talent development, and her research has focused on employee engagement, culture, and team resiliency. Jessica holds a Ph.D. in HR Development from The University of Texas at Tyler, and a M.S. in Educational HR Development and a B.A. in Communication from Texas A&M University.

Jessica is passionate about service and giving back to the community. She’s been an active member of The Association of Junior Leagues International for more than 12 years and has served on the boards of educational non-profits that mentor and provide scholarships to high school and college students.

 

 

Kerri Camp, Ph.D., MBAKerri Camp

Professor of Marketing
Course Taught in the EMBA-HCM Program:
MARK 5320 Advanced Marketing Fundamentals

Dr. Kerri M. Camp is an Associate Professor of Marketing at The University of Texas at Tyler.  She holds the following degrees of Ph.D. Texas Tech University, MBA in Management Golden Gate University, and BBA in Marketing Texas A&M University.  She has over seven years of industry experience as a  healthcare administrator, a marketing consultant for healthcare organizations, and served on healthcare organization boards and advisory committees.  She has been an invited columnist for The Daily Sentinel, a media consultant for local CBS and NBC news, and a guest speaker for numerous state and local organizations.  Dr. Camp has taught several different marketing courses at the undergraduate and graduate level including healthcare marketing and special topics in healthcare in UT Tyler’s online MBA in Healthcare Management and Executive MBA in Healthcare Management. Her primary research focus is healthcare management issues, and in particular, patient satisfaction and value in healthcare.  She is a co-author of the textbook Healthcare Marketing—Creating Value in the Patient Experience and is has a second book under contract titled Changing Healthcare Paradigm – Importance of Patient Satisfaction.  Dr. Camp is listed in the MHA Online Schools with Exceptional Healthcare Business Faculty Top 20 and has received numerous teaching awards.

 

 

Venugopal Gopalakrishna-Remani, Ph.D., MBA, PGDPMVenu Remani

Associate Professor of Management
Course Taught in the EMBA-HCM Program:
EMBA 5305 Decision Making in Healthcare Operations Management

Dr. Venugopal Gopalakrishna-Remani is an Associate Professor of Management. His primary teaching interests are in Operations Management and Management Science and include green supply chains, healthcare operations, decision sciences, principles of management, project management, and production and planning. His current research interests include healthcare operations (specifically healthcare information supply chain systems and issues on electronic health records implementation), the negative effects of outsourcing, green supply chains and the effect of sustainable supply chain operations on firm performance. He is the recipient of 'Outstanding Faculty Award 2016', Texas Alpha XI Chapter of Alpha Chi National College Honor Society.

 

 

Tammy Cowart, J.D.Tammy Cowart

Professor, Business Law
Course Taught in the EMBA-HCM Program:
BLAW 5340 Business and Professional Ethics

Tammy Cowart is an Associate Professor of Business Law and the Director for Soules College of Business Graduate Programs at The University of Texas at Tyler. She has taught Business Law and Business Ethics classes in the Soules College of Business since 1999. She developed an M.B.A. course in business law and a business ethics course which has been approved by the Texas State Board of Public Accountancy for CPA candidates.

Her research interests include ethics and compliance and intellectual property law, and her research has been published in the Journal of Business Ethics and the American Business Law Journal. Professor Cowart has received the Provost’s Excellence in Teaching Award, Faculty Service Award, and Outstanding Student Organization Advisor Award.

She earned her law degree from Texas Tech University and has practiced law in a variety of areas including tort law, business law, and employment law. Professor Cowart is a member of the State Bar of Texas and the Smith County Bar Association. She has served on the board of a number of community agencies, including the Literacy Council of Tyler, Smith County Chapter of the American Heart Association, and Smith County Young Lawyers Association.

 

 

Linda Cooper, MBA, CPALinda Cooper

CPA and Director, Accounting Solutions, Henry & Peters, PC
Course Taught in the EMBA-HCM Program:
ACCT 5320 Accounting for Management Control

Linda Cooper is a CPA and is currently a Director in the Accounting Solutions department at Henry & Peters, PC.  Prior to working at Henry & Peters, Linda worked in Healthcare for 30 years.  She worked at University of Texas Health at Tyler as Director of Accounting, was the original Chief Financial Officer at Texas Spine and Joint Hospital when the hospital opened and lastly as CFO / COO at Precision Spine Care where she helped grow the practice from 2 providers to 20+ providers.

Linda obtained a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting degree from Baylor University and a MBA from UT Tyler. She has served as Treasurer on several boards in Tyler including Leadership Tyler, Women’s Symphony League and National Charity League.
Linda also teaches Accounting and Finance for Small Business and Entrepreneurs at UT Tyler.

 

 

Susan McBride, PhD, RN, NI-BC, CPHIMS, FAANSusan McBride

Associate Dean of Research, Jacqueline M. Braithwaite Endowed Professor of Nursing
University of Texas at Tyler
Course Co-Taught in the EMBA-HCM Program:
EMBA 5362 - Healthcare Information Technology and Informatics

Susan McBride, Ph.D., RN, NI-BC, CPHIMS, FAAN is a nursing informaticist with over 25 years of experience in clinical informatics whose research focus is on methods development for implementing, evaluating, and utilizing health information technology and data to improve patient safety, quality, and population health. Dr. McBride is a Professor and the Associate Dean of Research for the School of Nursing at the University of Texas at Tyler. She sits on multiple technical advisory committees at state and national levels as well as consults on various aspects of health information technology, and use of data for healthcare improvement. Dr. McBride is a Fellow and the past Chair of the American Academy of Nursing Informatics and Technology Expert Panel. She is the principal investigator for the 2015 and 2020 Texas Statewide EHR Satisfaction Study and the National League of Nursing funded research (2021-2023) for the study entitled “Competency Assessment in Simulation of Electronic Health Records (CASE) Tool: A Validated Tool to Evaluate EHR Competency in Simulation”.

 

 

Dr. Joni PaddenJoni Padden

Chief Nursing Information Officer 
Texas Health Resources System Services
Course Co-Taught in the EMBA-HCM Program:
EMBA 5362 - Healthcare Information Technology and Informatics

Dr. Padden is a board-certified Clinical Nurse Specialist in Adult Health and in Informatics Nursing and is CPHIMS certified.  Dr. Padden is a board member for the DFW ANIA Chapter, and a past member of the HIMSS Nursing Informatics Committee.   In her current role as a Chief Nursing Information Officer at Texas Health Resources, which she has been in since 2020, Dr. Padden works with front line staff and clinical leadership to develop best practices to support superlative patient care and outcomes.  Dr. Padden began her nursing career as a Trauma Intensive Care nurse in 1992.  

 

 

 

 

 

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