ACHE Member Update
ACHE Announces Nominating Committee 2025 Slate
The ACHE Nominating Committee has selected a slate of leaders to be presented to the Council of Regents for action at its March 22, 2025, meeting. All nominees have been notified and have agreed to serve if elected. All terms begin at the close of the Council meeting in March. The nominees for the 2025 slate are as follows:
Nominating Committee Member, District 2 (two-year term ending in 2027)
Ann-Marie A. Knight, FACHE
Vice President, Community Engagement & Chief Diversity Officer
University of Florida Health-Jacksonville (Fla.
Nominating Committee Member, District 3 (two-year term ending in 2027)
Thomas N. Shorter, JD, FACHE
Partner
Husch Blackwell LLP
Madison, Wis.
Nominating Committee Member, District 6 (two-year term ending in 2027)
Amir N. Farooqi, FACHE
Interim Director/Chief Executive Officer
VA Eastern Colorado Health Care System
Aurora, Colo.
Additional nominations for members of the Nominating Committee may be made from the floor at the annual Council of Regents meeting.
Governor (three-year term ending in 2028)
Jennifer D. Alderfer, FACHE
Western Division President
Lifepoint Health
Brentwood, Tenn.
Governor (three-year term ending in 2028)
Corwin N. Harper, FACHE
Covington, La.
Governor (three-year term ending in 2028)
Bonnie J. Panlasigui, FACHE
Akron, Ohio
Governor (three-year term ending in 2028)
Peter J. Wright, FACHE
President & CEO
Northwestern Medical Center
Saint Albans, Vt.
Chair-Elect
Noel J. Cardenas, FACHE
Senior Vice President & CEO
Memorial Hermann Southeast & Pearland Hospitals
Houston
Additional nominations for the offices of Chair-Elect and Governor may be made in the following manner: Any Fellow may be nominated by written petition of at least 15 members of the Council of Regents. Petitions must be received in the ACHE headquarters office (American College of Healthcare Executives, 300 S. Riverside Plaza, Ste. 1900, Chicago, IL 60606-6698) at least 60 days prior to the annual meeting of the Council of Regents. Regents shall be notified in writing of nominations at least 30 days prior to the annual meeting of the Council of Regents.
Thanks to the members of the Nominating Committee for their contributions in this important work:
Anthony A. Armada, FACHE
Delvecchio S. Finley, FACHE
CAPT Robert T. McMahon, III, FACHE
Stephanie M. Meier, FACHE
Harry C. Sax, MD, FACHE
Mark Schulte, FACHE
Ashley R. Vertuno, FACHE
Lori L. Wightman, RN, FACHE
ACHE Call for Nominations for 2026 Slate
ACHE’s 2025-2026 Nominating Committee is calling for applications for service beginning in 2026. ACHE Fellows are eligible for the Chair-Elect and Governor vacancies and are eligible for the Nominating Committee vacancies within their districts. Those interested in pursuing applications should review the candidate guidelines for the competencies and qualifications required for these important roles. Open positions on the slate include:
- Nominating Committee Member, District 1 (two-year term ending in 2028).
- Nominating Committee Member, District 4 (two-year term ending in 2028).
- Nominating Committee Member, District 5 (two-year term ending in 2028).
- Four Governors (three-year terms ending in 2029).
- Chair-Elect.
Please refer to the following district designations for the open positions:
- District 1: Canada, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont
- District 4: Alabama, Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas
- District 5: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wyoming
Candidates for Chair-Elect and Governor should submit an application to serve, a copy of their resume and up to 10 letters of support.
For details, please review the Candidate Guidelines, including guidance from the Board of Governors to the Nominating Committee regarding the personal competencies of Chair-Elect and Governor candidates and the composition of the Board of Governors.
Candidates for the Nominating Committee should only submit a letter of self-nomination and a copy of their resume. Due to the importance and nature of work conducted by the Nominating Committee, candidates should demonstrate effective and successful prior experience as a healthcare leader and ACHE volunteer.
Applications to serve and self-nominations should be addressed to Delvecchio S. Finley, FACHE, Nominating Committee Chair, and can be submitted electronically to Kim Rock at krock@ache.org.
All applications must be received by Monday, July 28.
Following the July 28 submission deadline, the committee may meet to determine which candidates for Chair-Elect and Governor will be interviewed. All candidates will be notified of the committee’s decision no later than Sept. 26, and candidates for Chair-Elect and Governor will be interviewed in person Oct. 23 in Chicago.
The first meeting of ACHE’s 2025–2026 Nominating Committee will be held Tuesday, March 25, during the 2025 Congress on Healthcare Leadership in Houston, Texas. The committee will be in open session at 2:45 p.m. Central time.
During the meeting, an orientation session will be conducted for potential candidates, giving them the opportunity to ask questions regarding the nominating process.
Immediately following the orientation, an open forum will be provided for ACHE members to present and discuss their views of ACHE leadership needs.
If you have any questions, please contact Kim Rock at (312) 424-9375 or krock@ache.org.
Internships Available Through AHA Institute’s Summer Enrichment Program
Registration is open for the American Hospital Association’s Institute for Diversity and Health Equity 2025 Summer Enrichment Program. The program grows and strengthens the pipeline of healthcare leaders and places graduate students pursuing advanced degrees in healthcare administration or a related field in 10-week, paid internships across the country.
ACHE and the Institute co-promote the program to increase the number of students who participate in it each year and, accordingly, increase the number of host sites. Just as students benefit from experiential learning, host sites gain the experience of mentoring, educating and collaborating with new and upcoming leaders.
Registrations are due Feb. 7, 2025. Visit ifdhe.aha.org/summer-enrichment-program-overview to register, or to learn more about the program in general or about becoming a host site.
For further details, contact the Institute at ifd-sep@aha.org or Anita Halvorsen, FACHE, ACHE’s senior vice president, Executive Engagement, at ahalvorsen@ache.org.
People
ACHE Chapters Recognized for Commitment to Diversity
Five chapters received ACHE’s 2024 Regent-at-Large Award for their accomplishments in diversity and inclusion. To be eligible to receive an award, a chapter must actively demonstrate commitment to and successful execution of significant diversity and inclusion initiatives within the chapter, community and healthcare management field. The following chapters received the award during the annual Chapter Leaders Conference, which took place Sept. 29–30 in Chicago.
- Healthcare Leaders of New York—District 1.
- National Capital Healthcare Executives—District 2.
- Chicago Health Executives Forum—District 3.
- ACHE of Alabama—District 4.
- California Association of Healthcare Leaders—District 5.
2024 Executive Program: Where Leaders Connect, Collaborate, Innovate
Sixty-five healthcare leaders completed ACHE’s 2024 Executive Program, which included executive, senior executive and clinical executive cohorts.
This in-person three-module series took place over four months, with the first module beginning in June 2024 in Houston, followed by the second in August in Chicago, and concluding with the final module in October in Atlanta.
Attendees learned from top healthcare experts, received individualized career coaching and professional leadership assessments, visited health systems, all of which offered valuable insights on the specific challenges leaders face today.
The program’s goal is to foster professional growth and support organizational advancement. Participants also built lasting relationships and shared knowledge, making it a truly unique learning experience.
The 2025 Executive Program will also be held in person, with more details to follow soon.
IHF Announces 2024 Award Winners
ACHE congratulates the recipients of the 2024 International Hospital Federation Awards. These awards, which include the American College of Healthcare Executives Award for Leadership and Management, are recognized around the world as the premier awards program to honor hospitals and healthcare organizations.
The IHF announced the 2024 recipients and presented the awards during a ceremony Sept. 11 at the 47th World Hospital Congress in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
The ACHE Excellence Award for Leadership and Management recognizes hospitals or health service providers that demonstrate excellence or outstanding achievements in leadership and management in leading a hospital or healthcare organization.
The 2024 recipients are:
Gold:
National Cardiovascular Center Harapan Kita (Indonesia).
Silver:
King Saud Medical City (Saudi Arabia).
Bronze:
Cromwell Hospital (United Kingdom).
Honorable Mentions:
Emirates Health Services (United Arab Emirates).
Fundació Assistencial Mútua Terrassa (Spain).
University Hospitals (United States).
Tondo Medical Center (Philippines).
This year, IHF received over 500 entries from more than 37 countries and territories.
Leaders in Action
To promote the many benefits of ACHE membership, the following ACHE leader spoke recently at the following in-person event:
William P. Santulli, FACHE
Chair
South Texas Chapter–American College of Healthcare Executives
Healthcare Landscape Conference
Jan. 31, 2025.
ACHE Staff News
ACHE Announces New Hire and Promotion
Ibtisaam “Sam” Dalvi welcomed as data analyst, Research, Executive Office.
Molly Lowe promoted to vice president, Learning, Department of Professional Development, from director, content strategy.
Kalon Robinson-Goodman welcomed as business analyst, Business Excellence.
ACHE Staff Members Receive Service Awards
The following ACHE staff members recently received awards for service anniversaries.
25-Year Service Award
Lisa Mackins, accounting coordinator, Finance, Department of Business Excellence.
10-Year Service Award
Kimberly Rock, governance specialist, Executive Office.
Tim Tlusty, vice president, Development, Executive Office.
Five-Year Service Award
Svetlana Abramova, research assistant, Research, Executive Office.
David N. Bartholomew, FACHE, senior vice president, Learning, Department of Professional Development.
Steven M. Harris, director, Information Technology, Department of Information Technology.
Mary Howorth, education specialist, Department of Professional Development.
Aleksandr Kholod, report developer, Department of Information Technology.
Stacey A. Kidd, CAE, director, Chapter Relations, Department of Executive Engagement.
Kevin V. McCann, technical support coordinator, Department of Information Technology.
2024 Pickert Award Winners Announced
Alexa N. Calingo, program specialist, Department of Professional Development, and Sujatha Socrates, web content coordinator, Department of Communications and Marketing, are the 2024 recipients of the Alton E. Pickert Award, which recognizes ACHE employees who have demonstrated significant service to ACHE and its members.
The award was established by Anne M. Pickert to honor the memory of Alton E. Pickert, FACHE, ACHE Chair from 1983 to 1984. During his tenure, Pickert emphasized the important contributions of ACHE staff to the healthcare field. Calingo joined ACHE in 2023 and Socrates joined ACHE in 2022.