Chris DeRienzo, MD, MPP

Chief Physician Executive, AHA

Dr. Chris DeRienzo serves as Chief Physician Executive of the American Hospital Association (AHA) and President of AHA’s 501c(3) affiliate HRET. He has responsibility for driving the association’s engagement with physician leaders, partners closely with the AHA CNO as a dyad team to deepen and expand clinical initiatives and serves as a key spokesperson contributing to advancing AHA’s efforts in public policy development, innovation, care delivery transformation and equity of care.
 
Prior to joining the AHA, Chris served as System Chief Medical Officer and SVP of Quality at WakeMed Health & Hospitals, Raleigh, N.C. Chris was responsible for value-based care, care transformation, quality, patient safety, analytics, population health, and medical staff initiatives across the health system. Chris also has served as CMO and advisory board member of Prealize, an artificial intelligence-enabled predictive analytics company that uses machine learning to drive improved care. Prior to that, Chris was Chief Quality Officer for Mission Health Asheville, N.C., where he led continuous improvement efforts that advanced patient care and improved the health of rural North Carolinians.  
 
Chris received his medical degree from Duke University in Durham, N.C., and a Master of Public Policy from its Sanford School of Public Policy. He is board-certified in both Pediatrics and Neonatology and maintains an appointment as an Adjunct Professor of Pediatrics with the Duke University School of Medicine.
 
 

Eric Borgerding

President and CEO, Wisconsin Hospital Association

Previous to his current role, Eric Borgerding held positions as Vice President of Government Relations, Senior Vice President, and Executive Vice President at WHA.  During Borgerding’s tenure, WHA has become one of the most influential and effective advocacy and lobbying organizations in Wisconsin.
 
Since joining WHA in 2002, Borgerding has assembled and led a highly respected policy and advocacy team while achieving several notable accomplishments, including: restoring the damage cap in medical lawsuits and preserving Wisconsin’s balanced medical malpractice system; creating Wisconsin’s Medicaid Disproportionate Share Hospital program; enacting legislation creating the Wisconsin Council on Medical Education and Workforce and the Wisconsin Rural Physician Residency Assistance Program; enacting legislation creating the WHA Information Center and nationally-recognized transparency tool PricePoint; enacting the Wisconsin Quality Improvement Act; increasing state funding for graduate medical education and creating new residency programs; enacting Wisconsin’s successful hospital assessment; overhauling Wisconsin’s hospital regulations; building one of Wisconsin’s largest grassroots advocacy networks; and achieving a five-fold increase in contributions to WHA’s political action committee making it the largest in Wisconsin.  
 
Borgerding has over 30 years of Wisconsin advocacy experience and leadership, including serving as Director of Legislative Relations for Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce, Director of State Legislative Affairs for the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and previously as WHA’s Director of Legislative Relations.

Andy Hillig, MBA, PCC, FACHE

Director of Career Management Services and Executive Coach, LAK Group

Andy helps people and companies find their rhythm, get in sync, and discover real success. Andy joined the LAK Group with more than 20 years of experience in Operations, Leadership, and Continuous Process Improvement in healthcare. His passion is helping leaders realize that what they do is not as important as who they are as they do it.​

Prior to joining LAK Group, Andy led teams responsible for large and complex strategic engagements that had multiple layers of responsibility and spanned across healthcare organizations of more than 20,000 employees. He’s led all aspects of the operating system, including strategic planning, daily management, project assignments, successful achievement of goals, and team development. He ensured the success of an enterprise-wide operating system through relevant and effective training content and delivery.
 
 

Jeff Bahr, MD, FACP

Chief Physician Executive - Midwest Region, Advocate Health
 

Dr. Bahr leads the 3800 physicians and 2200 advanced practice clinicians employed by Advocate Health Care in Illinois and Aurora Health Care in Wisconsin. Having previously overseen the integration of two large medical groups within Advocate Aurora Health, he currently oversees medical group operations, clinical service lines, workforce planning, clinician recruitment, clinical quality and programming, as well as patient access. He is currently Chair of the Board of Directors for the Advocate Aurora Research Institute and has previously led system Academics in Wisconsin and Illinois.

 

Dr. Bahr joined Aurora Health Care in 2002 and previously served as Vice President – Primary Care, leading Aurora Health Care’s Primary Care Service Line. In that role, he led initiatives in clinical quality, patient experience, growth, care redesign, and workforce planning for internal medicine, family medicine, pediatrics, and urgent care. He assisted in developing and implementing tactics within the Primary Care Redesign initiative that fostered growth and efficiency in the practices of over 900 primary care physicians and advanced practice clinicians.

 

He is a director on the board of the Wisconsin Hospital Association and chairs the board of Open Arms Free Clinic in Elkhorn, Wisconsin.

 

Dr. Bahr is board certified in general internal medicine and maintains a primary care practice. Prior to establishing his practice in 2002, he served as Chief Resident and Instructor of Medicine at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee where he completed his internship and residency.

 

Dr. Bahr earned his medical degree from the Medical College of Wisconsin and received his bachelor’s degree from Marquette University. He was elected to Alpha Omega Alpha in 2001 and is a fellow of the American College of Physicians.

 

Wendy Ledesma, MD

Chief Medical Officer, Sauk Prairie Healthcare

As a physician executive, Dr. Wendy Ledesma is a dynamic catalyst for positive change, an innovator in provider wellness, and a tireless advocate for healthcare equity. With more than a decade of dedicated medical leadership, Dr. Ledesma has demonstrated unparalleled expertise in driving data-informed results in patient safety, quality improvement, and service line expansion within rural healthcare settings. Her passion for fostering physician and advanced practice provider wellness and advocating for diversity and inclusivity in healthcare delivery sets her apart as a true trailblazer in our field.

Chief Medical Officer of Patient Safety & Quality at Sauk Prairie Healthcare, Dr. Ledesma leads by example, caring for her team of providers and caregivers while spearheading leading-edge initiatives to deliver safe, effective, and patient-centered care. Her visionary leadership has resulted in numerous accolades and recognitions, including awards for patient safety, maternity care, organ and tissue donation, and joint replacement programs.
As if her professional accomplishments weren't impressive enough, Dr. Ledesma's commitment to community engagement and professional affiliations further exemplifies her dedication to serving others. Dr. Ledesma serves as a volunteer bilingual, bicultural provider at the Good Neighbor Clinic, a free clinic for rural patients with minimal or no health insurance. She is a mentor for undergraduate students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, working with minority students from the same scholarship program from which she graduated.

Dr. Ledesma is a board member of both the National Association of Latino Healthcare Executives and the American College of Healthcare Executives Wisconsin Chapters.  Currently Dr. Ledesma is pursuing her Executive Master of Business Administration through the University of Wisconsin School of Business.   She is an international speaker on the topics of physician and provider wellness, physician leadership, and overcoming challenges to deliver medical care with a renewed passion. Outside of work you’ll find her cycling with coach Robin Arzon on her Peloton bike, driving her five kids to lacrosse or soccer, or enjoying time with her husband and friends.
 


 

Chris Woleske

Executive Vice President and President Bellin Region, Emplify Health

 

Brad Groseth

Regional President - Western Wisconsin Marshfield Clinic Health System

 

Imran Andrabi, MD

President and CEO, Froedtert ThedaCare Health

Since June, 2017, Imran Andrabi, MD, has been president and chief executive officer of ThedaCare. Before joining ThedaCare, Dr. Andrabi was chief operating officer and then president and CEO of Mercy Health in Toledo, Ohio. During his tenure with Mercy Health, Dr. Andrabi served as president of the Mercy Physician Group and president of the Clinically Integrated Network, and chief network integration officer for the region in Toledo. He served as chairman of the board for Mercy Health Physicians across the Mercy Health system and vice chair of the board of the clinically integrated network Advanced Health Select in Ohio. Dr. Andrabi has experience with residency programs and has served as a faculty member with the Medical College of Ohio and the Ohio University.
 
Dr. Andrabi is a family medicine physician who graduated from King Edward Medical College in Lahore, Pakistan. He completed his transitional year residency and then his family medicine training at Mercy Hospital in Toledo, Ohio, where he served as chief resident. He is board certified by the American Board of Family Medicine and American College of Managed Care Medicine and is a fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians.