Advisory Board

Patient Stakeholders

Penney Cowan (Founder and Executive Director, American Chronic Pain Association) established the ACPA in 1980 in Pittsburgh, PA to help others suffering from chronic pain. The ACPA works to build awareness about chronic pain and provides peer support in pain management skills to people with pain, family and friends, and health care professionals.

Hannah Ornowski (Community Engagement Director, Arthritis Foundation) oversees community outreach, advocacy, and cultivation of local corporate and healthcare provider relationships for The Arthritis Foundation in Pennsylvania and West Virginia. The Arthritis Foundation, founded in 1948, provides health education, pursues public policy and legislation, and conducts evidence-based programs to improve the quality of life for those living with arthritis and related conditions.

Marie Mulloney (TARGET Trial Patient Investigator) is a low back pain patient from Pittsburgh, PA. She has a background in management consulting that has required her to engage with diverse stakeholders to design and implement information systems and improve organizational performance in a wide variety of industries, including acute care hospitals. Ms. Mulloney received a BA in English and MPIA in Public Policy from University of Pittsburgh as well as a PhD in Systematic Theology from Duquesne University.

Jewel Cash (TARGET Trial Patient Investigator) is a chronic pain patient from Boston, MA. She graduated from Suffolk University with a BA in Sociology and Spanish. She has also received a certificate in Graduate Business Management Studies from Lesley University. She is a committed community servant and activist focused on the needs and concerns of youth and their families. Her work has been documented in local and national newspapers. Ms. Cash is a longtime patient of Boston Medical Center and the affiliated South End Community Health Center.

 

Provider Stakeholders

Russell Phillips, MD (Director, Harvard Medical School Center for Primary Care) leads programs at the Center for Primary Care that are transforming education and care systems, and developing entirely new approaches to improving primary care and health. His research interests have included disparities in care, patient safety, and interventions to improve care for patients with chronic disease.

Jennifer Carroll, MD, MPH (Director, American Academy of Family Physicians National Research Network) is a family physician and Associate Professor of Family Medicine at the University of Colorado. The AAFP National Research Network’s mission is to support, conduct, and disseminate practice-based primary care research that improves healthcare and benefits the health of patients, their families, and communities.

Sharon Dunn, PhD, PT, OCS (President, American Physical Therapy Association) is Department Head of Rehabilitation Sciences and Director of Physical Therapy at Louisiana State University Shreveport. APTA seeks to improve the health and quality of life of individuals in society by advancing physical therapist practice, education, and research, and by increasing the awareness and understanding of physical therapy's role in the nation's health care system.

 

Payer and Policy Stakeholders

David Elton, DC (Senior Vice President of Clinical Programs, OptumHealth) works to support providers in their efforts to align care with best clinical evidence leading to improved quality and reduced variability in clinical decision-making. Prior to joining Optum, Dr. Elton served in a clinical leadership role within a multi-site, multi-state, multi-disciplinary physical rehabilitation company.

Jim Lee, MS (Vice President and Director, Systems Research & Initiatives Group, Altarum Institute) focuses his work on health technology assessments drawing on administrative, financial accounting, and clinical data to support clinical trials, practice guideline development, and program evaluations. Altarum Institute is a nonprofit health systems research and consulting organization that integrates independent research and client-centered consulting to create comprehensive, systems-based solutions that improve health.

Michael Parkinson, MD (Senior Medical Director, UPMC Health Plan and WorkPartners) is a Past President of the American College of Preventive Medicine, the national medical specialty society of physicians trained in and committed to disease prevention, health promotion, and systems-based approaches to improving health and health care.