| About RVU | Board of Trustees

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Stan Albrecht, PHD

Dr. Albrecht is President Emeritus of Utah State University. Prior to his 12-year term as President, he served in a number of other higher education administrative positions, including Department Chair, Dean (twice), Academic Vice President, and Provost. He has also served as Associate Director of University of Florida’s Institute for Health Policy and Epidemiology and as Vice President of the Rural Sociological Society.

Dr. Albrecht has served on the Boards of Regents Blue Cross/Blue Shield (Utah), Intermountain Health Care’s Logan Regional Hospital, the Salt Lake Chamber Board of Governors, the NCAA, Cache Valley Electric, the Association of Public and Land Grant Universities, the American Council on Education, and is a former Commissioner and Vice Chair of the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. His research has been funded by NIH, NIEHS, the Department of Agricultural, and other public and private entities. He has published four books and over 100 research articles, many dealing with issues of health and environmental policy.

David Bedell

David Bedell joined the RVU board in August 2021 and brings 20+ years of financial and governance experience to the board. David is currently the CFO of onX, a leader in the outdoor software and application space. Before joining onX, David served as the CFO of Lendio, a fintech company supporting the financing needs of small businesses. Prior to Lendio, David was the CFO of HireVue, where he was responsible for finance, accounting, legal, information security, and sales operations functions. David also spent several years in the education technology space with Instructure (including through IPO) and 13 years at Intuit, where he led finance in several business units. David holds an MBA and an MS in Mechanical Engineering from Brigham Young University. David and his family live in Utah where they regularly enjoy the many outdoor opportunities the state provides.

Edward Bilsky, PhD, ex-officio

Ed Bilsky, PhD, is the Provost and Chief Academic Officer of Rocky Vista University. With a distinguished career in medical and graduate health education spanning 25+ years, Dr. Bilsky’s formal training and scholarship are in the fields of opioid pharmacology and the neurobiology of pain and substance use disorders. He has authored over 85 peer-reviewed publications and presented numerous times to diverse audiences nationally and internationally. His work extends into various forms of public education and advocacy with state and federal legislators.

Michele Chulick, MBA, BSN Vice Chair

Michele Chulick is a healthcare leader and Board member with more than 30 years of operational leadership experience spanning large healthcare systems (over 1000 beds), academic medical centers, stand-alone pediatric medical centers, and rural health. Most recently, Chulick served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Wyoming Medical Center (WMC), the largest hospital in Wyoming with 249 inpatient beds, 1,300 employees and serves as the Level II tertiary trauma center for Wyoming. Under her leadership, WMC grew revenues to over $600M, increased licensed beds, added essential clinical services, and initiated and implemented the first state-wide telehealth network to expand services for stroke, dialysis, urgent care, and specialty clinics. Michele has a strong reputation as a leader who drives strategic plan implementations focused on quality, innovation, growth and expansion, and excels in reducing costs, improving productivity, increasing patient satisfaction and improving patient outcomes. Chulick’s accomplishments have been recognized by South Florida Business Leader magazine as one of 24 Women Extraordinaire in business. She was also a Distinguished Nominee for the Executive Woman of the Year Award from Crain’s Detroit Business.

Chulick currently serves on the Board of Visitors for the Duke University School of Nursing, chairing the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Committee. Through her leadership roles, she also had extensive opportunities to partner with and advise the Boards of WMC, University of Miami, Children’s Health System of Texas, Children’s Medical Center Health Plan, and Bluebonnet Health Plan. In addition, she has served on community boards, including Girls Scouts of East Texas, Boys and Girls Club of Central Wyoming, Executive Leadership Team for the American Heart Association of Dallas, and Advance Casper. Chulick is also a former member of Medtronic Business Council of Advisors and Broadlane (supply chain) Enterprise Client Steering Committee.

David Forstein, DO, FACOOG

David Forstein is the President and CEO of Rocky Vista University. Before joining RVU, Dr. Forstein was Dean and Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine – Harlem Campus. He has a long history as a medical educator, having served as Residency Director and Associate Professor of OB/GYN at the University of South Caroline School of Medicine and as a Clerkship Director at Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM).

A leader in osteopathic medical education, Dr. Forstein is a former member of the American Osteopathic Association’s Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation and served on the Board of Directors of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, where he was also Chair of the Committee Requirements. He currently serves as the first Osteopathic Physician on the Board of the Association of Professors in Gynecology and Obstetrics. Dr. Forstein has also served in other notable roles including clinical faculty appointments at Clemson University School of Health Research, University of Medicine, and Dentistry of New Jersey – School of Osteopathic Medicine, Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine, and Jefferson Medical College.

Barry Leffler

Barry Leffler is the Chief Marketing and Enrollment Officer for Medforth Global Healthcare Education, overseeing enterprise-wide marketing, communications, recruitment, and enrollment operations. Barry is a strong operational leader, strategic marketing executive, and brand builder, having transformed health care, media, and marketing organizations in local, national, and international markets throughout his career.

From 2014 to 2018, he served as the Chief Marketing Officer for Tenet Healthcare, a Fortune 150 healthcare services company operating hundreds of hospitals, outpatient centers, and physician practices nationwide. At Tenet, Barry established, led, and built a consumer engagement marketing organization, implementing an evidence-based approach with a focus on creating value for patients and providers and fostering growth.

Barry spent almost 15 years with NBC in executive roles ranging from President and General Manager of NBC 17 Raleigh leading the largest expansion of a local television station in the country to NBC Europe in London where he oversaw marketing, communications, and creative services for two pan-European cable satellite channels.

He is recognized as an industry-leading architect of strategy for the development, design, and use of contemporary marketing tools powered by strong CRM technologies, and a digital orientation.

Donna Milavetz, MD, MPH, FACP

Donna Milavetz, MD, MPH, FACP, joined the RVU Board in October of 2023. Dr. Milavetz is a Board-Certified Internal Medicine physician with 20 years of clinical experience, trained at one of Harvard University’s teaching hospitals and holds a master’s degree in public health from the University of Minnesota

Currently, Dr. Milavetz is the Chief Medical Officer for Cambia Health Solutions, the parent company of Regence BCBS. She has experience as an entrepreneur, with starting, running and successfully exiting an employer-based primary care company named OnSite Care. She additionally has experience in Accountable Care Organizations, with running the Western Division for Steward Healthcare Network

Volunteerism is important to Dr. Milavetz, as she currently serves as a board member for Jewish Family Services.

John Peabody, MD, PhD

John Peabody is an international leader in health policy, health economics, and quality of clinical care. He has contributed more than 200 articles and abstracts to peer-reviewed literature, written books on quality improvement, and spoken regularly on the economic benefits of standardizing practice in healthcare systems around the world. Dr. Peabody developed the globally adopted standard for measuring clinical practice variation, by developing a software tool that simulates a patient visit and provides detailed feedback and benchmarking for all types of practitioners. In 2012, he took his research and academic innovation into the private sector and founded and led QURE Healthcare. QURE grew into a multi-million-dollar enterprise and was acquired in 2021 by TRC Healthcare. John and his wife, Camellia, took the proceeds from this successful exit and started Peabody Health Philanthropies (PHP). PHP, in league with the support of TRC, is actively setting up projects to raise quality, standardize practice and lower the costs of care for the poor in Africa and Asia.

Dr. Peabody currently has faculty appointments at UCSF and UCLA, John has served the academic and global community in a host of capacities. He is the past CMO and clinical lead at Sg2, and a former Senior Researcher at the RAND Graduate School. Dr. Peabody has previously worked as an executive of the biotech giant Amgen, serves as a senior advisor to Autism Speaks, and regularly advises the World Bank, the Gates Foundation, and the WHO. A Stanford University graduate, he received his MD from UCSF, his diploma in tropical medicine and hygiene (DTM&H) from the University of London, and his Master of Philosophy and a PhD in public policy (health economics) from the RAND Graduate School.

Tammy Sala

As the Chief Human Resources Officer, Tammy Sala leads all human resources strategies for Medforth Global Healthcare Education.

An experienced and accomplished human resources senior executive, Tammy has led human capital teams at several large, complex companies, most recently as Chief People Officer for eos Products and Chief Human Resources Officer for HMK Holdings. Prior to this, Tammy was Senior Vice President of Human Resources with First Data, a global leader in payment technology and service solutions. There, she was a key HR partner for multiple global business segments and centers of excellence. Prior to First Data, Tammy was the Director of Human Resources for Merrill Lynch, a financial services organization where she was instrumental in managing all aspects of HR for a global division.

Tammy holds a Master of Business Administration and Management from the State University of New York (SUNY) at Buffalo and a Bachelor of Arts from SUNY Geneseo.

Maha Y. Sallam, PhD, Board Chair

Dr. Sallam earned her Bachelor and Master of Science degrees in Computer Engineering at the University of South Florida in Tampa, where she later earned her Ph.D. in Computer Science & Engineering. She also completed the Leadership and Strategy in Pharmaceuticals and Biotech Executive Education program at Harvard Business School in Boston, Massachusetts. She currently serves as President of VuEssence, Inc., a development-stage company focused on creating diagnostic solutions related to stroke and head injury applications, which she established in Florida. Previously, she served as Vice President of CT Solutions for iCAD, Inc., an industry-leading provider of advanced image analysis and workflow solutions for healthcare professionals, located in New Hampshire. As VP, she was responsible for new product initiatives in Computed Tomography (CT). She also initiated and managed a program for creating Computer Aided Detection (CAD) solutions for automated detection of polyps in CT Colonography exams—a program she managed from inception through product definition, licensing, research and development, clinical testing and FDA submission.

Beth R. Smolko, DMSc, MMA, PA-C, DFAAPA

Dr. Beth Smolko is the president of the American Academy of PAs (AAPA). She has served on AAPA’s Board of Directors since 2016, following several years of service and leadership in AAPA’s House of Delegates. She also served in multiple leadership positions at the Association of Family Practice PAs (AFPPA), including their board of directors and as their representative to national discussions on Hepatitis C at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at the White House.

She is a medical advisor for one of the largest companies in the world, JPMorgan Chase. In her role, she works with the Global Medical Director and the Global Benefits team as a strategic advisor for COVID response and policies, creating transformative solutions for telemedicine, wellness center operations, stakeholder communications, advocacy, health care research and global benefits support.

Dr. Smolko is also a nationally recognized speaker and author on topics in telemedicine including legislative barriers and access to care issues. She was the Lead Clinical Advisor and Telemedicine Lead for Wellness Center Operations for Lockheed Martin, the largest defense contractor in the world. She authored Lockheed’s telemedicine white paper used by the corporation to address access-to-care for employees and detailed the financial benefits to the corporation when employees have access to the right care, at the right time, in the right setting.

She was the founding Program Director and Department Chair for Frostburg State University’s PA Medicine Program in rural western Maryland. The program was created to increase access to healthcare in Appalachia and medically underserved areas across the country. She worked to create a state-wide telemedicine curriculum for PA programs across Maryland. She was also Chair of the Area Health Education Centers (AHEC) – Maryland West.

Smolko’s passion for accessible, effective, and compassionate patient care led her to found a nonprofit called The Heart of Medicine, dedicated to delivering primary care to poor and underserved communities. As President, she coordinates volunteer medical trips for healthcare professionals, including leading teams of volunteers to deliver healthcare in mobile clinics and non-traditional healthcare settings in Haiti.

Andrew Sussman, MD

Dr. Sussman has had an impressive and well-rounded career as a senior physician leader, a primary care internist, and an educator. He currently serves as Chief Executive Officer of Medforth Global Healthcare Education. He received a Doctor of Medicine degree from Harvard Medical School and a Master of Business Administration degree from Boston University. He has served as President of CVS Minute-Clinic, as Executive Vice President and Associate Chief Medical Officer of CVS Health, and as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of UMass Memorial Medical Center. Additionally, he currently holds the positions of Professor of Medicine at St. George’s University Medical School and as Associate Professor of Medicine at UMass Medical School. He has been named as one of Modern Healthcare’s “100 Most Influential People in Healthcare” and one of its “Top 50 Most Influential Physician Execs.” In addition to Rocky Vista University, Dr. Sussman serves on the Board of Directors for Medforth Global Healthcare Education.

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RESOURCES

Rocky Vista University welcomes employment inquiries from qualified individuals who share and support our mission and vision. We value individuals who demonstrate a commitment to lifelong learning, community service, and excellence. As one of the newest of the colleges of osteopathic medicine, RVU enjoys an entrepreneurial culture featuring state of the art facilities and innovative approaches to learning.

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The faculty and staff are a school's most valuable commodity. They are the basis of the school's success and the future success of its graduates. At RVU, we have a group of employees who are dedicated to the mission of providing quality healthcare education and of inspiring students to serve with compassion, integrity, and excellence. Visit the RVU Directory to get to know the faculty and staff.

The Marketing Department has developed many ways to learn more about RVU, to follow the latest news and events, and to sing the praises of our students, faculty, and staff. In the News Room, you will find press releases, the Vista View newsletter, the Prairie Dogs and Roadrunners blog, and our social media accounts.