Course Faculty

Jean Marie Abraham, Ph.D.
Jean Marie Abraham, Ph.D. is the Wegmiller Professor and Director of the Master of Healthcare Administration Program at the University of Minnesota. After completing her Bachelor’s degree in Economics and Political Science from the University of Arizona and a Ph.D. in Public Policy and Management from Carnegie Mellon University, Dr. Abraham joined the University of Minnesota faculty in 2001. Dr. Abraham’s area of expertise includes health policy and economics. Over the past 15 years she has published more than 60 peer-reviewed articles focusing on topics including employer based health insurance, employer wellness program evaluation, competition in insurance and hospital markets, and the impact of the Affordable Care Act on insurers, employers, and providers. During academic year 2008-2009, she served as the senior economist on health issues for the President’s Council of Economic Advisers in Washington, D.C., under both the Bush and Obama administrations.

Ryan Armbruster, M.H.A.
Ryan Armbruster, M.H.A., Senior Fellow and Director of Executive MHA Program,School fo Public Health, University of Minnesota currently oversees executive health care education programs where he also has designed and taught health care innovation and service design courses for the past ten years. He recently created and lead Optum’s Service Design Studio, a service to help healthcare businesses better understand unmet customer needs and design products and services that better meet those needs. He is a recognized pioneer and leader of human-centered service design and innovation and his award-winning designs have made a significant impact in the health care industry.

Prior to Optum, Ryan created and directed the SPARC Design Lab at Mayo Clinic, a groundbreaking center for innovation in healthcare services. The comprehensive program and physical laboratory designed new healthcare services and experiences for patients and care providers. Ryan received the inaugural Alumni Innovator Award from the University of Minnesota in 2014. He often provides invited talks at forums around the world on the topic of making health care work better for people.

Todd E. Brown
Todd is a Director for Facilities Planning and Design at the Mayo Clinic in Arizona. In his current role, he and the Planning and Design team are responsible for the design of project delivery of over 50 capital projects per year in Arizona including Arizona.Bold.Forward. which is increasing the Phoenix Campus by 1.4 million square feet of clinical and support space. Todd also leads in master planning for Mayo Arizona facilities, which consists of over 3.4 million square feet as well as assists in the Arizona Biomedical Corridor planning.

Todd has been with the Mayo Clinic for 23 years where he has held roles of Project Architect, Assistant Secretary to Space and Capital Committee and various space planning task forces. Todd has a BS in Design, Master of Architecture and Master of Business Administration. Prior to Mayo Clinic, Todd had worked for a contracting firm for 3 years and within architecture for another 5. He is a registered Architect in Arizona and Annual Facilities Program registrant with the City of Scottsdale and Phoenix.

Trevor Coons, M.H.A., FACHE
Trevor is passionate about rural healthcare. Of his nearly 10 years of health care leadership experience, he has spent the majority of it supporting rural communities. Trevor is currently the operations manager for Mayo Clinic’s Community Division of Hospital Internal Medicine, supporting 20 different hospital s (11 a critical access hospitals). Trevor also sits on the Governor’s Rural Health Advisory Committee, and is on the Olmsted County Public Health Services Advisory Board. He is the Southeast Minnesota Local Program Council chair for Minnesota chapter of the American College of Healthcare Executives and also sits on the chapter’s board.

John D. Custer, FACHE
John is currently serving as Senior Administrator, Facilities and Campus Management.  He began his tenure at Mayo Clinic in 1996 and has served in Operations Administrator and Associate Administrator positions. John has over 35 years of health care experience and has held numerous clinical and administrative positions in both Ohio and Arizona. He received his bachelor's degree in Physical Therapy from Cleveland State University and his master's degree in Health Services Administration from the University of St. Francis.

Janette Dill, Ph.D.
Jannette is an Associate Professor in the Division of Health Policy and Management at the University of Minnesota. She has earned the following credentials: PhD, Sociology, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 2011; MA, Sociology, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 2008; MPH, Health Policy and Management, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, 2008; & a BA, Psychology, Wheaton College, Wheaton, IL, 2002.

Janette’s research has focuses on the health care workforce, with an emphasis on low- and middle-skill health care workers. She studies the use of credentialing and career ladders in health care settings to improve worker skills and quality of care, and the rewards to workers for participation. I also study the use of low- and middle-skill workers in care teams across different health care settings. 

Stuart Grande, Ph.D., M.P.A. 
Stuart is a Lecturer in the Division of Health Policy and Management at the University of Minnesota. He has earned the following credentials: PhD, Health Behavior, Indiana University; and a MPA, Public Management and Community Development, Indiana University.

Stuart works as a medical sociologist with a deep interest in the social and behavioral factors that contribute to health inequities. His current research and teaching considers the collaborative benefits of novel technologies on patient-provider communication. He applies principles of community-based participatory research (CBPR) with innovative models of health communication like shared decision making (SDM) to improve the way individuals, families, and clinicians engage with health and the healthcare system.

Beth LH Kreofsky, M.B.A.
Assistant Professor of Healthcare Administration, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science Operations Manager, Teleneonatology Program
Ms. Beth Kreofsky is an Assistant Professor in Healthcare Administration and Operations Manager for the Teleneonatology Program at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. She graduated from Cardinal Stritch University in Milwaukee, WI with a Bachelor of Science in Strategic Management of Information Systems and received her Master of Business Administration from St. Mary’s University of Minnesota.

Ms. Kreofsky serves as the administrative partner to the Teleneonatology Medical Director and manages the sustainability and growth of the program that now serves 19 community hospitals and emergency departments in the region. Over the past 5 years, she has worked on the development of implementation, support, and education models for acute care telemedicine. Ms. Kreofsky has over 20 years of experience in healthcare which includes clinical process experimentation, project management, product management, and systems innovation. 

Justine Mishek, M.H.A. 
Justine Mishek, M.H.A,. Senior Lecturer, University of Minnesota, Division of Health Policy and Management, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota is the lead instructor for the Minnesota Problem Solving Method Curriculum alongside the Strategy and Marketing Curriculum for both the full-time and executive M.H.A. programs. Justine brings extensive experience from prior leadership positions across the country in product management, business development, consulting and technology services at Kaiser Permanente, ECG Management Consultants, Fairview Health Services, athenahealth, and as an independent consultant. Justine holds a Bachelor of Arts (’97) and a Master of Healthcare Administration (’02) degree from the University of Minnesota.

Jamie Newman, M.D., M.H.A.
Dr. Jamie Newman trained at Johns Hopkins University, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Baylor University, Houston, and The Carlson School of Business at the University of Minnesota. He is a hospitalist with extensive administrative and educational interests. He serves as Medical Director of the Mayo Midwest Admission and Transfer Center, and Chair of the Hospital Optimization Committee. He is also a member of Mayo Clinic’s ACO Governing Body, which is responsible for a number of the institution’s Population Health Management initiatives.  His educational activities include being director of and speaker at many regional, national and international courses designed for both clinical and administrative audiences. He also has a strong interest in the philosophy and history of medicine.

Clark Otley, M.D.
Clark C. Otley, M.D., is a consultant in the Department of Dermatology at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. He joined the staff of Mayo Clinic in 1996 and holds the academic rank of professor of dermatology, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science. After receiving his undergraduate degree from Williams College in religion, Dr. Otley completed medical school at Duke University School of Medicine and then completed an internship in internal medicine at Brigham & Women’s Hospital. He completed his residency in dermatology at Harvard University, serving as chief resident. Upon finishing residency, Dr. Otley completed a fellowship in Mohs micrographic surgery and cutaneous oncology at Mayo Clinic.

Dr. Otley serves as the chief medical officer for Mayo Clinic Platform and is also the medical director for Department of Business Development, which advances Mayo Clinic’s mission through proactive business partnerships, mergers and acquisitions and commercialize Mayo Clinic technologies for the benefit of patients worldwide while generating revenue to support clinical practice, research, and education at Mayo Clinic.

Dr. Otley also serves as vice president of the Destination Medical Center Economic Development Agency, a 20-year economic development initiative to position Rochester, Minnesota, as the world’s premier destination for health and wellness.

Dr. Otley has published widely in the areas of cutaneous oncology, particularly in organ transplant patients. He is the founding president of the International Transplant Skin Cancer Collaborative and has served as a director of the American Board of Dermatology. Dr. Otley received the Mayo Clinic Distinguished Clinician Award in 2015.

Cyd Smith, M.H.S.A.
Cyd is one of the founding directors for the Harry Harwick Course on Health Care Administration. Currently an Arizona-based Operations Administrator for Gastroenterology and Hepatology and Allergy, Asthma and Immunology in Arizona, she started her career with Mayo as an Administrative Fellow in Rochester and spent 3 years with the Midwest Hospital Practice. She was the founding chair for the eMERGing Leaders, the young professionals Mayo Employee Resource Group with chapters across the institution. Prior to joining Mayo, Cyd had a career in cardiovascular outcomes research at the University of Michigan where she also received her Master's in Health Services Administration. She was part of the American College of Healthcare Executives Southeast Minnesota Local Program Council and the Minnesota Diversity & Inclusion committee as well as a Park Commissioner for the City of Rochester. She currently volunteers with the Ronald McDonald House.

Henry Ting, M.D.
Dr. Henry H. Ting serves as the enterprise Chief Value Officer for Mayo Clinic and Chair, Department of Quality, Experience and Affordability.  In this role, Dr. Ting leads strategy, planning, and operations to enable Mayo Clinic to deliver high-value care and be the most trusted and affordable for our patients and other consumers.  Dr. Ting is a practicing clinical cardiologist and Professor of Medicine at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine.           

Dr. Ting received his Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from Cornell University, Ithaca, New York and Doctorate of Medicine from Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.   He completed Internship and Residency in Internal Medicine, and Fellowships in Cardiovascular Diseases and Interventional Cardiology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School.

Dr. Ting’s academic activities focus on health services research, outcomes research, and shared decision making to improve patient outcomes, population health, and cost of care.  He has lectured worldwide and authored over 200 journal articles and book chapters.

Mark Wehde, M.S., M.B.A.
Mark Wehde is chair of the Mayo Clinic Division of Engineering and Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering in the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science. His team is focused on innovation in support of Mayo Clinic’s 2030 Strategic Plan. Mark’s responsibilities include strategic planning, innovation, process improvement, project evaluation, collaborations, intellectual property, staffing, and technology investigation.

Mark is executive sponsor of the Division of Engineering Prioritization Committee, Safety Committee, Additive Manufacturing Steering Committee, and Quality Management Steering Committee.

In addition, Mark is a member of the Mayo Clinic Medical Device Sterilization and Disinfection Committee, the Department of Facilities Diversity and Inclusion Executive Committee, and the Research Services Research Information Security Advisory Group. He has a faculty position in the Quality Academy, Workforce Learning, and the Biomedical Engineering and Physiology Graduate School. Mark is also an assistant lecturer for the University of Wisconsin MBA Consortium program.

External to Mayo, Mark is a juror for the Medical Design Excellence Awards, the R&D 100 Awards, and the Edison Awards. He is also on the board of governors of the IEEE Technology and Engineering Management Committee, a technical committee member for the IEEE International Symposium on Medical Measurements and Applications, and an affiliate for the University of Minnesota Medical Industry Leadership Institute.

Mark joined Mayo in 1984 and has had significant roles in cardiology, neurology, pulmonary function, and physiology.  He has extensive experience developing custom medical devices, with expertise in physiological sensors and analog instrumentation, embedded systems design and programming, system design, and project management.  

Mark received a Master of Science degree in Biomedical Engineering from Iowa State University, a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from South Dakota State University, and a Master of Business Administration through the University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire.