Our Partners
ELEVATE is proud to collaborate with a diverse group of stakeholders, including patient experts, advocates, doula groups, community leaders, payers, policymakers, health system leaders, clinical researchers, quality improvement and safety specialists, and national and international professional societies. Together, we amplify patient and community priorities, creating impactful and evidence-based change.
Valerie Arkoosh, MD, MPH
Secretary
Pennsylvania Department of Human Services
David Badway, MD
Vice Chair, Community Practices
Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology
University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
Jeanette Bauchat, MD, MS
Chair, Intersociety Committee
Society for Obstetric Anesthesia and Perinatology (SOAP)
Kristen Brenneman, MSN, RN
Quality Improvement Facilitator
Pennsylvania Perinatal Quality Collaborative, PA PQC
Christy Cozby
Executive Director
MAYA Organization
Karen Crowley, DNP, APRN-BC, WHNP
Vice President of Nursing
Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN)
Nancy Cupps, MSN, RNC-OB
Regional Director of Women’s Service Line
University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
Secretary/Treasurer
Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN) Pennsylvania Section
Nicholas Degregorio, MD, MMM, FACP
Associate Vice President, Medicaid Services
University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Health Plan
Amber Edmunds
Director of Civic Engagement
MAYA Organization
Marja Fox
Facilitator: Growth, Strategy, Innovation
ELEVATE Project and Summit
Ron George, MD, FRCPC
Vice President
Society for Obstetric Anesthesia and Perinatology (SOAP)
Professor & Director of Obstetric Anesthesia
Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto, Ontario
Gabriella Gosman, MD
Vice President Medical Affairs
University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Magee-Women’s Hospital
Associate Executive Director and Chief of Medical Affairs
American Board of Obstetrics & Gynecology
Lily Higgins, MD, MBA, MS
Network Medical Director, Keystone First
Corporate Chief Medical Officer
Population Health, Medical Services
AmeriHealth Caritas Pennsylvania, Keystone First
AmeriHealth Caritas Family of Companies
Karen Jefferson, DM, CM, FACNM
Director, Professional Practice and Policy
American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM)
Rachel Kacmar, MD
Vice Chair
Committee on Obstetric Anesthesia
American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA)
Emily Katz, MPH
Executive Director
Pennsylvania Medicaid Managed Care Organizations (PACMO)
Ruth Landau, MD
Society for Obstetric Anesthesia and Perinatology (SOAP) Past President
SOAP Centers of Excellence Committee Chair
Editor in Chief, International Journal of Obstetric Anesthesia
Grace Lim, MD, MSc
Principal, ELEVATE Project
Co-Chair, ELEVATE Summit
Chief of Obstetric & Women’s Anesthesiology
University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Magee Women’s Hospital
American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) Liaison to American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) Alliance for Innovation on Maternal Health (AIM)
Sharee Livingston, DO, FACOG
Chair
Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology
University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Lititz
Doula and Patient Advocate
Diversifying Doulas, Inc.
Annmarie Lyons, MHS
Vice President
University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Women’s Health Service Line and Physician Services
Executive Administrator
University of Pittsburgh Physicians Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Women’s Health
Lisa Manetta, MHA, BSN, RN, NE-BC, CPHQ
Director of Quality Improvement & Innovation
Patient Safety Officer
University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Magee Women’s Hospital
Emily McGahey, DM, MSN, CNM, FACNM
Clinical Director, The Midwife Center
Board Member, American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM)
Aasta Mehta, MD, MPP
Co-Chair
Pennsylvania Perinatal Quality Collaborative, PA PQC Advisory Committee
Medical Officer of Reproductive Health
Philadelphia Department of Public Health
Division of Maternal, Child, and Family Health
Jill Mhyre, MD
Chair, Department of Anesthesiology
Dola S. Thompson Professor of Anesthesiology
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS)
Section Editor for Obstetric Anesthesiology, Anesthesia & Analgesia
Tami Minnier, MSN, RN, FACHE, FAAN
Senior Vice President, Health Services Division
Chief Quality Officer and Operational Excellence Officer
University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
Sara Nelis, RN, CCE
Project Manager
Pennsylvania Perinatal Quality Collaborative, PA PQC
Jewish Healthcare Foundation
Mark Neuman, MD, MSc
Co-Principal, ELEVATE Project
ELEVATE Project Steering Committee
Director, Research Partnerships
University of Pennsylvania Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics
Heather Nixon, MD
President
Society for Obstetric Anesthesia and Perinatology (SOAP)
Gregory Palleschi, MD
Director from Community Practice
Society for Obstetric Anesthesia and Perinatology (SOAP) Board of Directors
Associate Professor, Anesthesiology and Obstetrics and Gynecology
Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell
Director, Obstetric Anesthesia Northwell Health Central Division
Cheryl Parker, CRNA
Chair, Kentucky Chapter of the Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN)
Vivian Petticord, DNP, RNC, CNL
Director of University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Women’s Health Service Line
May Pian-Smith, MD, MS
ELEVATE Project Steering Committee
Past President, Society for Obstetric Anesthesia and Perinatology (SOAP)
Board of Directors, Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation (APSF)
Flint Porter, MD
American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG)
Medical Director, Maternal Fetal Medicine, Intermountain Health
Professor, University of Utah Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology
Past Chair, Guidance Committee, ACOG
Beth Quinn, RNC, MSN-MNN
Senior Director of Women’s Health Operations
University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
Megan Rosenstein, MD
Director of Community Practice
Society for Obstetric Anesthesia and Perinatology (SOAP)
Rachel Somerstein, PhD, MFA
Patient Expert, Community Representative
Susanna Stanford
Co-Chair, ELEVATE Summit
ELEVATE Project Steering Committee
Patient Expert
Clinical Human Factors Group
Sara Straesser, MD
Assistant Site Chief
University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Altoona
Medical Director
University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Altoona Surgery Center
Sabrina Torres, CD, CBS
Patient Expert
Patients R Waiting, Diversifying Doulas Initiative
Christina Wood, MD, MS
Associate Professor and Faculty Anesthesiologist
Medical Director of Anesthesiology
Colorado Fetal Care Center
Section Chief OB/GYN Anesthesiology
University of Colorado Medicine
Melissa Young, MSN, RNC-OB
Director of Women’s Health Operations
University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Women’s Health Service Line
Director, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Doula Program
Mark Zakowski, MD, FASA
ELEVATE Project Steering Committee
Professor, Anesthesiology (Clinical)
Chair, American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) Committee on Obstetric Anesthesia
ASA Alternate Director for California
Past President, Society for Obstetric Anesthesia and Perinatology (SOAP)
Past President, California Society of Anesthesiologist (CSA)
Chair, CSA Foundation for Education
ASA Liaison to ACOG CC-OB
Vice Chair, ASA Committee on Quality Management and Departmental Administration
Chair, ASA Educational Track Subcommittee on Obstetric Anesthesia