Addressing Systemic Barriers to Accessing Mental Health Care Along the Continuum: Advocating for Changes to Licensing and Credentialing Processes - September 9

Dean, Provost, and Executive Deputy Chancellor
University of Massachusetts T.H. Chan School of Medicine

Dr. Flotte has been the Celia and Isaac Haidak Professor, Dean of the School of Medicine, and Provost and Executive Deputy Chancellor of the University of Massachusetts Medical School (UMMS) for the past 17 years. He has faculty appointments as a professor of Pediatrics and at the Horae Gene Therapy Center. An internationally known pioneer in human gene therapy, Dr. Flotte’s research has been continuously NIH-funded for 31 years and has resulted in over 250 peer-reviewed publications, which have been cited over 18,000 times. His focus is the development of recombinant viral vectors to deliver therapeutic genes and miRNA to treat diseases such as cystic fibrosis (CF) fatty acid oxidation disorders, and alpha-1 antitrypsin (AAT) deficiency. In 1995, he was named Principal Investigator (PI) of the first human use of rAAV, a CF clinical trial, the first gene therapy trial for AAT deficiency, and the first gene therapy trial for Tay-Sachs disease. His awards include the 2005 Society for Pediatric Research’s E. Mead Johnson Award for Outstanding Scientific Contributions and induction into the Johns Hopkins Society of Scholars in 2013. He currently serves as Editor-in-Chief of the Human Gene Therapy family of journals and as president-elect of the American Society for Gene and Cell Therapy (ASGCT).

Vice President, Clinical Integration
Massachusetts Health & Hospital Association

Dr. Steven Defossez is Principal at DefoSays Consulting LLC, a practicing neuroradiologist at Tufts Med. Center, and VP, Clinical Integration at Massachusetts Health & Hospital Association (MHA) where he focuses on Physician engagement, strategic leadership, education, and policy initiatives which facilitate MHA members’ transitions in meeting key health delivery reform imperatives. Dr. Defossez currently serves as Co-chair of the statewide Massachusetts Medical Society-Massachusetts Health & Hospital Association Joint Task Force on Physician Burnout and has coauthored several papers including: A Crisis in Health Care: A Call to Action on Physician Burnout, and Changing the EHR from a Liability to an Asset to Reduce Physician Burnout. Prior to joining MHA, Dr. Defossez was a multi-term Medical Staff President at Beverly Hospital, served as a trustee of several nonprofit boards including Lahey Health, and was the long-term President of MRI Radiologists of the North Shore. 

Vice President of Health Affairs and Dean
University of South Dakota, Sanford School of Medicine

Tim Ridgway, MD, MACP, FASGE, is the 15th dean of the University of South Dakota Sanford School of Medicine and the vice president for Health Affairs. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Augustana University and Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of South Dakota School of Medicine. After doing a transitional residency at McKennan Hospital in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, he completed his internal medicine residency and gastroenterology fellowship at the Mayo Graduate School of Medicine in Rochester, Minnesota. Dr. Ridgway is a Fellow of the American Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, a Master of the American College of Physicians and has been the recipient of numerous awards, including the SDSMA Presidential Award, the USD Sanford School of Medicine Distinguished Alumnus Award, the Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine Award, the Augustana Alumni Achievement Award and the Teacher of the Year Award by the American College of Physicians. His service highlights include serving as president of the South Dakota State Medical Association and councilor of the Alpha Omega Alpha-South Dakota chapter. In 2015 he was named the Dr. Charley F. and Elizabeth Gutch Chair in Medicine. He has been a faculty member of the University of South Dakota Sanford School of Medicine since 1997.

Chief Medical Officer
Dr. Lorna Breen Heroes’ Foundation

Dr. Stefanie Simmons is the Chief Medical Officer at the Dr. Lorna Breen Heroes’ Foundation and a board-certified emergency medicine physician. She was the primary advisor to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) for the Impact WellbeingTM guide for healthcare leaders, leads multi-state programs to improve the operational environment of care and remove barriers to mental health care, and serves as a national thought leader in healthcare worker well-being. Dr. Simmons served as the Vice President of Patient and Clinician Experience for Envision for over 7 years, serving 26,000 physicians and advanced practice providers with a focus on professional well-being, including translational research and programs designed to bring well-being best practices to clinical environments. She served as lead clinical faculty for the Clinician Experience Project Wellbeing program. Dr. Simmons earned her Bachelor of Science and Medical Doctor degrees from University of Michigan and completed residency training at the University of Michigan/St. Joseph Mercy emergency medicine residency. She has completed additional training in medical education, research methods, coaching, and positive organizational psychology.