Leadership
Robert A. Barish, MD, MBA
Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs & Professor of Emergency Medicine
rbarish@uic.edu
Bio
Dr. Robert A. Barish, a distinguished physician and academic leader, is vice chancellor for health affairs of the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Barish oversees the University of Illinois Hospital & Health Sciences System (UI Health), which provides comprehensive care, education, and research to the people of Illinois and beyond. A part of the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), UI Health comprises a clinical enterprise that includes a 495-bed tertiary care hospital, 22 outpatient clinics, and 13 Mile Square Health Center facilities, which are Federally Qualified Health Centers. It also includes the seven UIC health science colleges: the College of Applied Health Sciences; the College of Dentistry; the School of Public Health; the Jane Addams College of Social Work; and the Colleges of Medicine, Pharmacy, and Nursing, including regional campuses in Peoria, Quad Cities, Rockford, Springfield, and Urbana. UI Health is dedicated to the pursuit of health equity.
He served as chancellor of the LSU Health Sciences Center at Shreveport from 2009 to 2015, where he provided leadership for the schools of medicine, allied health, and graduate programs; a major academic medical center; and two affiliated hospitals.
Dr. Barish spent 24 years at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. He served as chief of emergency medicine from 1985 to 1996 and built a nationally recognized program. He was named associate dean for clinical affairs in 1998 and vice dean for clinical affairs in 2005.
That same year, following the devastation of Hurricane Katrina on the Gulf Coast, Barish helped lead a medical regiment dispatched by the state of Maryland to deliver emergency care to more than 6,000 hurricane victims in Jefferson Parish.
In addition to his medical duties at Maryland, Barish earned an M.B.A. from Loyola College in 1995. From 1996 to 1998, he served as the chief executive officer of UniversityCARE, a University of Maryland physician-hospital network of family-oriented health centers located in neighborhoods throughout the Baltimore metropolitan area.
A former lieutenant colonel and flight surgeon in the Maryland Air National Guard, Barish was among a select group invited to become a NASA astronaut candidate in the early 1990s.
Jodi S. Joyce, BSN, RN, MBA, CENP, NEA-BC, FACHE
Associate Vice Chancellor for Quality & Patient Safety
Bio
Jodi Joyce is the Associate Vice Chancellor for Quality & Patient Safety at the University of Illinois Hospital & Health Sciences System in Chicago, Illinois, a role she has held since October 2012. During 2013 and 2014, she also served as UI Health’s Interim Chief Nursing Officer. Jodi is an Adjunct Faculty member at UIC’s School of Public Health and a regular guest lecturer at several of UI Health’s health sciences colleges.
In partnership with colleagues across UI Health, Jodi and her team are leading a broad “improvement journey” aimed at substantial improvements in quality and patient safety. Their efforts to date have resulted in double-digit improvements in healthcare associated infections, blood clots after surgery, and patient survival.
Prior to UI Health, Jodi served as the Vice President for Quality & Patient Safety at Legacy Health, a nonprofit integrated delivery system with 6 hospitals and more than 50 primary and specialty care clinics based in the Portland, Oregon metropolitan area. During her five-year tenure, Legacy achieved a 28% reduction in inpatient mortality and a 59% reduction in healthcare-associated infections while saving more than $12 million annually from the prevented infections. Legacy’s work and early results were summarized in an April 2011 Health Affairs article. Jodi previously held several leadership roles within Kaiser Permanente, including co-founder and Director of Operations for KP's Care Management Institute. The 12 population management programs developed during her seven-year tenure at CMI have resulted in numerous improvements - including reductions in morbidity and mortality - for over 2 million KP members. Five of these programs received national recognition from such organizations as America’s Health Insurance Plans, the Disease Management Association of America, and the C. Everett Koop National Health Awards.
Jodi has prior experience in health care consulting and hospital management, and began her career as a neonatal intensive care unit nurse. She has collaborated on numerous groups pursing patient-centered improvements in health and healthcare, including Washington state’s governor-appointed Robert Bree Collaborative and the Oregon Association of Hospitals and Health Systems’ Quality Committee. Jodi also served on the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award Board of Examiners.
Jodi is an alumna of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Executive Nurse Fellowship Program and a current Board member of the RWJF ENF Alumni Association. She also serves on the Illinois Surgical Quality Improvement Collaborative Advisory Committee. Jodi has received numerous grants from both the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and CareOregon.
Jodi earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Liberal Arts from Wheaton College (IL), her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Northwestern University, and her Master's in Business Administration from Stanford University's Graduate School of Business. She is currently pursuing her PhD in Nursing at the University of Illinois - Chicago.
Jodi and her husband live in downtown Chicago and are the proud parents of two college-age sons.
Jerry A. Krishnan, MD, PhD
Associate Vice Chancellor for Population Health Sciences & Professor of Medicine and Public Health
Bio
Jerry A. Krishnan, MD, PhD, is Associate Vice Chancellor for Population Health Sciences at the University of Illinois Hospital & Health Sciences System, and Professor of Medicine and Public Health at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He is a practicing pulmonologist who specializes in the management of patients with asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). His area of research expertise is delivery science, which seeks to identify care strategies that improve quality, outcomes, and value of healthcare. He is a Principal Investigator in clinical effectiveness trials to improve care transitions after hospital discharge (PArTNER), use of supplemental oxygen by patients with COPD (PELICAN), care of children with uncontrolled asthma (CHICAGO Plan), and the care of adolescents and adults with sickle cell disease (ISAAC). He is the Chair of the NIH/NHLBI Clinical Trials study section, co-chair of the ERS/ATS COPD exacerbations guidelines, and a member of the GINA asthma guidelines science committee.
Robert A. Winn, MD
Associate Vice Chancellor for Community Based Practice; Director, University of Illinois Cancer Center; Professor of Medicine, University of Illinois at Chicago
Bio
Robert A. Winn, MD, is the Associate Vice Chancellor for Community-Based Practice and Director of the University of Illinois Cancer Center at the University of Illinois Hospital & Health Sciences System (UI Health). Dr. Winn is a Professor of Medicine at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, Sleep and Allergy, Department of Medicine.
As Associate Vice Chancellor, Dr. Winn is responsible for the management of the UI Health Mile Square Health Center, a multi-site Federally Qualified Health Center Network. Winn is the Director of the UI Cancer Center, a robust organization comprised of over 250 cancer researchers, representing four University of Illinois campuses: Champaign-Urbana, Chicago, Peoria and Rockford.
Dr. Winn, a National Cancer Institute (NCI) funded physician-scientist, has extensive experience in lung cancer research, both as a clinician and a researcher. Clinically, he is a specialist in pulmonary and critical care with a primary interest in lung cancer. Dr. Winn has led and has served on a number of diverse committees to develop the next generation of physician-scientists. He has received numerous awards for excellence in teaching, scholarship, leadership, and diversity service.
Dr. Winn received his medical degree from the University of Michigan Medical School in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Prior to arriving at the University of Illinois Hospital & Health Sciences System, Winn was an Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine, Division of Pulmonary/Critical Care Medicine at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, where he was also the Sr. Medical Director for the University of Colorado Multidisciplinary Pulmonary Clinic. As a specialist in Pulmonary and Critical Care, he practiced at both the University Hospital and the Veteran Affairs Medical Center in Denver, both in ambulatory medicine and the intensive care unit.
Peter Burkiewicz, MHSA
Assistant Vice Chancellor for Business Development & Chief Strategy Officer, Community Based Practice
Bio
Peter Burkiewicz is the Assistant Vice Chancellor for Business Development for University of Illinois Hospital & Health Sciences System (UI Health), as well as Chief Strategy Officer for Community Based Practice for UI Health’s Cancer Center and Mile Square Health Center, a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) Network. Peter leads enterprise-wide growth initiatives to attract more patients to UI Health and generate new revenue. Areas of focus include affiliations, partnerships and provider service agreements with other hospitals and health centers in the Chicago region. Additionally, Peter leads business planning, service line development, ambulatory strategy, and provider outreach. In his role within community based practice strategy, Peter provides counsel to the physician and executive leadership of the UI Health Cancer Center and the Mile Square Health Center FQHC network. Mr. Burkiewicz received a Master’s Degree in Health Services Administration from the University of Michigan School of Public Health, where he serves on the Health Management & Policy Alumni Board. Peter is also a guest lecturer at both the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan and Rush University in Chicago, Illinois.
Mary Keehn, PT, DPT, MHPE
Director, Interprofessional Education & Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs
Bio
Mary Keehn is the Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs in the College of Applied Health Sciences at the University of Illinois at Chicago and currently serves as the Director of Interprofessional Education in the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs and as a co-leader for the HIV IPE program for MATEC.
Dr. Keehn spent most of her career in a dual role as a faculty member in the UIC Department of Physical Therapy and as Director of Rehabilitation Services for the University of Illinois Medical Center. She is currently pursuing a PhD at UIC in Curriculum and Instruction for Health Professions Education with a focus in Interprofessional Education. Dr. Keehn serves as a consultant in the areas of clinical administration and health professions education and she chairs the Foreign Education Standards for the Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy. Her research interests are in the changing roles of health professions in the era of health care reform and in the impact of interprofessional collaboration on patient outcomes.
Karl Kochendorfer, MD, FAAFP
Assistant Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs; Chief Health Information Officer, University of Illinois Hospital & Health Sciences System; Associate Professor, Clinical Family Medicine
Bio
Karl Kochendorfer, MD, FAAFP is the Assistant Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs and Chief Health Information Officer at the University of Illinois Hospital & Health Sciences System (UI Health) and Associate Professor of Clinical Family Medicine at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). Dr. Kochendorfer’s prior positions include Associate Professor of Clinical Family and Community Medicine, Medical Director of the Tiger Institute for Health Innovation, and Director of Clinical Informatics at the University of Missouri Health System. At UI Health, Dr. Kochendorfer manages the deployment and evaluation of leading-edge solutions to improve efficiency, quality reporting, and information retrieval.
Ilir Zenku, MITM, PMP, CHCIO
Assistant Vice Chancellor for Healthsystem IT
Bio
Ilir Zenku is the Assistant Vice Chancellor for Healthsystem IT and a valuable member of the Leadership Team in the Office of Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs. He is focused on systems integration, collaborative governance, strategic planning and supporting strategic projects for the organization. He represents Health Affairs in many governance bodies of the university system and university. He is a member of the University of Illinois IT Leadership Team where he has worked in the creation and support of the University Information Security and Privacy Council that proceeded in creating a comprehensive HIPAA program with leadership and governance from existing resources. Ilir is one of the founding supporters and remains involved with the Illinois Campus Cluster high-performance computing service for the university system.
At the university system level, Ilir is also a member in the project prioritization group for university system IT projects and a member of the University Administration IT Leadership Team where he has created many connections among resources and provided guidance in priorities from the healthsystem perspective. Ilir is supporting with his systems architecture expertise and knowledge the university system initiative Identity and Access Management as a voting member of the steering committee. As an active voting chair of the UIC IT Governance Council he has established collaborations between similar resource pools to improve services across the university. Ilir also worked in the establishment and development of the Infrastructure and Security Committee which now gathers representatives from the most IT groups on campus in a collaborative group.
In the UI Health realm, Ilir is actively participating in several leadership teams enabling effective communication among the leadership and verticals of the Health Affairs system IT leaders. In addition to the Health Affairs Leadership Team, Ilir also participates in the UI Health Leadership Team for Analysis and Improvements, Health Sciences Deans Council and Mile Square Leadership Team for Operations and Strategic Planning. He is an active participant in governance structures at UI Health as a voting member of the UI Health Project Appraisal & Prioritization committee and also leads as a chair the UI Health Data Governance Security committee, Health Affairs IT Leadership Team and the group of Health Sciences IT Leaders (Health Affairs Technology Advisory Council). Ilir is leading and supporting Health Affairs strategic projects in the IT and project management expert capacity. He supported the Englewood clinic project, UI Health Plus project, led the Epic systems hardware migration project, supported the Hospital Strategy Group planning and Growth Strategies Planning, led the Enterprise Systems Integration project, participated in the healthsystem ICD-10 Steering Committee, PQRS and DSRIP planning and currently supporting the next regulatory strategic planning MACRA/MIPS. Ilir is also the technology contact in supporting Telehealth initiatives, he is the REACH and DSC contact for Health Affairs and WWT. Ilir also has executive oversight of the WWT IT team and systems which includes the IT infrastructure, Epic Systems, OnBase system and Optum ClaimsManager systems, SharePoint workflow and document management, datawarehouse and analytics services with financial and performance reporting with regular executive reports of IT performance to the WWT President and WWT Board.
Ilir has a Bachelor's of Science degree in Computer Science from the University of Tirana, Albania, a Master's degree in IT Management from the Illinois Institute of Technology and Executive Leadership certificate from Booth School of Business at University of Chicago. Ilir holds also several active professional certifications (Certified Systems Engineer from Microsoft participating in the Health User Group, Project Management Professional from Project Management Institute, Certified Healthcare CIO from College of Healthcare Information Management Executives which he also supports as curricula advisor volunteer) and active member at EDUCAUSE, SIM Chicago, HIMSS, ACHE and CHEF. He is a first-generation emigrant from Albania where he designed and led a national project of expanding wireless high-speed Internet access and creation of the Albanian Research Network, worked with international and US organizations to support the Kosova refugees in Balkans and also assisted in the first Internet connections of Kosova after the NATO intervention. He is a recognized leader in the Albanian-American diaspora volunteering in immigrant onboarding activities, teen leadership mentoring, participating in helping Balkans dialogues from Albanian-American perspective, volunteering in supporting performance arts and sports activities organized for the community. He fluently uses the majority of languages in Balkans and lives in Naperville with his wife and two kids.
Michael Zenn, MBA
Chief Executive Officer, University of Illinois Hospital and Clinics
mbzenn@uic.edu
Bio
Michael Zenn is recognized for aligning strategic direction with fiancial capabilities and operational improvement potentials while also ensuring capital capacities are optimized. His 40-year career includes serving in many capacities of Health Care Leadership. More than half of his career has been as a Chief Financial Officer (CFO). Additionally, Mike brings a significant and diverse background through having served a multitude of roles throughout his career, having also served as Chief Operating Officer (COO) and Chief Information Officer (CIO).
Since March 2015, Mike has served in various capacities at the University of Illinois Hospital and Health Sciences System (UI Health). Initially as CFO for the Health System he was involved in most all aspects of the enterprise. In September, 201 he also served as Interim Chief Ambulatory Officer. After a national search process, in February, 2018 Mike was selected as Chief Executive Officer for the University of Illinois Hospital and Clinics.
Prior to joining UI Health, he served as an engagement partner at Tatum, LLC in Chicago – a national professional services firm in the healthcare industry. There he served in various interim executive capacities. Zenn has additionally served in various roles within the highly successful executive administration teams of Northwest Community Healthcare and Hospital in Arlington Heights, Ill., and of Munson Medical Center in Traverse City, Michigan.
Mike is or has been a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE), the Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA) and the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS). He has a BBA and MBA from the University of Michigan.
Robert A. Barish, MD, MBA
Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs & Professor of Emergency Medicine
rbarish@uic.eduDr. Robert A. Barish, a distinguished physician and academic leader, is vice chancellor for health affairs of the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Barish oversees the University of Illinois Hospital & Health Sciences System (UI Health), which provides comprehensive care, education, and research to the people of Illinois and beyond. A part of the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), UI Health comprises a clinical enterprise that includes a 495-bed tertiary care hospital, 22 outpatient clinics, and 13 Mile Square Health Center facilities, which are Federally Qualified Health Centers. It also includes the seven UIC health science colleges: the College of Applied Health Sciences; the College of Dentistry; the School of Public Health; the Jane Addams College of Social Work; and the Colleges of Medicine, Pharmacy, and Nursing, including regional campuses in Peoria, Quad Cities, Rockford, Springfield, and Urbana. UI Health is dedicated to the pursuit of health equity.
He served as chancellor of the LSU Health Sciences Center at Shreveport from 2009 to 2015, where he provided leadership for the schools of medicine, allied health, and graduate programs; a major academic medical center; and two affiliated hospitals.
Dr. Barish spent 24 years at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. He served as chief of emergency medicine from 1985 to 1996 and built a nationally recognized program. He was named associate dean for clinical affairs in 1998 and vice dean for clinical affairs in 2005.
That same year, following the devastation of Hurricane Katrina on the Gulf Coast, Barish helped lead a medical regiment dispatched by the state of Maryland to deliver emergency care to more than 6,000 hurricane victims in Jefferson Parish.
In addition to his medical duties at Maryland, Barish earned an M.B.A. from Loyola College in 1995. From 1996 to 1998, he served as the chief executive officer of UniversityCARE, a University of Maryland physician-hospital network of family-oriented health centers located in neighborhoods throughout the Baltimore metropolitan area.
A former lieutenant colonel and flight surgeon in the Maryland Air National Guard, Barish was among a select group invited to become a NASA astronaut candidate in the early 1990s.
Jodi S. Joyce, BSN, RN, MBA, CENP, NEA-BC, FACHE
Associate Vice Chancellor for Quality & Patient Safety
Jodi Joyce is the Associate Vice Chancellor for Quality & Patient Safety at the University of Illinois Hospital & Health Sciences System in Chicago, Illinois, a role she has held since October 2012. During 2013 and 2014, she also served as UI Health’s Interim Chief Nursing Officer. Jodi is an Adjunct Faculty member at UIC’s School of Public Health and a regular guest lecturer at several of UI Health’s health sciences colleges.
In partnership with colleagues across UI Health, Jodi and her team are leading a broad “improvement journey” aimed at substantial improvements in quality and patient safety. Their efforts to date have resulted in double-digit improvements in healthcare associated infections, blood clots after surgery, and patient survival.
Prior to UI Health, Jodi served as the Vice President for Quality & Patient Safety at Legacy Health, a nonprofit integrated delivery system with 6 hospitals and more than 50 primary and specialty care clinics based in the Portland, Oregon metropolitan area. During her five-year tenure, Legacy achieved a 28% reduction in inpatient mortality and a 59% reduction in healthcare-associated infections while saving more than $12 million annually from the prevented infections. Legacy’s work and early results were summarized in an April 2011 Health Affairs article. Jodi previously held several leadership roles within Kaiser Permanente, including co-founder and Director of Operations for KP's Care Management Institute. The 12 population management programs developed during her seven-year tenure at CMI have resulted in numerous improvements - including reductions in morbidity and mortality - for over 2 million KP members. Five of these programs received national recognition from such organizations as America’s Health Insurance Plans, the Disease Management Association of America, and the C. Everett Koop National Health Awards.
Jodi has prior experience in health care consulting and hospital management, and began her career as a neonatal intensive care unit nurse. She has collaborated on numerous groups pursing patient-centered improvements in health and healthcare, including Washington state’s governor-appointed Robert Bree Collaborative and the Oregon Association of Hospitals and Health Systems’ Quality Committee. Jodi also served on the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award Board of Examiners.
Jodi is an alumna of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Executive Nurse Fellowship Program and a current Board member of the RWJF ENF Alumni Association. She also serves on the Illinois Surgical Quality Improvement Collaborative Advisory Committee. Jodi has received numerous grants from both the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and CareOregon.
Jodi earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Liberal Arts from Wheaton College (IL), her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Northwestern University, and her Master's in Business Administration from Stanford University's Graduate School of Business. She is currently pursuing her PhD in Nursing at the University of Illinois - Chicago.
Jodi and her husband live in downtown Chicago and are the proud parents of two college-age sons.
Jerry A. Krishnan, MD, PhD
Associate Vice Chancellor for Population Health Sciences & Professor of Medicine and Public Health
Jerry A. Krishnan, MD, PhD, is Associate Vice Chancellor for Population Health Sciences at the University of Illinois Hospital & Health Sciences System, and Professor of Medicine and Public Health at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He is a practicing pulmonologist who specializes in the management of patients with asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). His area of research expertise is delivery science, which seeks to identify care strategies that improve quality, outcomes, and value of healthcare. He is a Principal Investigator in clinical effectiveness trials to improve care transitions after hospital discharge (PArTNER), use of supplemental oxygen by patients with COPD (PELICAN), care of children with uncontrolled asthma (CHICAGO Plan), and the care of adolescents and adults with sickle cell disease (ISAAC). He is the Chair of the NIH/NHLBI Clinical Trials study section, co-chair of the ERS/ATS COPD exacerbations guidelines, and a member of the GINA asthma guidelines science committee.
Robert A. Winn, MD
Associate Vice Chancellor for Community Based Practice; Director, University of Illinois Cancer Center; Professor of Medicine, University of Illinois at Chicago
Robert A. Winn, MD, is the Associate Vice Chancellor for Community-Based Practice and Director of the University of Illinois Cancer Center at the University of Illinois Hospital & Health Sciences System (UI Health). Dr. Winn is a Professor of Medicine at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, Sleep and Allergy, Department of Medicine.
As Associate Vice Chancellor, Dr. Winn is responsible for the management of the UI Health Mile Square Health Center, a multi-site Federally Qualified Health Center Network. Winn is the Director of the UI Cancer Center, a robust organization comprised of over 250 cancer researchers, representing four University of Illinois campuses: Champaign-Urbana, Chicago, Peoria and Rockford.
Dr. Winn, a National Cancer Institute (NCI) funded physician-scientist, has extensive experience in lung cancer research, both as a clinician and a researcher. Clinically, he is a specialist in pulmonary and critical care with a primary interest in lung cancer. Dr. Winn has led and has served on a number of diverse committees to develop the next generation of physician-scientists. He has received numerous awards for excellence in teaching, scholarship, leadership, and diversity service.
Dr. Winn received his medical degree from the University of Michigan Medical School in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Prior to arriving at the University of Illinois Hospital & Health Sciences System, Winn was an Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine, Division of Pulmonary/Critical Care Medicine at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, where he was also the Sr. Medical Director for the University of Colorado Multidisciplinary Pulmonary Clinic. As a specialist in Pulmonary and Critical Care, he practiced at both the University Hospital and the Veteran Affairs Medical Center in Denver, both in ambulatory medicine and the intensive care unit.
Peter Burkiewicz, MHSA
Assistant Vice Chancellor for Business Development & Chief Strategy Officer, Community Based Practice
Peter Burkiewicz is the Assistant Vice Chancellor for Business Development for University of Illinois Hospital & Health Sciences System (UI Health), as well as Chief Strategy Officer for Community Based Practice for UI Health’s Cancer Center and Mile Square Health Center, a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) Network. Peter leads enterprise-wide growth initiatives to attract more patients to UI Health and generate new revenue. Areas of focus include affiliations, partnerships and provider service agreements with other hospitals and health centers in the Chicago region. Additionally, Peter leads business planning, service line development, ambulatory strategy, and provider outreach. In his role within community based practice strategy, Peter provides counsel to the physician and executive leadership of the UI Health Cancer Center and the Mile Square Health Center FQHC network. Mr. Burkiewicz received a Master’s Degree in Health Services Administration from the University of Michigan School of Public Health, where he serves on the Health Management & Policy Alumni Board. Peter is also a guest lecturer at both the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan and Rush University in Chicago, Illinois.
Mary Keehn, PT, DPT, MHPE
Director, Interprofessional Education & Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs
Mary Keehn is the Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs in the College of Applied Health Sciences at the University of Illinois at Chicago and currently serves as the Director of Interprofessional Education in the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs and as a co-leader for the HIV IPE program for MATEC.
Dr. Keehn spent most of her career in a dual role as a faculty member in the UIC Department of Physical Therapy and as Director of Rehabilitation Services for the University of Illinois Medical Center. She is currently pursuing a PhD at UIC in Curriculum and Instruction for Health Professions Education with a focus in Interprofessional Education. Dr. Keehn serves as a consultant in the areas of clinical administration and health professions education and she chairs the Foreign Education Standards for the Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy. Her research interests are in the changing roles of health professions in the era of health care reform and in the impact of interprofessional collaboration on patient outcomes.
Karl Kochendorfer, MD, FAAFP
Assistant Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs; Chief Health Information Officer, University of Illinois Hospital & Health Sciences System; Associate Professor, Clinical Family Medicine
Karl Kochendorfer, MD, FAAFP is the Assistant Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs and Chief Health Information Officer at the University of Illinois Hospital & Health Sciences System (UI Health) and Associate Professor of Clinical Family Medicine at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). Dr. Kochendorfer’s prior positions include Associate Professor of Clinical Family and Community Medicine, Medical Director of the Tiger Institute for Health Innovation, and Director of Clinical Informatics at the University of Missouri Health System. At UI Health, Dr. Kochendorfer manages the deployment and evaluation of leading-edge solutions to improve efficiency, quality reporting, and information retrieval.
Ilir Zenku, MITM, PMP, CHCIO
Assistant Vice Chancellor for Healthsystem IT
Ilir Zenku is the Assistant Vice Chancellor for Healthsystem IT and a valuable member of the Leadership Team in the Office of Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs. He is focused on systems integration, collaborative governance, strategic planning and supporting strategic projects for the organization. He represents Health Affairs in many governance bodies of the university system and university. He is a member of the University of Illinois IT Leadership Team where he has worked in the creation and support of the University Information Security and Privacy Council that proceeded in creating a comprehensive HIPAA program with leadership and governance from existing resources. Ilir is one of the founding supporters and remains involved with the Illinois Campus Cluster high-performance computing service for the university system.
At the university system level, Ilir is also a member in the project prioritization group for university system IT projects and a member of the University Administration IT Leadership Team where he has created many connections among resources and provided guidance in priorities from the healthsystem perspective. Ilir is supporting with his systems architecture expertise and knowledge the university system initiative Identity and Access Management as a voting member of the steering committee. As an active voting chair of the UIC IT Governance Council he has established collaborations between similar resource pools to improve services across the university. Ilir also worked in the establishment and development of the Infrastructure and Security Committee which now gathers representatives from the most IT groups on campus in a collaborative group.
In the UI Health realm, Ilir is actively participating in several leadership teams enabling effective communication among the leadership and verticals of the Health Affairs system IT leaders. In addition to the Health Affairs Leadership Team, Ilir also participates in the UI Health Leadership Team for Analysis and Improvements, Health Sciences Deans Council and Mile Square Leadership Team for Operations and Strategic Planning. He is an active participant in governance structures at UI Health as a voting member of the UI Health Project Appraisal & Prioritization committee and also leads as a chair the UI Health Data Governance Security committee, Health Affairs IT Leadership Team and the group of Health Sciences IT Leaders (Health Affairs Technology Advisory Council). Ilir is leading and supporting Health Affairs strategic projects in the IT and project management expert capacity. He supported the Englewood clinic project, UI Health Plus project, led the Epic systems hardware migration project, supported the Hospital Strategy Group planning and Growth Strategies Planning, led the Enterprise Systems Integration project, participated in the healthsystem ICD-10 Steering Committee, PQRS and DSRIP planning and currently supporting the next regulatory strategic planning MACRA/MIPS. Ilir is also the technology contact in supporting Telehealth initiatives, he is the REACH and DSC contact for Health Affairs and WWT. Ilir also has executive oversight of the WWT IT team and systems which includes the IT infrastructure, Epic Systems, OnBase system and Optum ClaimsManager systems, SharePoint workflow and document management, datawarehouse and analytics services with financial and performance reporting with regular executive reports of IT performance to the WWT President and WWT Board.
Ilir has a Bachelor's of Science degree in Computer Science from the University of Tirana, Albania, a Master's degree in IT Management from the Illinois Institute of Technology and Executive Leadership certificate from Booth School of Business at University of Chicago. Ilir holds also several active professional certifications (Certified Systems Engineer from Microsoft participating in the Health User Group, Project Management Professional from Project Management Institute, Certified Healthcare CIO from College of Healthcare Information Management Executives which he also supports as curricula advisor volunteer) and active member at EDUCAUSE, SIM Chicago, HIMSS, ACHE and CHEF. He is a first-generation emigrant from Albania where he designed and led a national project of expanding wireless high-speed Internet access and creation of the Albanian Research Network, worked with international and US organizations to support the Kosova refugees in Balkans and also assisted in the first Internet connections of Kosova after the NATO intervention. He is a recognized leader in the Albanian-American diaspora volunteering in immigrant onboarding activities, teen leadership mentoring, participating in helping Balkans dialogues from Albanian-American perspective, volunteering in supporting performance arts and sports activities organized for the community. He fluently uses the majority of languages in Balkans and lives in Naperville with his wife and two kids.
Michael Zenn, MBA
Chief Executive Officer, University of Illinois Hospital and Clinics
mbzenn@uic.eduMichael Zenn is recognized for aligning strategic direction with fiancial capabilities and operational improvement potentials while also ensuring capital capacities are optimized. His 40-year career includes serving in many capacities of Health Care Leadership. More than half of his career has been as a Chief Financial Officer (CFO). Additionally, Mike brings a significant and diverse background through having served a multitude of roles throughout his career, having also served as Chief Operating Officer (COO) and Chief Information Officer (CIO).
Since March 2015, Mike has served in various capacities at the University of Illinois Hospital and Health Sciences System (UI Health). Initially as CFO for the Health System he was involved in most all aspects of the enterprise. In September, 201 he also served as Interim Chief Ambulatory Officer. After a national search process, in February, 2018 Mike was selected as Chief Executive Officer for the University of Illinois Hospital and Clinics.
Prior to joining UI Health, he served as an engagement partner at Tatum, LLC in Chicago – a national professional services firm in the healthcare industry. There he served in various interim executive capacities. Zenn has additionally served in various roles within the highly successful executive administration teams of Northwest Community Healthcare and Hospital in Arlington Heights, Ill., and of Munson Medical Center in Traverse City, Michigan.
Mike is or has been a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE), the Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA) and the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS). He has a BBA and MBA from the University of Michigan.
