About URAC

Shawn Griffin, M.D., joined URAC as president and CEO in February 2019, with extensive experience in quality measurement and analytics for physician and hospital quality improvement. Most recently, he was Vice President for Clinical Performance Improvement and Applied Analytics at Premier, Inc, where he helped develop technology that supports value-based care, enterprise analytics and ACO reporting. Previously, as Chief Quality and Informatics Officer for MHMD Memorial Hermann Physician Network, Dr. Griffin directed the quality measurement and data collection programs for one of the largest and most successful ACOs in the country. A nationally recognized expert on population health, physician quality improvement, incentive design, clinically integrated networks and ACOs, Dr. Griffin has been a featured speaker for the National Quality Forum, HIMSS, American Medical Group Association, AMDIS, CHIME, American Medical Association and numerous system retreats.

Robin Adams, vice president of strategy and product development at URAC, has more than two decades of experience working in pediatric academic and community-based health systems developing strategic plans and leading multi-disciplinary teams to facilitate implementation. At Children’s National Health System in Washington, DC, she was responsible for the plan that introduced the population health-based strategy supporting the development of Children’s regional outpatient center strategy to facilitate access to the broader District, Maryland and Virginia populations. At INOVA, Adams served as chief growth officer and was a member of a system-wide cross-functional team that developed the INOVA Heart and Vascular Institute, INOVA Spine Institute, INOVA Breast Care Institute and the INOVA Neurosciences Institute. At Sentara Healthcare, she supported the system-wide effort to develop the inaugural out of Hamptons Road market to grow the Sentara brand in Northern Virginia. She received both her BS and MA in Finance from Cornell University and her MBA from Virginia Polytechnic Institute. She serves as adjunct faculty at George Mason University where she teaches Strategic Healthcare Management in the School of Health Administration and Policy.

Marlene Bolster, MBA, vice president of accrediting and client services, is responsible for the strategic implementation and management of URAC’s suite of accreditation programs. She oversees accreditation operations to include program standards development and maintenance, accreditation review processes, independent accreditation committee review processes, and client management and account services. Prior to URAC, Bolster worked in the health care hospital administration and management consulting field for more than 25 years, focusing on the design of quality operations to enable high reliability in the delivery of safe, high-quality care. Bolster received her MBA from the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill.

Maggie Cornett brings more than 35 years of healthcare and information technology experience to the nation’s independent leader in promoting healthcare quality through accreditation, certification, and measurement.

Prior to joining URAC, Cornett held senior IT positions at Inova Health System in Northern Virginia for more than 21 years. For almost three years, she was Inova’s vice president for IT enterprise applications, where she was responsible for overseeing the implementation of the more than $300 million enterprise-wide EpicCare electronic medical record system. Cornett earned a Master of Science in computer systems management from the University of Maryland. She is a member of the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMISS) and College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME). She is certified in Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) Foundation and the CHIME Certified Healthcare CIO program. Additionally, Cornett, a Registered Nurse, earned a Bachelor of Science in nursing from Pennsylvania State University.

Marybeth Farquhar, vice president of quality, research, & measurement, is responsible for conceptualizing and implementing URAC’s strategy for measurement and research. Farquhar has more than 30 years of experience in the field of nursing and healthcare administration, research, and quality measurement. Prior to her tenure at URAC, Farquhar was vice president of performance measurement at the National Quality Forum and was responsible for strategic oversight of the consensus development process. Prior to NQF, she led key activities of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality performance measure initiatives and worked with the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) team on several projects, including Hospital CAHPS.

Houeida Saad, general counsel, has a strong background in both the payor and provider side of health care, with extensive knowledge on the organizational structures of non-profits, healthcare regulatory matters, risk management, and employment and labor issues.

An attorney and a registered nurse, Saad previously served as general counsel to Renown Health in Reno, Nevada, deputy counsel and assistant vice president for Inova Health System in Northern Virginia, and associate counsel for the BlueCross BlueShield Association in Washington, D.C. She is a former adjunct professor of law at the Washington College of Law at American University in Washington, D.C., and was named Pro Bono Lawyer of the Year by both the District of Columbia Bar, and National Law Journal.

Saad earned a law degree as well as a master’s degree in law and international affairs from American University in Washington, D.C. She earned a bachelor’s degree in nursing from Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan.

David Souders directs and manages all financial and other administrative support functions. Souders leads and coordinates business planning related to finance, systems, and budgeting. Before joining URAC, Souders was the CFO for Colonial Parking, Inc., the Mid-Atlantic region’s leading provider of parking services and solutions, where he was responsible for accounting and finance, information technology, risk management, human resources, customer care and office operations/administration. His other previous positions include CFO for BOWA Builders, the innovative high-end residential construction company, and corporate controller for Vastera, a technology company which he helped guide through a successful public offering. Souders is a licensed CPA in Maryland and Virginia. He has a B.S. from Virginia Tech and an MBA from Hood College.

Aaron Turner-Phifer, vice president of government relations and policy, has nearly a decade of experience advising and crafting public policy at the federal, state, and local levels. He has experience working on health care quality initiatives and public policy that impacts Medicare, Medicaid, and Health Insurance Marketplace enrollees. He is an expert political and policy analyst with a unique understanding of the intricacies associated with the development of health care policy. He achieved his Master of Health Administration degree from the George Washington University.

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