

ADVISORY COUNCILS
“Join us in developing tomorrow’s technology today"
- Founder, Shawn Ring
Medical Advisory Council
Board-certified E.R. Physicians | Pediatrics | Medical Ethics | Senior Home Care | Military Medical | Primary Care

Abbie Piette, Ed.D., BSN, has 15-plus years of experience in the medical industry related to domestic and international healthcare organizations. She is vice president of operations at Jeremie Piette International. Piette provides consulting services on ethics cases to corporations, pediatric hospitals and other healthcare providers. She earned doctorate degrees in educational leadership with an emphasis on medical ethics, a master’s degree in curriculum and instructional design, and a bachelor of science degree in nursing.
Abbie Piette, Ed.D.

Dana Alexander, R.N., has 15-plus years of experience in the medical industry. She is the founder and principal at Forerunner Health Consulting, LLC. Alexander provides advisory and strategy consulting to create excellence in the patient and clinician experience for providers, payers, and the healthcare industry. A published and accomplished speaker, Alexander is a recognized thought leader for digital engagement and health transformation. She has held positions on boards of directors and appointments to several CMS, ONC, and NQF committees.
Dana Alexander, NP
Floyd Russak, MD

Floyd Russak, M.D., is CEO of Russak Personalized Medicine in Greenwood Village, Colorado. He is president of the Arapahoe, Douglas and Elbert County Medical Society, serves on the Colorado Medical Society’s Board of Delegates, and served 12 years as a faculty member at Harvard Medical School. During his prolific career, Dr. Russak was founder and owner of two medical practices, Somerville Family Health and East-West Health Centers, which have since been sold, and he worked as a double board-certified internist and holistic medicine specialist. He earned a doctor of medicine degree from George Washington University and completed his internship and residency in internal medicine and pediatrics at Harvard Medical School.

Dirk A. Perritt, M.D., has 15-plus years of experience in the medical industry. He is CEO of MDLab, a Texas-based health screening company that actively assisted with the Covid-19 pandemic and where he combines both his passion for medicine and technology. Dr. Perritt is a practicing board-certified emergency physician in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. Having completed his medical residency at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dr. Perritt also earned a biomedical engineering degree from Case Western Reserve University.
Dirk A Perritt, MD

Matthew Smith, Ph.D., has 15-plus years of experience in the medical industry related to public health and integrated care models. He is co-director of the Texas A&M Center for Population Health and Aging (CPHA) and an associate professor at the Texas A&M School of Public Health. Smith serves as lead for the Texas Active for Life ® Coalition and the Texas Research, Analytics, and Innovations Lab (TRAIL). He holds leadership roles in organizations, including the Gerontological Society of America (GSA), American Public Health Association (APHA), and the American Academy of Health Behavior (AAHB). Smith earned his bachelor’s degree in public health education, a master of public health degree from Indiana University-Bloomington, and his doctoral degree in health education from Texas A&M University. He completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Texas A&M School of Rural Public Health.
Matthew Smith, Ph.D

Michael Spohn, M.D., has 15-plus years of experience in the medical industry. He is an emergency medicine physician at CHI St. Joseph Health Regional Hospital in Bryan, Texas, and an associate clinical professor of emergency medicine at Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine. Dr. Spohn serves on the National Clinical Governance Board for U.S. Acute Care Solutions. He earned his bachelor of science degree in management at the U.S. Air Force Academy and served 20 years in the military. Post-deployment as a financial analyst officer, Dr. Spohn earned his medical degree on a military scholarship from the University of Tennessee College of Medicine.
Michael Spohn, MD

Scott Pomeroy is the CEO and founder of Pinnacle Medical Partners LLC, a provider network that owns and operates primary care medical practices throughout Colorado. Previously, he served as CEO for Yellow Pages Group in New Zealand, a position appointed by various private equity firms and multi-national banks; CEO at Local Insight Media; and CFO at Dex Media. Pomeroy serves as Chairman of the Board for AVX Aircraft Company. He graduated from the University of New Mexico with a bachelor of business administration degree in accounting and is a certified public accountant now inactive.
Scott Pomeroy, BBA

Anthony Black is the co-founder of three healthcare companies. In 2019, he co-founded Health Grade Analytics, LLC, a preventative wellness screening program servicing family practice clinics across Texas. This led to the acquisition of Family Medicine Austin, where the focus of both companies is leveraging AI-powered processes to serve patients and providers. In 2017, Black founded Advanced Medical Trials, LLC, which operates a diverse portfolio of clinical research trials in multiple locations. In 2015, Black co-founded a lab and pharmacy services company.
Anthony Black, BS
Mark Koppel, MD, BS, JD
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Mark Koppel, M.D., BS, J.D., is a seasoned executive with nearly 20 years of experience in the business of medicine and healthcare. He brings a wealth of expertise with particular strengths in areas such as business development, product development, sales and marketing, value proposition creation, and translation of clinical needs into commercially viable products. With an abundance of international experience, Dr. Koppel has a strong understanding of various markets throughout North America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.
Bruce Lytle, MD

Bruce Lytle, M.D., is a world-renowned cardiac surgeon with a clinical career dedicated to adult cardiothoracic surgery, making significant contributions in the areas of coronary bypass surgery, valve repair and replacement, cerebral protection, aortic surgery, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, radiation-induced heart disease, and re-operative cardiac surgery. Dr Lytle is the chairman of Cardiovascular Strategic Development and Planning for Cardiovascular Medicine and Surgery at Baylor Scott & White The Heart Hospital - Plano. He graduated with honors from Stanford University and Harvard University Medical School. His general surgery and thoracic surgery training occurred at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.
William B. Rideout, BS, MBA

Will Rideout has nearly 30 years in the healthcare technology industry, with most recently 11 years at Phreesia, Inc., and nine years at Allscripts. While at Phreesia, he launched the company’s initial sales development and patient access organizations and started the sales operations team. Rideout served on the due diligence team, supporting the growth rounds' fundraising activity and two acquisitions. He built diversified, durable revenue streams at Phreesia's original life sciences advertising business.
Sign Language Projects Advisory Council Team
Leaders in the Deaf Community | Linguistics | Ethics | Sign Language Annotation | Sign Language Technology | Anthropologists

Julie Hochgesang, Ph.D., is an associate professor of linguistics at Gallaudet University. She is a Deaf linguist who works on documentation of signed languages and ethics of working with signed language communities, making linguistics accessible to them. Hochgesang has contributed to ongoing efforts to create accessible collections for the ASL communities, such as Sign Language Annotation and the Archiving and Sharing project. This led to the creation of ASL Signbank, a publicly accessible website of signs linked to ID glosses to be used for annotation of ASL video datasets.
Dr. Julie Hochgesang

Manny Johnson is a private business consultant to a number of companies and organizations. He has an extensive history of working with accessible technology companies that enhance the experiences of individuals who are Deaf. Johnson earned a bachelor of science degree in business administration with a focus in marketing from the California State University, Northridge. With AI technology advancements accelerating at an exponential rate, he is excited to find solutions to narrow the communication gap between sign language and spoken language users.
Manny Johnson

Melissa Malzkuhn, M.F.A., is the founder and director of Motion Light Lab, leading their creative research and development at Gallaudet University. Motion Light Lab is part of the Gallaudet-National Science Foundation Science of Learning Center on Visual Language Visual Learning Center (VL2). She is a co-founder of: CREST Network (Cultivating Research & Equity in Sign-related Technology), which focuses on the equity and inclusion of Deaf people in the development of sign language technology; the ASL app to teach conversational American Sign Language; and the “Hu: To sign is human” campaign to raise awareness of early sign language acquisition for young Deaf children.
Melissa Malzkuhn, MFA

Russell S. Rosen, Ph.D., is the coordinator of the Program in American Sign Language and Program in Disability Studies at the City University of New York College of Staten Island. Rosen’s publications and research interests are in the anthropology and history of Deaf people and their community and culture, and applied linguistics of ASL. He has served on the editorial board of several academic journals and as the president of boards of several schools for the Deaf. Rosen earned a bachelor of arts degree in anthropology from the University of Chicago and a doctorate degree in education from Columbia University.