Kathy Rowell - Kathy Rowell has 25 years of experience working with providers, payers, policy makers and regulatory agencies. This applied work, together with her unusual combination of degrees in business, health management and clinical quality and outcomes, gives her a unique ability to teach and advise healthcare organizations in how to capture, manage and communicate their data.

Her varied, high-impact work includes successfully establishing the Massachusetts General Hospital Codman Center for Clinical Effectiveness and rolling out the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP)-the first risk-adjusted and validated surgical outcome program in the world-to over 300 hospitals in the U.S. and Canada. In addition to the NSQIP, Kathy led the development of the American College of Surgeons Pediatric Quality Measurement programs and Bariatric Accreditation Programs; and was the Principle Investigator of the NIH SBIR Grant "Using Pre-Operative Variables to Predict Length of Stay."

She has published numerous high-profile articles including, "Toward Robust Information: Data Quality and Inter-Rater Reliability" and "Use of the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program as a Catalyst for Quality Improvement," which have been cited more than 100 times by other publications. Kathy is a recipient of the prestigious Partners in Excellence Award for leadership and innovation, and is a highly sought-after speaker at Grand Rounds and healthcare conferences.

Kathy has a B.S. in Business Management and a Master of Health Administration from the University of New Hampshire, and a Master of Science degree from the Dartmouth Medical School. She is on the faculty at Brandeis University's Medical Informatics Graduate Program and is a charter member of the Collaborative Care Technology Work Group.

Elizabeth Rael - Elizabeth Rael is a PhD epidemiologist who works in the Health Promotion Division at Ontario's Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care. Elizabeth began her graduate work as an adult, having worked in diverse "real-world" settings from service representative for Bell Canada to radio room dispatcher for Halton Police. Elizabeth completed her undergraduate degree in Life Sciences degree at Queen's University in 1989, then her Master's and doctorate in Epidemiology at University of Toronto (completing in 2001).

Elizabeth has worked as senior epidemiologist within the Ontario Public Service since 1999. She has focussed on public health and health promotion, addressing epidemiology methods and content in general, and addressing aspects of accountability, health surveillance and evaluation. She currently works as the sole epidemiologist within the Health Promotion Division, situated within the Planning and Results unit of the Strategic Initiatives Branch.

Dr. Don Rowe - Dr. Rowe has a BA and PhD in Chemistry, post-doctoral in Pharmacy and Environmental Biochemistry,he was certified as a NYS laboratory Director in the disciplines of Rabies Virology, Immunology, Parasitology and Inherited Metabolic Diseases. He was the Director of an Aquatic Toxicology organization in Canada and was the Associate Water Quality Scientist for the Erie County Department of Environmental Quality. He was the Public Health Director for Genesee County NY between 1985 and 2002. In January of 2003 he joined the University at Buffalo faculty as the Public Health Liaison and in 2007 became the Director of the Office of Public Health Practice. He is responsible for the interface between SPHHP and the practicing public health community at the local, state and national level as well as teaching courses in public health practice and community health assessment and surveillance.

He received the Outstanding Leadership in Public Health Award and the Public Health Professional of the year award from the NYS Association of County Health Officials. He sits on numerous local and state boards and is a governor appointment to the NYS Rural Health Council. Dr. Rowe is the Co-PI on a HRSA Public Health Training Center Grant with the Albany School of Public Health.

He is an avid fly fisherman and enjoys kayaking and cycling.

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