AdvisoryBoard | Intermed

Board of Advisors

Dr. William Baun Director, Wellness Program, M D Anderson Medical Centre, Houston
William Boyd Baun has more than 32 years’ experience in worksite health promotion management/programming and directs the Wellness program at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Centre. .

William serves as a member of the Board of Directors for the National Wellness Institute, Houston Wellness Association, International Association of Worksite Health Promotion, and CAN DO Houston. The past two years he has chaired the Houston Mayor’s Wellness Council. He was a member of the startup wellness team at Tenneco (1981) and managed the program till 1996. While at Tenneco he planned and initiated more than 25 health promotion/fitness programs in a variety of white and blue-collar settings. In the early 90′s he teamed up with Dr. Nell Gottlieb, University of Texas at Austin, to develop a remote site health promotion model that is now utilized by many global companies. This model was used by Tenneco to implement the Pipeline to Health program at 110 gas compressor sites and by the American Cancer Society’s Worksite Team to implement more than 1,500 health promotion programs in Texas. He has a B.S. in Economics/Government from Louisiana State University, a Master’s degree from the University of North Texas in Exercise Science, and doctoral work in Human Organizational Systems from the Fielding Institute.

Dr. Joel Bennett President, Organizational Wellness and Learning Systems
Dr. Joel Bennett is the President of Organizational Wellness and Learning Systems (OWLS). He is a pioneer researcher and entrepreneur who has created the flagship wellness program for the US National Guard.

Mr. Tom Hughes Partner in Strategy Services with CSC Corporation’s Federal Consulting Practice
Tom Hughes is a strategy partner with the Federal Consulting Practice of CSC Corp., a former CIO of the Social Security Administration and a public speaker on the need to change CIO perspectives.

Ms. Karen Ludwig Manager, Excel Immediate Care Clinics, Houston
Karen Ludwig is Practice Manager/Certified Medical Coder for Excel Urgent Care which has multiple practices in the Houston area. Karen began her career as a Certified Medical Assistant.

During that period, she was promoted to Clinical Back Office Manager and filled that position for over 20 years gaining experience in Paediatrics, Gastroenterology, Cardiology, Family Practice, and Internal Medicine. In 1998, Karen was promoted to practice management while working for Memorial Hermann Healthcare System in Houston, Texas. She later worked for Baylor Methodist Hospital as manager for multiple family practices. Karen has worked with start-up practices in Internal Medicine, Multispecialty Clinics, and Urgent Care in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Houston, Texas.

Dr. Manoj Rai Mehta M.D., Medical Director, Aster EyeCare, Delhi
Dr. Manoj Rai Mehta is a Senior Consultant in Ophthalmology at Moolchand Medicity Hospital in Delhi, and runs his own successful private practice.

Having completed his MBBS and MD, Ophthalmology from All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Dr. Mehta has held senior positions in top hospitals of the country and abroad. He has served in institutes of repute both nationally (AIIMS) and internationally. He has performed a record number of intraocular lens implants, cataract surgeries, phacoemulsification, oculoplasty, trauma and retinal detachment surgeries and has been actively involved in organizing eye banking and corneal preservation facility and glaucoma services. With several scientific papers to his credit, he has been actively involved in ophthalmic and interdisciplinary research.

Dr. Peter Plantes Vice-President of Medical Affairs at the University of Texas’ Southwestern Health System
Dr. Peter Plantes is Vice-President of Medical Affairs at the University of Texas’ Southwestern Health System. Formerly, he served as the Chief Executive Officer of the Medical College of Wisconsin’s adult faculty group practice of over 750 physicians, referred to as Medical College Physicians (MCP) and Senior Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs – MCP.

Dr. Plantes was VHA’s Vice President – Clinical Performance (1998 to 2006) in the national operational services division in Irving, Texas. VHA Inc. is a nationwide network of more than 2,200 community-owned hospitals and healthcare organizations. Previous to VHA, Dr. Plantes had served as Vice President and Senior Medical Director for United Healthcare of North Carolina, Inc., Vice President of Integrated Services at MetroHealth Medical Centre (Cleveland, OH), and Medical Director of Regional Health Affairs at the Cleveland Clinic. He has over ten years of active General Internal Medicine clinical practice experience. Dr. Plantes received his Medical Doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in 1982 (AOA honors). He completed his Internal Medicine Residency and a Chief Resident year at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, and he achieved board certification in Internal Medicine in 1985.

Dr. A. Venkat Raman Associate Professor at the Faculty of Management Studies, University of Delhi
Dr. A. Venkat Raman is an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Management Studies (FMS), University of Delhi and teaches HRD and conducts research in Health Policy.

His research interest is particularly focused on exploring public-private partnership models to improve access to health services to the poor. He received Master’s degree from Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai; and Ph.D. from FMS, Delhi University. Before entering academics, Dr. Raman worked with NGOs in an urban slum, and among rural and tribal communities. He has more than 20 years of teaching, research and consulting experience. He has been associated with many bilateral and multilateral development agencies, including the World Bank and DFID in several program interventions in Asia and Africa. He has authored several research publications, including a book ‘Public-Private Partnership in Health Care in India: Lessons for Developing Countries’ (2009, Routledge, London) with Prof. Björkman. He was a member of working group on PPP for the 11th five year plan, Govt. of India. He has been a recipient of McNamara Fellowship (World Bank) and Goldman Sachs grant (at Harvard Business School). He also provides technical support on PPP in health sector for state governments in India.

Ms. Connie Tyne Director of Development, The Cooper Institute
Ms. Connie Tyne is the Director of Development for the Cooper Institute, a non-profit research and education centre that focuses on preventive medicine, anti-aging, and fighting childhood obesity.

Prior to this position, she served as Vice President and Executive Director of the nationally reputed Cooper Wellness program for twelve years, offering realistic and effective strategies for weight loss, fitness, and stress management that are medically based, scientifically proven, and cost effective. Under her leadership, the Cooper Wellness program was listed as “one of the top ten places to shed pounds,” by USA Today and as a “top spa for weight loss” by Forbes.com. Since January 2006, Connie has been a member of the “Healthy Living” advisory board for Southern Living Magazine. Connie earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology and education from Southern Methodist University and her master’s from the University of Texas at Arlington. She is a member of the American Psychotherapy Association and has counseling experience in private practice as well as hospital settings.

Dr. Anil Mishra