Telligen Community Initiative is governed by a Board of Directors that sets and approves strategy for the organization, provides governance and approves all grant awards.
Matt McGarvey is the executive director of Telligen Community Initiative (TCI), the charitable foundation of Telligen, Inc., a private, nonprofit healthcare intelligence company headquartered in West Des Moines, Iowa. He assumed the role in 2014. As executive director, Matt leads Telligen’s regional health philanthropy efforts and actively involved in supporting projects and organizations that strive to improve the health of communities in Iowa, Illinois, and Oklahoma.
Before joining TCI, Matt worked for over a decade in various roles at The Wellmark Foundation, leading the corporate grant making and employee volunteerism programming. TCI’s overall goal is to ensure opportunities for health are available and accessible to everyone. The foundation provides funding to health-related projects and organizations in Iowa, Illinois, Oklahoma and Colorado.
Dr. Jabraan Pasha, MD is a native of Tulsa, OK. He received his undergraduate and medical degree from The University of Kansas and completed his Internal Medicine Residency Training at Mayo Clinic Arizona. Currently, he is a practicing internal medicine physician, Associate Professor of Medicine and Assistant Dean of Student Affairs for the University of Oklahoma School of Community Medicine.
He is a national speaker and workshop facilitator on social determinants of health and the impact of implicit bias on healthcare and other arenas. He serves on several state and regional boards, including as President of the Tulsa Chapter of the American Heart Association.
Dr. Kathy Schneider served as an epidemiologist at the Iowa Foundation for Medical Care for the Iowa, Nebraska, and Illinois QIOs from 1995-2000, and in the IT division from 2002 to 2008. She currently operates two woman-owned small businesses that focus on use of health data to improve quality of care (Schneider Research Associates, LLC and Sum-IT Health Analytics, LLC).
Kathy previously served as a faculty member and Director of the Des Moines University Public Health Program and holds an adjunct faculty appointment at the University of Iowa College of Public Health. She has published numerous studies examining health status and treatment outcomes for older adults, using Medicare and Medicaid data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
Michele Druker recently retired after a 30-year career at Wellmark, Inc. Druker served as Vice President, Associate General Counsel and Assistant Board Secretary for Wellmark, Inc. She also served as Board Secretary for The Wellmark Foundation. She is a past member of the Board of Directors and Treasurer for the Central Iowa Chapter of the American Red Cross and a past member of the Children and Families of Iowa Foundation Board of Directors.
Prior to joining the Wellmark Legal Department in 1988, she was a Partner at the Dickinson Law Firm, Des Moines, Iowa. Ms. Druker received her Bachelor’s degree from Wesleyan University and her JD from the University of Iowa College of Law.
Allyson is in a leadership role with the Practice Innovation Program at CU coordinates the Colorado Health Extension System (CHES), which convenes numerous Practice Transformation Organizations across the state. These organizations deploy Regional Health Connectors (RHCs) in communities and match Practice Facilitators (PFs) and Clinical Health Information Technology Advisors (CHITAs) into practices.
Together, the Practice Innovation Program at CU and CHES guide learning networks that spread best practices and connect participants to local, state, and national transformation resources. As a recognized expert on health care delivery systems, Gottsman has spent more of her 40-year career revealing and promoting more efficient, cost-effective, and human ways to deliver health care. Current Board leadership is well connected to Allyson and her reputation is stellar.
Kim Downs is a retired registered nurse and former Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality, working as a mental health nurse before pursuing a career in utilization and quality review. Downs worked at Telligen, Inc. for over 30 years. With progressive experience in operational, supervisory and fiscal responsibility, Downs led numerous Medicare, Medicaid and commercial quality improvement initiatives across five states. Downs also served on Telligen’s bid and proposal team before retiring in 2015. Kim’s experience and expertise will offer a unique perspective to our philanthropic work.
Dr. Boom obtained his medical degree from the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa in 1980. His residency in family practice was completed in 1983 at St. Francis-Mayo Family Practice residency at St. Francis Hospital in LaCrosse, Wisconsin. Dr. Boom is Board Certified in Family Medicine. His scope of practice includes family practice, obstetrics, and Cesarean sections. He joined our staff in October of 1986. On November 4, 2016, R. Ried Boom, MD was awarded the 2016 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Iowa Academy of Family Physicians.
This award is given annually to a family physician(s) who has been a member of IAFP; is a resident of Iowa; has been involved in significant community service and civic activities; is a role model for other family physicians, residents and/or medical students. Awardees of the Lifetime Achievement Award are nominated by other members of the IAFP. Dr. Boom was therefore recognized by a committee of his colleagues. His experience and expertise a rural practitioner and affinity for quality improvement will offer a unique perspective to our philanthropic work.
Dr. Paris Thomas is a devoted health and racial equity leader, researcher, and advocate based in Chicago. She is currently the Executive Director of Equal Hope, a nonprofit whose mission is to promote health equity and eliminate disparities for historically marginalized communities through culturally competent interventions. Dr. Thomas has a deep-rooted passion for promoting health equity. Her motivation stems from personal experiences within her own family, where she witnessed the impact of the healthcare system on their health outcomes. Driven by a desire to create positive change, she has dedicated her career to promoting health through intersectionality and innovative strategies that improve access to care for under-resourced communities.
Throughout her career, Dr.Thomas has actively led health equity initiatives across various sectors of the healthcare field. From working with Federally Qualified Health Centers toManaged Care Organizations, Quality Improvement Agencies, and Hospitals, she has consistently championed the cause of creating an equitable healthcaresystem for individuals of all races and socioeconomic backgrounds.
If you are considering a grant request or have questions about the grant process, please feel free to contact TCI staff for further assistance.
Contact UsPlease find links to our recent TCI E-News publications to learn of our funding in action through our funding support of projects in all our states.