Board of Trustees

Chet Burrell has had a long career in leadership positions in the government, nonprofit and for-profit sectors of the US healthcare system. Since late 2018, Mr. Burrell has served as Founder and Managing Member of Silavon Healthcare Holdings, LLC which seeks investment partnerships with private equity and venture investors in promising health care companies performing cutting edge work in precision medicine, new diagnostics and treatments as well as value based health care financing models.

From late 2007 to mid-2018, Mr. Burrell served as President and Chief Executive Officer of CareFirst BlueCross Blue Shield, the largest health insurer and health benefit services company in the Mid-Atlantic region covering 3.4 million members concentrated in the Maryland, District of Columbia and Northern Virginia market segments, but with substantial  membership spread throughout the United States. In 2018, the company generated approximately $15 billion in annual revenue and had the highest commercial market share in the region (>50%) by a wide margin – while serving 27,000 employer groups and hundreds of thousands of individual subscribers and their families.

During his leadership of the company, Mr. Burrell led a massive technology upgrade (over $2b), overhauled the company organizational structure and management team as well as modernized product and service offerings.  The core company strategy was based on one of the largest and longest serving patient centered medical home programs in the United States. Mr. Burrell personally led the design, roll out, operation/expansion and technical underpinnings of this program and authored its extensive, written Program Guidelines. The Program substantially slowed the rise in health care costs for all of CareFirst’s individual subscribers and employer group customers. 

While CEO, Mr. Burrell also spearheaded targeted equity investments by CareFirst in both mature health care technology/service companies as well as earlier stage companies with promising new technologies or products in the health field. These investments, which  were carried out through the Healthworx Program he initiated, approached $100 million in invested capital and provided a cumulative IRR exceeding 30 percent.

During his tenure with the company, Mr. Burrell was the recipient of numerous awards and recognitions including Most Admired CEO of a large company (twice), Innovator of the Year (2016)  and ICON Award winner for long standing leadership and impact in the health field in Maryland. Mr. Burrell was inducted as a member of the Hall of Fame for business leaders in the greater Baltimore area. This award recognizes the most impactful community/business leaders whose sustained contributions and impact to the larger community over their careers merit this recognition.

Over the years, Mr. Burrell has Chaired or been a board member of many organizations in the healthcare field including Chair of the Committee on Affordable and Quality Healthcare (CAQH) – a US wide organization representing all major commercial and non-profit payers in the US, Executive Committee member of America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), and a Board Member of the National Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association to name a few.

Prior to joining CareFirst, from early 2002 to late 2007, Mr. Burrell was Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of RealMed Corporation. At the time, Realmed was an emerging, investor backed company that provided extensive online revenue cycle management services to providers throughout the United States with a concentration on the MidWest and East Coast.   Under Mr. Burrell’s leadership, RealMed became a leading health care payment related transaction clearinghouse that served as a bridge between all types of providers and all government and commercial payers in the United States.

Over the five years that he led the company, RealMed’s revenue quadrupled and the business moved from deep loses to profitability. This was achieved through design and development efforts he led resulting in sophisticated online services to providers that enabled real time claims adjudication (a first in the health industry) as well as virtually instantaneous responses to providers for a range of patient eligibility, claims status inquiries and payment results from all payers.  In so doing, it better enabled providers to understand the patterns in their service billings and, thereby, helped them to operate at higher levels of efficiency and financial performance. The company was acquired by Availity – a leading provider of revenue cycle management services owned by several Blue Cross Blue Shield plans and commercial payers.. 

Before joining RealMed in 2002, Mr. Burrell was Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Novalis Corporation, a groundbreaking venture backed managed care and health-technology company that offered operational, technical and intellectual property support to provider-sponsored healthcare provider networks – enabling them to offer the “Novalis Program.”

This Program enabled provider networks to offer incentive based health coverage plans directly to employers and individuals in various regional/state markets around the US. The Program also offered strong incentives to primary care providers to control cost – leading to greater overall efficiency and quality improvements.  This was the predecessor model to his work with CareFirst on its patient centered medical home program.

Mr. Burrell developed the company from the idea stage to full operation during the 1990’s. The company was capitalized through a syndicate of private equity firms resulting from fundraising efforts led by Mr. Burrell. By the time Mr. Burrell sold Novalis to TriZetto in late 1999, the company was profitable and supporting nearly a dozen regional health networks involving dozens of hospitals, thousands of doctors and was serving approximately 800,000 members.

Earlier, in the mid to late 1980’s, Mr. Burrell served as Executive Vice President of Associated Insurance Companies of Indiana (AICI), the predecessor organization to Anthem BlueCross BlueShield.  In this capacity, he exercised leadership of the managed care and HMO operations of the company and oversaw new innovations in health care financing. Anthem became the largest Blue Plan in the nation and today operates on a for-profit, publicly traded basis.

Prior to his role with AICI, in the early to mid 1980s, Mr. Burrell was President of the Albany Division of Empire Blue Cross and Blue Shield, which, at the time, was the nation’s largest non-profit health insurer serving over 10 million members. Among his responsibilities was leadership of plan-wide managed care initiatives and HMO operations. Mr. Burrell co-led the effort to create Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield through merger of two New York State based Blue Plans, one of which he headed as described immediately below.

Prior to his Empire experience, in the early to mid -1980’s, Mr. Burrell was President and CEO of Blue Cross of Northeastern New York, serving a million subscribers in Upstate New York just above the New York City line.  He was the youngest ever CEO of a Blue Cross Blue Shield plan (age 34) in the nation and oversaw a major transformation of the company’s products, management and technological framework while greatly expanding its charter and scope of operations under State law and regulation.  

Mr. Burrell started his career in New York State Government in the 1970s. During a 10-year career with state government in New York, he rose from a young intern (as part of an accelerated leadership program for a small, highly selected class of Master’s degree prepared candidates)  to various senior-level positions including:

Executive Deputy Commissioner for the New York State Office of Mental Health with day to day leadership of this multi-billion dollar agency with 39,000 employees and a multi-billion annual operating budget;

Deputy Director for New York State Office of Health Systems Management with oversight of State policy making operations and provider rate regulatory functions governing all public and commercial payer reimbursement to hospitals, nursing homes and clinics in New York State; and Senior Member of Governor’s staff with a focus on fiscal and budget matters related to health policy and regulation governing Medicaid and commercial/private health coverage in New York State. This often required extensive connection to and coordination with OMB and HHS at the federal level.

Mr. Burrell lives with his wife, Elizabeth, in Georgetown, Washington, D.C.

Paul Beaupré, MD, CEO of St. John’s Medical Center, served as the chief executive officer at Good Samaritan Hospital in San Jose, CA from 2010 to 2016. Dr. Beaupré spent 20 years as a practicing anesthesiologist at Good Samaritan Hospital, where he was extensively involved with medical staff leadership, serving as Chair of the Credentialing Committee, Chief of Staff, and Chairman of the Board of Trustees.

In 2004, he joined the hospital administration team as Chief Medical Officer, and later assumed the role of Chief Operating Officer. As CEO of Good Samaritan Hospital, Dr. Beaupré launched the Journey to Excellence strategy based on the premise: Take Great Care of Patients and Everything Else Will Take Care of Itself. Under his leadership, Good Samaritan Hospital became nationally recognized for quality measures and patient safety. Dr. Beaupré graduated from University of Pennsylvania Medical School, Philadelphia, PA.

He completed medical residencies in Internal Medicine and Anesthesiology at University of California, San Francisco.

Daniel C. Burrell is the Founder and CEO of The Burrell Group, LLC a holding company that manages and operates individual, privately held companies in the education, real estate, natural resources and technology sectors. The Burrell Group seeks to provide high quality products, services, and solutions for its customers. The company has headquarter and regional offices throughout the United States and internationally.

Mr. Burrell received his Bachelor of Arts from Georgetown University, a General Course Degree in International Law from the London School of Economics, and a J.D. from Yale Law School. Mr. Burrell and his wife Katherine are the co-founders of the New Mexico Leadership Institute, a non-profit scholarship and educational program that in partnership with UNM and NMSU, the state’s two flagship universities, supports entrepreneurship and innovation in New Mexico. Additionally, Daniel and Katherine are co-founders of The Burrell Institute for Health Policy and Research, a regional non-profit organization focused on a multidisciplinary approach to the analysis of health care access disparity, delivery systems, public policy and educational programming in the Borderland region of the Southwestern United States.

Kate Butler joined Rice Management Company in 2017. Ms. Butler provides investment oversight primarily for the endowment’s private equity and venture capital portfolio as well as other asset classes. Previously, she worked in private equity, investing out of a $1.5 billion pool of capital; in real estate, repositioning a $6.6 billion REIT as a result of shareholder activism; and in investment management, refining the strategy of a $775 billion AUM global asset manager. Ms. Butler received her M.B.A. with Honors from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and her B.A. with Distinction from Yale University, graduating in three years.

Joe B. Davidson joined Rice University in 1994.  As Senior Associate General Counsel for Rice Management Company and Rice University, his principal responsibilities are endowment investments, financings, corporate governance and compliance.  In this role, Mr. Davidson advises on and manages outside counsel for private equity, venture capital, real estate, hedge fund, energy, mineral, and timber investments.  His other practice areas include athletics coach, game and sponsorship agreements, intellectual property, and export controls.  Previously, Mr. Davidson worked with the law firms of Dewey Ballantine and Paul Hastings where he focused on mergers and acquisitions, public offerings and private placements, and real estate.  Mr. Davidson received his J.D. from The University of Chicago Law School, and graduated magna cum laude from Rice University with a B.A. in Political Science, Legal Studies, and Managerial Studies.  He is a member of Phi Beta Kappa, the State Bars of Texas and California, the Houston Bar Association, the American Bar Association, and the National Association of College and University Attorneys.  Mr. Davidson serves on the board of the Chance for Hope Foundation.

Dr. Tracy J. Farnsworth was appointed President of the Idaho College of Osteopathic Medicine (ICOM) at Idaho State University (ISU) in 2016. He also serves as Associate Professor and Director of the Healthcare Management programs at ISU.

Prior to his work at the University Dr. Farnsworth served in various executive level positions with Intermountain Healthcare, Catholic Healthcare West, and the City of Hope National Medical Center.

Dr. Farnsworth is a graduate of Brigham Young University. He also received Masters Degrees in Business and Health Services Administration from Arizona State University, and a Doctor in Educational Leadership at ISU. In 2014 Farnsworth received the Kole-McGuffey Prize for excellence in education research. In 2016 he received the distinguished author award by the Association of Schools of Allied Health Professions.

Dr. Farnsworth is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives (FACHE). He also serves as Board Chair-Elect of the Association of University Programs in Health Administration (AUPHA), and as a member of the Portneuf Medical Center Board of Trustees in Pocatello, Idaho.

Farnsworth has been active in his church and community, including the Boy Scouts of America where he received the Silver Beaver award in 2009. Tracy and his wife Michelle are the parents of four children and twelve grandchildren.

Dr. Force is the Vice President for Health Sciences at Idaho State University and Professor of Pharmacy Practice and Family Medicine at Idaho State University. He earned his B.S. in Pharmacy from Oregon State University and his Pharm.D. degree from the University of Texas, after which he completed a research fellowship in infectious diseases at Ohio State University.

Dr. Force has been active in the American College of Clinical Pharmacy, serving on several committees as well as chairing the Board Certification Affairs Committee and the Public and Professional Affairs Committee. He was elected Chair of the Ambulatory Care Practice and Research Network of ACCP in 1999 and to the Board of Regents in 2001. His expertise in collaborative drug therapy and reimbursement for clinical pharmacy services was recognized by his appointment to the ACCP Task Force on Compensation in 1998. He serves on the editorial board of the Annals of Pharmacotherapy and has acted as a referee for the Handbook of Nonprescription Drugs. Dr. Force was the founding column editor of STEPped Care: An Evidence-based Approach to Drug Therapy in the Journal of the American Board of Family Practice. Currently, he co-authors and edits the Prescriber?s Letter Journal Club a monthly publication designed to critically evaluate new information in the field of pharmacotherapy. He has authored over 60 professional and research publications, and speaks regularly at professional meetings. Dr. Force and his collaborators have received grants and contracts in excess of $3.5 million while at ISU. Presently, he is the Site Principal Investigator of a multi-center diabetes trial (ACCORD) funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health. His research interests focus on primary care pharmacotherapy (hypertension, diabetes, congestive heart failure, adult immunizations, etc.), drug utilization review, pharmacoepidemiology, and evidence-based medicine. Dr. Force has been on the faculty at Idaho State University since 1993.

Ronald E. Long joined Rice University in 2000 as Associate Vice President for Investments and Associate Treasurer, and was also named a Vice President of the Rice Management Company when it was formed in 2009. As Chief Operating Officer, Mr. Long is responsible for overseeing the operations of the RMC, which includes cash management as well as planned giving asset investment and administration, in addition to managing Rice’s fixed income, cash investments, and outstanding tax‐exempt and taxable debt.

Previously, Mr. Long served as Treasurer of Browning‐Ferris Industries, Inc. where he was responsible for BFI’s treasury, tax and insurance functions, and shared responsibility for managing the pension funds and 401(k) plan assets. Prior to joining BFI in 1993, Mr. Long was Treasurer of American Exploration Company where he was employed from 1989 to 1993. Mr. Long has lived in Houston and has been employed in various finance capacities since January 1981. Mr. Long is a graduate of the University of Kansas where he received a B.A. in history and an M.B.A. Mr. Long became a CPA in 1989 but no longer maintains his license.

Thomas Mohr, DO, MS, FACOI, FAOGME, was appointed Dean and Chief Academic Officer of ICOM in October 2019. He served as Associate Dean for Graduate Medical Education at the University of the Incarnate Word School of Osteopathic Medicine in San Antonio, Texas, as well as Executive Director and the Designated Institutional Officer for the Texas Institute for Graduate Medical Education and Research.

Previously, he served in senior roles at Rocky Vista University College of Osteopathic Medicine in Colorado, including Department Chair of Specialty Medicine, Curriculum Committee Chairman, Vice Dean and Acting Dean. Before his experience at Rocky Vista University, Dr. Mohr served as Division Chief and Associate Professor at Michigan State University School of Osteopathic Medicine.

In addition to serving on the founding faculty for two new osteopathic medical schools, Dr. Mohr was the founding director of a residency program and two new GME Consortia. He has led the efforts to secure nearly $10M in grants and contracts over the years, and has participated in the development and launch of more than 25 new residency programs.

Dr. Mohr practiced full-spectrum primary care internal medicine for 10 years in Michigan through the MSU HealthTeam, and has continued to maintain a part-time clinical practice as a hospitalist in medically underserved regions. He received his D.O. degree from the Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine at Midwestern University, and earned a B.S. in biology and M.S. in neurobiology and physiology at Purdue University.

Kevin Satterlee became Idaho State University’s 13th president in June 2018. Kevin is a native Idahoan from Priest River, Idaho. He has served Idaho’s higher education system for over 20 years. Kevin has a passion for watching students transform their lives through their educational experiences. His favorite day of work for the last 20 years has always been the first day of school. Watching students begin a new year, with fresh hopes and the excitement of new opportunities, has never ceased to move and motivate Kevin.

Upon assuming the presidency, Kevin committed to faculty, staff, students, alumni and friends of the University to always listen, be transparent and lead inclusively. As a natural problem-solver, the challenges facing ISU, and higher education in general, do not phase Kevin. Rather, these challenges give Kevin the motivation and determination he needs to face them head-on.

Idaho State University’s strengths are evident. As Idaho’s leader in health science education, a strong partner of Idaho’s National Laboratory, and a University where faculty and staff always put students first, there is an amazing story to tell. Kevin has been privileged to help share these stories with state leadership, community members and future students. One of his top priorities as president is to continue to build on and celebrate ISU’s strengths, traditions and community culture.

In the next 10 years, Kevin aims to lead the University to greater heights by maximizing the strengths of the institution, building strong and lasting relationships between ISU and its constituents, and helping to remove barriers to success. The future of ISU is bright with the talent and passion of the Bengal family. Kevin could not be more proud to be a Bengal.

Prior to his arrival, Kevin served 17 years at Boise State University in a variety of leadership positions, most recently Chief Operating Officer, Vice President and Special Counsel to the President. Kevin led the Campus Operations Division of the university in addition to serving as a key executive leader responsible for collaboratively steering the overall direction of the university. Prior to his time at Boise State, Kevin was a deputy attorney general in the Idaho Attorney General’s Office for six years. During much of this period he served as chief legal officer to the Idaho State Board of Education.

Kevin received his bachelor’s degree in political science from Boise State University (magna cum laude) and was named a Top Ten Scholar of the University. He received his law degree from the University of Idaho (magna cum laude).

Kevin and his wife Margaret, both multi-generational Idaho natives, have three children. They enjoy jet-skiing, fishing, baking and spending as much time as possible with friends and family.