Meet Our Team
You'll want to hug us...and we're OK with that.
Successful implementation of Electronic Health Records is not about technology.
It’s about people. We’ve got the right people.
David Schlaifer
David founded Doctors Administrative Solutions in 2003 on the premise that private physician practices are the backbone of the health care delivery system and a passion for helping doctors stay independent by running more profitable practices.
David has a gift for bringing people together and making things happen – like the time he led a Tampa Bay coalition of political, healthcare, and other business leaders to win a multi-million dollar EHR software grant for Tampa Bay over 90 other communities. He is the founder of the Tampa Bay Health e-Connection, was an early member of the Tampa Bay Regional Health Information Organization (RHIO) steering committee, is co-chair of the TBTF CEO Forum, and serves on the Advisory Board of Education Africa USA. On top of all that, our fearless leader was named one of the 100 leading CEO’s in Tampa Bay in 2009.
David has two teenage daughters who keep him extremely busy (and humble). He loves to travel. One of his most recent adventures was taking his youngest daughter around the world, with stops in France, Greece, China and Australia.
In his past lives, David was CEO of a national legal services company, Group VP of a privately held billion-dollar global conglomerate with interests on five continents, and COO of one of the largest insurance companies in South Africa. He is an alumnus of The Ohio State University, and is an inactive member of the Illinois and Florida State Bars.
Jennifer Shimek
Prior to joining DAS, Jennifer served as the Director of Clinical Services and Managed Care at HealthPoint Medical Group, a Tampa-based multispecialty physician practice with more than 120 physicians. She also served as COO of Florida Orthopaedic Institute, a 33-physician practice in Tampa, where she managed the clinical and operational aspects of the organization. Before that, she was a Manager of Health Sciences for Ernst & Young, where she provided national and international consulting services in healthcare.
Jennifer is an avid reader and mother of 9 year-old twins, who loves travel and adventure. Her ultimate adventure: Jennifer dreams of one day flying with the Blue Angels. This passion has been with her since she was young and attended Space Camp with the hope of one day becoming an astronaut.
Jennifer earned a bachelor’s degree from Florida State University and an MBA from the University of South Florida. She is currently working towards her Juris Doctor from Stetson University.
A certified professional coder, Jennifer is a member of the American Academy of Professional Coders (AAPC), Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) and American Medical Group Association (AMGA).
Amanda Patanow
As our resident specialist on changing health IT trends and Meaningful Use requirements, Amanda has published a health care trade publication for the past 2 years. She is a passionate advocate for health care and has gone so far as to work directly with lobbyists and CMS staff to uncover the real story amid much misinformation.
Amanda follows politics the way most people follow sports. As a part of her political obsession, she has served as the President of the League of Women Voters of the St. Petersburg Area, personally lobbied state legislators in Tallahassee, spoken before delegations of up to 1,000 people and has moderated dozens of live and televised candidate forums.
A true Floridian, Amanda’s family was one of the first to settle in St. Augustine. Maybe it’s the pioneer spirit in her DNA – one thing about Amanda – she does not conform to the status quo. She’s the kind of woman who is good to have on your side.
Dena Bradford
Dena Bradford has been working with electronic records since before EHR was cool. With more than a decade of industry experience, Dena has overseen one of the largest Physician Group Practice EHR implementations in the country. She has served as a presenter at multiple EHR user conferences, co-authored industry articles, and participated on the American Health Information Management Association’s national committee to comment on the final rules for Meaningful Use. (She was helping to clarify the standards, trying to make life a little easier for everyone!) Prior to her career in health IT, Dena also worked for the US Army.
Dena may be a leader of our industry, but she has fun outside of the office too. With a style that could be described as a little bit country and a little bit rock and roll… anything could happen. She has an adventurous spirit, which she has expressed by flying in stunt planes, rappelling, 4 wheeling, and bull riding.
Dena holds a master’s degree in Health and Human Services from the University of Oklahoma, a bachelor’s in Health Care Administration from Concordia University, and an Associates of Applied Science degree in Health Information Management.
Mallory Taylor
Mallory Taylor brings seven years of marketing experience to Doctors Administrative Solutions. Her goal-oriented professionalism has sky-rocketed Mallory through her career. She has maximized exposure for a Fortune 500 company and professional services agencies to design and implement multi-million dollar sports marketing campaigns; partnered in a property management company where she rose to the position of COO; and managed an art gallery where she brought new artists to the Tampa Bay community.
Given Mallory’s extensive sports marketing background, it is no surprise that she is a huge Bucs and Rays fan, having travelled to the Super Bowl and the World Series for both work and pleasure. What may be more surprising, however, is that she has quite a flair for dramatic arts as well. Mallory moved to New York at the age of 16 to study at The New York School for Film and Television. In 2009, she won the gold medal for Latin ballroom dancing in her age category. Mallory subsequently attended Louisiana State University, where she majored in marketing and political science.
Alison Talleri
It’s easy to call Alison a career salesperson… but she will quickly tell you that her work has never been about sales. For her, it has always been about the people. Alison says the secret to her success is simple: treat everyone that you work with like you’ve known them for years – because the hope is that you will. Over the past several years, she has spent time in various parts of the medical industry, and has come to understand the unique needs of the offices with whom she works – and Alison loves nothing more than the smile on a client’s face when she knows she’s helped them find the right solution for their business.
As passionate about life as she is about people, Alison plays hard too. When she’s not coaching gymnastics or outside running with her dog, she’s busy attacking new DIY projects on her home, studying photography and plotting her next travel destination with her husband and friends. If she’s not doing any of those things, Alison’s probably shoe shopping. She dreams of someday free diving with sharks and writing a book and hopefully, doing her part to make the world a better place. We wouldn’t bet against her.
A Pennsylvania-native, Alison earned her BA in Marketing and Business Administration from the University of Pittsburgh and is currently enjoying life as a newlywed.
Julissa Rios
Julissa is a highly motivated, top producing professional you can always depend on. She has a passion to help others, loves the sweet taste of success and loathes mediocrity.
Julissa has always been interested in the medical field, starting her career as a medic in the US Army, moving into insurance sales and now selling EHR. “I love working for a company where we mean what we say,” says Julissa, “We deliver excellent customer service, our software is powerful and when I walk into a practice that is on our system I get goosebumps from seeing the change we have made!” She is a force of positive energy whose ambition is infectious.
From Peru, Spanish was Julissa’s first language. Julissa loves cooking Peruvian food, boating, and skiing. She is an awesome merengue dancer and soccer mom to two daughters.
Ronette Wood
Before we were lucky enough to snag her, Ronette got her MIS degree from University of Central Florida and worked for IBM and AT&T for more than 13 years. She started her career as a technical specialist at the help desk supporting IBM’s network services before the AT&T acquisition. Ronette spent the next 10 years in the sales arena providing network solutions to the top 200 companies in AT&T.
She may have a technical background but Ronette was born to dance. Ronette performed as a dancer at Walt Disney World and cheered for the NFL Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the AFL Tampa Bay Storm. Ronette’s passion for dance is outshined by her passion to help our clients, teaching doctors and their staff how to use Aprima and working with them until they get comfortable with their new system. After implementation, Ronette goes above and beyond the call of duty to ensure our clients are delighted.
Kyle Mynatt
Kyle brings to DAS almost 9 years of technical experience including active duty in the Marines where he worked with the National Security Agency in counter intelligence. He is trained in multidiscipline intelligence collection and operations and is skilled in troubleshooting computer hardware and network issues. Kyle received top security clearance with the military due to his job functions and once visited 4 continents in 36 hours on his way to serve in Iraq.
In a past life, Kyle believes he must have been a Calusa Indian. Like the Sarasota tribe known for their dependence on the sea, Kyle says he has saltwater running through his veins and a passion for fishing that was handed down for many generations. His other obsession is sports. He is quick to point out that he “doesn’t paint his chest or anything like that”, but he does watch the stats closely and write for local sports blogs.
Kyle earned his B.A. in Psychology from the University of South Florida. He met his wife in the military while she was also serving as a member of the Marines in the intelligence sector. Kyle, his wife and young son live just outside of Bradenton.
Michele Schneider
Michele Schneider brings a diverse set of talents and experiences to her role as an Implementation Specialist at Doctors Administrative Solutions. She is fluent in three languages, having been born and raised in Puerto Rico by her French father and Puertorrican mother. Michele began her career as an interior designer, then spent four years as a flight attendant while earning her Masters of Business Administration and has now been in the healthcare industry for nearly four years as a medical assistant and a practice manager. The common thread throughout Michele’s career is simple: she finds personal satisfaction in helping others and has a true gift for putting people at ease.
Michele began her healthcare career as a medical assistant in a busy neurology practice where she used Aprima as a DAS client and fell in love with the field of medicine. The most rewarding work she did there was working with ALS patients; she explains that she couldn’t extend their lives, but she could make them a little bit better. She now applies that same passion for service along with her industry knowledge to help take doctors from fear and frustration to a smooth and successful implementation of their new EHR. She says that she loves the DAS commitment to in-person training because “you always leave with a smile, knowing that you really made a difference. You cannot do the same thing by phone.”
Michele earned her MBA from the Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico and a BA in French Language and Literature from the University of Puerto Rico where she graduated Magna Cum Laude.
Julie Bouckenooghe
Julie has been a Certified Professional Coder (CPC) since 2004, working with doctors, nurses and staff. In that time, she has worked with every aspect of practice management including front desk, eligibility, billing, coding, AR and management. Throughout her career, Julie has been involved in training and helping others utilize software to improve their workflow with software technology. She now brings that passion to DAS where she uses that knowledge and personal experience to train our clients.
Julie’s sweet Tennessee accent and mild demeanor make you want to get to know her right away. And once you do, you’ll find that this country girl loves the glitz and glamor of Las Vegas – the shows, the clubs and casinos. Here at home she’s known to dance the night away and even perform a few Dixie Chicks karaoke tunes.
Julie graduated from Middle Tennessee State University with a B.S. Recreation Therapy. She is a Certified Professional Coder and a member of American Academy of Professional Coders.
In addition to her achievements in education and in work, Julie is the proud mom to a little boy.
Heather Dilley
With nearly 15 years of experience in practice management and billing and collections, Heather understands the unique challenges of running a physician practice, from practice workflow to banking and bookkeeping to navigating insurance company regulations and audits. Almost as important, Heather has owned her own Practice Management and billing company and understands the challenges physicians face as practice owners.
Heather first worked with DAS as a client. Today, she combines her “in the trenches know-how” with extensive Aprima product knowledge to train and support other clients.
Heather’s strength to face a challenge and lead others became apparent at an early age. When she was in the eighth grade, Heather organized a student walk-out to protest teacher layoffs and budget cuts that were proposed by the School Board. She was able to bring public attention to the issue with an interview and coverage of the demonstration on the local evening news.
Among her many professional successes, Heather is also the proud mom to a very active teenage son.
Melissa Rudolph
Over her more than 15 years as a practice manager, Melissa worked on nearly half a dozen different EHR and Practice Management systems. Throughout that time she grew frustrated with the limited amount of support vendors offered, leaving her, the staff and doctors to fend for themselves. Melissa has turned those lessons learned into her focus at DAS: teach clients how the system functions and how it can make their jobs easier and make their practices more money.
Between Melissa’s three children and her husband’s three children, they are a modern day Brady Bunch. A fun-loving soccer mom, she always seems to be having a good time and shares her infectious positive attitude with everyone around her. Among her special talents is trivial pursuit. Melissa is a wiz at the game and loves to play it. A little piece of trivia about Melissa: She can recite the entire script of the Wizard of Oz… including the lyrics for every song.
In addition to work and six children, Melissa plans to complete her CPC certification this fall. Melissa brings a tireless passion to everything she does for our clients and explains, “I now feel that I will never truly work another day in my life, because loving what I do is definitely not work!”
Priscilla Cervoni
We first met Priscilla as a client. At that time, she was responsible for overseeing the billing and collections process for a multiple physician practice. Over the past 10 years, Priscilla has managed a number of other roles in medical practices as well, including credentialing and serving as a medical assistant. Having worked on Aprima in a practice setting for several years, she became passionate about the role of EHR in workflows and the importance of training.
Priscilla is an avid baseball fan. Her favorite team is the Rays (of course), but her favorite baseball moment was being at Comiskey Park when Mark Buehrie pitched a perfect game against the Rays in 2009. When she is not in the stands, Priscilla enjoys acting and singing musical theatre. Her song and dance troupe even performed a segue to commercial for the Today Show. For anyone casting the next Broadway hit, Priscilla says she would consider returning to the stage if the right show came along.
Outside of work, Priscilla is currently pursuing her degree in Health Information Management and loves playing make believe with her daughter.
Emily Suggs
Five years ago, Emily Suggs was a student evaluating her options for the future. A professor guided her into the field of Health Administration, which combined her interests and skills with a quickly growing industry. She was immediately fascinated with the idea of electronic health records, though she was unsure how readily the technology would be adopted in physician practices.
Today, she’s thrilled to be a part of that very movement as a part of the DAS family. Her varied experience as a pharmacy technician, physical therapist and office assistant at a medical practice, in addition to her time spent overseeing seven hospital-based EHR implementations with BayCare Health System, make Emily an ideal fit to help guide our clients through the implementation and training process.
Emily holds a Bachelor’s of Applied Science in Health Service Administration from St. Petersburg College, but this is a girl whose interests expand far beyond the world of electronic health records. When she’s not working with clients, she loves to curl up with a good book, spend time fishing, or bike riding. More than anything, Emily believes in finding balance between working hard and having fun… which is exactly why we’re so glad she’s on our team
Kristen Drago
Kristen has spent the past 15 years in recruiting and human resources. Most recently she was the president of a local staffing company, which she led for 7 years and grew into a formidable firm of over 400 clients and 650 employees. Through it all, she has come to believe that anything is possible with the right team. At DAS, Kristen oversees human resources and administration, among other things. She is charged with the monumental task of ensuring that we are all moving in the same direction.
Kristen is the personification of strength and perseverance. Having survived three bouts of cancer, she knows that there is nothing that she can’t overcome. She also learned firsthand from those experiences the importance of EHR in the delivery of fully integrated patient care and is now an avid crusader for EHR adoption.
Though she seems to be on the move all the time, Kristen admits that her favorite thing to do is take a nap with her 10 year old daughter and 5 pound Pomeranian on Sunday afternoons.
Kristen earned her BS in Merchandising and Design from West Virginia University, and her Masters in e-Learning from the University of Maryland.
Julia Gorzka
A brand and marketing strategist, Julia consults with entrepreneurial businesses to build stronger brands, customer loyalty and revenues. She’s a passionate storyteller trained to see things differently (she has her masters in History of Design from Bard). Her creative perspective and approach to solving business problems comes from studying art and living in New Orleans, New York, Florence, Italy, and London, England.
Julia found her way into our DAS family via interviewing David when he was honored as one of Tampa Bay’s Top 100 Business Leaders. They started talking about video and next thing you know she’s rebranded our company to help us grow and spread more DAS awesomeness (love).
Brooke Evans
Brooke thinks geek but speaks plain English. An accountant with a personality, she’s only conservative with numbers. After graduating from Florida State, Brooke started her career in what she describes as “the nerdiest accounting you can do” – public accounting. She has since found her calling as 1/2 typical CFO, 1/2 Entrepreneur, founding CFO Alliance in 2008.
Brooke doesn’t fit the traditional mold- she started her business in the recession after resigning from a career of 10 years the day she delivered her 2nd child! Entrepreneur, mom, philanthropist – she is a woman who wants it all – and goes for it.
Advisory Board
Glenn C. Taylor
Glenn C. Taylor, is Group President, Key Accounts, where he is responsible for over half of the Fortune 50 company’s $50 billion in annual revenue.
He formerly served as Senior Vice President, Account Management, and President of the Company’s UnitedHealth Group Division, among other positions. Mr. Taylor held previous positions as Executive Vice President for Rush Presbyterian St. Lukes Hospital in Chicago, and Group Vice President for Baxter Healthcare / American Hospital Supply.
He has a BA in Economics and Mathematics from St. Olaf College and an MBA from Lake Forest Graduate School.
Craig Brooks
Craig Brooks is the managing partner of Royal Vista Capital, a venture capital firm focusing on early stage ventures.
Previously, he held numerous positions with Amgen, one of the world’s leading biotechnology firms, including heading up the Global Marketing organization, as General Manager for Asia Pacific and Latin America, and as Vice President of U.S. Marketing before that. Previously, Mr. Brooks worked at American Hospital Supply in a variety of sales and management positions and at Proctor and Gamble in the field sales organization.
Mr. Brooks received a bachelor’s degree from Hamilton College and an MBA from Harvard.
Marc Blumenthal
Marc Blumenthal is the CEO of Intelladon, a Tampa-based producer of advanced electronic courseware and learning management solutions.
He was one of the original founders and still a key investor in Tribridge Software. Marc was founder and former CEO of Progressive Business Solutions, which he grew from start-up mode to a leading computer systems integrator producing nearly $20-million in corporate revenue, before selling to ePartners. Prior to establishing Progressive, Marc worked in IBM’s National Accounts Division. Marc currently serves on the Board of the Tampa Bay Technology Forum and Metropolitan Ministries.
He has his BS in Management Information Systems from the University of South Florida.
