Terry Avitable, MSN, RN, CNOR, is director of sales and marketing for Pfiedler Education. She has a master of science degree in nursing education and more than 25 years of experience as a perioperative nurse. As director of clinical education at Keiser College, she managed a team of clinical nurse educators. For the past 7 years, she has worked for AORN Enterprise, supporting and promoting the implementation of perioperative education within health care systems nationally. Her expertise includes promoting medical education and innovation in medical technology to assist with the delivery of safe patient care.

Renee Hildebrand MSN CNOR, RNFA has 38 years of operating room experience. Her depth covers most specialties within the operating room and her perioperative career started as a surgical technologist and has evolved into her current role as the Director of Perioperative Services at Houston Methodist Willowbrook Hospital. Renee has experience developing a system program that trains and mentors new nurses to the OR. Renee received both her Associate Degree in Surgical Technology and her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Akron in Akron, Ohio. She received her Master of Science in Nursing/Family Nurse Practitioner Degree from Clarkson College, Omaha Nebraska and her RNFA training was completed at the University of New Mexico in Taos, New Mexico. She has been a CNOR since 1994 and has been a guest speaker at numerous venues on leadership, mentoring, and succession planning.

As CEO of Surgical Directions, Jeff has led the operational, clinical and financial improvement of over 300 hospitals across the country. Jeff is an experienced healthcare business strategist with more than 25 years of experience collaborating with physicians and hospital executives. Leading teams of specialists, Jeff has established a consistent track record of enhancing healthcare service delivery through the optimization of workforce, strategy, performance and the supply chain.
Jeff is an expert in addressing the operational, financial and political issues within hospital systems – from rural community hospitals to quaternary academic medical centers. He has worked with hundreds of surgical and procedural departments, and he understands the complexities and importance of these services to an organization’s financial performance and reputation. Jeff is a national speaker, and he has published numerous articles on anesthesia support and negotiations, OR operations, perioperative benchmarks, block scheduling, physician & hospital relations and hospital organizational issues. He is a leader in healthcare consulting, sought out by healthcare organizations looking to transform services delivery, improve patient outcomes, control costs and ultimately achieve a sustainable competitive advantage in their markets.

Mr. Peters holds an MBA from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Drake University.

Judy Pins, MBA, BSN, RN, is president of Pfiedler Education, where she leads a team of healthcare educators who develop programs for physicians, nurses, and allied health professionals. She holds a bachelor of science in nursing degree from the University of Dubuque and a master’s in business from Lake Forest School of Management in Lake Forest, IL.

Melissa Pressley, BS, is a management engineer in performance services at Duke University Health System, where she works closely with physicians and perioperative leadership in reporting and process improvement projects. She received her bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering from North Carolina State University where she was actively involved in multiple engineering honor societies.

Nikhil Singal is the Director of Operations, Surgical Services at Sutter Medical Center Sacramento, a Sutter Health Affiliate. Sutter Medical Center Sacramento is a tertiary urban hospital in downtown Sacramento with over 4000 employees and 650 beds. In his current role, Nikhil has operational responsibility for the surgery schedulers and charge posters and joint budgetary oversight over 23 Operating Rooms, 4 Endoscopy Suites, 320 FTEs, and over $90M in operating budget. Along with the Medical Directors in Surgical Services, Nikhil jointly manages surgeon block time and new product requests. He also has responsibility for the production of all operational dashboards and any ad hoc analyses.

Prior to this role, Nikhil managed pediatric ambulatory clinics for Sutter Gould Medical Foundation in the Central Valley of California. Additionally, he served as an Administrative Fellow and Administrative Intern with Sutter Health. Nikhil also has experience in the recruiting and hospitality industries. Nikhil received a Bachelor in Business Administration from Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina and Master in Health Administration from Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia.

As Director of Client Services for LeanTaaS, Ashley Walsh, MHA, leads collaborative efforts with more than 30 top tier healthcare organizations to develop high ROI predictive analytics solutions that improve patient access and patient/staff satisfaction, optimize resource utilization, and reduce service delivery costs. Previously, she was a perioperative business manager at the UCHealth Metro Denver campus. She has a bachelor’s degree in health science from Truman State University in Kirksville, Missouri, and a masters in health administration from Maryville State University in St. Louis, Missouri.

David Wildebrandt, MHA, is managing director of Berkeley Research Group. He has more than 17 years of healthcare operations experience focused on developing enterprise strategy, executive leadership, and physician alignment. Previously he was senior vice president for Baptist Health Care and president of Baptist Hospital Inc., which was recognized by Fortune Magazine as a Top 100 Company for 6 consecutive years and was awarded the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award.