Paul Begala

Political Commentator, CNN; Professor of Public Policy, Georgetown University; New York Times' Bestselling Author; and Political Strategist

Mark Dixon

President, The Mark Dixon Group, LLC

Mark D. Dixon, RPh, MHA, FACHE, leads the Mark Dixon Group, LLC, which provides medical suppliers and integrated delivery networks (IDNs) consultative assistance in successfully navigating the changes in healthcare. He specializes in providing C-Suite level services to increase medical supplier relevancy/performance in an era of health reform and value creation, implement an Accountable Care Organization (ACO) strategy, create durable physician clinical integration network strategies, and develop and implement improved IDN triple aim results. Dixon brings 30+ years of healthcare leadership experience with a proven record of results in developing and sustaining market-leading organizations. Dixon was Regional President for Fairview Health Services where they developed and implemented an ACO strategy. Prior to joining Fairview, Mark was President/CEO of Community Hospitals of Indiana, Inc. in Indianapolis for 6 years and was with Allina Health for 17 years at Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis as the chief executive.

Alan Lieber  

President, Overlook Hospital and VP, Atlantic Health System

Mr. Lieber has been the president of Overlook Medical Center (OMC) since 2003. At OMC, he is the executive leader for an emerging Integrated Delivery System providing care to 600,000 people in Union, Essex and Somerset Counties in New Jersey. Overlook has been recognized as a Top 100 Hospital in the United States by Healthgrades, Beckers and Project Green Health. AHS has been included in the Fortune 100 Best Places to Work For, ten years running. AHS and Overlook are the sole Healthcare System partner of the Optimus ACO which is one of a handful of ACOs that have earned Medicare shared savings every year since its inception in 2012.  Mr. Lieber serves on several Boards – the Atlantic, Optimus (Vice Chair) and Health Quality Partners ACO boards, Summit Atlantic Surgical Center (largest Ambulatory Surgery Center JV in NJ), AHA Regional Planning Board, Cornell Sloan Program Alumni Association and BD Advisory Board. 

Ed Lovern

COO, Piedmont Atlanta Hospital

With more than 20 years’ experience in the healthcare industry, Ed Lovern is a seasoned executive who has succeeded in a variety of leadership roles. In July 2013, Lovern was named chief operating officer for Piedmont Atlanta Hospital, the 488-bed tertiary care hospital that is the flagship of Piedmont Healthcare, a $2.8 billion health system. From 2008 to 2013, he served as executive vice president and chief administrative officer for Piedmont Healthcare which has six hospitals and two large integrated physician groups across north Georgia. Lovern also served as president and CEO for Piedmont Mountainside Hospital in Jasper, GA, for four years. He is a fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives and served as the chair of the editorial board for Healthcare Executive magazine. Lovern currently serves on the Boards of Odyssey Family Counseling Center and Jewish Home Life.

Scott Mortensen

Operations Officer, McKay-Dee Hospital and System Med/Surg, Intermountain Healthcare

Scott Mortensen currently serves as Operations Officer for McKay-Dee Hospital and Med/Surg Operations for the Intermountain system. In this role, he leads Med/Surg, Oncology, Cardiovascular, Rehab and Sports Medicine, Imaging, Laboratory, Environment of Care, Food and Nutrition, and other key services at McKay-Dee Hospital. Scott is a third-generation healthcare leader with an extensive background in healthcare and business. He has worked in insurance for United Health Group and in consulting at Carlson Ventures Enterprise, Intermountain Medical Group, Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinic and Intermountain Healthcare. Scott lectured for Utah Valley University, BYU, BYU-I and has advised companies such as the high growth healthcare startup company, Orca Health. Scott has a dual-degree University of Minnesota alumnus with an MHA from the School of Public Health and an MBA from the Carlson School of Management.

Rebecca Alexander

Author, Psychotherapist, Group Fitness Instructor, Disability Rights Advocate, and Extreme Athlete

​​​​​​As an extreme athlete, author, and psychotherapist who is almost completely blind and deaf due to a rare genetic condition called Usher syndrome (type III), Rebecca Alexander has faced many challenges in life.  Despite these difficulties, Rebecca refused to lose her drive and zest for life and rose above and beyond every challenge she faced. Day after day, challenge after challenge, Rebecca stresses how important it is to be grateful for every sound, every sight and every sense. Now, with only a sliver of sight and significantly deteriorated hearing, Rebecca is a psychotherapist in private practice with two master’s degrees from Columbia University. Rebecca greets every day as if it were a gift, with her boundless energy, innate curiosity, and a strength of spirit that have led her to places most of us can’t begin to imagine. Participating in the 600-mile San Francisco to Los Angeles AIDS Lifecycle ride, summiting Mt. Kilimanjaro, swimming from Alcatraz to shore in the San Francisco bay, skydiving, bungee jumping, and regularly competing in the Civilian Military Combine (CMC) races for extreme athletes are among her extraordinary feats. Rebecca’s critically acclaimed memoir, Not Fade Away: A Memoir of Senses Lost and Found received an Indie Book Award.