Women Navigating Careers in Health Tech: Stories from the Frontline

WALK-IN TICKETS AVAILABLE! 

Join us for an exciting panel discussion with women leaders in healthcare technology. Hear their stories and be inspired to diversify and elevate the field!

Date: 10/26/2023

Time: 6:00PM - 8:30PM CT

Location: InterContinental Chicago Magnificent Mile (505 N Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60611)

Cost: Members $30 | Students $20 | Non-Members $50

Registration Link: Register Here (closed ; walk-ins available)

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Meet our moderator and panelists!

 

Melissa C. S. Breth (MODERATOR)

Associate Project Director, Clinical Quality Informatics, DNP, RN-BC 

The Joint Commission 

Dr. Melissa C. Serna Breth is a clinical informatics leader with almost 25 years as a registered nurse and about 20 years’ experience in healthcare informatics. Whether she is caring directly for patients, supporting a variety of electronic health records, developing teams, improving communications with connected technologies, or driving quality care, Melissa’s career integrates continuous professional growth and process improvement for improved care quality. She is currently an Associate Project Director, Clinical Quality Informatics at the Joint Commission, developing and maintaining electronic clinical quality measures. Melissa serves her 7th year on the board of directors for the Greater IL Chapter of HIMSS and continues to be an active member of the Nursing Knowledge: Big Data Science Initiative.  

Dr. Breth earned her Doctorate in Nursing Practice and MSN – Health Systems Management, Informatics from Loyola University Chicago. She completed her Bachelor of Science in Nursing at the University of Illinois. 

 

Keis Kostaqi (PANELIST)

MBA, Program Manager 

Northwestern Medicine

Keis Kostaqi is a passionate Scrum Master and Agile Coach with years of experience in healthcare, information services and technology. Currently serving as a Program Manager for the Agile Transformation Team at Northwestern Medicine, she enables individuals and teams to be successful through continual learning and growth. In collaboration with her team members, she leads the Agile Community of Practice for the purpose of exchanging knowledge, building skills, and improving Agile practices across the department and organization.  

Keis holds an MBA in Healthcare Administration and is a Certified Scrum Master (CSP-SM). She is part of the Greater Illinois Chapter of HIMSS Board of Directors and serves as the President Elect.  

Other interests include travelling, food lover, writing novels, volunteering and binge-watching TV shows. 

 

 

Gianna Kubiak (PANELIST)

PMP, CSM, CIPM (IAPP), CISSP, Manager, Security and Privacy Risk Consulting
RSM US LLP

Gianna has over eight years of experience working across multiple cybersecurity and technology domains with a current focus on clients in financial services, private equity and family office space.

She has served as a virtual Chief Information Security Officer (vCISO) for multiple privacy equity funds and family offices, assisting clients in developing or maturing their cybersecurity programs, providing strategic guidance and supporting executive leadership decisions as well as tactical day-to-day program management. In this role, she regularly interacts with portfolio and private equity fund representatives, tracks risks, advocates for portfolio company needs at the private equity fund level and aids the implementation of fund strategy at the portfolio company level.

Professional affiliations and credentials

·       Certified Information Privacy Manager (CIPM)

·       Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP)

·       Certified Scrum Master (CSM)

·       Project Management Professional (PMP)

 

 

Anne Taylor (PANELIST)

Director, IT and Clinical Applications 

Shirley Ryan AbilityLab

Anne Taylor is Director, IT and Clinical Applications, at Shirley Ryan AbilityLab (formerly the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago), ranked the #1 rehabilitation hospital in America by U.S. News & World Report for 33 consecutive years.  

First hired as an Analyst more than 16 years ago, Anne has earned several promotions at Shirley Ryan AbilityLab — first to Senior Analyst and then to Manager of Clinical Applications — before assuming her current role as Director.  

In this role, she collaborates with both IT and Operational leadership to ensure seamless support for clinical application requirements. Her responsibilities include orchestrating projects that align with compliance regulations and a forward-looking technology vision.

She leads and supervises three distinct teams — Clinical Applications, Revenue Cycle Applications and Clinical Informatics — responsible for the critical tasks of addressing daily operational issues, implementing configuration changes and successfully executing a wide spectrum of projects. In addition, she closely collaborates with a Project Manager who oversees health information technology projects, ensuring effective coordination and delivery.

In her free time, Anne enjoys playing various card and board games with her two children and completing The New York Times word games with her husband.      

 

 

Asra Ali (PANELIST)

Director, Risk Management 

MultiPlan