CHI Health Board of Directors

Fr. Kevin FitzGerald is a Jesuit priest who leads the Department of Medical Humanities at the Creighton University School of Medicine at Creighton University in Omaha. Fr. FitzGerald holds a PhD in Bioethics from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., a PhD in Molecular Biology also from Georgetown and a Master of Divinity from the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley, Calif. He teaches Medical Ethics and Humanities, and is the Director of Ethical Reasoning for residency and fellowship programs in the School of Medicine.

Fr. FitzGerald has authored or co-authored more than 75 articles, chapters and other publications, and is currently the co-chief editor of the Philosophy, Ethics, and Humanities in Medicine journal, Springer Nature Publishing. In addition, he serves on the Genetic Alliance Institutional Review Board, the Pontifical Academy for Life, and the St. Joseph Hospital Ethics Committee in Phoenix, Arizona.

W. Kent Barney is a retired businessman. He was the fourth generation to run the family business Barney Abstract & Title Co., which was started in 1888 by his great-grandfather. He and his wife Cindy ran the business for over 40 years and sold it in 2016. The business had been honored by the City of Kearney Chamber of Commerce as the Small Business of the Year.

Kent has been active in numerous professional and civic organizations over the years, including twice Past President of the Nebraska Land Title Association. He has served on various Boards and Committees for Buffalo County and the City of Kearney as well as St. Luke's Episcopal Church. He is a Past President of the CHI Good Samaritan Hospital Foundation and the Good Samaritan Hospital Community Board. He currently serves as President of Yanney Heritage Park Foundation.

Dr. Kirti Gupta is an Internal Medicine physician and Pediatrician at CHI Health Clinic in Omaha, Neb. Dr. Gupta was attracted to pediatrics during her residency, and found she enjoyed caring for adults as well. She enjoys keeping people of all ages healthy and loves following patients from birth to adulthood. Dr. Gupta appreciates CHI Health’s commitment to compassionate care, and enjoys the academic foundation she experienced as a student at Creighton University. 

In addition to her medical degree, Dr. Gupta holds a PhD in Allergy, Immunology and Biomedical Sciences from the Creighton University Medical School. She has authored numerous articles dating back to 1997 and has been part of several research projects. Dr. Gupta has served on the Board of Directors of CHI Health Clinic enjoys the leadership that governance provides.

Mardell Wilson, EdD, was named provost at Creighton University effective October 1, 2020. Dr. Wilson previously served as Professor and Dean of the Edward and Margaret Doisy College of Health Sciences at Saint Louis University (SLU) since August 2014.

Prior to her time at SLU, Dr. Wilson spent 17 years as a Professor and Administrator at Illinois State University. From 2009 to 2014, she served as the Associate Vice President for Academic Fiscal Management in the Office of the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at Illinois State.

She began her tenure at Illinois State in 1997 as an Assistant Professor of Food, Nutrition and Dietetics in the Department of Family and Consumer Sciences, and was promoted to full professor in 2010.

Dr. Wilson earned her undergraduate degree in Human Resources and Family Studies Dietetics from the University of Illinois and her master’s degree in the field from Eastern Illinois University. Her EdD is in Curriculum and Instruction from Illinois State University. Dr. Wilson is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist.

At both SLU and Illinois State, Dr. Wilson worked to cultivate an environment in which inclusivity and appreciation for diverse perspectives were fostered and celebrated. Dr. Wilson has continued that work at Creighton University and is excited about the advances the institution continues to make.

With her background in the allied health professions and in her role as Dean of the Health Sciences College at SLU, Dr. Wilson effectively collaborated with deans and faculty across the university’s schools and colleges, and developed a five-year research plan, a peer-reviewed publication support program, and the foundation for an interdisciplinary PhD program, among other initiatives.

During her tenure at Creighton University, Wilson led an effort to modify how new academic programs are conceptualized that emphasizes strategy and market viability while remaining mission centric. Additional accomplishments include the development of a spend-management incentive program for schools and colleges, the creation of a three-year Research & Scholarship Strategic map, aligning academic programs to discipline specific units, and the re-imaging of an existing college to focus on lifelong learning now known as the College for Professional & Continuing Education. Furthermore, Dr. Wilson has been an active proponent in enhancing the significant partnership between CommonSpirit Health and Creighton University.

Cindy Alloway has more than 30 years of healthcare and leadership experience in the Omaha metro area. With a penchant for strategic planning, an intuitive understanding of patient needs, and a visionary leadership style, Alloway was instrumental in the planning and design of Lakeside Hospital, which opened in August 2004 and is one of the nation’s most advanced healthcare facilities. She continues to dedicate her time to building and managing strong teams of patient-focused, experienced healthcare professionals.

Prior to joining CHI Health (formerly Alegent Creighton Health), Alloway served in numerous nursing and leadership roles at Bishop Clarkson Memorial Hospital in Omaha. In 1997, Clarkson became part of the Nebraska Health System’s network, and Alloway assumed the role of vice president of Ambulatory Care, Emergency/Trauma Services, and Occupational Health. In this capacity, she spearheaded expansion and growth opportunities for ambulatory care, developed a highly successful Occupational Health Services program and consolidated two emergency departments. Alloway, a registered nurse, earned her nursing degree at Clarkson College of Nursing in 1974. 

Kelly Bacon is a partner, executive and senior consultant at Gallup. Kelly is primarily responsible for the overall management of a select top client portfolio that includes healthcare, transportation, logistics, automotive and manufacturing clients. Her mission is to create highly engaged teams and ensure her clients achieve continuous improvement in their critical business outcomes.

Kelly consults with organizations to help them embrace behavioral economics and manage human capital more effectively. This approach leads to better workplaces, reduced turnover, more engaged employees, increased customer engagement and improved, sustainable financial performance. Her advice and insights help her clients develop a leadership and change management strategy that aligns organizational best practices to enhance customer relationships at every crucial touchpoint.

Kelly joined Gallup in 1991 and has spent the more than 30 years building her consulting experience in advanced workplace and customer analytics, program architecture advisory, executing on strategic plans, driving change management as well as leadership and management development, to her client engagements. Kelly has significant experience in transportation industries, including airlines, logistics, rail, healthcare, financial services, automotive and manufacturing. Her dedicated consulting teams develop organizational change programs that drive innovation and embed lasting solutions, ultimately ensuring client success.

Before joining Gallup, Kelly gained sales, marketing and management experience working with technology and publishing companies. She grew in Lyons, Nebraska and then attended Creighton University and earned a bachelor’s degree in education from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. Kelly led the west coast offices of Gallup for over 16 years and moved home to work at Gallup’s Omaha Riverfront office in 2011 where she serves her clients around the world.

Kathryne Cutler is a philanthropist who maintained a deep commitment to civic activities before and after retiring from a long and distinguished legal career in 2014. After beginning her professional life as a sixth grade educator, Cutler returned to college to earn her Juris Doctorate from Creighton University in 1982. She began her legal career in southwest Iowa and went on to take Counsel and Senior Counsel positions at Mutual of Omaha, Omnium Worldwide and West Corporation. She was most recently Temporary Executive Director and President of the Board of Directors for Habitat for Humanity of Council Bluffs. 

Ms. Cutler’s current civic activities include being an Iowa West Racing Association (IWRA) President and member of the Iowa West Foundation Board of Directors, Council Bluffs Civil Service Commission, Council Bluffs Noon Rotary and Network CB. Past civic activities include serving on the Iowa Legal Aid Board of Directors, the Southwest Iowa Legal Aid Advisory Board and the Legal Aid Committee of the Iowa Bar Association. She has been commissioner of the Municipal Housing Agency of the City of Council Bluffs, chair of the Visiting Nurses Association, a founding member of the Hospice of SW Iowa Board and the Historic General Dodge House Foundation. Over the years, she has been active with several community organizations in southwest Iowa. She was honored with the Mercy Heritage Award in 2015 and the Children’s Square Jason Award in 2017. 

Sr. Nadine Heimann, OSF, is Past Provincial/President of the Sisters of St. Francis of Colorado Springs, Colorado. (2010-2018). A Sister of St. Francis of Perpetual Adoration of Colorado Springs since 1968, Sr. Heimann has a rich history of parish ministry in Colorado and Nebraska.
She has been involved in parish ministry and in service to her religious community in the areas of formation, finance and community leadership. She has served on different boards of Catholic Health Initiatives (CHI) as well as the separately incorporated boards of the ministries of the Sisters of St. Francis, including St. Francis Nursing Center in Colorado Springs. Sister Heimann has a bachelor’s degree in theology and psychology from the University of Albuquerque in New Mexico and a master’s degree in Pastoral Ministry from Boston College in Boston, Massachusetts. She has completed classes in Public Administration for Non-Profits at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, the Women’s Leadership Institute at Hartford Seminary, Hartford, Connecticut, and Stephen’s Ministry in Grand Island, Nebraska.

Her past ministry experience includes roles as Pastoral Minister of Blessed Sacrament Parish in Grand Island, Nebraska (2005–2010), fleet manager with Caritas Fleet Services, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Hartford, Connecticut (2003–2005), and provincial treasurer for Sisters of St. Francis of Colorado Springs (1994-2003). Sister Heimann has served as Director of Religious Education (DRE), RCIA & Pastoral Associate of St. Mary’s Cathedral in Colorado Springs (1985-93), in Youth & Pastoral Ministry, St. Paul Parish, Colorado Springs (1981-84), and as Vocation Directress and Initial Formation Team of the Sisters of St. Francis (1975-1981).

Sr. Heimann is the Past President of the Sisters of St. Francis Corporate Board (2010-2018) and served on the St. Francis Nursing Center Board of Directors (2010-2018), Colorado Springs. She has served on the Sisters of St. Francis Corporate Board (1994-2003, 2006-2018), and the Board of Directors of Catholic Charities of Colorado Springs (2001-2003).

She was co-chair for Council of Regional Treasurers (CORT) Region XIII (1998-2002), a member of the Board of Directors/Finance Council of St. Francis, Grand Island, Nebraska. (1990-1998, 2011-2013), and served on the Board of Directors/Quality Assurance Committee, Good Samaritan Health Systems, Kearney, Nebraska.

Dr. Heather Morgan is a board certified in family medicine with specialty certification in geriatrics, hospice and palliative care. Dr. Morgan’s practice is largely dedicated to the care of older adults. She serves as the current chair of the CHI Health Clinic Board of Directors, and is a preceptor for Creighton University medical students and nurse practitioner students. 

Dr. Morgan graduated from the Creighton University School of Medicine and served her residency at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. She has achieved Diplomate status with the American Board of Family Practice and is the Chairperson of the CHI Health Clinic Governance Committee. Her research projects have focused on dementia and post-operative delirium in the elderly.

John Petersdorf is the System Senior Vice President of Operational Finance for CommonSpirit Health. Mr. Petersdorf is responsible for Operational Finance, Operational Effectiveness, Business Intelligence and Enterprise Analytics, as well as other strategies to improve the cost and operating performance for the enterprise. Prior to assuming this role, he was the Senior Vice President of Operational Effectiveness for Dignity Health for twenty years, and had previously been the Vice President of Finance in the corporate office and also served for a decade as the CFO for Dominican Santa Cruz Hospital. Mr. Petersdorf has an MBA from the Wharton School in Philadelphia and a BA in Economics and Political Science from Yale College in New Haven. He and his family reside in the San Francisco Bay Area.

L.G. Searcey is a Senior Vice President of Business Loans & Financing at Union Bank in Lincoln. His career in community banking began in Lincoln, Nebraska. He joined Union Bank in 1995, bringing a comprehensive understanding of commercial banking and a commitment to serving customers throughout the state of Nebraska.

A native of Barneston, Nebraska, L.G. earned a degree in Finance from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln and received his masters degree in Business Administration in 1991.

L.G. joined the CHI Health Board of Directors in 2022. He serves the community by serving on a number of boards including the Madonna Foundation, Touchdown Club of Nebraska and the University of Nebraska’s College of Business Administration.

Sr. Maurita Soukup, RSM, Health Trustee and Nurse Consultant/Researcher, is a member of the Institute of the Sister of Mercy of the Americas, Silver Springs, Maryland. With critical care nursing rooting her life ministry, she brings commitment, leadership and vision to those served within our health care services. Sr. Maurita is located in Marion, Iowa, and serves as a board member to several medical centers, two regional health care systems, one of which is CHI Health, all located in Iowa and Nebraska. She is a member of three board executive committees and several committees of the board that oversee Quality/Safety/Value, Strategy, Finance, Clinical Practice, Governance, Credentialing, Ethics and Audit/Compliance. In FY ’25, she will serve as a Trustee to Mercy College, Des Moines, IA. Previously she was a trustee for two Catholic colleges.

As a nurse consultant researcher, Sr. Maurita is a lead reviewer for the American Nurses Association Credential Center’s Pathway to Excellence Program and contributor to system-level projects such as a virtual nurse pilot, evidence-based practice and its respective Model©, and research-driven practice with an emphasis in linking quality/safety with finance for advancing clinical excellence and responsible stewardship.   

Within her religious community and during the formative period of the Institute of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas, Sr. Maurita served as Chair/Secretary for the West-Midwest (WMW) Health Ministry Council, where she established a database, cultivated a deep appreciation for the Sisters of Mercy’s vast WMW geography, complexity, culturally diverse health ministries and evolving sponsorship relationships for leading edge Catholic health care systems and single entity hospitals.

She notes: 

“My passion for nursing empowered a life ministry in ‘care of the critically ill’ through clinical excellence, servant leadership and prayer. It still guides and inspires my ministry. I am humbled and deeply grateful to witness the many wonderful contributions of health care colleagues through reality-based experiences, stories shared and lessons learned from the bedside to the board table.” These lived experiences serve leaders well, including trustees who share accountability for the health of individuals, their families, colleagues and ultimately humanity.

Academically, Sr. Maurita is a diploma RN graduate, followed by her BS and BSN degrees. In 1975, she received a MSN degree in cardiovascular clinical nurse specialization from the University of Alabama in Birmingham. In 1989, she earned a DNSc/PhD degree with an emphasis in critical care nursing from The Catholic University, Washington, DC. Professionally, Sr. Maurita has practiced in various medical centers located in Iowa, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Alabama, Connecticut and Washington, DC, with varying responsibilities ranging from bedside nurse and Clinical Nurse Specialist to founding Director for the Center for Advanced Nursing Practice in Lincoln, Nebraska; Administrative Resident in Hartford, Connecticut; founding Director for the Eastern Iowa Heart Institute in Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Vice President for Iowa Heart Hospital in Des Moines, Iowa. She is a member of several professional organizations and has served as a national Board Member to AACN and its Certification Board, AORN’s Certification Board, EDNA’s Certification Committee and others. She is published. Recently she was recognized as a Nurse Visionary by the University of Alabama in Birmingham for her numerous leadership contributions in critical care nursing, Evidence-Based Practice/Model© in promoting the “Scholarship of Practice” (bedside practice) through mentoring, research, and publications. In 2019, she received an Honorary Doctorate from Creighton University, Omaha, NE.  

Dave Taylor joined the CHI Health Board of Directors in 2022. He serves as a senior leader at Bosselman Tank & Trailer in Grand Island. While he is new to the transportation and logistic sector, he is a proven leader and serves the Grand Island, Nebraska, community well.

Before joining Bosselman in December of 2022, Dave served as the President of the Grand Island Economic Development Corporation, a position he held for more than seven years. Dave’s resume shows history working for CHI Health St. Francis in 2015, where he served as a General Manager of the laundry service. His affinity for health care includes managing 25 hospital service accounts for Marriott.

Dave earned his degree in Business Administration and Management from Bellevue University. In addition to serving on the CHI Health Board of Directors, Dave also serves as a member of the Nebraska Hospital Association.

Bill Yates is the past Treasurer and Finance organization leader for TD Ameritrade, prior to its 2020 acquisition by Charles Schwab Corp. In his 25 years at TD Ameritrade his experience spanned from core Treasury functions including asset/liability management, liquidity monitoring and management, debt capital markets activity, and corporate banking, to other key finance functions including corporate tax, financial planning and analysis, operations finance, and technology finance. Mr. Yates’ experience also included roles actively engaged in accounting/controllership, compliance, risk management, and acquisition due diligence and related integration work. Prior to joining TD Ameritrade, Mr. Yates spent nine years with the public accounting firm Arthur Andersen LLP, where he served clients in health care and various other industries.

Mr. Yates has served in various governance capacities in the securities industry, including roles on the board of directors and various governance committees of the Options Clearing Corp, the FINRA (formerly NASD Regulation) Financial Responsibility Committee, and more recently FINRA’s Midwest District Committee. He has served in various board and related board committee roles for CHI Health and its predecessors since 2008.