Speaker Bios
Susan Dentzer, Keynote Speaker
Visiting Fellow, Duke-Margolis Center for Health Policy
Susan Dentzer is President and Chief Executive Officer of the Network for Excellence in Health Innovation (NEHI), a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization composed of more than 100 stakeholder organizations seeking to advance innovations that improve health, enhance the quality of health care, and achieve greater value for the money spent. NEHI conducts independent, objective research and thought leadership to accelerate these innovations and bring about changes within health care and public policy.
One of the nation's most respected health and health policy thought leaders and journalists, Dentzer previously served as senior policy adviser to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, editor-in-chief of the journal Health Affairs, and as an on-air Health Correspondent for the PBS NewsHour.
Dentzer is an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine, the Council on Foreign Relations, and Research!America. A graduate of Dartmouth, Dentzer formerly chaired the Dartmouth Board of Trustees, and is a member of the Board of Advisors of Dartmouth Medical School. She and her husband, Charles Alston, have three grown children.
Thomas R. Kowalski, Panelist
President and CEO of the Texas Healthcare and Bioscience Institute
Thomas R. Kowalski is President and CEO of the Texas Healthcare and Bioscience Institute (THBI) in Austin, Texas. The Institute is a statewide, public policy research organization whose purpose is to promote medical research, development, and manufacturing in Texas. THBI consists of leading biotechnology, medical device, and pharmaceutical companies, universities, private research institutions, chambers of commerce, and economic development corporations.
Prior to his appointment as President and CEO of THBI, Mr. Kowalski served as the Executive Director for the Washington, DC-based National Association for the Support of Long Term Care. He also previously served as a senior staff member to Governor Bill Clements of Texas, U.S. Senator John Tower of Texas, and Congressman Jim Collins of Dallas, Texas.
With over 33 years of political and policy experience, Mr. Kowalski was appointed in 1989 by Governor Bill Clements to the Board of Regents of the Texas State University System. He served as Chairman of the Board of Regents in 1995. Mr. Kowalski was selected as Texas State University Distinguished Alumni in 2011. A lifelong Texan, Mr. Kowalski resides in Austin, Texas with his wife, Susie.
Senem Guney, Ph.D., Panelist
Founder of NarrativeDx
Senem Guney, Ph.D., is founder of NarrativeDx, a successful Health IT startup firm in Austin, Texas. NarrativeDx’s innovative technology uses natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning (ML) to help hospital leaders and care providers identify actionable insights from patient comments to improve their institution's patient experience, drive patient referrals, increase hospital revenue, and boost hospital reputations. Narrative DX holds a patent from the U.S. Patent Office for automated analysis of patient feedback, a cornerstone of consumerism strategies for many health systems.
Dr. Guney earned her Ph.D. in Organizational Communication and Technology from the University of Texas at Austin. She was formerly on the faculty at the State University of New York in Albany, where she taught in the College of Computing and Information, and was affiliated with the Center for Technology in Government – a SUNY, Albany think tank. Dr. Guney is a Fellow of the Alliance for Women Entrepreneurs, an organization focused on advancing high growth companies founded by women.
Nora Belcher, Panelist
Texas e-Health Alliance Executive Director
Nora Belcher is the Executive Director of the Texas e-Health Alliance (TeHA), a non-profit group that she started in 2009 to give health information technology stakeholders a voice in public policy. The Texas e-Health Alliance serves as the state's leading advocate, from local communities to the national level, for the use of information technology to improve the health care system for patients.
Prior to starting the Alliance, Ms. Belcher worked in the private sector as a consultant advising health information technology companies on how to do business with government. She also served in Governor Perry's office for five years as deputy director in the Governor's Office of Budget, Planning and Policy, where she was responsible for managing the policy and budget issues for the Texas health and human services system. Ms. Belcher holds a bachelor's degree in government from the University of Texas at Austin and owns a hardcover, autographed, first printing, first edition of Game of Thrones.
Heather Paffe, Panelist
Director, External Affairs-Global Digital Health Technology Hub, Merck
Heather oversees all external affairs for Merck & Co.’s Austin-based global digital health technology office, launched in 2017. She serves as Merck’s lead representative before local government entities and the broader Austin community, engages in public issues, and recruits partners and manages collaborations with other companies and stakeholders in the health and IT fields.
Immediately prior to Merck, Heather led legislative, regulatory and community engagement campaigns for clean energy pioneer and automaker Tesla in the southern and western regions of the U.S. She also spent seven years at international non-profit Environmental Defense Fund, where she oversaw efforts to make sustainable fishing the global norm through advocacy and regulatory efforts in the U.S., European Union, Latin America and Southeast Asia. Her teams effectively influenced local and national policies so that both the fishing industry and ocean will once again be prosperous.
Earlier in her career, Heather spent six years as the director of the Texas Association of Planned Parenthood Affiliates, where she led their legislative efforts and established their first-ever 504c(4) and Political Action Committee. In 2007, she and her team were awarded Planned Parenthood Federation of America’s first-ever national award for Innovation, Creativity and Success during a legislative session. Heather also served as a political, policy and communications consultant for a variety of organizations, including the Union of Concerned Scientists, Texas Health and Human Services Commission, and United Ways of Texas. She led the Texas office of the Children’s Defense Fund, managed political campaigns and worked for two of Texas’ Lieutenant Governors.
Heather is a graduate of the University of Texas and lives in Austin with her husband and their two Boston Terriers.
Eugene Bourgeois, Ph.D., Moderator
Provost and Vice President, Academic Affairs, Texas State University
Dr. Gene Bourgeois has served as Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at Texas State University since 2011. As the university’s chief academic officer, he is responsible for the administration and oversight of the quality of the university’s academic instructional and research programs, and for the coordination of the university’s administrative and support functions central to its academic mission.
Integral to his role as Provost, he actively supports economic development and quality of life efforts for San Marcos and the central Texas region, including civic work with the Greater San Marcos Partnership, San Marcos Economic Development Board, and E3 Alliance, in addition to initiatives associated with the university’s academic units and its Science, Technology and Advanced Research Park and business incubator.
Dr. Bourgeois earned B.A. and M.A. degrees from Louisiana State University, and the degree of Ph.D. in History from the University of Cambridge. He joined Texas State University as an assistant professor of history in 1990 and was promoted to professor in 2004. His publications include books and articles on sixteenth-century English history.