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Meet The Team


Executive Team

President and Chief Executive Officer
Debra’s trailblazing efforts in the field of healthcare facility design research, education and advocacy have propelled The Center for Health Design (CHD) into industry consciousness and the forefront of healthcare design. Under Debra’s leadership, our flagship research initiative, the Pebble Project, has gained international recognition and grown from four participants to more than 80. Debra led the creation of the annual Healthcare Design Expo & Conference and the Environments for Aging Expo & Conference, which are produced by Emerald Expositions, in association with CHD. She has forged successful partnerships with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Institute for Healthcare... read more
Ellen Taylor brings more than 30 years of experience in architecture, research, and business to leading The Center’s research team. She is a registered architect and member of the AIA who was recognized by Healthcare Design as the HCD10 Researcher in 2017, an award recognizing significant contributions to the industry. A nationally and internationally recognized writer and speaker, she has led numerous grant-funded research programs and published numerous peer-reviewed papers. Ellen has a bachelor’s degree in architecture from Cornell University’s College of Architecture, Art and Planning, Global Executive MBA degrees from Columbia University and London Business School, and a PhD in... read more
Vice President for Relationship Development
Randy's expertise in developing and building partnerships along with his passion for communicating industry issues is key in his role here at The Center where he works with industry partners to develop events, programs and education designed to keep the community inspired and informed.  Previously, Randy was a senior vice president, at Planetree. As a highly regarded speaker, facilitator, author and consultant, Randy has, for more than twenty five years, inspired healthcare organizations nationally and internationally to make fundamental change in their belief systems thereby transforming the way patient-centered care is defined and delivered through healing environments... read more
Controller
Annette Bevers is the Controller for The Center.  She oversees the process of closing the books each month and works with management and staff to provide financial reports in order to help the organization meet its financial goals. She has been working with the organization since August 2008. Annette has over 15 years of experience working in public accounting at regional and local CPA firms, performing both audit and consulting services. She has worked with organizations in a variety of industries including non-profit, professional services, real estate, and wholesale/distribution. She started her own consulting business in 2005. Annette holds a degree in Business Economics from UCLA... read more
Almost 25 years ago Rob helped define and deliver The Center’s early vision and industry-changing initiatives to a growing following of healthcare design professionals. His talent for articulating healthcare design’s importance and life-changing potential, and eliciting support, involvement and action from a diverse constituency, contributed to the launch of The Center’s signature initiatives – the Pebble Project, the Affiliate Program, EDAC and more. After many years as a consultant, Rob has recently joined The Center in this enhanced capacity to help strategize sustainable future growth and expand The Center’s reach and impact.   Rob has owned and managed a marketing consulting and... read more

Staff

A consultant to The Center for Health Design (CHD), Donna directs the continual development and growth of our Evidence-based Design Accreditation and Certification (EDAC) program. Her strategic oversight and industry experience helped propel EDAC to become widely accepted by top architectural firms throughout the country, and worldwide. She also directs and facilitates the Built Environment Network program, a collegial network of executives and industry leaders who participate in strategic discussions to help set the direction for the future of the built environment. Donna has more than three decades of healthcare leadership experience, including executive roles with Kaiser Permanente (KP... read more
A consultant to The Center for Health Design, Jennifer manages the strategy, design and execution of our conference educational programs and webinars. She keeps everything on track and makes sure that our conference programs offer the best and brightest ideas in the industry. Principal and founder of Cotter/Wilcox, LLC, Jennifer has more than 20 years of experience in the association and non-profit communities. She has successfully led large-scale change management processes focused on technology implementation, new product development, leadership development, customer service and brand repositioning and management. She has taught membership development courses at the University of Maryland... read more
Director of Industry Relations
Lynn's expertise in developing partnerships and her ability to lead effective member outreach and education programs are key skills she uses in her position as Director of Industry Relations to add value for both The Center’s members and partners. Working closely with members, Lynn identifies new benefit opportunities and increases the value of the member experience.  She also works to optimize and expand The Center’s partner program. Prior to joining The Center, Lynn was a senior analyst, advocacy with our partner, the American Society for Healthcare Engineering (ASHE) of the American Hospital Association. In this position, she advocated for members and the industry by... read more
Addie Abushousheh is a gerontologist, researcher, and consultant for organizational and environmental development in long-term care. She explores cultural and bio-psycho-social perspectives, organizational structures and processes, physical environments, workforce models, and regulatory and financial frameworks in relation to decision making, resource management, and quality improvement. With combined expertise in architecture, organizational development, aging and applied research, Dr. Abushousheh advances comprehensive and translational agendas related to quality assessment and performance improvement. Addie is a Research Associate with The Center for Health Design, an Adjunct Faculty... read more
Yolanda Keys is a registered nurse and brings over 25 years of nursing experience that has included roles as a clinician, leader and academician. With doctorates in healthcare administration and nursing, her research focuses on nurse leaders and healthy work environments – especially the built environment. She is an active member of the Nursing Institute for Health Design (NIHD), serving as president in 2017 and acting as an NIHD liaison for The Center’s Knowledge Repository for many years. She brings a clinical perspective to the research team, as well as a deep understanding of the important contribution nurses can have during planning and design.
For the past 20 years, Melissa has dedicated her career to exploring the connection between design and health. As a Research Associate with The Center for Health Design, she is a proud to work with her fellow “geeks” on developing tools and resources intended to support evidence-based design. She leads The Center’s Just Health Design group, a task force committed to moving the healthcare design field forward towards a more just, diverse, equitable, and inclusive future. Prior to joining The Center for Health Design, Melissa led Evidence-Based Design efforts at Davis Partnership Architects and Huelat Davis Healing Design. Melissa has a bachelor’s degree in environmental design from the... read more
As a Research Associate with The Center for Health Design, Dr. Card has been invaluable in several special projects including the development of the CHD online Safety Risk Assessment and a systematic review investigating the impact of single-patient rooms. He also serves as an Assistant Professor at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, and is the former Editor of the Journal of Healthcare Risk Management. His research tackles questions related to quality, safety, risk, and well-being in healthcare, with a particular focus on improving how healthcare organizations improve. He holds a PhD from the University of Cambridge in England, an MPH from the University of South... read more
Anna has been with The Center for Health Design since 2012.  As Office Manager, Anna manages the day-to-day operations of the office, which means everything from supporting the whims of our busy staff and coordinating our meetings to managing our online store. Anna holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in English from the University of California, Berkeley. She has extensive experience in customer service and administrative responsibilities from her years working as an Executive Assistant for Gap Inc., Four Seasons Hotels, Commerce One, and as a Sales Assistant at a financial investment company.    
Catherine Ancheta has been with The Center for Health Design since 2009.  As senior project manager, she oversees the grant funded research projects that develop tools and resources for the healthcare design community.  She has worked on grants funded by The California Healthcare Foundation, The American Society of Interior Designers, The Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality, The Kresge Foundation, and The Donghia Foundation. She enjoys collaborating with internal and external researchers and subject matter experts to ensure quality and applicability of tools in real-world projects.  She works with the Director of Strategic Projects to grow the EDAC (evidence-... read more
As a project manager, Natalie works closely with partner, Emerald Exposistions on Heathcare Design Expo & Conference, Environments for Aging Expo & Conference, and Healthcare Design and Contract magazines to develop articles and awards. She also works with our research and education teams to create the Pebble in Practice Workshops. Natalie is a graduate of California State University, East Bay with a BA in Human Development. 
Jill manages and works with our volunteer and membership programs, including Knowledge Repository, Environmental Standards Council, and HERD Journal. She also oversees the Evidence-Based Design Touchstone Awards.    A graduate of Heald Business College, Jill owned and operated a family auto brokerage business for over 25 years.  She enjoys spending time with her husband and three sons.
Bookkeeper
Letitia is the Bookkeeper for CHD.  She ensures that the monthly financial transactions are posted and reconciled and also processes payroll. She has been in the accounting industry for over 15 years and has worked with non-profits and governmental agencies. Letitia has a bachelor’s degree in business administration, with an accounting focus and a minor in economics from Cal State East Bay.
Marketing Projects Manager
As Marketing Projects Manager, Elisa works closely with Director of Marketing in planning and executing marketing campaigns for our research, education and advocacy programs and events. Additionally, she collaborates with our Program Managers to create web and e-communications content and oversees social media strategies, content development and implementation. Elisa is a graduate of San Jose State University with a BA in Communication Studies and minor in Business.
Shannon works to improve the functionality of our website, and supports various other Center programs.  Shannon has held several different roles in nonprofit organizations and brings that collective experience to her position at The Center for Health Design. Shannon has a bachelor’s degree in geography from Mount Holyoke College.