Meet the Exempla Leadership Team

Robert Ladenburger

Robert W. Ladenburger is President and Chief Executive Officer of Exempla Healthcare, a not-for-profit health care system in Denver. Exempla Healthcare is comprised of Exempla Good Samaritan Medical Center, Exempla Lutheran Medical Center, Exempla Saint Joseph Hospital, and Exempla Physician Network.  

Bob has a long and distinguished history in Colorado health care. Prior to joining Exempla, Bob served as President and CEO of St. Mary's Hospital in Grand Junction, providing strong, values-based leadership for this tertiary regional medical center. The Grand Junction health care community has been recognized by President Obama as a model for quality, access and value. Bob guided the St. Mary's Hospital Century Project, a $276 million, major addition to the hospital.  

Prior to his role at St. Mary's, he served in several health care administrative positions including President and CEO at St. Peter's Hospital in Helena, Montana and at Holy Cross Hospital in Salt Lake City, Utah. He has held many community leadership positions and has served as a Member of Catholic Health Ministries since 2004.  

He is the current Chair of Colorado Hospital Association and worked closely with the Association and Governor's Office to pass the Colorado Healthcare Affordability Act in 2009.  

He received his Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy from the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas and his MBA from the University of Utah, in Salt Lake City.

Kathryn Ballinger
Vice President, General Counsel, Exempla Healthcare

Kathryn Ballinger joined Exempla Healthcare in 1999 as Vice President and General Counsel. Kathryn is responsible for Exempla's Legal and Risk Management departments. As General Counsel, she advises hospital executives, medical staff leaders and clinical personnel regarding compliance with federal and state regulations and transactional and operations matters. In addition, she provides staff support to the governance committee of the Exempla Healthcare Board of Directors.

Kathryn's experience before joining Exempla includes work in both the public and private and for-profit and not-for-profit legal sectors. Immediately prior to joining Exempla, she was regional counsel for Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Colorado, a not-for-profit health maintenance organization.

Kathryn holds a bachelor of arts degree from the University of Denver and a juris doctor degree from the University of Denver, College of Law.

Brenda S. Chilman, CPA, MBA  
Vice President and Controller, Exempla Healthcare

As Vice President and Controller, Brenda Chilman is responsible for all aspects of finance and business services for Exempla Healthcare. Brenda oversees accounting, accounts payable, decision support, financial planning, and the admitting and registration departments.

Brenda is a CPA with 20 years of financial leadership experience primarily in health care. Before joining Exempla, Brenda served as Controller at St. John's Mercy Health Care (SJMHC) in St. Louis, Missouri. As Controller, Brenda was responsible for financial reporting and compliance, financial planning, financial and clinical decision support, capital planning, business risk assessment and performance improvement. Earlier, Brenda served as Director of Financial Planning at SJMHC. Brenda also held the position of Director of Performance Management at Unity Health System in St. Louis. 

Brenda received her Master of Business Administration, with a health care emphasis from Washington University in St. Louis. She received her Bachelors of Business Administration, with majors in accounting and finance, from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, IL.  

Todd Conklin, MBA
Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Exempla Healthcare

Todd Conklin joined Exempla Healthcare in September 2008 as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Todd has served in various CFO / Vice President of Finance roles in the Chicago land area and has over 21 years of health care experience. 

Prior to joining Exempla Healthcare, Todd served as the Vice President of Finance at Edward Health Services Corporation. Todd's prior experience also includes serving as Vice President and CFO of Saint Anthony Hospital (Ascension Health), Vice President of Finance at Loyola University Health System, Vice President and CFO at Loyola University Physician Foundation, and nine years as a Senior Manager at Deloitte & Touche, LLP.

Todd holds a BS in Accounting from Illinois State University, Normal Illinois, and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois. 

Mary L. Crumbaker

As Vice President of Corporate Responsibility and Chief Compliance Officer, Mary Crumbaker is responsible for providing strategic and operational leadership to Exempla Healthcare on matters pertaining to compliance and regulatory issues. This includes the development and administration of a system-wide comprehensive compliance program which provides for ongoing employee education and awareness on regulatory compliance, risk assessment and ongoing evaluation of the effectiveness of the program.   

Prior to joining Exempla, Mary served as Director of Research and Compliance at Saint Mary's Hospital and Medical Center in Grand Junction, CO and had been with Saint Mary's since 1999. Prior to that, she worked as an attorney for several municipalities and as a staff attorney for the Montana Power Company in Butte, MT.   

Mary received her bachelor's degree from the University of New Mexico and earned her Juris Doctorate degree from the Columbus School of Law at Catholic University of America in Washington, DC. 

Al Davis
Vice President, Facilities, Exempla Healthcare

As Vice President of Facilities for Exempla Healthcare, Al is responsible for developing a system-wide vision for Exempla's facilities, including space planning, new construction, renovation, and managing capital projects. He has been employed with Exempla Healthcare since 1978 and has over thirty years of experience working in the health care environment.
 
Prior to his current position, he served as Director of Facilities Management for Exempla for over 20 years. Since 1998, he has led the overall management of all capital projects for Exempla. He was intricately involved in the coordination of the design, construction, activation and occupancy of Exempla Good Samaritan Medical Center. He has expertise in planning, construction, facilities management, and supervising operations for Exempla's three campuses.

He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Regis University in Denver. He is a licensed Stationery Engineer for the City of Denver. Al served in the U.S. Navy from 1973 to 1976.  

Lisa Kettering, MD, FSHM, FACP

      Sr. Vice President and Chief Medical Officer, Exempla Healthcare
Vic  Vice President of Medical Affairs and Chief Medical Officer, ESJH

Dr. Lisa Kettering serves as both Vice President of Medical Affairs and Chief Medical Officer for Exempla Saint Joseph Hospital and Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer for Exempla Healthcare.

As Vice President of Medical Affairs and Chief Medical Officer for ESJH she oversees quality and performance improvement, patient safety, the Graduate Medical Education program and the Medical Staff Office. She participates in strategic clinical service line development, including cardiovascular services, where she serves as the Executive Sponsor of the ACE Demonstration Project and participates in oversight of peri-operative services. She also oversees community physician recruitment and retention. As a physician board-certified in internal medicine, she maintains a part-time clinical practice.

As Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer for Exempla Healthcare, Dr. Kettering oversees the Quality Decision Support Department of Exempla and works closely with the Executive Oversight and Board Quality Committees. She also serves as Exempla's Chief Quality Officer.

Dr. Kettering has served and led numerous medical staff committees, has received several academic appointments and has held various positions in medical staff leadership.

Dr. Kettering received her bachelor's degree from the University of Colorado and earned her medical degree from the University of Colorado School of Medicine where she was an honors graduate. She received her training in the ESJH Internal Medicine program, where she received both Outstanding Intern and Resident awards. She moved to private practice at Exempla Lutheran Medical Center for several years, before returning to ESJH in 1988 to join the Graduate Medical Education faculty as its Director of Inpatient Services where she directed the program's Evidence Based Medicine curriculum. Dr. Kettering has been honored five times as the Outstanding Teacher of the Year by residents in the Graduate Medical Education program. In 2005, Dr. Kettering started ESJH's first private practice hospital medicine service, Midtown Inpatient Medicine.

David Pecoraro
Senior Vice President, Chief Information Officer, Exempla Healthcare 

David Pecoraro joined Exempla as Vice President and Chief Information Officer. Dave is responsible for all aspects of Information Systems and Technology for the entire Exempla Healthcare system, including systems and technology strategic planning, implementation and support, and all e-health care initiatives. In addition, he is administratively responsible for Materials Management, HIM, and Quality Decision Support.  

Prior to joining Exempla, Dave served as Vice President and Chief Information Officer at Jewish Hospital Healthcare Services in Louisville, Kentucky. Dave received his master's degree in Systems Science & Health Care Services Administration from the University of Louisville, and his bachelors degree in Industrial Engineering and Human Factors from West Virginia University. He served as adjunct faculty in the College of Urban and Public Affairs at the University of Louisville and is the author of numerous articles published in healthcare informatics journals. Dave is a charter member of the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives.   

Bert Torres
Vice President, Staff Relations, Human Resources, Exempla Healthcare 

As Vice President of Staff Relations for Exempla Healthcare, Bert oversees the development of Human Resources policies and practices for Exempla Healthcare. He has responsibility for HR operational areas including Employee Services, Employee Occupational Health Services, Human Resources Information Systems and new employee orientation. He provides HR services for the System Services and Exempla Physician Network service lines including employee relations, team and leadership development. Bert joined Exempla Healthcare in 1999.  

Prior to joining Exempla Healthcare Bert worked extensively in the banking industry holding senior HR leadership positions with JP Morgan Chase, Wells Fargo and Bank of America. Bert spent the early part of his career in banking overseeing a number of operational areas including Remittance Processing and Loan Servicing. 

Debbie Welle-Powell, MPA
Vice President, Payer Strategies and Legislative Affairs, Exempla Healthcare

Debbie Welle-Powell is the Vice President of Payer Strategies and Legislative Affairs for Exempla Healthcare. She is responsible for health plan and employer contracting strategy for all three Exempla Healthcare hospitals and the Exempla Physician Network. Debbie oversees legislative affairs and often testifies on health care issues before the Colorado Legislature. To help ensure the safest, highest quality health care, Debbie helped draft legislation in 2006 requiring providers to report both cost and quality data.

Debbie has more than 15 years experience in managing physician practices, payer contract negotiations, risk contracting, managing IPA and PPO networks and working with physicians to create varied network models.

Debbie currently serves on four national committees: the Rewards and Incentive Task Force of the Leapfrog Group; the PATIENT FRIENDLY BILLING® project sponsored by MGMA, HFMA, AHA and other health care organizations; the National Committee for Quality Assurance; and the Principles and Practices Board of HFMA. She also teaches graduate courses on health policy and financing at Denver University and Regis University.

Debbie is extremely active in community projects and serves on several boards, including the March of Dimes, Coalition for the Medically Uninsured, Women's Initiative of Mile High United Way and the Denver Chamber Foundation Board.

Debbie received her bachelors degree from Moorhead State University in Moorhead, Minnesota and continued her education at the University of Colorado where she earned her MPA with an emphasis on health care.

Elisa (Lisa) Wetherbee
Chief Operating Officer, Exempla Physician Network, Physician Services and Business Development, Exempla Healthcare

Lisa joined Exempla Healthcare in 1998 to take on the role of Vice President of Exempla Medical Group (EMG), the health system owned network of primary care medical practices.  EMG evolved to become Exempla Physician Network a health system owned multi-specialty group practice and the residency teaching clinics at Exempla Saint Joseph Hospital. Over her tenure she has served in a number of roles within the hospitals but has always retained her management of the Exempla Healthcare group practice.  Additionally, Lisa oversees all real estate and leasing activities for Exempla Healthcare.  Lisa has a passion for group practice management and primary care development and is interested in health care reform within medical practices.

Lisa has been in the Denver health care market since 1982 and has worked at for several organizations including University Physicians Inc, Rose Medical Center, Aurora Presbyterian Hospital and HealthONE/HCA.  Lisa is a Colorado native and attended the University of Colorado for a BSBA in Business and later a Bachelor of Science in basic sciences.  Lisa also did graduate work at Texas Women's College in Health Care Administration.