Thank you to the board members who have recently completed their term on the Exempla Healthcare Board of Directors.

We are deeply grateful for the dedication and service of these members for supporting Exempla's mission to foster healing and health for the people and communities we serve.  

Current Board Members

JoAnn Soker
Chair

JoAnn Soker received her undergraduate degree from Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio and then continued her education at Georgetown University Law Center in Washington D.C., where she earned her Juris Doctor degree.

Currently, Soker serves as the Executive Director of the Colorado Educational and Cultural Facilities Authority. Her previous positions include Executive Director of the Colorado Department of Personnel under Governor Romer, Executive Vice President for Administration of the Auraria Higher Education Center and Chief Operating Officer of Rocky Mountain Mutual Housing Association, as well as practicing law at the firm of Holme Roberts and Owen and the Colorado Attorney General's office.

Soker has served on numerous community boards including Denver Civic Ventures, Denver Center for the Performing Arts Foundation, Colorado Housing and Finance Authority, Colorado Student Obligation Bond Association and the Denver Housing Authority.

We welcome New Member:  John P. (Jack) Box

John (Jack) Box is President and Chief Executive Officer of Frederick Ross Company and is considered one of the industry's most respected commercial real estate practitioners. He is recognized as a creative, highly professional manager and broker who has earned the respect of his peers not only in Colorado, but also across North America through Ross's affiliation with ONCOR International.

Box has been honored several times during the course of his career for his outstanding achievements. He was recognized as honorary dean for 2002 by the University of Denver Franklin L. Burns School of Real Estate and Construction Management.

Actively involved in the community, Box also currently serves as chairman on the board of trustees for Regis University, the board of directors of the National Crime Prevention Council, the board of directors for Saint Joseph Hospital Foundation, and is a member of the Denver Archdiocesan Finance Council.

Dennis Clifford, MD 

Dr. Dennis Clifford graduated with an undergraduate degree in biology/chemistry and continued his education at the University of Minnesota Medical School where he received his medical degree.

After graduating medical school, Clifford completed his internship and residency at the University of Michigan Affiliated Hospitals in Ann Arbor, Michigan followed by a Pulmonary Fellow in Medicine at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center.

Clifford has participated in Phase I, II, III and IV clinical research in the role as primary or sub investigator for the past 16 years. Therapeutic areas of study include asthma, EIA, emphysema, chronic bronchitis and gastroenterology.

Currently, Clifford continues his participation in clinical trials at Rocky Mountain Center for Clinical Research and spends the rest of his busy schedule at his private practice in pulmonary and critical care medicine.

We Welcome New Member:  Felix W. Cook, Sr.

Felix W. Cook, Sr., received his Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from Southern University, Baton Rouge, Lousianna. He graduated from the University of Denver with a MPA degree in Management. He completed graduate level courses in Power Systems Engineering at Colorado State University and the University of Colorado.

Cook served as Director of the Bureau of Reclamation Technical Service Center from 1992 - 1999, an 800-person organization comprised of professional scientists, research and engineering personnel. As a registered Professional Engineer in the State of Colorado, Cook was appointed by the Governor of Colorado to the Colorado State Board of Registration for Professional Engineers and Professional Land Surveyors. He was reappointed in 1988 and served as Chairman of the Registration Board from 1988 - 1990.

In October 2004, Cook was appointed a CASA volunteer. CASA volunteers are Court Appointed Special Advocates trained to work within the court and child welfare systems to advocate for the best interests of children who have been abused and/or neglected. He presently serves on the CASA Advisory Board.

Cook was appointed to the Community First Foundation board of directors in February 2005 and served as Chairperson of the Community Impact Development committee.

Patricia Fahy, MD

Dr. Patricia Fahy is a leadership consultant and executive coach.  She is the executive director of the Permanente Federation Medicine and Management Program, a national Kaiser Permanente physician leadership training program.  In addition to working with physician leadership teams she also provides executive coaching services through Resnik Partners in non-healthcare fields.

Fahy was with Kaiser Permanente in California and Colorado for twenty years prior to her current role.  From July 1999 to November 2007 she was the Associate Medical Director of Human Resources for the Colorado Permanente Medical Group (CPMG), an 800-physician multi-specialty group in Colorado.  She was responsible for physician selection and orientation, leadership training, performance management, credentialing, physician-labor liaison efforts, as well as the diversity and recognition programs.

Fahy practiced internal medicine at the Westminster Kaiser Permanente Clinic where she served as chief of internal medicine. Fahy also practiced with the Southern California Permanente Medical Group in San Diego, California from 1988 until 1990.  She served on the Colorado Permanente Medical Group Board of Directors from 1996 to 1999.

Fahy received an undergraduate degree in Psychology and continued her education at the University of North Dakota School of Medicine where she received her medical degree. Fahy completed her Internal Medicine Residency at Good Samaritan Medical Center in Phoenix, Arizona. 

Lillee Smith Gelinas, RN, MSN

Lillee Smith Gelinas earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing from the University of Southern Louisiana and a Master of Science degree in Nursing, with honors, from the University of Pennsylvania, where Gelinas also studied at the Wharton School of Business.

Gelinas is currently the Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer at VHA. She supports efforts aimed at system wide performance improvement to improve member's economic strength through better patient care, operations and supply chain management. Gelinas works with VHA's health care organizations and 18 local offices to "close the quality gap" through VHA's performance improvement agenda.

Prior to joining VHA, Gelinas was the Senior Nursing Administrator at the 402-bed Memorial Hospital of Burlington County, in Mount Holly, New Jersey. She also served in the U.S. Navy Nurse Corps for five years, reaching the rank of lieutenant.

Richard Hesky, MD