A.J. Wilhelmi became the President and CEO of the Illinois Health and Hospital Association (IHA) on January 1, 2016. With offices in Chicago, Naperville, Springfield, and Washington D.C., IHA represents more than 200 hospitals and health systems as they care for their patients and communities, advocating for a sustainable, patient-focused health care system that provides high-quality care and promotes healthy local communities.

Previously, Wilhelmi served as IHA's Chief Government Relations Officer from 2012 to 2015. As Chief Government Relations Officer, Wilhelmi was responsible for directing IHA's overall state and federal advocacy and policy agendas. During that period, IHA achieved major advocacy accomplishments, including enacting landmark legislation on hospital tax exemption, expanding Medicaid coverage under the Affordable Care Act, obtaining new ACA access payments, and preserving Medicaid funding.

With his experience in both the public and private sectors, Wilhelmi is strengthening IHA's ability to address the many needs of its more than 200 hospital and health system members. Wilhelmi and IHA collaborate with state leaders, legislators, and other key stakeholders to develop workable solutions to support patients, hospitals and the state's health care delivery system.

Wilhelmi attended Loyola University Chicago, where he graduated cum laude in 1990 with a Bachelor of Arts Degree, a major in English and minors in Philosophy and Political Science.

In June 1993, Wilhelmi graduated from Chicago-Kent College of Law. After passing the Illinois State Bar Examination, Wilhelmi was sworn in as an attorney on November 3, 1993. From November 1993 to March 2008, Wilhelmi practiced law with the McKeown Law Firm, specializing in real estate and business law. In April 2008, Wilhelmi joined Murer Consultants, Inc. as a senior consultant and was later promoted to Vice President.

In January 2005, Wilhelmi was appointed to the Illinois Senate to represent the communities of the 43rd Senate District, which includes most of Joliet and several surrounding towns. Wilhelmi was re-elected to the state Senate in 2006 and 2010.

Before being appointed to the state Senate, Wilhelmi was heavily involved in community service in Will County. In 1996, Wilhelmi co-sponsored the building of the 13th Will County Habitat for Humanity home and served on the Family Support Committee. He also served as Chairman of the Board for the Joliet Region Chamber of Commerce in 2003 after serving in a variety of other posts for the organization. In 2001 and 2002, Wilhelmi chaired the Diplomats Committee for the Will County Center for Economic Development. Wilhelmi has also been active with his alma mater, Joliet Catholic Academy, serving as president of the JCA Alumni Board from 1999 to 2001. Wilhelmi also served for three years (2002, 2003, and 2004) on the Board of the Joliet Grade Schools Foundation for Educational Excellence.

During his tenure in the state Senate, Wilhelmi served as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee and vice chairman of the Senate Agriculture & Conservation Committee. He also served as a member of the Senate Transportation, Education, Appropriations II, Gaming and Environment Committees.

Wilhelmi was born and raised in Joliet, IL as the youngest of six children. He currently resides in Joliet with his wife, Michelle, and their three daughters.

A licensed architect with 25 years of experience, Jenny oversees Skender’s modular

architecture and design for healthcare projects. In her role as director of healthcare design, she

manages day-to-day design administration, including staffing, budgeting and planning.

Previously, Jenny led on-site design teams for capital projects at Rush University Medical

Center, where she supervised program management and design for a wide variety of campus-

wide initiatives, including interior renovations, master planning and programming, and

budgeting and forecasting. Since 1999, Jenny has mentored high school-aged immigrant and

refugee women with the Young Women Warriors (YWW) mentorship program. She has been a

board member since 2007 for the YWW’s parent organization, the Chinese Mutual Aid

Association, of which she is currently board chair. She also volunteers on the board of directors

for the Hanul Family Alliance. Jenny earned a Bachelor of Architecture from Cornell University

and a Master of Arts in the Social Sciences from the University of Chicago.

Karen Teitelbaum is the President/Chief Executive Officer at Sinai Health System, an urban, teaching

healthcare system comprised of four hospitals, an epidemiological research institute focusing on

healthcare disparities, a community institute with over 15 distinct programs, over 800 medical staff

members, and 3,600 employees. Focused on the delivery of high quality services in an efficient and cost

effective manner, Sinai Health System has achieved national recognition in quality while reducing costs

by millions of dollars due to greater efficiency and management of population health.

In addition to her current board service, Karen has served on the boards of the Metropolitan Chicago

Healthcare Council, Family Health Network, the Theraplay Institute, Academy of Managed Care

Pharmacy Foundation, and the Young Women’s Leadership Charter School. She was a member of the

American Hospital Association Task Force on Ensuring Access for Vulnerable Communities, has been a

member of the American Hospital Association Council on Maternal Fetal Health, and chaired the

Building Committee for a significant Federally Qualified Healthcare Center. She is a member of the

Economic Club of Chicago, The Chicago Network, and the Commercial Club of Chicago.

She was the 2018 recipient of the “Woman of Science” award from the Weizmann Institute, the

“Leadership in Healthcare Administration” from the National Medical Fellowship Association, and has

been named both one of “Crain’s Chicago Notable Women in Healthcare” and “130 Nonprofit Hospital

& Health System CEOs to Know” by Becker´s Hospital Review. Karen has taught graduate and

undergraduate courses in managed care and marketing/strategy for nonprofit organizations, and is a

frequently requested national speaker on healthcare delivery topics such as population health

management in an urban environment.

Memberships, Civic and Charitable

Board of Directors, Illinois Health and Hospital Association; Nominating and Governing Committee

Board of Directors, Women in Health-Life Sciences

The Chicago Network, Membership and Programming Committees

The Economic Club of Chicago

The Commercial Club of Chicago

Campaign Cabinet, Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law

Advisory Council, David Lynch Foundation

Kennedy Forum, Illinois External Affairs Committee

Education

Northwestern University, Kellogg School of Management - Masters of Management

Kirat Kharode is the Founder & CEO of HealCo, the Airbnb of medical office space. HealCo helps property managers boost occupancy of available medical space, while also finding compliant, flexible space for health and wellness providers to sublease part-time.

A serial entrepreneur and a lawyer by training, Kirat spent most of his career in senior health system strategy and operations roles creating ambulatory networks for some of the most financially distressed hospitals in the country. He’s received numerous national and local recognitions including the American College of Healthcare Executive’s Regent Award, NJ Biz Healthcare Power 50, and Becker’s Hospital Review’s “Rising Stars Under 40”. For more information on Kirat, HealCo, and medical office sharing, visit www.healco.us.

Dr. Kathy Tossas-Milligan is a trained cancer epidemiologist,

and healthcare executive with 17 years of cumulative

experience in molecular diagnostics product development,

non-profit management, healthcare quality and cancer equity

outcomes research. She currently serves as the Director of

Global Assets and Innovative Approaches (GAIA) for Health

Equity at the University of Illinois Cancer Center, where she

oversees the development of assets-based global

partnerships focused on identifying innovative cancer

research ideas, and best care practices proven successful in

under-resourced, and underserved areas across the globe, to

apply such practices towards improving the health of

underserved populations locally.  One example of such

partnerships engages the Cuban Ministry of Health, in the

exchange of best primary healthcare practices, successful at

decreasing infant mortality rates to levels below some

developed countries, under low-resource settings in Cuba,

and implement applicable practices at our local community health clinics. Other developing

global to local partnerships include Hungary, Uganda, Ethiopia, and various countries in South

America. Prior to joining UICC, Dr. Tossas-Milligan worked at the American Hospital

Association, overseeing outcomes, practice and process data across five national

quality improvement initiatives. She also held leaderships positions at the Metropolitan Chicago

Breast Cancer Quality Consortium and the American Cancer Society.

A Chicago native, Mike Pedersen recently returned to his roots to serve as Market Director for Mortenson’s Chicago office after leading the healthcare market for Mortenson in Minneapolis for the past 7 years. As a respected leader in the industry with over 30 years of construction expertise, Mike drives a patient-first approach and has endeavored to discover quality improvements in the healthcare delivery environment while consistently implementing tried, tested, and proven solutions. Most notably, he was responsible for delivering $2 billion in healthcare construction working alongside top healthcare systems across the country including Mayo Health, Loyola University Medical Center, Amita Health, Healthpartners, Allina Health, and Centegra HealthSystem.

Mike holds a Bachelor of Science in Engineering from the University of Illinois. He is a member of the Minnesota Hospital Association (MHA), The American Society of Healthcare Engineers (AHSE) and the American Diabetes Association (ADA); and serves on the board for the Healthcare Institute (HCI).

Mike leads the Real Estate Function for the Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children’s

Hospital of Chicago. He is primarily engaged in strategy formation and

Transaction Management. In this role, significant collaboration with the

Leadership Team facilitates an understanding of the business plan which

informs the Real Estate Strategy. The implementation of that strategy is

achieved through various transactions which include acquisition of owned and

leased sites, development and disposition.

Mike's former role was the Regional Director of Real Estate for Trinity Health -

Illinois/Indiana Region consisting of five hospital campuses totaling 15M square

feet including Loyola University Medical Center and St. Joseph Regional Medical

Center (Mishawaka, IN). Mike led the real estate function which also included

90 off-site locations comprised of Ambulatory Care Centers and Timeshare

Leases. Key aspects of that role included building consensus across the

Leadership Team relative to business and real estate strategy and its correlating

implementation.

Prior to engaging in Healthcare Real Estate, Mike spent 16 years as a Managing

Director and Sr. Vice President with CBRE and Tramell Crow Company within

Corporate Services with a focus on leading Transaction Management and Real

Estate Strategy for large global clients including Microsoft and American

Express. With portfolios ranging from 11M to 40M square feet, Mike also led

large teams of up to 175 corporate service professionals engaged in all aspects

of Corporate Real Estate including Project and Facilities Management.

Scott’s experience in acoustics started young; visiting his grandparents, equal time was

spent showing Grandma progress in music lessons and with Grandpa in his wood shop,

helping design, draft, and craft his next project. The equal parts musician and engineer

carry with him to his projects today. In all his design work ranging from concert halls,

houses of worship, and sports arenas to hospitals and board rooms, Scott is listening for

and working towards the best acoustical environment for his clients. He received is B.S.E.

in Multi-Disciplinary Engineering with a Concentration in Acoustics and Minor in Electrical

Engineering from Purdue University in 2009. Scott is also a member of the Acoustical

Society of America and Society for Marketing Professional Services.

Featured Projects: The Christ Hospital Cincinnati – Orthopaedic and Spine Center,

Northwestern Hospital Campus Noise Plan, North Park University Johnson Science

Building, University of Wisconsin Mead Witter School of Music, Wrigley Field Renovation,

Cony Island Amphitheater, Mount Royal Conservatory of Music, Oberlin Conservatory of

Music – Bibbins Hall Renovation, Moody Chapman Center Radio Studios, and more.

John O. Wilson is President of HSA PrimeCare, HSA Commercial’s healthcare real estate group. He leads a group of talented professionals specializing in healthcare real estate consulting, leasing, development and property management.

In 1995, Wilson created a healthcare real estate advisory initiative, which has grown into a separate operating division: HSA PrimeCare. Wilson oversees the growth of this group, which has served clients such as Good Samaritan Hospital, Christ Medical Center, Lutheran General Hospital, University of Chicago Hospitals, Silver Cross Hospital, Children’s Memorial Hospital, Advocate Health Centers, Franciscan Alliance, Ingalls Health System, St. Joseph Mercy Health System, South Suburban Hospital, and several independent physician practices. The group has developed, leased and/or managed medical office buildings totaling over 1.5 million square feet. Mr. Wilson has been a speaker at several real estate conferences focusing on healthcare real estate over the past several years.

Having been in the industry more than 35 years, Wilson is one of Chicago’s most respected commercial real estate leaders. He has been successful in all aspects of the industry, including tenant representation, property management, real estate development, land transactions and owner representation. Wilson has negotiated hundreds of real estate transactions valued in excess of $1 billion.

Wilson is a licensed real estate broker in the State of Illinois, a professional affiliate of The Center for Health Design, a charter member of the Chicago Office Leasing Brokers Association, on the Advisory Board of B.U.I.L.D, and a member of the Healthcare Financial Management Association.

Anthony Treu, AIA, ACHA, LEED, is an Associate Director and the Firmwide Healthcare Practice Leader at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP (SOM). He is an experienced architectural designer with a passion for next-generation healthcare facilities.

Anthony specializes in the development of medical facilities and has developed an extensive knowledge of the typology through design roles on both domestic and international projects. Merging cutting-edge design with a broad understanding of the intricacies of medical planning, he works to align the demands of contemporary healthcare delivery with the parallel needs of patients and clinicians. His recent work includes projects for Egypt’s New National Cancer Institute, Almaty’s International Medical Center, Northwell Health, and most recently, a new project for the Emory Winship Cancer Institute which reinvents cancer care delivery models.

Tom Nelson currently serves as Project Executive and Healthcare Market Segment Lead for Turner

Construction’s Chicago Office. Prior to joining Turner Construction, Tom worked for Automated Control

Technologies as a Project Manager for three (3) years after graduating from the University of Illinois Urbana-

Champaign with a Bachelor Degree in Mechanical Engineering. Tom then joined Turner as a MEP Manager in

2005, and since has held positions such as Project Engineer, Project Manager, Senior Project Manager, and

his most recent role, Project Executive.

Based out of the Chicago Business Unit, Tom focuses his time on managing the business unit’s healthcare

group, which includes business development and construction operations over a wide range of project sizes.

Past and present experience includes, Advocate Aurora Health Illinois Masonic Medical Center Wellington

and Sheffield Clinical Facilities, Northwestern Lake Forest Hospital Revitalization Project, Advocate Aurora

Health Good Samaritan Hospital Hybrid OR Project, Northwestern Galter Pavilion Observation Unit Project,

Northwestern Primary Care Institute, Advocate Aurora Health Illinois Masonic Medical Center for Advanced

Care, University of Chicago Ambulatory Care Center, University of Chicago Gwen and Jules Knapp Center for

Biomedical Discovery, and University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine Research Building.

As Chicago’s Healthcare Market Sector Lead and Project Executive, Tom serves as the group’s overall lead for

managing client relationships and providing operational excellence. Throughout the course of a project, he

maintains effective relationships with the entire team and orchestrate all actions necessary to achieve the

project’s safety, quality, scheduling and budgetary goals from the design phase through the completion of

construction. Tom’s technical knowledge is complimented by his client focused approach to project delivery.

Tom resides in Downers Grove, IL with his wife Beth and two daughters Evelyn (age 8) and Annalie (age 5).

On weekends he enjoys spending time outside playing sports, working on his house, and also hanging out

with his family and friends.

Adam specializes in design and placemaking for innovators, entrepreneurs and university-corporate partnerships. His work

advances the convergence of higher education, next-generation workplaces and innovation-centered urban design. Adam has

led significant innovation projects for the UNC Chapel Hill, UC Berkeley/LBNL, Pennsylvania State University, Cortex, Wake

Forest University, The University City Science Center – along with a new university district in Chula Vista, CA. He has also

completed over $1 billion of new construction for life-science enterprises including Amgen, Wyeth and MedImmune. Adam also

served as Chief Design Officer for Benjamin’s Desk/1776, a startup CoWorking incubator which grew from 3,000gsf to over

200,000gsf during his tenure, to include key innovation hubs in Philadelphia and Washington.

Adam was a founding co-chair of the ULI University Development and Innovation Council (UDIC) focused on academic

innovation and placemaking - and he has also served as a resource person for the Mayor’s Institute on City Design–Midwest

and served on two Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority Advisory Boards focused on building design excellence and the 1%

for Art program - the first such panel in the United States.

Educated at Rice University (B.Arts ’85 and B.Arch ’87) and at the Harvard Graduate School of Design (MAUD with Distinction,

“96), Adam is an avid teacher who has served as Visiting Professor of Architecture at Washington University in St. Louis from

1996 to 2000 and as an Instructor at the University of Pennsylvania from 2004 to 2007. He frequently speaks at AIA, ULI, UEDA,

APA, SCUP and AURP conferences and has organized several events focused on Campus Planning and Globalism.

Since the mid 1990’s, Adam’s designs have won several AIA design excellence awards along with other industry and land uses

awards, and his work has been published in numerous journals including Architectural Record and the ULI Journal.

EDUCATION

Master of Architecture in Urban Design, Harvard University Graduate School of Design

Bachelor of Architecture, Rice University School of Architecture

REGISTRATIONS

Architect – Pennsylvania

American Institute of Architects (AIA)

LEED Accredited Green Building Professional

Phil Hockberger has been a professor and senior administrator at Northwestern University since 1987. As AVPR, Phil is responsible for: developing, maintaining and advancing state-of-the-art research (core) facilities; planning and coordination of construction and renovation of research space on the Evanston campus; developing and coordinating research partnerships with academic institutions, industry and national laboratories. Prior to his role as AVPR, he taught and ran a research lab in the Department of Physiology of the Feinberg School of Medicine for 22 years. His research contributions include advances in live cell imaging, membrane biophysics and signal transduction, cell adhesion and migration, photobiology and phototoxicity. Phil received his Ph.D. degree in Neuroscience from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and did postdoctoral research at AT&T Bell Laboratories in Murray Hill, NJ.