A facility’s infrastructure is a key component in supporting the mission of the healthcare organization. They are also critical in helping hospitals manage the mounting pressures of reinventing delivery of care, regulatory scrutiny, competition, attracting the best staff, and improving patient outcomes and experience.

There are four primary infrastructures in a hospital: Mechanical, Electrical, Information and Communications Technology and Security. Each division of infrastructure functions to bind the physical environment to clinical outcomes; to provide safe, comfortable and reliable environments for quality patient care; and to ensure the financial viability of the organization.

My passion is to design and implement the Integrated Healthcare Facilities Infrastructure while improving financial performance, improving patient and staff safety, simplify regulatory practices, and increasing patient satisfaction, as well as staff productivity and retention. The Integrated Healthcare Facilities Infrastructure approach is designed to utilize the intelligence inherent to facility infrastructure technologies, and implement them in a manner to make it simple for operators to realize optimal efficiencies from facilities now, and in the future.

An architectural graduate of the University of Southern California, Jill spent the majority of her

career in healthcare facility planning, the final 22 years at Texas Children’s Hospital guiding the

development of over $2B of work and adding over 5M square feet. Jill is a licensed architect in

Texas and California and holds a certificate from the National Council of Architectural

Registration Boards (NCARB).

Karen Mooney is the Associate Vice President of Facilities Planning, Design and Construction department at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas. Her team manages strategic facilities planning for the organization as well as the implementation of a multi-billion capital construction program. Karen graduated from Texas A&M University with a degree in Construction Management and received her MBA from UT Tyler.

Judah Auld delivers over 20 years of construction industry experience. For the past 16 years, he has worked for McCarthy Building Companies where he currently serves as Vice President of Preconstruction in Houston. Judah oversees McCarthy’s preconstruction efforts in a variety of markets, but he has a heavy focus on healthcare where he has worked with clients such as Houston Methodist Hospital, Texas Children’s Hospital, and MD Anderson.

Jim leads our health program in the central United States and is one of our senior thought leaders in healthcare architecture. He has been working as an architect in healthcare for almost 25 years. Throughout his career, he has designed significant projects for numerous clients including University Medical Centers, Non-Profit Hospitals, Department of Defense, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, and specifically with Kaiser Permanente, Mayo Clinic, among other prominent hospitals. He was worked in all aspects design and delivery methodologies for health facilities, inclusive of early contractor involvement, integrated project delivery, private public partnership, and developer led outpatient care facilities and health oriented development. His experience in these design and delivery procurement methods has been garnered all over the United States, Canada, and the Middle East.

Jim works collaboratively with design teams and stakeholders to ensure that all new and existing facilities address the challenges of new patterns in healthcare operations and practice, sustainability and incorporation of evidence based-design. He encourages clients to rethink healthcare environments to enable patients to live their most satisfying, hopeful, and productive lives. He focuses on the gathering and the integration of data analytics in daily practice to predict new lines of business and areas of expansion to inform and determine the key performance indicators required and directions required for strategic plans and tactical responses for capital planning.

Jim is also considered an expert behavioral health design, by peers and clients alike. Jim has been quoted in several articles and his projects have been featured in numerous magazines and blogs. Additionally, he led the design team that won the Institute for Patient-Centered Design’s 2015 Patient Centered Behavioral Health Design Competition.

Jake Horak is a Founding Partner at Whitecap Health Advisors, a national strategic advisory firm dedicated to the healthcare provider industry. He has developed a breadth of functional experience and expertise throughout his career, but his core focus is capital asset and service distribution planning, financial modeling and funds flow construct design, and strategic partnership planning and facilitation. Jake earned his MBA in Strategy and Operations from the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota.

Noel J. Cárdenas is the Senior Vice President and Chief Executive Officer of Memorial Hermann Southeast and

Pearland Hospitals. Prior to assuming his current position, Noel serve as the Vice President Operations/Chief

Operating Officer at Memorial Hermann Northeast Hospital in Humble Texas. Noel is a native of Weslaco, Texas. He

is a retired combat veteran having served over 30 years in the Texas National Guard and the U.S. Army and retired

at the rank of Colonel. He holds numerous military and civilian awards and recognition including Two Legion of

Merits, Three Bronze Stars, and the Army Surgeon General’s “A” professional proficiency designator in Healthcare

Administration. Throughout his military career, he has served in multiple healthcare leadership roles including

Chief Executive Officer and Hospital Commander for Reynolds Army Community Hospital in Fort Sill, Oklahoma,

Chief Operating Officer/Chief of Staff at the Brooke Army Medical Center in Fort Sam Houston, Texas; Chief

Executive Officer/Commander of the 421st Multifunctional Medical Battalion in Wiesbaden, Germany; Chief

Executive Officer/Commander of the 421st Multifunctional Medical Task Force in Balad, Iraq; Chief Operating

Officer for Evans Army Community Hospital in Fort Carson, Colorado; and Chief Operating Officer for Raymond W.

Bliss Army Health Center in Fort Huachuca, Arizona.

Education

Baylor University | Waco | Upsilon Phi Delta National Honor Society in Health Administration

University of Texas | Austin | Biology | Distinguished Military Graduate

Professional Affiliations

American College of Healthcare Executives │ Fellow │ Former Regent

ACHE Southeast Texas Chapter | Chapter President

Personal

Noel and his wife, Cristela “Cristi” R. Cárdenas, reside in Kingwood, Texas and they have been married for 30 years.

They have three children Andrew C. Cárdenas, 26, attending Angelo State University’s Doctorate of Physical

Therapy Program, Kristian N. Cárdenas, 24, graduate of the University of North Texas, and Noah T. Cárdenas, 22, a

senior at Texas A&M University majoring in Construction Science.

Noel has enjoyed his transition from military service as he continues his career in healthcare. He especially enjoys

serving the people in the Southeast Houston and Pearland Communities. Noel feels his personal values are well

aligned with those of Memorial Hermann as his primary focuses are on people, patient safety, high reliability and

quality care.

Marissa is a Director of Facilities and Construction Projects at Houston Methodist Hospital since 2016. In

this role, she oversees master planning efforts as well as design, construction and activation of large and

small capital improvement projects for Houston Methodist’s Sugar Land, Clear Lake and Cypress

Campuses. Focused on the healthcare sector for essentially her entire career, Marissa consistently

pursuits her mission to build innovative environments that nurture healing for patients, visitors and staff

alike. Her capability to bridge the various clinical programs, institutional levels and geographic settings

reflect her ability to uniquely respond to the needs of each community. Marissa obtained her Bachelor’s

degree in Architecture from the University of Panama, and her Master’s Degree in Construction

Management from Texas A&M University, College Station. She is a licensed Architect in the State of

Texas, a Certified Construction Manager, a Certified Energy Manager, and a LEED Accredited

Professional. Prior to joining Houston Methodist Hospital, Marissa’s career included assignments with

ExxonMobil in the Woodlands Campus, and Jacobs in the Metropolitan Houston area. In her spare time,

Marissa enjoys watching her kids play sports, home improvement projects, long walks, and the

occasional round of golf.

Brendon F Buckley is a Healthcare systems subject matter expert focused on leveraging

technology to improve the delivery of care and operational efficiency. His involvement

spans throughout the project starting from the very early stages such as the planning,

design & bidding through to commissioning and testing of the Healthcare systems.

Brendon is also a key contributor to the JCI’s patented “Navigator” process and has

successfully utilized it on numerous successful projects.

His experience in technology integration and related IT systems is extensive. Brendon is

proficient in HL7, DICOM, SQL Databases, .NET, Webservices and has worked with

numerous EMR, PACS systems including GE, Siemens, Cerner, Epic and Meditech. He

also has experience working with integration platforms including Intelligent Insites,

Connexall, Cloverleaf, Openlink, and Mirth. Brendon also specializes in Internal IT

Infrastructure, Wireless Network Technology and Open Network Environments.

His current responsibilities include developing offerings that help Johnson Controls’

Healthcare clients reduce costs; improve both patient care and satisfaction.

As a client-oriented, healthcare-focused architect, Greg utilizes his years of experience in the industry to create environments that reflect the latest knowledge in delivery, technology, and design. Greg has a holistic approach to teaching the process of architecture and believes each person should be nimble in their role and able to deliver a consistently high level of service. A hands-on manager and a people person, Greg is approachable, flexible, and dedicated to his projects. He strives to complete projects in the most efficient and effective manner while ensuring the client is pleased with the outcome. Sparked by a passion to help others, Greg enjoys creating spaces that exceed the needs of the patients and the goals of the Owner.

Shea Johnson, has over 20 years of business development, communication, marketing, and project management experience in both the private and public sectors. Holding a BS in Business Administration from George Mason University, Shea is a 10-year U.S. Navy veteran and has dedicated years of his career to roles in the Pentagon, on Capitol Hill, and for the White House. In his position of Director of Business Development, Shea will apply his extensive experience with Business Development, A/E/C Industry and Healthcare Legislation, and Healthcare Construction including Design-Build, Construction Manager-at Risk (CMAR) and Public-Private Partnership (P3) projects. Shea is active in the community serving on the Board of Directors for Crosspoint Inc., President-Elect for the Institute for Leadership in Capital Projects (I-LinCP) San Antonio Chapter, and Placemaking Council for the Urban Land Institute (ULI) San Antonio Chapter.

id Sanders is the Senior Vice President for Construction/Facilities Design and Real Estate Management at Houston Methodist. He is also President and CEO of TMH Medical Office Buildings, a subsidiary of Houston Methodist. He is responsible for a $4 Billion capital construction program and campus master planning at all campuses. He oversees a multi-hundred million dollar real estate portfolio and a two million SF medical office building portfolio. In the last eight years he has overseen the construction and opening of 750 new beds.

He chairs the Facility Council overseeing facility operations, capital renewal and expansion of seven hospital campuses, seven emergency care centers, imaging centers and numerous clinic centers. Houston Methodist has been named by ENR Texas-Louisiana as the 2015 Owner of the Year.

He is a member of the Texas Medical Center Strategy and Operations Council.

Prior to joining Methodist, Mr. Sanders served as the Associate Vice Chancellor for Facilities Planning and Construction for The University of Texas System where he was responsible for a $5.0 billion capital construction program for UT System. This included building major capital projects for M D Anderson Cancer Center, UT Medical Branch in Galveston, Southwest Medical Center in Dallas and The University of Texas at Austin.

Mr. Sanders received a professional degree in Architecture from University of Texas at Austin in 1978, graduating w/ Honors and an MBA in Finance from University of Texas at Austin in 1990, graduating Beta Gamma Sigma.

Mr. Sanders is the co-author of the book “Program Management 2.0” recently published by Construction Management Association of America, concerning concepts and strategies for managing building programs.

From 2005 to 2013 Mr. Sanders assisted with the planning, design and construction of the George W. Bush Presidential Library in Dallas.

As Director of Facilities Planning Services, Bhargav leads a team of planners, designers,

activation managers and customer advocates responsible for maintaining institutional standards

and providing planning and design management of projects. His scope includes Strategic

Facilities Development, Master Planning, Design, New Construction and Renovation of

healthcare, research, and education facilities.

Prior to this role, Bhargav served as a Principal and Senior Medical Planner for EYP and has 25

years of international experience in the architecture, engineering and construction industry. He

has an MBA with a focus on healthcare from Rice University, a Master of Architecture with a

Certificate in Health Systems Design from Texas A&M University, and a Bachelor of

Architecture from the School of Planning & Design in New Delhi, India.

Bhargav is a registered architect and a member of the American Institute for Architects (AIA). A

knowledge leader in the industry, he is a regular speaker at healthcare design conferences and

frequent author in industry journals. He was the recipient of the American Institute of Architects

Graduate Fellowship in Healthcare Research and Design.

Bill Vaughn has been working in the construction industry since 1987. As one of the four principals of Vaughn Construction, Bill has extensive experience in the programming, design, budgeting and construction of public buildings for institutional clients with a focus on research and healthcare. He leads the preconstruction efforts on the firm's largest and most complex projects. He is widely known in the industry for his preconstruction expertise and his ability to work as a team member with architects and engineers to ensure all project goals are met. He assesses market conditions with regard to labor and material cost and availability, and evaluates the resulting impacts on construction pricing. He is the “go to” advisor for many public agencies on building cost and life cycle considerations. Bill’s experience over the last 10 years includes over $2.2 billion and over 9.8 million SF of healthcare, research, and higher education facilities in Texas.

Scott Sevigny has been with Shah Smith & Associates, Inc. since 1998. He brings over 26 years of experience as a professional engineer and currently serves as a client executive/senior project manager. An accomplished mechanical engineer, Scott is a Navy veteran and holds a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and Master of Science in architectural engineering from Pennsylvania State University.

His education combined with his background in general contracting, as well as his leadership training while a U.S. Naval Aviator, has earned Scott a reputation as an expert in leading MEP portion of challenging and complex projects. Scott’s portfolio of delivered projects has a breadth which includes aviation, higher Ed, Private life science, healthcare, Science and Technology, Library, and master planning, with particular depth in vivaria, research labs, and healthcare.

Mr. Folsom provides direction regarding smart hospital and healthcare solutions working in

conjunction with clients, Siemens global resources and ecosystem partners. His focus at

Siemens is working with the pertinent groups to identify and deploy integrated solutions that

impact patient experiences & outcomes, improve clinical processes and increase operational

results. Prior to joining Siemens, Mr. Folsom was CEO of Allen Technologies, an early leader in

the in-patient interactive patient care systems market to provide solutions to engage patients and

impact the patient experience. While at Allen, he worked closely with Siemens to develop

integrations that provided best-in-class capabilities that helped reduce patient falls, improve

patient experiences and reduce energy consumption. He also brings an extensive background in

solutions consulting with Deloitte Consulting, enterprise solutions development & management,

integration design & deployment, product management and information technology with a keen

focus on driving improvements and reliability cost-effectively.

Andrew Koska is a Principal and Co-Healthcare Practice Leader for the Houston studio of

Perkins&Will. Leading the studio’s healthcare projects, Andrew draws on more than 20 years of

architectural design experience, and an approach that focuses on improving the effectiveness

of spaces to foster healing. His passion for healthcare is rooted in witnessing the connection

between space and the wellness of patients in hospitals.

Andrew has worked on a host of new design and renovation projects for key institutions within

the Houston medical community, including UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, Methodist

Hospital, UTHealth, Texas Children’s Hospital, and Memorial Hermann. He holds a Master of

Architecture from Texas A&M and a Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics from UT at Austin; and is a

member of the American Institute of Architects, National Council of Architecture Regulatory

Boards, and the American College of Healthcare Architects. Andrew is also a LEED Accredited

Professional—a certification that came naturally from his love of the outdoors, and his belief in

the beauty of nature as a healing source.

Monique Salas, MPP, is the North American Director of Health & Wellness at SageGlass. In her role, she focuses on the impact Saint-Gobain SageGlass bears in Healthcare spaces. She has a rich history in the Pharmaceutical Industry and Healthcare Tech space. Monique is passionate about design that incorporates health & wellness as she has a strong belief that it uman performance. Some of her recent clients include Emory Healthcare, Geisinger Health, University of California Davis and University of California Davis Health.

Gaurav Khadse (GK) is a Registered Architect with 18 years’ experience in design and construction of healthcare facilities. Gaurav holds the position of Vice President, Facilities Planning & Development and Real Estate at Texas Children’s Hospital (TCH). In his position, he leads the facilities project management, program management and planning team responsible for expansion of strategic facilities expansion projects, capital projects and renovations at Texas Children’s. His team is currently handling projects in various stages of design and construction with project costs over a billion dollars including the expansion of Texas Children’s new campus in Austin.

Gaurav has an MBA from the University of Texas at Austin and a Masters in Architecture from Texas A&M University with a specialization in Health Systems and Design. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in Architecture in India. He is licensed in Texas and also a LEED accredited professional.

David Attard is a retired Army Medical Service Corps Officer with 22 years of active duty service as a Health

Services Warrant Officer and a veteran of Desert Shield/Desert Storm and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF). He has

worked for Harris Health System, Houston Texas for the past 17 years where he currently serves as the VP,

Facilities, Construction, and Systems Engineering for Harris Health System in Houston Texas. Responsibilities

include executive oversight and program development for all planning, construction, capital expenditures, real

estate planning and acquisition, facilities engineering, and CMS accreditation activities related to the Physical

Environment management systems. He holds a Master’s of Science Degree in Manufacturing Systems

Management from Southern Methodist University; a Bachelor’s of Science in Industrial Technology from Southern

Illinois University and is a certified Project and Program Manager (PMP, PgMP) through the Project Management

Institute. He is a founding board member of the Medical Equipment Technology Association (META) and currently

consults with the Medical Device Information, Safety, and Security (MDISS) Consortium for medical equipment

vulnerability concerns.

Davis Griffin serves as a Principal with Trammell Crow Company with a specific focus on healthcare development in central and south Texas. She is responsible for all aspects of the development process from identifying opportunities to contract negotiation, financing and leasing, and has significant experience with healthcare and higher education development projects, including medical office buildings and student housing.

Beginning in 2006, Davis developed a healthcare focus and has partnered with such clients as the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio, Princeton HealthCare System in Princeton, New Jersey, Main Line Health in suburban Philadelphia and Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York. She specializes in the development of all types of healthcare properties, both as a principal investor and on a fee basis, with the goal to help clients identify and execute real estate solutions to best deliver quality care to patients. Davis has also managed leasing of medical office space to physician tenants and developed a deep understanding of the importance, intricacies and complexities of physician relationships with healthcare systems.

Prior to her healthcare focus, Davis joined TCC in 2002 as part of the Higher Education Services Group working with higher education institutions on the feasibility, financing and overall development of both academic and residential projects.

A seasoned healthcare adviser with more than 20 years

of experience leading executives through strategic

initiatives and facility and operational transformations,

Jesse leads ECG’s Facility and Capital Asset Planning

practice. With a focus on the care continuum and overall

patient experience, Jesse has ushered in 26 new

healthcare facilities to better prepare providers for the

future of care delivery. In his work, he has impacted $18.4

billion in capital planning for over 44 million square feet

and 16,500 beds across five countries in two continents.

Jesse specializes in large-scale transformations that promote new organizational and operating

models for healthcare providers. He has comprehensive experience in acute inpatient environments,

in addition to primary, urgent, and multispecialty care settings for both adults and pediatrics. Jesse’s

engagements involve market assessments, programmatic definition, campus master planning, asset

rationalization, capacity planning, functional and space programming, new facility activation and

transition planning, and operational design and process improvement.

His clients encompass academic medical centers, such as Massachusetts General Hospital, Penn

Medicine, Keck Medicine of USC, SSM Health St. Louis University Hospital, and University of

Vermont Medical Center; pediatric hospitals, including Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Ann &

Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, and Rady Children’s Hospital San Diego; specialty

hospitals, such as City of Hope; community and public health systems, including Methodist Le

Bonheur Health and Eskenazi Health; and rural health systems, such as Altru Health and Confluence

Health.]

Brian has extensive years of professional architectural experience covering a wide range

of project types, particularly healthcare and corporate/commercial facilities. His work also

encompasses science/technology, academic facilities, and engineering/telecommunications

centers. His diverse background includes projects ranging in size from interior renovations

to major hospital facilities of several hundred thousand square feet. Brian serves as a Senior

Project Manager where he is responsible for coordinating A/E teams for project delivery.

Most recently, Brian led the project team for the new Methodist The Woodlands Hospital

campus.