Meghan Shapiro is the Chief Operating Officer of Hospital Operations for Laboratory Sciences of Arizona, LLC (LSA), joining the SQL/LSA Senior Leadership Team in 2015. She is responsible for providing oversight, leadership, and strategic direction for more than 30 laboratories that support Banner Health Hospitals, Academic Medical Centers, and Cancer Centers across the state of Arizona and five western states (California, Colorado, Nebraska, Nevada, and Wyoming). Key areas of responsibility include operational and strategic oversight of hospital laboratories, integration of new hospital laboratories into the system, test standardization, and centralization of testing.

She was formerly the Senior Administrator, Department of Pathology for Banner University Medical Center Tucson & South, Banner University Medical Group–Tucson, and the University of Arizona College of Medicine. Shapiro received her Bachelor of Science in Microbiology from the University of Georgia in 2000 and her Master of Health Administration from Virginia Commonwealth University in 2003. She is also a Certified Six Sigma Green Belt.

She has worked in various progressive management roles at Wake Forest Baptist Health prior to moving to Tucson, Arizona, including as the Assistant Administrator for Stokes-Reynolds Memorial Hospital, Administrative Director of Laboratories, and finally the Director of Academic and Clinical Operations for the Department of Pathology.

Shapiro has been active in numerous professional organizations, including the American College of Healthcare Executives, where she served as a member of the Regent’s Advisory Committee and past Chair of the Early Careerist Committee, the Association of Pathology Chairs/PDAs, and served on the Novation Lab Council and the University Health System Consortium Laboratory Steering Committee (last held position of Vice Chair), as well as on the Cardinal Health Laboratory Advisory Committee. Shapiro currently serves as the Chair of the American Heart Association Greater Phoenix Board of Directors, and a Board Member of the Jewish Family & Children’s Services.

Ryan Rodgers has been building acute and ambulatory medical facilities for 20 years. During that time, he's participated in over $2 Billion of healthcare construction. His diverse experience includes various roles as a general contractor, a project management consultant, and currently as an owner's representative. Currently, Ryan leads the Ambulatory Real Estate Program for the largest non-profit healthcare provider in the country. He is proud to have played a prominent role in CommonSpirit's transformation of ambulatory care. His team partners closely with other critical business units to maintain an integrated Ambulatory Design Guideline, which thoughtfully aligns the built environment with the operations team and their processes, to deliver effective, affordable, and quality care to the communities they serve.

Ryan earned a Bachelor of Science in Construction Management from Brigham Young University and a Master of Health Administration from the University of Southern California. He and his wife, Michelle, are raising their 5 children in Phoenix, AZ. When not busy at CommonSpirit, Lieutenant Commander Rodgers is a medical planner in the U.S. Navy (Reserve), striving to meet the medical needs of America’s frontline Sailors and Marines.

Sheila Schmidt is Managing Director of Strategy and Development at Meridian. Based in Phoenix, Arizona, Sheila is responsible for the acquisition and development activities in the Southwest.

Sheila brings over 17 years of commercial real estate experience to Meridian, having worked in the construction industry with a focus in healthcare real estate.

Prior to joining Meridian, Sheila was Director of Real Estate Development, Healthcare for a large national firm. Sheila has been responsible for site selection and land acquisition, municipal approvals, constraint analysis and due diligence, design and construction coordination, and lease negotiations. Sheila has a strong history of increasing market share and brand recognition through continually building, leveraging and bringing value to her network. Sheila is passionate about adding value to her clients through the development process and forming relationships built on trust that are mutually beneficial.

Sheila is a LEED Accredited Professional. She also serves on the Board of Directors for the Arizona Chapter of the American College of Healthcare Executives -Arizona Healthcare Executives; the Dignity Health Foundation – East Valley; Special Olympics Arizona and past Board member of CoreNet Global, Arizona Chapter.

A desire to help after 9/11 motivated Tara to focus her career on healthcare design. Even though she

would not be in the ER treating patients herself, she found comfort in knowing she could help by

providing healthcare workers with high-quality environments for patient care.

Having worked in healthcare design for nearly 30 years, Tara has cultivated a deep sense of empathy for

patients and a keen awareness of the power of design to improve highly stressful experiences.

As a Health Principal in HDR’s Phoenix, Arizona, architecture studio, Tara leverages her network,

reputation and experience to establish and maintain long-term relationships with new and existing

healthcare clients. With two IPD-lite projects with co-located Big Rooms under her belt, Tara has a

proven track record of working with multidisciplinary teams to deliver designs on time and on budget.

As a mentor, Tara encourages designers to engage in imaginative thinking to develop design solutions

that meet and exceed the needs of various hospital stakeholders.

An active member of the local design community, Tara is the Arizona sponsorship chair of NOMA’s

Phoenix chapter, the co-chair of the Women in Healthcare mentorship committee, and a member of the

Urban Land Institute’s Women’s Leadership Initiative (WLI).

Nick Veldman is the owner and president of Venn Construction a leading healthcare contractor headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona. Nick has overseen the development and construction of over a million square feet of healthcare real estate including clinics, surgery centers, medical office buildings and hospitals. Nick is passionate about building beyond construction. He believes that in order to create effective and lasting healthcare spaces the relationship between owner, architect, contractor and the end user must be based around trust, transparency, and communication. Nick earned his Construction Engineering degree from Iowa State University. He has directed a number of construction teams leading to his acquisition of Venn Construction in 2015. His hands-on approach and extensive experience make him a respected figure in the healthcare real estate industry.

Sheila Bale joined Cushman & Wakefield in 2016 and specializes in the marketing, sale and leasing of medical

space in the Greater Phoenix area. A seasoned real estate and healthcare professional at the top of her field,

Ms. Bale has facilitated over 780 healthcare and office real estate transactions and projects in the past 23

years. Ms. Bale is recognized throughout the Valley as one of the first commercial real estate brokers to

contact for optimum site selection and positioning of assets.

Prior to her focus in commercial real estate ( 2001) Ms. Bale served as the vice president of product

development for iTool.com, a local dot–com later acquired by Seattle-based Onvia in 2000-2001. From 1988,

prior to graduating from college, until 1999, Ms. Bale was employed by Honeywell/Bull, later Bull HN, where

she worked in software development and contributed to some of the company’s most significant technology

advancements as an individual contributor, project manager and finally director of engineering in the computer

storage division in Arizona.

Ms. Bale graduated cum laude in 1988 from Grand Canyon University, where she earned a bachelor’s degree

in computer science.

As the leader of her commercial real estate team they have been involved with some of the most complex and

competitive transactions in the recent markets, including the disposition of the First National Bank Portfolio for

Sorenson Group Management, placement of IRIS USA’s new US Headquarters in Surprise and multiple site

selections for Skilled Nursing Facilities for OrthoArizona. Currently her team provides agency representation

for Healthpeak and Healthcare Realty Trust portfolios in Arizona, leasing for ground up projects for Irgens of

Phoenix Healthcare developments and many individual owners and physicians looking for the best location.

Ms. Bale also serves as an advisor to cities in Arizona as they grow and strategize healthcare options.

After graduating cum laude from Kent State University with a Bachelors of Business Administration degree and a major in Marketing, Mr. Likens began his professional career with Johnson & Johnson Corporation. He then spent more than twenty years in domestic and international sales, marketing and general management roles at Baxter Healthcare Corporation, culminating in the position of President, Baxter Biotech North America, followed by President of Baxter’s Renal Division in the U.S.

In July of 2006, Mr. Likens became President and CEO and the second employee of Ulthera, Inc., a venture capital-backed start-up company in energy-based aesthetics in Phoenix, AZ. Beginning with European regulatory clearance in late 2008, followed by FDA clearance in September of 2009, Ulthera realized net revenue growth from $0.5M in ’08 to over $117M in 2014 achieving ongoing profitability from 2012. After filing for an IPO in early 2014, Ulthera was acquired by Merz Pharma GmbH for $600M in July of that year. The Arizona Association for Corporate Growth (ACG) recognized this as Transaction of the Year for 2014.

Phoenix Business Journal honored Mr. Likens in 2012, naming him one of Arizona’s Most Admired CEOs.

In June of 2015, Ernst & Young presented Mr. Likens with the Entrepreneur of the Year for the Mountain Desert Region Award, which recognizes outstanding entrepreneurs who demonstrate excellence and extraordinary success in such areas as innovation, financial performance, and personal commitment to their businesses and communities.

Mr. Likens was appointed president and CEO of GT Medical Technologies in October, 2017, a company that developed and markets GammaTile(R) Therapy, seeking to improve the lives of patients with brain tumors. He led the company from a venture capital-funded start-up with full commercial release in March of 2020 through its series C funding round in 2023. With over 1400 patients treated in more than 100 hospitals nationally, Mr. Likens now serves as a Senior Advisor to the company.

Brad Halvorsen joined the Flinn Foundation—a private, nonprofit, philanthropic endowment

that exists to improve the quality of life in Arizona—in 1989 as the organization’s first

communication professional. Over the years, he has led the Foundation’s communications

efforts and was named Executive Vice President in 2015. In addition to helping lead the strategic

directions and operations of the Foundation, he is a member of the staff’s Bioscience Team and

oversees Arizona’s Bioscience Roadmap, a long-term strategic plan to guide the state’s efforts to

build a thriving bioscience sector.

Prior to joining the Foundation, Brad served as a press aide and campaign press secretary to

U.S. Senator Dennis DeConcini. A graduate of Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School

of Journalism and Telecommunications, he has served on the boards of directors of the Arizona

Grantmakers Forum, Arizona Bioindustry Association, and Communications Network for

Philanthropy, a national organization of communications professionals at foundations. He was

named Arizona Bioscience Leader of the Year in 2023 by the Arizona Bioindustry Association.

Kyle serves as Vice President and Market Executive for Phoenix and is responsible for new

developments, marketing, leasing, community engagement, design, construction, and

operations. His experience includes master planning and predevelopment for 800 PBC, 843 PBC,

and predevelopment in other West Region markets. He led development and leasing for 850

PBC, a 227,000 SF building in partnership with Arizona State University and the City of Phoenix at

the Phoenix Bioscience Core, which includes the first-ever Connect Labs by Wexford location. 850

PBC provides a bioscience-focused innovation and research space for ASU, CEI, NIH, and dozens

of private companies, resulting in the beginning of a vibrant Knowledge Community in downtown

Phoenix.

Prior to joining the Wexford team, Kyle was a Development Manager for a full-service real estate

firm based in Utah. He has completed extensive underwriting and due diligence throughout the

United States and brings development experience in a variety of asset types and markets. He led

the development of student housing, apartments, and hotels in multiple states.

He received his Bachelor of Science in Facility and Property Management from Brigham Young

University and a Master of Business Administration in Real Estate from the University of Utah.

Kyle currently serves on the Downtown Phoenix Inc Board, Phoenix Community Alliance Board,

ULI committees, and the BYU Facility and Property Management Industry Advisory Council.

Leveraging over two decades of expertise in construction and project management, I excel in steering complex projects to fruition across life sciences, industry, and pharma sectors. My proficiency is certified with an OSHA 30HR credential, complemented by my adeptness in analytical thinking, fostering teamwork, and leading virtual collaborations. After serving client in the biopharmaceutical space as a general contractor for over a decade and the advocating as an Owners Representative specifically I co-founder WeldChain pioneering eco-friendly quality management solutions in orbital welding through innovative blockchain applications, ensuring reliability and efficiency. Then founding El Sea LLC, a Project Management Execution Support service dedicated to the life sciences and furthering the biopharmaceutical market sectors. My commitment extends to championing women’s roles in pharma and trades, epitomized by my leadership roles with ISPE and my founding of El Sea. I am driven by a conviction that collaboration, innovation, and sustainability are the cornerstones of progress in my profession. Now working with more companies to bring even more innovative technology strategies to bridge the gap in the trades to execute these highly technical projects and get life saving products to patients!

As President and CEO of AZBio, Joan Koerber-Walker works on behalf of the Arizona Bioscience and Medical Technology Industry to support the growth of the industry, its members, and our community on the local and national level. Ms. Koerber-Walker is also a life science investor and has served on the boards of numerous for-profit and non-profit organizations.

The Arizona Bioindustry Association, Inc. (AZBio) serves as the unified voice of the bioscience industry in Arizona. AZBio strives to make Arizona a place where bioscience organizations can grow and succeed. It accomplishes this by creating a forum for the bioscience community to come together, educating policy makers and the public, influencing public policy, and advancing the economic interests of individual organizations as well as the sector as a whole. In the life science industry, Ms. Koerber-Walker is a past-Chair of the State Medical Technology Alliance (SMTA), a consortium of state and regional trade associations representing their local medical technology companies. SMTA’s mission is to collectively support the medical technology industry on the local, state and national levels by fostering a collaborative environment through sharing of best practices, promoting the industry, and advocating for public policies that support innovation. She also represents Arizona as a member of the Council of State Bioscience Associations (CSBA) and the Coalition of State Bioscience Institutes (CSBI).

Active in the entrepreneurial and investment communities, she also serves as Chairman of the Board of the Opportunity Through Entrepreneurship Foundation which provides entrepreneurial education, mentoring and support to at-risk members of the community and AZAdvances, OTEF’s initiative to support the community effort to make Arizona home to a Top-Ten health innovation sector, on the Board of Advisors to CellTrust, Inc. which provides secure communication technology to the healthcare industry, and as Chairman of CorePurpose, Inc. which she founded in 2002.

Her past experience includes two years as the CEO of ASBA (the Arizona Small Business Association), service as a member of the Board of Trustees of the National Small Business Association in Washington D.C.; President of the National Speakers Association/Arizona; Chair of the Board of Advisors to Parenting Arizona, the state’s largest child abuse prevention organization; as a member of the Executive Committee of the Industry Advisory Board for the Thomas and Joan Read Center at Texas A&M University; on the Board of Directors of the Arizona Technology Council; as Treasurer and Board Member for Ribomed Biotechnologies, Inc.; and as an executive at Avnet, Inc, where, for over a 20 year, span she held a wide variety of roles in sales, marketing, technology, supply chain management, and global administration.

As President and CEO of the Arizona Hospital and Healthcare Association (AzHHA), Ann-Marie Alameddin keeps her expertise with the needs of both Arizona hospitals and patients alike at the forefront of her work. With an extensive background in community service and organizing, she is well-versed in bringing people and organizations together not only to exchange ideas but to take affirmative action and achieve desired results in driving health policy.

AzHHA is the statewide association giving Arizona hospitals a voice to collectively build better healthcare and health for Arizonans. AzHHA and its member hospitals explore ideas and take collaborative action at the state capitol, in hospitals and at home to attain the best healthcare outcomes for Arizonans.

Ann-Marie provided counsel on major healthcare issues affecting Arizonans while serving as AzHHA’s Vice President of Strategy and General Counsel for four years before being named its President and CEO. During that time, she took part in a coalition of healthcare providers and community organizations instrumental in the passage of Medicaid Restoration and Expansion, which she later helped defend in Arizona Courts.

Prior to working at AzHHA, Ann-Marie served as in-house counsel and government relations officer at John C. Lincoln Health Network, where she led the $1.4 billion affiliation with Scottsdale Healthcare, now HonorHealth.

For more than a decade, Ann-Marie’s volunteer work has focused on creating and sustaining a monthly free legal clinic at St. Vincent De Paul that serves the working poor. She is a member of the State Bar of Arizona, Arizona Association of Health Care Lawyers, American Health Lawyers Association, Academy for Leaders, and Arizona Women in Healthcare Leadership.

After receiving a Bachelor of Arts from Creighton University, Ann-Marie went on to earn a master’s degree in theology from the University of San Francisco with a focus on bioethics, and a Juris Doctorate and health law certificate from Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University.

A third-generation Arizonan, Ann-Marie, her husband DJ, and their four children Sophia, Camille, Chris and John, reside in central Phoenix and are very involved in their community. In her downtime, she enjoys getting together with family and friends, playing pickleball, hiking and volunteering at St. Vincent de Paul and mentoring up-and-coming healthcare leaders.

About the Arizona Hospital and Healthcare Association

AzHHA is the association giving Arizona hospitals a voice to collectively build better healthcare and health for Arizonans. As the champion for healthcare leadership in Arizona, AzHHA and its member hospitals explore ideas and take collaborative action at the state capitol, in hospitals and at home to attain the best healthcare outcomes for Arizonans. Through Better Care, Better Health, and Lower Costs, we will make Arizona the Healthiest State in the Nation. Visit https://www.azhha.org for more information.

Aric Bopp is the Executive Director for Discovery Oasis at Mayo Clinic, Arizona. Discovery Oasis (www.discoveryoasis.com) is an expansive 120-acre development in Phoenix, adjacent to world-renowned Mayo Clinic, envisioned as a biotechnology corridor of collaboration to advance groundbreaking solutions to humanity’s most complex medical challenges.

Discovery Oasis creates an ecosystem of biomedical innovation among a community of established and early stage biotechnology companies, researchers, educators, entrepreneurs, and medical practitioners who are leading the transformation of healthcare.

With an ideal climate, location and economic development infrastructure, Discovery Oasis is an exceptional co-location opportunity for companies with biomedicine, health sciences, medical technologies, big data, and computational focus.

Aric Bopp previously led the economic development and innovation zone efforts of ASU Knowledge Enterprise, with a specific focus on development of the NOVUS Innovation Corridor and the seven (7) ASU Innovation Zones. In his role, he helped make Arizona more economically competitive and promote the assets available at ASU to the private sector.

He worked closely with the Arizona Commerce Authority, Greater Phoenix Economic Council, brokerage and real estate community, and local economic developers. Internal to ASU, he also worked with ASU Corporate Engagement and Strategic Partnerships, Career Development and Professional Services, Office of Government and Community Engagement, and the University Real Estate Office.

Before coming to ASU, Bopp served as the deputy director of strategic initiatives for the city of Mesa, where he focused on development of the Mesa Gateway area. He also served as the program manager for the city of Phoenix, where he directed and implemented projects that support the city’s commercial, office and industrial development. Prior to moving to Arizona in 2015, Bopp was the executive director for Virginia’s New River Valley Economic Development Alliance.

Bopp has served on a variety of economic development boards and organizations throughout the years, including the Arizona Technology Council, Queen Creek Economic Development Commission, and the Chandler Economic Development Advisory Board. He also volunteers with the community in several capacities, including coaching Little League Softball. He was named as one of the Top 20 Leaders Under 40 in 2007 by the Blue Ridge Business Journal and the 2011 Business Executive of the Year by the Pulaski County (VA) Chamber of Commerce.

Bopp earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from the Johns Hopkins University, attended graduate school in economics at the University of Virginia and received his certified economic developer certification (CEcD) in 2014 through the International Economic Development Council.

Allison (Allie) is Vice President of Business Development for the biosciences in the Greater Phoenix metro area. Her focus is to identify prospects and regional investment expansion opportunities as they pertain to biotechnology and biomedical sectors. Previously, Allie was a Senior Consultant at Deloitte where she worked at the intersections of Biodefense, Life Sciences, and Federal Health. She advised on scientific policy related to National Security and Public Health for the NIH, CDC, and DoD. Allie also has previous experience working in defense intelligence acquisition and at a pharmaceutical CRO in GMP laboratories. She received her doctoral degree from George Mason University where she worked in biocontainment biosafety level-3 laboratories conducting mutagenesis studies with Select Agent pathogens. She possesses a BioMolecular Engineering undergraduate degree from the Milwaukee School of Engineering where she learned how to translate scientific principles for broad audiences. She is passionate about scientific journalism and is an active member of the National Association of Science Writers (NASW). In her free time, Allie is an avid book reader, loves to fish, and competes in local CrossFit competitions.

Charlie Thompson is a project executive at DPR Construction, one of the nation's leading technical builders focused on highly complex and sustainable projects.

Charlie’s successful involvement with multiple healthcare campus additions and renovations reflects a proven track record of delivering efficient and transparent projects that meet the end needs of his clients. Charlie thinks of the big picture, encouraging open thought and challenging norms to foster a culture of innovation in design and construction. He fosters the development of high performing, cross organizational teams throughout the design and construction of multiple $200M+ complicated hospital additions and renovations in the City of Phoenix and overall has supported over one billion dollars in hospital projects in Arizona.

Charlie also leads the DPR mentorship program to support New Pathways for Youth, a Phoenix-based nonprofit that serves at-risk youth. DPR provides opportunities for local high school students to get engaged and learn more about potential career opportunities in construction.

He holds an MBA from Arizona State University and a bachelor’s degree in construction engineering from Purdue University.

As an architect, educator, and community advocate Ben has over 22 years of experience and

his body of work ranges in scale from graphic design to high-rise office buildings and in

typologies spanning from healthcare to residential. Ben’s work shows his commitment to the

practice of architecture and how it can improve the lives of everyone it touches. He has been

fortunate enough to work with amazing teams that have won several local and national awards

that have positively impacted the urban environment. His expertise includes delivery methods

such as design-bid-build, design-build, CM@R and IPD or “Big Room” experience. His design

philosophy is rooted in environmental responsibility, an appropriate contextual response and

design excellence.

Currently, Ben leads one of the two studios in Gensler’s Phoenix office where he focuses on

community, education, lifestyle, and health projects. He also currently teaches at Arizona State

University and is the Chair of the Planning and Zoning Board in Mesa, Arizona.

Scott Martin has delivered world-class results in brokerage, syndications and partnerships

producing significant financial returns for all his investors. Martin leads the commercial real

estate, sales & marketing strategies, and fundraising for the InteliGlas Corporation. He is a 35-

year veteran of office building sales & leasing and a twenty-year distinguished member of SIOR.

Martin is the former EVP of NAI Capital with over $1.7B in commercial real estate sales. He

is a founder visionary of an autonomous smart building company, inteliGlas corporation.