Artina Mitchell
President
Artina brings 25+ years of experience in sales and business development with 15+ years focused on Health Information Technology. She received her bachelor’s in business management from the University of Phoenix in 2009 and currently works at iT1 Source as a Senior Healthcare Account Executive. She chairs the chapter's Cybersecurity Committee and Co-Chairs the Women in IT Committee. Artina believes in living with purpose and works daily to keep her life’s toolkit stocked with a positive attitude, passion to serve, curious nature, and a resourceful mindset. In this pursuit to live with purpose, she believes that every interaction both big and small can make a difference, which is why she puts the work in to help create a health system that is accessible and affordable for all. Outside of work, she enjoys spending time in nature, reading, writing, painting, and creating memories with her three boys, grandson, extended family, and friends.
Dwayne Neufeld
Past President
Dwayne Neufeld brings a passion for technology, problem-solving, and working with people. For over 25 years, he has started companies, led sales teams, and served on boards - all with the goal of solving problems in innovative ways by leveraging people and technology. He currently works on the NW Healthcare team for Databank and Kyocera providing solutions that simplify business processes for better health outcomes. He serves regularly at a Homeless shelter and his local church. When not working he is cooking, kayaking, jogging, and generally enjoying the Northwest with his wife of 26 years, 2 dogs, 4 kids and one grandson.
Joanna Valderrama
Program Chair
Joanna is passionate about optimizing business and clinical processes in Healthcare through technology. Joanna joined the Board as the Program Chair in the Winter of 2020. Her mission is to plan relevant and engaging events for members to participate in and learn from. Her goal is to create a learning environment where each member can learn, share, and grow. She encourages interaction and feedback from you so please feel free to reach out with your thoughts, ideas, and comments. Experienced clinical informatics professional with a demonstrated history of working in the hospital & IT industry. Skilled in EHR implementation, clinical & business process improvements, and project management. Joanna proudly completed her Master’s degree in Health Informatics and Health Information Management at the University of Washington in 2020.
Ken Cam
Membership Chair
Ken Cam received his Masters of Science in Information Management / Biomedical Health Informatics from the University of Washington. He joined the HIMSS WA in 2018 and accepted the role of Membership Chair in 2021. Ken is a healthcare technology leader with 20+ years of industry experience and has served as a strategic partner with top-rated healthcare systems as a management consultant. He now leads as VP Electronic Medical Record/Practice Management Technology for Optum Health Care Delivery Technology.
Kristina Salas, MS
Sponsorship Chair
Kristina Salas is the Sponsorship Chair for the HIMSS Washington State Chapter. She first joined as a graduate student in 2017 and went on to become a board member for the Clinical Informatics Committee for 4 years. Currently, Kristina is a Practitioner Liaison Specialist for UW Medicine ITS specializing in Epic modules that include cardiology, oncology, radiology, and transplant. She has a background in (practical) nursing, health education/EHR training, B.S in Public Health with a focus on epidemiology, and completed her M.S Degree in Clinical Informatics & Patient Centered Technologies from the University of Washington. Kristina developed an interest in clinical informatics from a combination of her experiences working on a cardiothoracic floor and her data & analytics project that explored public health disparities within the behavioral health population. As a HIMSS Washington member, she is passionate about incorporating digital health in clinical workflows, and most importantly, connecting various healthcare teams with the hope of improving our healthcare systems.
Chirag Bindal
Communications Chair
Chirag is Senior Vice President of Sales and Business Innovation at Zimetrics, a niche data engineering and sciences company. With over two decades of sales and consulting experience in the industry, Chirag brings a deep understanding of the digital technology landscape and is a strong advocate of data-driven approaches. His work has spanned across various industries including Healthcare, MedTech and Life Sciences where he and his teams have played a pivotal role in supporting connected technology, data engineering and AI programs for industry leaders and innovative startups alike.
As a board member of the HIMSS Washington Chapter, Chirag is dedicated to utilizing his leadership and communications expertise to drive the strategic and operational goals of the organization and contribute to the growth of this professional community. Additionally, Chirag also serves on the board of DAMA Puget Sound in a similar capacity.
When not immersed in his professional and community roles, Chirag can be found strumming his guitar, experimenting with new recipes inspired by YouTube cooking videos, or spending quality time with his family that includes his wife, two teenage daughters, and furry family member, Disco.
Andrew Bussman, MSW LICSW
Website Chair
Andrew is employed as a Senior Training and Design Specialist at UW Medicine, a position he has held since 2020. Prior to this role, he contributed his expertise as a Clinical Informatics Educator at UW Northwest Hospital & Medical Center, where he facilitated the integration of technology into clinical workflows.
Andrew's educational background is rooted in social work, having earned a Master of Science in Social Work from Columbia University in 2010. His early career saw him working in various healthcare settings, including acute care, long-term acute care, inpatient psychiatry, and an intensive outpatient program. This diverse experience has given him a unique perspective on the intersection of technology and healthcare, emphasizing the importance of providing efficient support to clinical staff.
As a proud native of Washington State, Andrew resides in the picturesque town of Port Orchard, where he fully embraces the beauty of the Pacific Northwest. He enjoys the great outdoors, often spending his free time hiking, camping, and kayaking.
Jennifer Garcia, RN, MS CIPCT, CHC
Student Engagement Committee Chair and Mentorship Coordinator
wa.mentorship@himsschapter.org
Jen Garcia champions student engagement, advocacy, and mentorship for our WA chapter. She joined HIMSS WA as a student and became a board member soon after. As a previous recipient of our HIMSS WA scholarship, Jen started out as Scholarship Chair and then created the Student Engagement Committee (SEC), a positive encouraging space for healthcare information, informatics and technology students seeking resources, professional connections, and events based on student interests. Making connections with students and instructors at Bellevue College, she is also a member of the Bellevue College Healthcare Informatics (HCI) Advisory Board. Jen piloted and founded our much-anticipated Mentorship Program in Autumn 2022, with the intent to connect students and recent graduates with our HIMSS WA member professionals in the industry. Working as an Sr. Corporate Compliance Analyst at Seattle Children's Hospital, Jen is interested in the space where hospital billing compliance, clinical documentation, and health informatics uniquely intersect, and how these elements are affected by healthcare policy and evolving technology. Jen Garcia proudly completed her Master’s degree in Clinical Informatics and Patient-Centered Technologies (MS CIPCT) at the University of Washington in 2020.
Darsi Tuttle, PharmD, MS CIPCT
Scholarship Chair
wa.scholarship@himsschapter.org
Darsi is a staff pharmacist for Bartell Drugs with responsibilities including ensuring the accuracy and appropriateness of all prescriptions and building profitable business and script growth through recommended clinical programs. She is passionate about delivering high quality clinical care to her customers and looking for ways to streamline operations and improve workflow to extend more services of vaccinations, travel consultations, medication therapy management and diabetes care. She recently graduated with a master's in clinical informatics and patient-centered technology from the University of Washington. Darsi's background is in instruction, having taught both math and science courses at local colleges.
Vandy Kapoor
Advocacy Chair
Vandy brings 15+ years of healthcare experience and knowledge of working with strategic healthcare business leaders and partners to create and execute on their data transformation & business vision. She helps build cloud and generative AI vision across all industries in the pacific northwest at Google. Vandy left her dentistry residency in 2005 to pursue Informatics at Oregon Health Sciences University, Oregon. Vandy spent the first few years in research at OHSU and the State Department of health. The next 10 years of her work experience centered on Analytics and building strategy for cloud platforms for the biggest healthcare system Providence St Joseph. Vandy also served as cloud advisor for women@cloud and provided guidance to many business leaders and startups about cloud strategies. She is proud to be an Advisory Chair for HIMSS WA chapter and looking forward to building relationships with State Senators around utilizing AI and technology in Washington State. She is also providing guidance on how graduate programs at OHSU can be improved to meet regulations and compliance as a board advisor of the external committee.
Kelly Nettle, RN-BC, MS
Volunteer Outreach Manager
Kelly’s educational background is a BSN with a Master of Science in Clinical Informatics with a Nursing Informatics Board Certification. Before joining UW Medicine Kelly worked as a consultant for a variety of healthcare technology implementations, was a Director of Clinical Informatics, Director of Pre/Post-operative services, as well as bedside nursing in Emergency and Perioperative Services. Kelly Nettle RN-BC, MS, has over 30 years of nursing experience and currently works for UW Medicine/Northwest Hospital & Medical Center as a Clinical Workflow Designer.
Kelly has volunteered with HIMSS WA Chapter for the past 9 years and is currently the Volunteer Outreach Manager, past Secretary 2 years, past Treasurer 6 years, and is the founder of the HIMSS WA Chapter Clinical Informatics Committee in 2019.
Scott Bingham
Member-At-Large
Scott Bingham is a new Member-At-Large as of June 2023 and is a highly impactful, mission and values-driven Executive Information Technology leader with 20+ years’ experience in IT. He is passionate about bringing together technology and business strategy in healthcare and has led organizational design and career pathing for large multi-disciplinary teams with a sharp customer service focus yielding high value technology solutions and services. He is also the founder and president of Housing Solutions for Hope, a Seattle Children's non-profit. HS4H is the first of its kind non-profit focused on providing financial support for patient family housing needs at Seattle Children’s Hospital. Over $735,000 has been raised in five years from individual and corporate donors to support nearly 150 Seattle Children’s families facing homelessness or insufficient housing. Scott's passion for healthcare IT also led him to create the Healthcare IT Certificate Program with the Seattle Colleges and Epic that provides access to a 3-quarter academic program aimed at entry-level job opportunities for under-resourced communities.
Carol Shade
Member-At-Large
Specialties: pediatric nursing; clinical/nursing informatics, leadership, regulatory, organizational skills, project planning, quality and safety improvement, training and super user support models, the lifecycle of EHR, and use of readiness assessment or other tools supporting the successful use of technology within the healthcare system. Carol currently serves as Organizational Nurse Leader for Nursing Informatics, directing a team of master's-prepared informatics nurse specialists and all clinical efforts related to the electronic health record (EHR) or other clinically focused technology solutions. Defines and sets EHR strategy in collaboration with CMIO, IT leadership, and senior nurse leaders. Experience in leading large-scale EHR deployments focusing on clinical operational aspects including training and post-go-live support models. Passionate about optimizing IT solutions to meet the needs of frontline clinical staff, resulting in improved patient outcomes for every patient.
Stephen Asker
Clinical Informatics Chair
Stephen is an information technology professional with consulting experience in large-scale deployment and implementation engagements. His knowledge and expertise in the healthcare industry has revolved around Oracle Cerner software, developing training programs, task order management, project and program management, and helping business units & PMOs with data governance, change management, and process improvement.
As a volunteer on the board, his primary goals are to help engage locals and build community, as well as curate recurring education opportunities for our HIMSS members. When not working, he enjoys traveling, hiking, home improvement projects, and spending time with his family.