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Nancy Littleford
Chair
Nancy Littleford has a varied career with a unique depth and breadth of healthcare experience spanning more than 20 years. As a Licensed Professional Counselor since 2006, her education, training and experience in behavioral health have allowed her to be an advocate, change-agent and tireless relationship-builder.
Nancy has spent more than a dozen years immersed in population and community health initiatives in a variety of roles, including disease management programs, and corporate wellness, along with consulting and community health improvement projects. Healthcare is a very complicated system that requires skilled and diligent stakeholder engagement. Having served in multiple roles within that system, Nancy understands how best to build consensus and drive positive change.
As a subject matter expert in the field, in addition to strategic and consultative roles, Nancy has also engaged in sales, business development and communication activities across multiple verticals. She is adroit at the conversation around our complicated healthcare system and is a passionate spokesperson in support of systemic changes that benefit everyone.
She is a Denver native, as well as Displaced Aurarian, so her connection to the campus is noteworthy.
Vincent Collins
Vincent Collins, M.D., consults with clinicians working within the All Health Network. In that capacity, he meets monthly with child psychiatrists and psychiatric nurse practitioners using a case review format. He retired from the role of Associate Director of the Department of Behavioral Health at Denver Health. In addition to his role at Denver Health, Vincent served as an Associate Professor of Clinical Psychiatry in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. His primary academic interests included working with adolescents suffering from severe mood disorders and with adolescents exhibiting symptoms of a psychotic process.
Vincent earned his M.D. from the University of Pennsylvania and holds a B.A. from Yale University. He was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship in 2009 and spent the year helping to establish a Department of Psychiatry at the Medical College of Malawi, in the city of Blantyre.
More recently, Vincent has pursued his other passion, earning a B.A. in music from the Metropolitan State University of Denver in 2018. He is an avid saxophone player who still nurses a dream of securing a recording contract someday.
Gary Drews
An accomplished executive leader, Gary Drews served as the interim CEO and Executive Director of Connect for Health Colorado, the state’s health insurance exchange. During his appointment, Drews led the organization through a complex strategic planning process, while enrolling 150,000 Coloradans.
Prior to Connect for Health, Drews was the CFO/Vice President, Finance, Investments & Graduate Medical Education for the Colorado Health Foundation from 2006-2013. His leadership responsibilities included strategic finance, administration and planning, overseeing a $100M+ budget; $2.3B mission and investment portfolio management; seven-hospital system joint venture asset management; digital health program development; and graduate medical education academic affairs.
Drews also brings a diverse array of experience as a leader in other industries including, Chief Operating Officer at Regis University, Chief Financial Officer at the Colorado Outward Bound School; and 13 years as a network television producer and subsequent executive at Walt Disney Studios.
Drews holds a Master of Arts degree from the Annenberg School of Communications at the University of Southern California, and a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration from the University of Colorado in Boulder.
Todd Evenson
Todd Evenson is the Founder of Think Health Consulting, a health insurance broker and human resources provider for companies.
It is said that Todd’s expertise and accomplishments cross multiple fields including healthcare, technology, leadership, entrepreneurial endeavors and the arts. He was recognized by Modern Healthcare as a top 25 Chief Operating Officer (COO) in healthcare in 2017 and in 2018, he was recognized as a top COO in Colorado.
Mr. Evenson served as chief operating officer of Medical Group Management Association (MGMA), the premier association for more than 54,000 medical practice executives in the U.S.
He also served on boards including AllHealth Network (Past Chair), Colorado Health Administration Alumni Association, Jefferson County Special Education Advisory Committee, American Diabetes Association, American Heart Association, and Laradon Foundation.
Susan A. Sgambati, MD, FACS, FASCRS
Dr. Sgambati is a native of northern New Jersey. She attained her undergraduate degree from Brown University with honors in Biomedical Ethics. She is a graduate of New York Medical College, where she was elected into the Alpha Omega Alpha honors society. She completed her general surgery training at the University of Connecticut. During residency, she performed 3 years of cell biology research at Yale University. Dr. Sgambati completed fellowship training in Colon and Rectal Surgery at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.
Dr. Sgambati is the Senior Physician Risk Manager in COPIC insurance’s Patient Safety and Risk Management Department. Prior to this, she practiced at Rose Medical Center in Denver for 22 years, where she was the Chair of the Department of Surgery since 2007. She co-founded the Colorado Comprehensive Pelvic Floor Center.
Dr. Sgambati is married and the mother of 2 boys. She divides her time (although not equally) with work, family, swimming and traveling.
Nabeel Meghji
Chief Product Officer of Wellthy, the leading tech platform and caregiving support service for families and employers. Previously, Nabeel served as Chief Product Officer for Sondermind, a healthcare tech startup expanding access to personalized mental health services in the United States. He previously served as Chief Product Officer for DispatchHealth, a leading provider of mobile healthcare. Nabeel also has previous product leadership experience with CDSGlobal and Healthgrades, and served as the co-founder and CEO of Heartland 2 Africa, a company that helped Midwest businesses build relationships and partnerships across the African continent. Nabeel currently serves as an Advisory Board Member for the University of Colorado’s Leeds School of Business Customer Experience Program.
Jeannie Ritter
Jeannie Ritter first built her career centering mental health advocacy in 2007 when she served as Colorado’s First Lady. In 2012, She joined the Mental Health Center of Denver as a Mental Health Ambassador where she chose to continue her advocacy efforts.
Ritter speaks out at hundreds of events and gatherings each year to spread her message and encourage communities to view mental illness with the same compassion as we do other illnesses. Her early experiences working with emotionally troubled children in Denver Public Schools gave her the drive to speak up for those in need.
Ritter has served as the co-chair of the legislative task force for House Bill 2013-1296 to make recommendations for updating Colorado’s civil commencement laws.
She also serves on numerous community boards and committees including the Depression Center, the Center for Dependency, Addiction and Rehabilitation, Rose Community Foundations Board of trustees and Health Committee, the Colorado Collation for Parity, and the SIM Advisory Board.
Curtis Stepan
Curt Stepan was born and raised in rural Minnesota but has lived in Colorado for the last 35 years.
Currently, Stepan is the President of the Board of Directors for Clinical Colorado. He has owned and operated numerous medical practices over the last 30 years, and he is presently the CEO for the Center for Spine and Orthopedics in Thornton.
Others have described Stepan as a kindhearted leader who has superb intuition when it comes to group dynamics and organizational impacts. He has volunteered his time serving on advisory committees and boards with Roche pharmaceuticals, the Boulder Valley YMCA and, for three years, he served as the President of the Board of Directors for Kids First HealthCare.
Stepan holds a master’s degree in business management from Regis University.
John Torres
Dr. John Torres is currently an NBC News and MSNBC Senior Medical Correspondent. He brings a plethora of knowledge to NBC’s medical coverage. His reporting covers a wide range of health-related issues across all of NBC’s broadcast, cable and digital platforms. Dr. Torres holds a degree from the University of New Mexico School of Medicine.
Dr. Torres is a veteran of the United States Air Force where he served for eight years, including a tour of duty in Iraq in 2004 with the Air National Guard. He then went on to serve an additional twenty-four years in the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserves before retiring as a Colonel. John combines his medical and combat knowledge to teach NATO special forces.
With his vast pilot skills, Dr. Torres has assisted with Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita rescue efforts. Additionally, Dr. John Torres has made many humanitarian trips to Central and South America where he provided medical care to children in need.
Julianna Montoya
Julianna Montoya is a first-generation Latina college student attending Metropolitan State University of Denver, pursuing a double-major in Public Health and Biology. She is a Colorado native and chose MSU Denver for the opportunity to pursue her dreams of higher education in her own backyard. Julianna is committed to advancing opportunities that create a healthcare system that is equitable and is eager to achieve this mission by continuing her education in Colorado to become a physician assistant.
As part of her commitment to advancing health equity and higher education, Montoya engages in several opportunities both on and off the Auraria campus. Montoya works on campus at the Health Center at Auraria as a Medical Support Staff Assistant and at the Gina and Frank Day Health Institute as a Student Assistant. Montoya is also an MSU Denver Health Scholar graduate, current Bank of America Scholar, and Peer- Health Exchange mentor, and a participate in the Healthcare Interest Program through Denver Health. Additionally, Montoya acts as an advocate for affordable, accessible and equitable healthcare both on and off the Auraria campus; including equitable access to students like herself to enter into healthcare careers to address community health inequities.