2025 Annual Institute Speakers

Tyson Prickett is a regulatory compliance and accreditation consultant who specializes in Life Safety Code compliance. He has over 15 years of experience working at over 300+ hospitals nationwide. He consults for CMS, The Joint Commission, DNV, CIHQ, AAAHC, CARF and other accreditation organizations. Tyson's goal is to guide and educate the facilities teams who put in the hard work every day to create the safest and most compliant environment.

Mike Lawless, PE, FPE, LEED AP, is Vice President of Innovation at IMEG. He is responsible for leading the strategic vision, development, implementation, and promotion of all innovation initiatives related to transformational changes in the construction industry. He focuses on gathering and vetting innovative ideas from inside and outside the firm to ensure IMEG invests its resources wisely and acts proactively to changing AEC industry needs and trends. This allows the firm to deliver the most innovative solutions to clients, ultimately providing the best outcomes for end users. A 20-plus-year employee-owner and mechanical engineer, Mike has led many of IMEG’s largest healthcare and science & technology projects. He is a member of ASHRAE, ASHE, and SFPE, has received several ASHRAE Technology Awards for innovative design, and was named one of ENR Midwest’s 20 Under 40 in 2015.

Abdel K. Darwich is a principal with Guttmann and Blaevoet Consulting Engineers in their Sacramento, CA, office. He has more than 25 years of experience in the design of mechanical systems for health care projects including acute care hospitals, licenses clinics, medical office building and behavioral health facilities. Abdel was the author of the wildfire chapter in the OSHPD Emergency Design Guide for California Hospitals. Abdel has also been a voting member of ASHRAE Standard 62.1 “Ventilation and acceptable Indoor Air quality” and the liaison to ASHRAE Standard 170- Ventilation for Healthcare Facilities. Abdel is recipient of two ASHRAE Technology Awards (2013 and 2016), an ASHRAE Distinguished Service Award (2017) and ASHRAE Exception Service Award (2024).

Teresa believes design can empower physicians to heal, scientists to discover, and healthcare leaders to innovate. She has designed over 30 million square feet of healthcare facilities, totaling over $27 billion. Teresa has planned every modality and department in a hospital, outpatient facility and skilled nursing facility; experience which led to OSHPD leadership to invite her to serve as an OSHPD Emergency Design Task Force team leader. Teresa’s planning philosophy integrates Lean principles and evidence-based design to create highly efficient healthcare facilities with exceptional patient experience and staff satisfaction.

Lisa Hinton is currently a Project Manager with the Strategic Programs division of Facilities Planning and Development at UC Davis Health. Lisa Hinton brings twenty five years of facilities project management experience, representing the owner, from her current role at UC Davis Health as well as previous roles at the Judicial Council of California and Blue Shield of California. Lisa is patient focused with dedication to customer satisfaction and has a robust skill set that includes project planning, project management and vendor management.

Stephen Brown is the Manager of Workplace Violence & Environment of Care at CHOC Hospital, bringing 13 years of experience in healthcare across various roles within security and environment of care fields. His career has focused on enhancing workplace safety, conducting facility risk assessments, and implementing comprehensive violence prevention strategies. Stephen is dedicated to fostering a culture of safety through collaboration, training, and continuous improvement to ensure a secure environment for both staff and patients.

Mark Reed, MBA, CHPA, is a highly accomplished healthcare operations leader with a diverse background. Currently serving as the Executive Director of Campus Support Operations at City of Hope National Medical Center, he oversees a wide range of critical operations, including security, transportation, parking, patient transport, exterior management, waste management, and other programs.

Prior to his current role, Mark held the position of Director of Support Services at MLK Jr. Community Healthcare in Los Angeles, CA. His extensive experience spans 15 years in law enforcement, where he worked at various federal, state, and local correctional facilities. Additionally, Mark honorably served for 8 years in the United States Army.

Jeremy Eberhart is currently the Manager of Engineering and Plant Operations at Sequoia Hospital in Redwood City, CA.

Christopher Hariz is the Founder of Hexmodal, the leading technology provider of Smart Devices for Healthcare Facility Teams.

His unique background in both Internet of Things (IoT) and Facility Management places him in the unique position to build tools that leverage the latest technologies to solve the complex problems facing Healthcare Facility Managers today.

Christopher Hariz's focus on simplicity and reliability has led to significant improvements in healthcare systems. His automation of manual testing and record-keeping of life safety devices has saved over 10,000 hours annually for more than 130 healthcare systems.

Hexmodal has deployed 80,000+ IT-Free Smart Devices to wirelessly automate the monitoring, reporting, and maintenance of Exit Signs, Emergency Lights, Room Pressure, Refrigeration and other life safety devices.

Leander Robinson works in plant operations at Sequoia Hospital in Redwood City, CA.

As the Director of Strategic Initiatives, Jason's focus is to help enterprise- level clients reduce and manage their energy spend and identify new avenues for CE to assist clients with energy management. With 15 years of experience in the energy industry, he has worked with customer in Healthcare, Manufacturing, and Hospitality through a consultative approach that customizes a strategy to fit their needs. He holds a BA from St. Mary's College of California.

Carlos has worked as the Director of Energy Services for Commercial Energy for the last 6 years. During that time, he and his team have advised customers on more than $200 Million in onsite generation projects. They work with the customer to match ESG, financial and operational goals to build the most viable projects, for now and into the future.

Joe Brothman, Director of General Services, joined UCI Health in 2015. Joe oversees a team of over 200 professionals who manage the organizations portfolio of properties including all aspects of building maintenance, management, and compliance, coworker safety & emergency management programs, as well as parking and transportation services. He serves as president of the California Society for Healthcare Engineers Orange County chapter and a member of the California Hospital Association's Emergency Management Advisory Committee.

Mrs. Victoria Lopez is a Board of Certified Safety Professionals (BCSP) Certified Safety Professional (CSP) with over six years of professional experience in environmental, general, occupational, and construction health and safety services. Mrs. Lopez’s professional experience primarily consists of environmental health & safety (EHS) consulting services for various public sector and commercial entities. Highly skilled and trained, Mrs. Lopez conducts thorough site investigations for asbestos, lead, IAQ, mold, bacteria, and other hazardous materials to assist clients in identifying and mitigating potential environmental hazards. Mrs. Lopez brings excellent project monitoring experience to construction sites to ensure compliance and safety of site personnel and the environment. She has demonstrated a keen ability to see the bigger picture of each project to ensure each client’s schedule and needs are met.

Patrick Naffah is an American Board of Industrial Hygiene (ABIH) Certified Industrial Hygienist (CIH) and Board of Certified Safety Professionals (BCSP) Certified Safety Professional (CSP) with over nine (9) years of professional experience in environmental health and safety (EHS) services. Patrick's professional experiences primarily consist of consulting services for a diverse clientele, including but not limited to, residential, commercial, healthcare, agriculture, manufacturing settings, and education (e.g., school districts, universities).

Nicholas Heredia, PhD is a leader in pathogen detection, assay design, and biosensor development, specializing in advanced biotechnologies. During his postdoctoral work at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, he focused on detecting unknown pathogens for biodefense applications. He was an early innovator and a key member in the commercialization of digital PCR technology at QuantaLife, which was acquired by Bio-Rad Laboratories, where he continued to innovate in instrument, assay, and reagent development for precise digital biology measurements. He spearheads R&D at SafeTraces, advancing bioaerosol detection technologies for improved infection prevention and respiratory health. He has served as Principal Investigator on multiple major federal contracts and grants focused on commercializing and scaling next generation biosensor technology for healthcare facilities and critical infrastructure.

Dr. Maldonado’s research interests are the epidemiology and prevention of viral vaccine preventable infections, including measles, polio, rotavirus, and COVID-19. She is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Infectious Disease Society of America, a member of the Society for Pediatric Research, the Pediatric Infectious Disease Society and the American Public Health Association.

Devin has spent his career on the cutting edge of healthcare facility management, with the goal of infusing reliability into internationally renowned healthcare organizations. Devin has led world-class hospital support services on the reliability journey and is passionate about continuing to bring reliability into organizations who are looking for a better way to care for their facilities and their people.

Dave has worked at every level of facility operations being involved with opening, operating, expanding and improving facilities operations over the past 32 years. Dave has a certificate in Industrial Electricity, an Associate degree in Mechanical Electrical Technologies, a bachelor’s degree from Sacramento State in Vocational Education. Dave obtained the CHFM designation from the American Hospital Association, his C.E.M. as a certified energy manger, he received the Emerging Leader recognition and his Fellow Status with the American Society for Healthcare Engineering. Dave has served on both the CSHE and ASHE boards.

Sue Ann joined Phigenics as a Water Management Specialist six years ago. In 2022, she transitioned to an account manager where she currently develops and facilitates Water Management Programs for her customers in Northern California. Prior to this, Sue Ann held positions in product management and marketing of analytical instrumentation for 20 years.

Education: B.S. in Chemistry, Avila University and MBA in marketing & communications, St. Mary’s College.

Byron Kitagawa’s work spans over 30 years in the safety and healthcare industry. He is currently working for a large, HMO hospital system as a specialist in the department of accreditation, regulatory and licensing in California and Hawaii. His experience in the physical environment includes employee safety, security, communications, environmental services, laundry/linen, food services and emergency management.

Having spent over 11 years as a Life Safety Code Surveyor for the Joint Commission, he has significant experience in understanding the survey process. He has surveyed over 600 hospitals which included critical access hospitals, long-term care facilities and ambulatory surgery centers. The type of hospitals included non-profit, for-profit, VA, State and local government and system hospitals. He has surveyed military hospitals throughout the country and abroad.

He is a certified Healthcare Environmental Manager (HEM) with ECRI and a Certified Life Safety Specialist for Healthcare (CLSS-HC) with NFPA. Byron also specializes in the physical environment for psychiatric hospitals. He was a contributor to the second edition of the “Design Guide for the Built Environment of Behavioral Health Facilities” published in 2007.

Lance Woolf oversees the west coast region and provides support to engineering and compliance within hospitals and facilities for TJC/DNV/AHJ compliance. Lance has over 12 years of experience in healthcare compliance and life safety, and is a subject matter expert in the areas of Life Safety Compliance and Engineering Operations.

His mission is to help healthcare organizations achieve and maintain regulatory standards and patient safety, while improving efficiency, reducing expenses, and maximizing productivity. Lance has successfully conducted mock surveys, provided engineering support, developed mitigation strategies, and projected financial outcomes for various healthcare clients. He also has a strong background in emergency management, environment of care, and law enforcement operations, which enables him to handle complex and challenging situations with confidence and professionalism. Lance is passionate about delivering quality service and building long-term relationships with his clients and colleagues.

Joe LaBrie joined HCAI five years ago to serve as the OSHPD Regional Compliance Officer supervising the Inspection Services Unit. He has more than 40 years of experience as a Licensed Structural Engineer in private practice focused on the development of healthcare facilities in California from varying perspectives.