Board of Advisors

Annette Fisher, M.B.A.

Annette Fisher is the Regional Director for the American Heart Association’s Marketing, Communications, and Community Health Initiatives. For the last 19 years, she has worked in all facets of Public Relations including city government, real estate, and non-profit organizations. Prior to her Public Relations positions, Annette was a former TV news producer for WBAL – TV’s 11 news in Baltimore. In addition, she was a reporter for the Baltimore Sun newspaper’s special sections and a contributing writer for the Baltimore Business Journal. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications with a minor in Business Management from the College of Notre Dame in Maryland and an MBA from the Johns Hopkins University.

Howard Francis, M.D., M.B.A.

Dr. Howard W. Francis is an Associate Professor in the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery where he is the deputy director and leads the residency program. He is a Neurotologist at the Johns Hopkins Hospital with special expertise and interests in the diagnosis and treatment of disorders of the ear and skull base. He is a member of the cochlear implant team of the Johns Hopkins Listening Center and is director of the Johns Hopkins Temporal Bone Micro-Surgical Laboratory. His areas of academic interest include biological mechanisms of cochlear dysfunction in aging, the implications of cochlear implantation on childhood development and processes for continuous improvement in trainee competence and practice.  After completing his high-school education in Jamaica, and his bachelor’s degree at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, he earned his medical degree from the Harvard Medical School and completed his internship, residency and fellowship training at the Johns Hopkins Hospital.  He recently earned an MBA in Medical Services Management from the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School.

He received the Neurostereology of Aging Award the George T. Nager, M.D. Award for Excellence in Teaching, from the Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Most recently, he was honored for his two-year service as inaugural director of the Johns Hopkins Hospital Ambulatory Quality and Patient Safety Task Force (AQPS).

Jeffrey S. McCombs, Ph.D.

Jeffrey S. McCombs joined the University of Southern California’s Department of Pharmaceutical Economics and Policy in 1987, and holds joint appointments in Gerontology and Policy, Planning and Development. Dr. McCombs earned his doctorate in economics at the University of California-San Diego, specializing in health economics. At UCSD, Dr. McCombs received cross training at the School of Medicine through a National Center for Health Services Research pre-doctoral traineeship. His previous positions include: Assistant professor with the Department of Mental Hygiene, the Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health (1980-82); Senior Project Analyst, Applied Management Sciences in Silver Spring, MD (1982-83); and Social Science Research Analyst, the Office of Research and Demonstrations, the Health Care Financing Administration (1983-87). Dr. McCombs is an author or co-author of articles appearing in Journal of Health Economics, Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law, Health Care Financing Review, Health Affairs, Value in Health, Health Services Research, Psychiatric Services, Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, Medical Care, Annals of Pharmacotherapy, and American Journal of Health Systems Pharmacy. Dr. McCombs has also authored or co-authored numerous book chapters. He has served as a consultant to the Health Care Financing Administration and several pharmaceutical companies.

Alessandro Olivi, M.D.

Alessandro Olivi, M.D. is a professor of Neurosurgery and Oncology at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and is certified by the American Board of Neurological Surgery. He is also the Director of Neurosurgical Oncology and Chairman of the Department of Neurosurgery at the Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center.  He focuses on the surgical treatment of primary and metatastic tumors of the brain and spinal cord. He performs microsurgery on skull-based tumors, such as acoustic neuromas, meningiomas and vascular lesions. Additional clinical interests include cerebrovascular conditions and craniofacial reconstructions.

Dr. Olivi is actively involved in designing and running clinical experimental protocols to develop and assess new treatments for patients with brain tumors. He is also leading multidisciplinary initiatives to coordinate the most suitable management of patients with newly diagnosed or recurrent brain tumors. He is also involved in several research activities in the areas of immunotherapy for brain tumors, cancer stem cells and new drug delivery systems.

Dr. Olivi received his medical degree from the University of Padova Medical School in Italy. He went on to complete a fellowship in neurosurgery at the University of Padova. His internship training in general surgery was completed at Good Samaritan Hospital in Cincinnati. Dr. Olivi also completed his residency in neurosurgery at Mayfield Neurological Institute at the University of Cincinnati and fellowship training in neurological surgery and neuro-oncology at The Johns Hopkins Hospital.

Leonard Rosen, M.D.

Dr. Rosen is the Medical Director at Oakland County Community Mental Health Authority and is also the Medical Director for Behavioral Services at Henry Ford Wyandotte Hospital. He completed his residency at Sinai Hospital of Detroit and is Board Certified in adult and geriatric psychiatry. He is a fellow of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. Dr. Rosen is a member of the American Psychiatric Association, Michigan Psychiatric Society, Michigan State Medical Society and Wayne County Medical Society. Dr. Rosen is an active member of the Michigan Department of Community Health’s Mental Health Advisory Committee. He is also on the teaching faculty of the Departments of Psychiatry at Wayne State University and Michigan State University.

Bert Sadtler

Bert Sadtler is the President and Founder of Boxwood Executive Search, headquartered in Baltimore County, Maryland. Bert brings 30 years of functional business experience. After starting a small business during college, he spent over 20 years working for fortune 100 companies including Nortel Works and Pitney Bowes, holding various revenue producing responsibilities with customers in both the commercial and federal market sectors. Following his successful track record as an employee of large organizations, Bert recently founded Boxwood in the model of agile, boutique-consulting firm.

Mr. Sadtler leverages his wide network and experience to deliver solutions to business challenges. He advises companies on their growth, vision, planning and positioning. His consulting includes being retained by employers to recruit critical senior level talent and the analysis of an employer’s best recruiting practices. Bert also provides insight to company boards through his daily interaction with business issues and business solutions.

Bert earned a degree in business from Towson University. He currently writes a monthly recruitment for Satellite Magazine and MilSat Magazine and has been interviewed on Federal News Radio. He frequently attends industry events and shows throughout the year. Bert is also a volunteer for Hope for the Warriors assisting veterans with their transition into the workforce.

Patrick Wynn

With a background of over 25 years experience in strategic and consultative business development, Patrick brings excellent leadership to his role as Program Director to the Howard County Tech Council; and as an Advisor to early stage companies. Having been the Managing Director, Strategic Development at the CSO Breakfast Club; Vice President of Business Development at Sabera; and the National Sales Director for Lawson Software at Ernst & Young Technologies, Patrick leverages his solid background in cyber security, enterprise applications, wireless, banking, and strategic IT consulting markets. He has also held senior sales and sales management positions with Conklin & Conklin, ADP and Alcatel, among others. Patrick has a long successful track record engaging Fortune 1000 clients. He holds a BS degree from Salisbury University in Maryland.

Patrick currently holds an inactive Top Secret/SSBI Clearance, and is an active member of Infragard Maryland.