Forum Agenda

Speaker Bios

In alphabetical order

Sheryl Bluestein, Vice President of Operations at Emory University Hospital Midtown

Sheryl Bluestein, Vice President of Operations, has operations responsibilities for the ambulatory operations of Emory University Hospital Midtown including radiation oncology, hematology & medical oncology clinics, infusion services and off-campus cardiac imaging.   Sheryl has 15 years of healthcare experience and has been with Emory Healthcare for 11 ½ years. Sheryl holds an MBA and MHA from Georgia State University and a BBA from the University of Georgia.

Brenda Brown, Administrative Director, Ambulatory Infusion, MD Anderson Cancer Center



Brenda Brown, MSN,RN,OCN,NEA-BC is the Administrative Director of Ambulatory Infusion at the MD Anderson Cancer Center.  She is responsible for the administrative oversight of patient care operations for the Ambulatory Treatment Center and Clinical and Translational Research Center including human resources management, financial planning and performance, physical asset management, performance improvement, strategic planning, and clinical patient care coordination. Brenda collaborates to develop strong relationships and partnerships within and across the organization to improve patient outcomes. She holds a Master of Science in Nursing - Nursing Administration from Corpus Christi State University, Texas.

Tanya Frett, Assistant Director of Infusion Services at Emory University Hospital Midtown

Tanya Frett, Assistant Director of Infusion Services, is responsible for business operations of the Oncology Ambulatory Infusion Centers of Emory University Hospital Midtown. Tanya has been with Emory Healthcare for 18 ½ years, she holds an MBA with healthcare concentration and BBA from Saint Leo University.

Sarah Kirby, Nurse Manager for the Emily Couric Infusion Center at the University of Virginia Health System

Sarah Kirby is the Nurse Manager for the Emily Couric Infusion Center at the University of Virginia Health System. Sarah has been an oncology nurse for over 13 years, with the last 6 years in the ambulatory setting. She has held the role of Inpatient Case Manager, Nurse Care Coordinator, as well as Manager of Ambulatory Patient Access. These experiences have uniquely informed her ability to thoughtfully assess clinical workflow issues in the infusion center as well as identify and implement solutions to enhance patient, staff, and provider experience.

Wendy Mbugua, Interim Director Clinical Operations at  Emily Couric Clinical Cancer Center

Wendy Mbugua RN, MSN, NEA-BC  is the Interim Director for Clinical Operations at Emily Couric Clinical Cancer Center (ECCCC)  at University of Virginia Health System. She is responsible for ECCCC Outpatient Clinics, Patient Access, Supportive Services, Oncology Programs and the Infusion Center. Wendy has over 18 years experience in Oncology Nursing in both inpatient and outpatient settings,  as well as performance improvement. She is passionate about optimizing clinical and operational efficiencies, patient experience, employee engagement and job satisfaction.

MiKaela Olsen, Oncology and Hematology Clinical Nurse Specialist at the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins Hospital

MiKaela M. Olsen, MS, APRN-CNS, AOCNS®, FAAN, is an Oncology and Hematology Clinical Nurse Specialist at the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at the Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, MD.  She is in charge of clinical operations for ambulatory oncology services with additional responsibilities across the JHH health system. Ms. Olsen serves as adjunct faculty for the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing and Faculty Associate at the University Of Maryland School Of Nursing.

Ms. Olsen received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Texas Christian University in Fort Worth Texas in 1989 and a Master of Science degree with special emphasis in Oncology nursing from the University of California at San Francisco in 1996.  She is a certified Advanced Oncology Clinical Nurse Specialist. She is currently enrolled in a doctoral program at University of Maryland.

Brian Shields, Manager of Performance Improvement for Oncology services at UCHealth



Brian Shields is currently the Manager of Performance Improvement for Oncology services at UCHealth in Colorado.  He is an Industrial Engineer with over 20 years of process improvement experience, and has been leading lean and six sigma process improvement efforts at two leading Academic Medical Centers for the last 10 years.  Since July of 2014, he has led the implementation of iQueue for Infusion at UCHealth for over 185 chairs across 12 infusion centers.

Gina Szymanski, Assistant Director of Nursing for Oncology at the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins Hospital

Gina Szymanski is the Assistant Director of Nursing for Oncology at the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at the Johns Hopkins Hospital.  She has been an oncology nurse, for more than 36 years; 10 years at the bedside caring for adult solid tumor and bone marrow transplant patients, 22 years in inpatient management including the IPOP/HIPOP Clinic and the past  4½ years, with her team, transforming the Kimmel Cancer Centers ambulatory practices to work leaner, smarter and drive value by leveraging standardization, technology and relationships.

Pamm Tobias, Administrator for Oncology Services at Lehigh Valley Health Network

Pamela F. Tobias, MS, RHIA, CHDA, CA serves as an Administrator for Oncology Services at Lehigh Valley Health Network where she is responsible for Radiation Oncology, Revenue Cycle, Informatics, Tumor Registry, Expansions and Special projects and LVH-Pocono campus Cancer Services.  Prior to joining LVHN, she provided consulting services extensively across the country in a variety of healthcare environments. Pamm earned her Masters of Science in Healthcare Administration from Kings College and is credentialed as a Registered Health Information Administrator (RHIA) and a Certified Health Data Analyst (CHDA).

Jen Tota, Director for Ambulatory Care at Memorial Sloan Kettering



Jen Tota is the Director for Ambulatory Care at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center overseeing various outpatient centers in New York City as well as MSK’s regional network in the suburban areas surrounding the city.  Jen has over 20 years experience in the outpatient oncology setting with a heavy focus on optimizing operations, throughput and patient experience in outpatient practices and infusion units.