Ruann F. Ernst
Chair

Ruann Ernst is former chairman and CEO of Digital Island, a managed hosting and internet services company that was acquired by Cable & Wireless PLC.

Dr. Ernst is a three time graduate of The OhioState University (OSU).  She worked in industry with Hewlett-Packard (HP), as general manager of the Financial Services Business Unit and as a General Manager with General Electric (GE) in Information Services.  She has also served as director of the Medical Computing Services Division and assistant professor of Medicine and Computer Science at the Ohio State University, and as a congressional fellow in the Office of Technology Assessment.

Dr. Ernst has served on several corporate and non-profit boards and currently serves on the board of IHS-Markit (INFO on NASDAQ), The Ohio State University Foundation Board and Fisher College of Business Advisory Board, and as and Board Chair of Healthy LifeStars, a non-profit addressing childhood obesity.

Ruann and her husband, Bill Riffle, live in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Jeff Sisson
Vice Chair

Jeff Sisson is a Human Resources operating executive, PE talent advisor and portfolio Board member with a global private equity firm.

Jeff has experience in a variety of leading organizations including IHS, Inc and IHS Markit, Pacific Gas & Electric Company, Whirlpool Corporation and portfolio companies at General Atlantic and Onex. In each of those roles he has helped to lead step changes in operating efficiencies, introduced new strategies, improved customer delight and employee engagement and developed key leaders.

O. Kim Goheen
Treasurer and Chair of Finance Committee

MBA, CPA, ICD.D. Retired. Previous Senior VP and CFO of Cameco, one of the world’s largest uranium producers. Played a key role in building Cameco’s strong financial position and prudent approach to financial management. Skilled in all aspects of preparing, reading and interpreting financial reports with more than two decades of direct experience in the North American capital markets and was deeply involved in international business outside of North America. Currently serving on the boards of several privately held companies.

Jerre and Mary Joy Stead

Jerre and Mary Joy Stead are passionate about combating childhood obesity and have been long time friends of Healthy LifeStars. They have been continually present as wise advisors, strong cheerleaders, coaches and caring friends. Not only have they given immeasurably of their time, talent, treasure and touch but they have also made introductions to individuals, to businesses and to
community partners who have made significant contributions to advancing the mission of the organization.
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Stepping through their contributions over the years:
• Jerre and Mary Joy were early believers in the organization and were incredibly generous in providing the funding which enabled the organization to hire its first professional leadership.
• They were instrumental in the organizations’ first geographic expansion beyond Arizona to Colorado and in establishing the Colorado Advisory Board.
• The Steads were key strategic partners in defining a 6-year partnership plan with The Salvation Army, in “selling” the plan to Army leadership and in providing the funding for execution. They remain deeply involved ensuring that the program grows as planned and is
deployed nationally per the strategic plan.
• Jerre serves as Chair of the Board of a for-profit start up which was founded as the result a pilot family wellness program initially developed by Healthy LifeStars.
Throughout, they have been strong supporters of the metric oriented entrepreneurial approach of the organization. In addition to their ongoing invaluable counsel and guidance as Advisory Board Members, they remain active in advancing and supporting our individual
team members and pushing us at every turn to achieve our vision of growing a generation of LifeStars.

Kurt Miller

Mr. Miller is an independent consultant and advisor to early stage healthcare companies and nonprofit organizations focused primarily in the Health and Wellness spaces. In addition to these types of organizations, he also has extensive experience working with health insurance companies, provider groups, public health organizations and pharmaceutical companies, as well as non-governmental organizations focused on various Healthcare needs and issues.

He typically works with c-level executives to formulate business strategies, define and develop new programs and services, and plan / oversee various initiatives focused on improving health outcomes, reducing medical costs and enhancing customer service.

Prior to this he was a senior executive with Accenture, where he led the Care Management, Wellness and Prevention practice, as well as the Health Services Corporate Citizenship program.

Deb Kelly
Managing Partner / GENESIS

Deb has been a partner of Genesis, Inc. since 1995. Prior to that she was VP of Business Development for the Gatorade business of The Quaker Oats Company after serving for 10 years as Quaker’s VP of IR and then Corporate Affairs. Prior to Quaker Deb was IRO for Esmark and Lowes Companies. She began her career as a buy-side securities analyst.

Deb has advised senior management and boards of directors concerning strategic positioning, value creation and integrated communication programs, providing a capital markets point of view. Her experience combines leadership, communication and traditional packaged goods marketing skills with a strong background in finance gained as a securities analyst and honed as an investor relations executive. In 2001, she became the second-ever honoree to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award from Investor Relations Magazine, and in 2015 was named a NIRI Fellow.
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Deb was a member of the blue-ribbon Securities and Exchange Commission Advisory Committee on Corporate Disclosure. She served on the National Investor Relations Institute (NIRI) board of directors, chaired the original NIRI Task Force on disclosure issues, and served as president of the Rocky Mountain Chapter for the 1997-1998 year, continuing as a director for several years thereafter. She has also been a member of the board of directors of Perdue Farms since 1996 and is a member of and has chaired the Audit, Compensation and Governance Committees. Deb is also an NACD Governance Fellow and a member of the Women’s Corporate Directors, where she currently so-chairs the Visionary Awards Committee.

Melanie Russell
Doctorate of Medicine

Melanie Russell was born and raised in Cleveland,Ohio. She is a double alum from The Ohio State University, earning her Bachelors of Science in Biology in 2015 and Doctorate of Medicine in 2021.

She is now completing her medical residency at the University of Cincinnati in the Department of Anesthesiology. As a native of Cleveland, Melanie strives to become a culturally competent physician who graciously gives back to her community. Throughout her education, Melanie has strived to give back to underserved communities and serve as representation that “our dreams are attainable”.

During her time at the College of Medicine, Melanie served as the director of MD Camp and Director of Making it to Medical School both aimed to increase knowledge about and access to STEAM related careers and advance diversity efforts within these fields. Although Melanie aspires to be a practicing physician she also yearns to be a contributing factor of change for her community; Melanie plans to continuously encourage and give back to our youth in every way that she can. 

Jan Ackmann
M.Ed. Curriculum & Instruction, MBA

MBA, M.Ed. (Curriculum & Instruction) is the founder of GAME-SET-MATH LLC, based in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Jan is a former kindergarten teacher and curriculum developer. GAME-SET-MATH® (GSM) was created for an early childhood math enrichment program as a hands-on STEM tool. STEM education encourages a curriculum that is driven by problem-solving, discovery and exploratory learning and requires students to actively engage a situation in order to find a solution – which aligns very well with Healthy LifeStars’ mission and philosophy.

Jan has been an active supporter of Healthy LifeStars in Arizona and continues to support the HLS curriculum with GAME-SET-MATH® as well as her educational experience and knowledge. 

Shaunda VanWert
Principal M&A Deal Leader

Shaunda is a Principal M&A Deal Leader for Workday. Over the course of her career, she has supported more than 100 successful transactions, most of them with a global footprint and the complexities of labor relations and works councils.

Shaunda specializes in organizational design and service delivery models, communications, talent acquisition & talent management, culture assessment and integration, as well as advising HR both functionally and strategically.Revised