Stephen Barnes
Stephen Barnes is Executive Director of the Kathleen Blanco Public Policy Center and Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. He serves as the independent economist on the Louisiana Revenue Estimating Conference, which sets income projections for the state budget. Dr. Barnes has collaborated with federal and state agencies, industry partners, advocacy groups, and scholars across multiple disciplines on research examining Louisiana’s economy and population. He is leading development of LA FIRST, a new state data center that will use administrative data to support public policy research. Previously, he spent 10 years on the LSU economics faculty, where he directed the Economics & Policy Research Group. Dr. Barnes holds a BS in economics from LSU and MS and PhD in economics from the University of Texas at Austin.
Michael Bertaut
Michael Bertaut is a certified Health Consultant and Professional of the Academy of Healthcare Management with nearly 40 years of analytical experience across healthcare, telecom, and retail sectors. He is a fellow of the Academy of Applied Politics at Louisiana State University and lecturer at Tulane Medical School and the University of New Orleans. He serves on the Advisory Board for St. Francis University and is lead author of the award-winning healthcare blog “Straight Talk.” He currently leads financial modeling and forecasting for membership activity covering over 1.8 million Louisiana Blue Cross members.
Drew Contreras
Dr. Drew Contreras received his Master of Physical Therapy from Gannon University and his Doctor of Physical Therapy from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Drew served in a number of clinical settings and operational units throughout his 20+ year military PT career before his retirement. Including the first ever full-time physical therapist at the White House for the Obama administration and returning for the Biden administration. Currently, he serves on the senior leadership team of the American Physical Therapy Association as the Vice President of Strategic Affairs. There he works to enhance the service and scope of practice of the physical therapy profession and establish alliances and partnerships to advance the profession.
Stephen Curley
Stephen Curley is the Executive Director for the Kentucky Board of Physical Therapy (KBPT). Stephen has been in this role for the last 4 years. Stephen’s background and education is in investigations, he has been an investigator in both the private and public sector for over 19 years. He has been an investigator for the KBPT as well as 11 other Board’s during his 15 years with the state. He has been a speaker at several national conferences on topics ranging from investigations, disciplinary actions, board processes, public protection, addiction, documentation and several other topics. Stephen also serves as the Secretary on the Board of Directors for the Federation of state Boards of Physical Therapy.
Bruce Greenstein
Bruce Greenstein was appointed as the Secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health on April 11, 2025. Bruce has spent the last 30 years in healthcare – split between the public and private sectors. Today, he runs strategy and innovation at the nation’s largest post-acute care company. In 2017 and 2018, he was the CTO at the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. In state government, Bruce was the Health Secretary for Bobby Jindal in Louisiana, and before that he was running Microsoft’s worldwide health and human services business division. Prior to Microsoft, Bruce was at CMS overseeing Medicaid Managed Care and Waivers & Demonstrations. Additionally
Nancy Kirsch
Nancy R. Kirsch, PT, DPT, PhD, FAPTA, is a tenured professor of physical therapy and Chairperson of the Department of Rehabilitation and Movement Sciences at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. She currently serves on the Board of Physical Therapy Examiners in New Jersey. She previously served two terms as President of the FSBPT Board of Directors, and also previously served as President of the New Jersey Chapter of the APTA. She serves on the faculty of PROBE for ethics remediation. She served on the Ethics and Judicial Committee of the APTA and served on the committee to review and revise the Code of Ethics for the 2010 revision of the code and most recently served on the committee to revise the Code of Ethics for the 2026 revision. Her research interests are in professional development, remediation for practitioners with ethical practice concerns, and prevention of ethical and professional errors. Her presentations and publications focus on the development of moral reasoning for healthcare providers.
Kristina Lounsberry
Kristina Lounsberry is the Owner and Clinical Coordinator of the Industrial Strength Work Rehab Center in Sulphur, LA. A former member of the Louisiana Physical Therapy Board, she also chaired the FSBPT Sexual Misconduct and Boundaries Committee and served on the Informed Consent Task Force. Kristina has presented at state and national levels on topics such as total worker health, workforce data, informed consent, and professional boundaries, demonstrating her commitment to enhancing workplace health and safety.
George Lovecchio
George Lovecchio has served as the Executive Director of the Louisiana Board of Drug and Device Distributors since 2017, bringing extensive industry knowledge and regulatory expertise to the position. His career with the Board spans nearly two decades, beginning as Inspector in 2007. Prior to his tenure with the Board, Mr. Lovecchio spent 16 years working as a Wholesale Drug and Device Distributor. He is a supply chain champion keeping drugs and devices safe for Louisiana.
Senator Brach Myers
Senator Brach Myers serves the Louisiana Senate for District 23. His committee assignments include Environmental Quality, Insurance, Labor and Industrial Relations, and Retirement. In his role outside of public service, Brach serves as Senior Vice President of Corporate Development for LHC Group providing post-acute healthcare services in more than 40 states and employing more than 30,000 clinicians and healthcare professionals across the U.S. The Lafayette based company was founded by Brach’s parents nearly 30 years ago, and for the past two decades Brach has helped to grow it into the World’s largest home healthcare provider. Brach’s efforts played a frontline role in fostering partnerships between LHC Group and the organizations over 300 hospital and healthcare systems partners nationwide.
Meg O'Connor
Meg O’Connor is a data analyst and researcher pursuing her PhD in Applied Science and Engineering at the University of New Orleans, where she applies data science to study the hydrology of the receding Mississippi River delta. Originally from Connecticut, she studied at Williams College before moving to Louisiana a decade ago to focus on the river and delta. During her time in Louisiana, she has also been a long-time physical therapy patient. She brings both a scientist’s perspective on evolving technology in healthcare and a patient’s experience navigating rehabilitation, and is grateful to share her insights with this community.
Sherri Paru
Sherri is a Physical Therapist, graduating from Ithaca College in 1991. After practicing many years specializing in spinal cord and brain injury rehab, she has been the Clinical Advisor/Investigator for the Oregon Board of Physical Therapy since 2002. Sherri served on the FSBPT Sexual Misconduct and Boundaries Committee for three years. She has presented extensively on the topics of ethics, professional boundaries and trauma. Sherri was awarded the FSBPT Outstanding Service Award in 2021 and received the FSBPT Richard McDougall Long Term Service Award in 2024.
James R. Raines
James (Jim) R. Raines is a partner is the Baton Rouge office of Breazeale Sachse. His principal areas of practice include administrative law, municipal law, elder law litigation, and real estate. Jim represents state licensing boards, and state and local agencies as board general counsel, prosecutor, and hearing officer in administrative hearings. He earned his J.D. in 2004 from the Paul M. Hebert Law Center, Louisiana State University. Jim has served as an attorney for the Louisiana Physical Therapy Board since 2019.
Susana Schowen
Susana (Susie) Schowen serves as the Secretary of the Louisiana Works. She was appointed by Governor Jeff Landry in January of 2024. Prior to joining the LA Works, she spent two years as the Vice President of Education at the Louisiana Community and Technical College System, and before that, she was at LED FastStart, the workforce development division of Louisiana Economic Development, for over ten years. Through all these roles, Susie has focused on building coalitions of industry partners, economic developers, and educators to align education and workforce development efforts with the needs of employers and the economy, increasing the prosperity of our people and our communities. She takes a highly innovative and employer-responsive approach, restructuring systems to lift individuals out of poverty while driving economic growth, and measuring success using performance-based models that reward results, not promises. She also works across agencies and with regional partners to identify inefficiencies in the system, and better align the delivery of social services with workforce development efforts. Susie has degrees in chemistry from Wellesley College and Columbia University.
Jennifer Semko
A native of New Iberia, Jennifer Ancona Semko is a partner in the Washington, DC office of the global law firm Baker McKenzie, where she chairs the office’s Litigation and Government Enforcement practice. Jennifer has more than 25 years of experience litigating disputes in state and federal courts across the country and internationally. She has also guided clients through investigations by the Department of Justice, Securities and Exchange Commission, Environmental Protection Agency, United Nations and other agencies. Additionally, she has substantial experience advising high-stakes standardized and licensure examination programs regarding legal and strategic issues, such as the development of effective test-taker agreements, pursuit of legal actions n response to exam theft, and decision making regarding the invalidation of test scores. Jennifer is a cum laude graduate of Georgetown University and a magna cum laude graduate of Tulane Law School, as well as a former law clerk to Pascal Calogero, the Chief Justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court. In 2019, the American Bar Association’s Section of Litigation named her one of the “100 Women Who Inspire Us.”
Stefanie Simmons
Foundation and a board- certified emergency medicine physician. She was the primary advisor to NIOSH for the Impact Wellbeing(TM) guide for healthcare leaders, leads multi-state programs to improve the operational environment of care and remove barriers to mental health care, and serves as a national thought leader in healthcare worker well-being. Stefanie served as the Vice President of Patient and Clinician Experience for Envision over 7 years, serving 26,000 physicians and advanced practice providers with a focus on professional well-being, including translational research and programs designed to bring well-being best practices to clinical environments. She served as lead clinical faculty for the Clinician Experience Project Wellbeing program.
Stefanie earned her Bachelor of Science and Medical Doctor degrees from University of Michigan and completed residency training at the University of Michigan/St. Joseph Mercy emergency medicine residency. She has completed additional training in medical education, research methods, coaching, and positive organizational psychology.
Representative Annie Spell
Dr. Annie Spell represents District 45 in the Louisiana House of Representatives, where she serves on the Health & Welfare; Transportation, Highways and Public Works; and Retirement Committees, as well as the Children’s Cabinet and Teacher Retirement System Board. A clinical child psychologist and business owner, she has been recognized with numerous awards including the Blue Cross Foundation’s Angel Award, the Junior League of Lafayette’s Nedra Andrus Lifetime Achievement Award, and the Louisiana Hospital Association’s Legislative Leadership Award. Dr. Spell is committed to improving healthcare outcomes and administration for all Louisianians.
Gabriela Mustata Wilson
Dr. Gabriela Mustata Wilson is Director of the Louisiana Center for Health Innovation
and Professor at UL Lafayette. An internationally recognized leader in health
informatics, she brings a multidisciplinary perspective to advancing technology-driven
solutions for resilient health systems. Her work spans pharmacoinformatics, public
health, and AI applications, shaping global education and innovation. She is a HIMSS
Changemaker in Health and a Fellow of HIMSS, AMIA, and the International
Academy of Health Sciences Informatics (FIAHSI).