Like all small children, I was often asked to ponder the “what do you want to be when you grow up” query. My pat answer was to be “a designer.” Responding to the inevitable “designing what?” my usual response was “anything: I just like designing things.” And as I reflect today, I realize that I have indeed spent much of my life designing things, as this brief biographic sketch will attest.

 

I earned my medical school tuition illustrating medical books and journal articles. During residency I participated in a novel program sponsored by the Harvard teaching hospitals, in which, as a member of the initial cohort, I actively participated in design of the program. After residency I served as the first director of ambulatory services at Mount Auburn Hospital, a position that afforded me the opportunity to design and implement a popular medical student ambulatory educational rotation.

 

In 1980 I was recruited to be Chief of Internal Medicine at Harvard Community Health Plan and had the good fortune to build a spectacular department of clinicians, many of whom continue to practice in the department. And fortunately, I am able to call many of them my close friends even today. As a result of some innovative programs designed for the department I was invited to consult to Kaiser Permanente, thereby launching an over forty year health care consulting career.

 

By 1997 my consulting practice expanded into a consulting firm which, as founder and CEO, I grew over the next 12 years. At that point we were acquired by Navigant Consulting, where I served as Chief Innovation Officer, taking a brief sabbatical to “scratch a long-standing itch” and write one of the first published books on the ACA (“Obamacare”). Largely on the success of the book, the Bloomberg administration in New York recruited me to be the initial CEO of the 2400-strong physician practice serving the New York public hospital system, enabling me to design the governance and complex operations of a unique, massive, diverse, and complex clinical practice.

 

As I approached the fifth quarter of a gratifying career, I was fortunate to be able to return to my artistic roots and pursue a medium I have always wanted to try – water color painting. Today, many of my paintings depict the tranquil environs of Squam Lake, New Hampshire. The contrast between Squam’s serenity and the chaos of today’s health care environment provides much energy for my work. My paintings have been featured in many shows around New England, with all proceeds from my watercolors used to support local charitable organizations. My artwork enables me to integrate three core motivators in my life: the wonder of the environment; a desire to grow as a designer; and a commitment to charitable support for my community. My hope is that all three can be experienced by and in my paintings.

 

Today I divide my time between a limited consulting practice (limited to projects and people I enjoy), painting, exercise, volunteer work, and active participation in the lives of my wonderful grandchildren.