Our Leadership

Dee Perry joined the BCH Board in 2011. She enjoyed a successful business career in a variety of roles in sales, marketing and financial management. She retired from McDATA Corp after leading a successful public offering of that company. Continuing her focus on business operations and management, she has volunteered her time on company and community governance boards, including Boulder Community Health, I Have a Dream Foundation of Boulder County, the Center for Education on Social Responsibility Advisory Board at the CU Leeds School of Business, TRU Community Care and WAVi Inc. She also has served as an executive coach for business classes at the Leeds School. Dee served as Interim President of the BCH Foundation for nine months in 2016.

Jeffrey Morgan joined the BCH Board in 2013. He is the CEO and primary owner of Interface Communications, a design-and-build communications company employing more than 100 people. Prior to Interface, Jeff owned and operated small cable television systems in six western states, including Colorado. Jeff serves or has served on various community boards, including the University of Colorado Artist Series, Community Food Share, the Boulder County Humane Society and the BCH Foundation.

Suzy Ageton joined the BCH Board in 2014. She has had successful careers in social science research and legal practice, as well as creating a consulting practice in strategic planning and communications. Her community involvement is extensive, including nine years as a Boulder City Council member. She represented the City at several international events and locally as the Council representative on the Boulder Housing Partners Board and the US36 Mayors and Commissioners Coalition. Her community volunteer work also includes service on the Boulder Human Relations Commission as a court-appointed special advocate for dependent and neglected children and as a Board member for Attention Homes and Women’s Health. At the state level, she served five years as a gubernatorial appointment to the Colorado Juvenile Parole Board.

Bryan Pieper joined the BCH Board in 2015 after serving on the BCH Foundation Board for five years. He is a founding partner and portfolio manager at Trailhead Wealth Management, LLC in Louisville, CO. Bryan devotes his limited spare time to coaching his three children in their numerous sporting endeavors.

Dr. Randy Bjerke is a board-certified pulmonologist who founded Boulder Valley Pulmonology 39 years ago. He also helped establish the Hospitalists and Intensivists at BCH. He earned his medical degree at the University of Minnesota and completed his residency and fellowship at the University of California at Los Angeles. Dr. Bjerke has started several medical technology companies and served on many public and private company boards. He was president of the Medical Staff at both Boulder Memorial and Boulder Community hospitals. He also has served as president of the Colorado Thoracic Society and the American Lung Association of Colorado.

Philip DiStefano is the Chancellor at the University of Colorado Boulder. Prior to his appointment on May 5, 2009, Mr. DiStefano was the top academic officer at CU Boulder for eight years as the Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs.He served as interim chancellor twice during pivotal times in the university's history. Mr. DiStefano co-chaired the steering committee for CU Boulder's visionary strategic plan, Flagship 2030, conceived with campus, community and statewide input, to guide CU Boulder for decades to come. Today, he is shepherding its implementation as Flagship 2030 moves from vision to reality. Mr. DiStefano has served CU Boulder for 42 years. He joined the University of Colorado in 1974 as an Assistant Professor of Curriculum and Instruction at the School of Education. His academic career flourished as he assumed a series of academic and administrative positions, including Professor, Associate Dean, Dean and Vice Chancellor. He was appointed Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs in 2001. As Chancellor he works closely with students, faculty, staff, alumni, donors, governing officials, and business and community leaders in extending CU's legacy as a preeminent national comprehensive research university. A first-generation college graduate, Mr. DiStefano earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Ohio State University and a Master of Arts degree in English Education from West Virginia University. He holds a Doctorate in Humanities Education from Ohio State University, where he served as a teaching and research associate. Mr. DiStefano and his wife, Yvonne, have been married for 46 years. They are the parents of three grown daughters and the proud grandparents of two girls.

Benita Duran joined the BCH Board in 2014. She has more than 25 years of expertise in community engagement and public affairs, having been appointed an aide to a Denver mayor early in her professional career as well as serving in the Boulder city manager’s office for nine years, directing government affairs for an environmental engineering firm and directing outreach efforts for Denver Public Schools’ bond program. Benita also has extensive non-profit board experience and is past chair of the Denver Mi Casa Resource Center Board of Directors and a trustee and past chair of the Community Foundation Serving Boulder County. She was a founding member of the Boulder Latino Task Force and a former board member of Attention Homes, YWCA, Family Learning Center, Intercambio and the Watershed School, along with serving on BVSD parent councils and bond oversight committees. Benita is currently on the Board of the Boulder Shelter for the Homeless. In 2016, she was appointed to the Colorado Economic Development Commission. She is also a member of the Colorado Women’s Forum and the International Women’s Forum.

W. Harold (“Sonny”) Flowers, Jr. joined the BCH Board in 2012. He has been a member of the Boulder law firm Hurth, Sisk & Blakemore since 1997. He was president of the Boulder County Bar Association, the Sam Cary Bar Association, and the Colorado Trial Lawyers Association. He is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates and of the American Association for Justice, where he has served on its Executive Committee and its Board of Governors. Sonny has participated in numerous civic organizations, including the Longs Peak Council of the Boy Scouts and public radio station KGNU. He also served on the Boulder County Board of Community Corrections, and the City of Boulder’s Growth Task Force and Board of Zoning Adjustment. He is past president of the University of Colorado at Boulder Alumni Association and is a former member of the University of Colorado Foundation’s Board of Directors.

Susan Graf joined the BCH Board in 2011. She is currently VP, Regional Development Manager of New Resource Bank, a mission-driven bank serving values-driven sustainable businesses. Susan has served on the boards of Naturally Boulder, the Innovation Center of the Rockies, Chambers for Innovation and Clean Energy, Workforce Boulder County, the President’s Leadership Institute as well as local, state and national professional organizations.

John joined the BCH Board in 2018. He has over 35 years’ experience in finance, working as Chief Financial Officer for Allos Therapeutics, a venture-backed bio-pharmaceutical start-up and at bio-pharmaceutical company Somagen. In 1996, John co-founded Sequel Venture Partners, which currently manages over $410 million in venture capital and has invested in over 70 early stage portfolio companies.

John served six years on the BCH Foundation including one as the Chair of the Board of Trustees. Previously, he served six years including one as Board Chairman of Impact on Education, a non-profit benefiting K-12 public school education in the Boulder Valley School District. He also has served since 2000 as a Board Member of the Colorado State University Institute for Entrepreneurship.

George Karakehian was raised in the Boston area in a close Armenian family. He attended college at Colorado State University. In 1969, he met Kristin at CSU and they were married in 1972. They moved to Kristin’s hometown of Boulder. They have two grown daughters who live with their families in the Boulder area. Mr. Karakehian's first career was in the life insurance business. His first office in 1970, was located at 1245 Pearl street. He had a rewarding and successful insurance business for fifteen years. He decided to make a major change in direction in 1985 when he went into the antique map, print and book business. George opened his shop, Art Source International, in 1989, at his current location, 1237 Pearl Street. The business has been a unique part of Boulder’s downtown for 27 years. George has been active in the downtown for many years, and is often referred to as ‘ the Mayor of Pearl street’. He has also been involved with numerous charitable organizations, and his favorite is co-founding, with Bob Charles, the Imagine! Foundation. Through the years, he has served on various city boards and committees, until he finally decided to run for city council. He served as a city council member for six years, from 2009-2015. He was elected mayor pro-tem of the city council in 2014. Since his retirement from council George has been travelling with Kristin and spending more time working at his business. He continues his interest in civic affairs.

Valerie E. Lipetz, M.D., F.A.C.P is an Internal Medicine physician employed by Boulder Community Health. She received her medical degree with honors from the University of Colorado in 1988. She earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology and general studies from CU, where she graduated magna cum laude, was the Outstanding Graduate in arts and sciences in 1977 and also earned her master’s degree in biology from CU.

Dr. Lipetz is certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine and has been practicing locally since 1991. She is a fellow of the American College of Physicians and enjoys practicing the full spectrum of outpatient general internal medicine. Except for four years in Denver for medical school and a three-year residency in Portland, she has called Boulder home since 1958.

Dr. Lipetz has served as president of the Medical Staff of Boulder Community Health and served as the Chief Medical Officer for the BCH’s clinics for eight years before returning to full-time medical practice. She continues to be extremely active in Medical Staff affairs through serving on committees.

An active community volunteer, she served on the Mental Health Partners board and is the chair of the Boulder County Health Improvement Collaborative. She has been a facilitator for the BCH Listens project and continues to teach clinical skills in her office practice to medical, physician assistant, and nurse practitioner students.

In her spare time, she enjoys traveling, spending time with her children, horseback riding, reading, hiking, and cooking.

Deborah joined the BCH Board in 2018. She’s been an Emergency Physician at Boulder Community Health since 2002 and the ED Physician Assistant Supervisor since 2003. Deborah has extensive experience with various BCH Committees and Leadership. She served as Medical Staff President for three years and was the Credentials Committee Chair for two years. Deborah currently participates in the BCH Board of Directors Planning Committee and the Professional Practice Review Committee. Deborah obtained her medical degree from University of California Irvine, School of Medicine and completed her Emergency Medicine residency at Stanford University, where she was Chief Resident.

Robert Vissers joined the BCH Board when he was appointed President and CEO in 2014. He is an experienced leader with more than 25 years of clinical and health care management experience in academic and community hospital settings. Prior to becoming CEO, Rob served as BCH Chief Operating Officer. During his tenure as COO, he also chaired the governance committee for the CU Sports Medicine and Performance Center and served on the Board of Directors of the Friends of Colorado Hospitals and the Clinical Excellence Council for the Colorado Hospital Association (CHA). Rob now serves as a trustee for CHA.

Rhonda Wallen joined the BCH Board in 2015. She has more than 20 years experience in health care and life sciences, working in various senior management capacities to help improve patient health and care and bring innovation and efficiency to the practice of medicine. She is the co-founder of two biotech companies and currently consults with early stage start ups in life sciences. Rhonda was also a trustee and a former board chair for the Community Foundation Serving Boulder County for eight years.

Rob is an experienced leader with more than 25 years clinical and health care management experience in academic and community hospital settings. He was appointed BCH’s Chief Executive Officer in July 2015 after serving as Chief Operating Officer since 2014. During his tenure as COO, he also chaired the governance committee for the CU Sports Medicine and Performance Center and served on the Board of Directors of the Friends of Colorado Hospitals and the Clinical Excellence Council for the Colorado Hospital Association (CHA). Rob now serves as a trustee for CHA.

Prior to joining BCH, Rob held several leadership roles at Legacy Health, a non-profit health system based in Portland, Oregon and was also President and CEO of Northwest Acute Care Specialists, one of the largest independent physician groups in the northwest.

Rob was born in Canada where he completed medical school and the residency program in Emergency Medicine at the University of British Columbia. He has an MBA from Oregon Health & Science University/Portland State University.

Jackie joined BCH in 2011. Jackie has a passion for patient safety and quality improvement and has had this focus for most of her career. She is a graduate of the American Hospital Association’s Patient Safety Leadership Fellowship and has been active in patient safety committees in Minnesota and nursing associations. She is a member of the National Patient Safety Foundation and the American Organization of Nurse Executives.

Prior to joining BCH, Jackie worked for 25 years at the Mayo Clinic in various nursing leadership positions. She graduated from Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, MN, with a bachelor of arts degree in nursing and from Winona State University in Winona, MN, with a master of science in nursing.

Jackie lives in the Boulder area with her husband, Michael, and her sons, Josh and Sam.

Grant became the Vice President of Public Affairs in 2018 and has served as the President of the BCH Foundation since October 2016.

He previously served as Chief Marketing Officer for Teach for America, and held senior management positions at Warner Bros. and Yahoo!.

As BCH Foundation President, Grant is responsible for managing the Foundation grants program, donor relations and spearheading all fundraising efforts, including an $8-million capital campaign to expand mental health services in our community.

He lives in Boulder with his wife and three sons.

​A former paramedic with more than 30 years of clinical experience Paul has held healthcare leadership positions in diverse areas of operational and clinical performance improvement, care model innovation, education, clinical research and disaster and mass gathering management. Paul came to BCH in 2018 as the Chief Strategy Officer after serving as the COO of Evolution Health where he designed and implemented their population health programs. Over his career Paul has served as the Medical Director for several EMS agencies, air and ground critical care transport services, and several public safety agencies including the Austin Fire, Police, and EMS Departments and the Texas Department of Public Safety.

Paul grew up in a suburb of New York City and completed medical school and his MBA at the University at Buffalo. He completed his residency and served as Chief Resident at the University of North Carolina and continued with an EMS Fellowship becoming board certified in both Emergency Medicine and EMS.

Paul and his wife Sarah come to Boulder from Raleigh North Carolina. His son Matthew is completing his MBA at the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. Paul enjoys teaching, hiking, skiing and working around the house. The former Medical Director of the National Association of EMTs (NAEMT) he continues to volunteer his time as the Medical Director for the NAEMT Safety Course and nationally on EMS related committees and advocating for EMS and healthcare innovation.

Michael joined BCH in 2016. He is responsible for implementing technology solutions that advance provider capabilities and operational efficiency at BCH. He is especially passionate about improving the patient experience and giving providers tools to improve the quality of patient care.

Prior to joining BCH, Michael was Vice President of Information Systems at Longmont United Hospital and previously worked at ACS/Xerox and McKesson providing IT solutions to hospitals across the country.

Michael holds an MBA in Healthcare Administration from the University of Colorado, a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Colorado, the designation of Certified Healthcare CIO from CHIME and certifications as a PMP and CPHIMS.

Michael lives in Louisville and enjoys rock climbing, volunteering in mental healthcare, seeing live music, rebuilding classic motorcycles, and enjoying life in Colorado with his wife, Asna and two daughters.

Dr. Keidan started his role as Chief Medical Officer at BCH in 2018 and is excited to continue his focus on patient safety, quality and patient and care team experience.

Ben is an internal medicine physician who has been on staff with BCH for over 10 years and has previously worked as both a primary care and hospital medicine physician. Prior to 2018, he was the Medical Director for Quality and Population Health for the BCH employed physician group where he focused on improving the value (high quality, affordable health care) with an emphasis on improving communication and collaboration amongst health care teams and with patients.

Originally from suburban Detroit, he studied history at the University of Michigan and earned his MD from Wayne State University. He completed his residency and served as Chief Medical Resident at George Washington University, followed by practicing internal medicine and hospital medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and joining the teaching faculty of Harvard Medical School.

Ben is married and has two daughters. He enjoys trail running, swimming and skiing, as well as live music and cooking.

Sarah joined BCH in 2009. She has practiced health care law for more than 20 years, representing both hospitals and physicians in a wide variety of matters. Prior to joining BCH, Sarah was a member of the law firm Caplan and Earnest, LLC, which has represented BCH for more than 25 years.

Originally from Wisconsin, Sarah has lived in Colorado since age 11. She graduated from the University of Colorado in 1985 with a bachelor’s degree in political science and women’s studies. With career options in those areas looking bleak, Sarah went to law school at the University of Colorado and graduated in 1988.

Sarah has served on a number of community boards over the years, including the People’s Clinic, the Community Mediation Project and Care Connect. She has also been active in state legal and health care associations, serving as chair of the Colorado Bar Association’s Health Care Council and advisor to the Colorado Managed Care Contractors. Sarah has been a frequent speaker on health care issues statewide and is a member of the Colorado Bar Association, the American Health Lawyers Association, and the Health Care Compliance Association.

Sarah lives in Niwot with her husband Paul, son Matthew, dog Krissy, and various other pets. They love most outdoor activities, particularly camping, hiking, biking and rafting.

Bill joined BCH in 2008 and has more than 30 years’ experience in hospital financial management. Prior to BCH, Bill served as Chief Financial Officer at North Colorado Medical Center (Greeley, Colo.) and held financial management positions with Humana in Kansas, California, Alaska and Utah. Bill also served as an adjunct professor for the Master’s Program in Healthcare Administration at the University of Kansas.

Bill received a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Colorado Boulder in 1987 and a Master of Business Administration degree in 2007 from Colorado Christian University. He is a member of Healthcare Financial Management Association and is certified in Healthcare Compliance with the Healthcare Compliance Association.

Bill serves on the board of directors for several organizations that provide needed community services in the areas of outpatient surgery, sports medicine, and hospital laundry. He is currently appointed by Colorado Senate President Grantham’s office as the hospital representative for the Medicaid Provider Rate Review Advisory Committee. Bill is Treasurer for the Boulder Valley Care Network, a clinically integrated network of over 350 providers. Bill also serves as Chair of the Captis Finance Committee.

Bill grew up in Colorado Springs. His family includes wife Amy, and two daughters, Katie and Lauren. They live on a rural property with horses, pigs, goats, dogs and a cat, and an occasional rattlesnake. They enjoy skiing, horseback riding, 4H, boating, swimming, and watching movies together. Bill also enjoys playing guitar, drawing, restoring his grandfather’s jeep, and most outdoor activities.

Dr. Meyers is board certified in Emergency Medicine and is currently the President of Boulder Emergency Physicians. He received his medical degree from the University of Colorado and completed his residency in Emergency Medicine at Stanford University Hospital. He joined the medical staff at BCH in 2003. In his time at BCH he has been involved in many administrative roles. Currently, he is President-Elect of the Medical Staff and serves on the Medical Executive, Patient Safety and Sepsis committees. Previously, he served as the Chair of the Surgical & Trauma Services Department from 2014-2016.

Dr. Cruse is a board-certified internist who focuses on the treatment and prevention of adult illnesses and injuries. Fluent in Spanish, Dr. Cruse also has a unique interest in women’s health. Dr. Cruse received her medical degree from Baylor College and completed her residency at the University of Rochester in New York. Her undergraduate degree is from Brown University. Before moving to Boulder, Dr. Cruse practiced internal medicine at Memorial City Hospital in Houston. A member of the American College of Physicians, Dr. Cruse also served as an assistant professor for the University of Texas Health Science Center, where she was honored with the Dean’s Award for teaching.

She relocated to Boulder with her husband and three children to be closer to the mountains and enjoy our outdoor lifestyle.

Dr. Cruse serves as BCH's Medical Director of Quality Improvement and Population Health.

Dr. Price joined the BCH Medical Staff in 2007 when she became a member of Boulder Women’s Care, a long-standing obstetrics and gynecology practice. She served as the BCH Obstetrics Department Chair prior to becoming the Chair of Women and Family Services in 2014. Dr. Price received her Medical Degree from the University Of Colorado School Of Medicine and completed her residency at Franklin Square Hospital in Baltimore, where she was Chief Resident and received the Berlex Best Teaching Resident Award.

Dr. Repine was originally born in Minnesota. However, he has lived in Colorado for the past twenty-five years and considers himself a native. He is active in many outdoor activities including mountain biking, windsurfing and snowboarding.

Dr. Repine has completed all of his higher education within Colorado. He received his undergraduate degree in Biochemistry from the University of Colorado - Boulder. He received his Degree of Doctor of Medicine from the University of Colorado School of Medicine. Subsequent to this, he completed his orthopedic residency and internship at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center.

Dr. Repine also has experience with worker’s compensation as he spent an entire year between his general surgery internship and orthopedic residency working in an occupational health clinic in Aurora.

Dr. Repine views Orthopedics as an exceptional opportunity to help people. While he enjoys treating a broad range of orthopedic problems, he has particular interests in the treatment of arthritis, sports-related injuries and trauma. Dr. Repine is trained in anterior hip replacement and Makoplasty total hip and partial knee replacement.

Dr. Ryan has been a part of the BCH Medical Staff since 2004. She is board-certified in Internal Medicine and is a member of Internal Medicine Associates of Foothills. Dr. Ryan received her medical degree from the University of Colorado Medical School and completed her internship and residency at Oregon Health Sciences University.

Dr. Trujillo joined the BCH Medical Staff in 1997. He is a member of Boulder Heart, the largest cardiology group in Boulder County. Board certified in cardiovascular medicine, nuclear medicine and internal medicine, Dr. Trujillo is a graduate of George Washington University School of Medicine. He completed his residency in internal medicine as well as fellowships in cardiology and nuclear medicine at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center.