Conference Speakers

Michelle Rathman

Michelle Rathman founded Impact! Communications, Inc., in 1989, a leader in healthcare strategy and communications. Their focus includes academic, for-profit, Critical Access and Rural Hospitals, clinics, primary and specialty care provider practices, as well as organizations and associations serving the healthcare sector. Impact’s work across the U.S. includes strengthening hospital identity and brand, engaging the community and strategic partners, identifying opportunities to decrease outmigration, improve internal culture, communications and customer service across service lines and practices, as well as provide comprehensive leadership development that promotes sustainable positive change. Over the years, she and her team have logged several hundred hours of front line observation to give executives straightforward insight and a window in to the insensible behaviors (however unintentional) that drive complaints and concerns. Michelle’s unique facilitated process introduces a variety of innovative tools and contemporary approaches to help hospitals gain market share across the payer mix spectrum, and community support when it is needed most; particularly in the ballot box or the court of public opinion.

​She and her team have won awards for a variety of their community engagement campaigns and programs. In 2009, Michelle wrote and produced an educational documentary about Critical Access Hospitals and the vital role they play in our nation’s healthcare delivery system, and, she has been a contributor to HRSA’s Critical Access Hospital Replacement Manual on the subjects of staff, community and media engagement. Starting in September 2018, Michelle will take on the role as host of the Rural Matters Podcast. She is a featured keynoteand workshop presenter at industry conferences across the U.S. on a variety of subjects, including several humor/motivational talks, and has facilitated over 5,000 hours of leadership, staff, board, group retreats and education sessions and is a master program developer and content designer.

Kristine Morin

Kristine Morin is the Director of Communication and Marketing for 3RNET, the nation’s most trusted resource for health professionals seeking careers in rural and underserved communities. Kristine leads the creation of 3RNET’s communication and promotion efforts to reach health professionals, employers, and 3RNET’s Network Coordinators. She also oversees the planning and committee for 3RNET’s Annual Conference.
 
Prior to joining 3RNET, Kristine worked for a public relations firm in Las Vegas, Nevada where she coordinated marketing efforts for clients varying from local firefighters to international artists. She also worked as the Communication Coordinator for the North Dakota Center for Rural Health, where she led the communication efforts for several statwide and national grant programs.
 
Kristine has both Master’s and Bachelor’s degrees in communication from the University of North Dakota.

Mark Barclay

Mark Barclay is the Director of Member Services for 3RNET, the nation’s most trusted resource for health professionals seeking careers in rural and underserved communities. Mark serves as the primary support contact for 54 3RNET members, as well as the 5,000+ rural and underserved employers across the country that use 3RNET to improve their recruitment and retention efforts.
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Prior to working for 3RNET, Mark recruited for 36 Critical Access Hospitals and four FQHCs as the Workforce Specialist at the Center for Rural Health at the University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences. Mark also helped establish TruServe, a web-based tracking system used by State Offices of Rural Health and Primary Care Offices nationwide.
Mark has maintained his Certified Physician/Provider Recruitment Professional (CPRP) certification from the Association for Advancing Physician and Provider Recruitment (AAPPR) since 2013.  Mark has both a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree from the University of North Dakota.

Carey Goryl

Carey Goryl is the CEO of the Association for Advancing Physician and Provider Recruitment (AAPPR) and has been for over five years. An accomplished executive for the last 15 years, she is a Certified Association Executive (CAE) from the American Society of Association Executives and recently served on the board of directors of the Michigan Society of Association Executives.

Carey has a passion for harnessing the power of people and ideas to do great things. An accomplished leader across many association management areas, Carey has a master’s degree in social work and brings exceptional listening skills to her role. She values curiosity and a get-it-done attitude and embraces both the traditional and unconventional in collaboration and innovative thinking.
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She is an active mentor and speaks regularly on physician and provider recruitment research, and well as association management, remote teams, and leadership topics.

Liz Mahan

Liz Mahan, FASPR is the Physician Recruitment Advisor at AAPPR.   She partners with recruitment professionals to develop tools and resources to advance the profession.  She is an experienced roundtable facilitator and public speaker and enjoys writing articles and blog posts on trends in physician and provider recruitment. 

Liz comes from background in physician recruitment, most recently as a physician and provider recruitment professional at Berkshire Health Systems in Pittsfield, MA. Liz has a passion for helping others succeed, using creative problem solving and innovation to meet the challenges presented in today's market. 

Before transitioning into physician and provider recruitment, Liz worked in theatrical management both regionally and in New York, NY.  She was fortunate to work with several outstanding non-profit and commercial companies in positions ranging from fundraising and event planning to general management. 
 
Liz holds a BA in Russian and Eastern European Studies and an MFA in Theatrical Management and Producing.  

Kristyn Egbert

Kristyn Egbert is the Director of Operations and her role is managing the daily opera­tions of MHA Ventures. Kristyn joined the MHA Ventures team in 2010, first working in and overseeing MHA Ventures’ group purchasing program. Over the years she has also pitched in and provided healthcare recruitment services to the MHA membership and support to endorsed vendors of the shared services program. Kristyn worked at the Montana Department of Labor and Industry Unemployment Insurance Tax Bu­reau as an Accounting Tech for almost seven years before joining MHA. She earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Management from Montana State University. Kristyn is a third generation Montanan and spends her free time gardening, camping, sewing, and adventuring with her husband, Abe.
 

Alexis Tobin

Alexis Tobin serves as the Director of the North Central Montana Area Health Education Center (AHEC). Prior to AHEC, she worked as an Instructional Coordinator and Training and Workforce Development Specialist for the State Public Health Workforce Development Program at the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS). Alexis has a Master's in International Relations, with an emphasis in Capacity Building and Refugee Studies. She has worked in the field of training and workforce development for 8+ years. Prior to her move to Montana four years ago, Alexis lived and worked in Washington, D.C. and Bangkok, Thailand.
 

Laura Larsson

Dr. Larsson is a nurse, clinical scholar, and nurse educator with significant experience conducting community-based participatory health projects in Indian Country. Recently inducted into the American Academy of Nursing for her policy work expanding access to oral health care in rural and remote areas, Dr. Larsson is a recognized partner to tribal communities in Montana. In her role as Director of the Caring for Our Own Program (CO-OP), Dr. Larsson is interested in improving access to primary care in high-priority communities and to workforce diversification. Dr. Larsson utilizes interprofessional outreach, risk communication, and digital signage technology to respond to community health needs. She is always pleased to integrate undergraduate and graduate scholars into research projects.

Michelle Varcho

Michelle Varcho is the Director of Education Outreach for 3RNET, the nation’s most trusted resource for health professionals seeking careers in rural and underserved communities. Michelle leads education-related activities for 3RNET Network Coordinators as well as rural and underserved health care employers nationwide. Michelle focuses on practical, action-oriented training around 3RNET’s recruiting for retention philosophy.
 
Michelle has over 25 years of experience in health-care related human resources both at the local and national level. Prior to joining 3RNET, Michelle was a Human Resources Director for a Federally Qualified Health Center in Jefferson City, Missouri, where she helped the organization grow from five employees in one location to 110 employees in four locations serving over 13 counties. Michelle created and implemented strategies and best practices to overcome the unique barriers to recruiting and retaining providers in the rural health care arena and uses the wealth of expertise she gained in this role to help inform 3RNET trainings she leads.

Michelle has an MBA from Williams Woods University and a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Columbia College. She has held a Sr. Professional Human Resources certification since 2003.

Judd Mellinger-Blouch

Judd Mellinger-Blouch is the Director of the Pennsylvania Primary Care Career Center, which is part of the Pennsylvania Association of Community Health Centers. The Career Center helps community health centers, rural health clinics and other healthcare organizations recruit and retain physicians, dentists, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and other primary care providers. Judd has been working in healthcare since 19686, predominantly in areas of public relations, marketing, communications, provider relations, and recruitment. Prior to joining the Career Center in March 2014, Mr. Mellinger-Blouch was Director of Marketing Communications at the Pennsylvania Medical Society, where he worked for 20 years. He started his career in healthcare as Public Relations Director for Community General Osteopathic Hospital, Harrisburg. Mr. Mellinger-Blouch holds two degrees from Pennsylvania State University: a Bachelors of Arts in Journalism (1982); and a Masters of Public Administration with a healthcare emphasis (1998). He lives in Hershey, PA.

Dave Schmitz

​David Schmitz, MD is Professor and Chair of the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences. He has extensive research expertise in training and retaining physicians in rural and underserved areas, the development of rural communities’ healthcare resources, and quality improvement in rural healthcare. He continues to practice clinically. He is a past-president of the National Rural Health Association and has served as his state medical association president. He also serves on the National Advisory Council for the National Health Service Corps. Dr. Schmitz started his professional practice in a critical access hospital in a community of 2,303 persons, and there served as chief of staff among the medical staff of seven (or so) physicians.

Cindra Stahl

Cindra Stahl is the Assistant Director of the Montana Area Health Education Center, focusing on Workforce Development--particularly for rural and frontier healthcare facilities and across all education levels from K-12 to adult continuing education.  She is also working with the Montana Graduate Medical Education Council to identify approaches to support, advocate and grow GME within the state.  Cindra serves as facilitator for the Montana Healthcare Workforce Advisory Committee and is working on version 3.0 of the Montana Healthcare Workforce Statewide Strategic Plan, originally published in November 2011 and revised in 2016. Cindra is committed to developing a healthcare workforce that is appropriate to meet the needs of the very rural and frontier communities of her state. 
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Prior to moving to Montana, Cindra was Hospital Services Manager and Data Analyst at New Mexico Donor Services, the organ procurement organization for the state of New Mexico.  She has also worked in state health policy at the New Mexico Health Policy Commission, and as a legislative analyst for the New Mexico Senate.  She holds an MBA and MS in Audiology from the University of New Mexico.

Stacy Kusler

Stacy Kusler is the Workforce Specialist at the North Dakota Center for Rural Health, which serves as the North Dakota State Office of Rural Health.  In her role, Stacy is the connection between rural healthcare facilities in North Dakota and qualified health professional job seekers. She assists rural facilities to attract health professionals to their areas by working closely with medical and other health profession students during their training, and by collaborating with the North Dakota Area Health Education Center (ND AHEC) to promote and assist with rural training opportunities.   She manages the state’s J-1 visa Waiver program for the North Dakota Primary Care Office, and supports facilities who are looking to hire a J-1 candidate through the application process. Through her position, Stacy is working to reduce the healthcare workforce shortages throughout the state

Lisa Benzel

Lisa Benzel grew up in a rural Montana community (population 225, at that time) along the front range and received a B.S. in Business from Montana State University in Bozeman, MT and obtained her EMT certificate after that. She worked in a variety of healthcare positions, from ER Tech and CMA, to Human Resource Director, AHEC Director, and Health Professions Recruiter prior to starting her job as Montana WWAMI TRUST Director in 2013. Lisa oversees the four-year comprehensive medical school encounter, TRUST (Targeted Rural UnderServed Track), as well as the summer RUOP (Rural Underserved Opportunities Program) experience. Twelve of the 30 Montana WWAMI students are admitted into the TRUST program each year and provides each of them with a longitudinal experience in their assigned continuity community. Lisa is a former 3RNet member.

Dr. Jay Erickson

Dr. Jay Erickson grew up in rural Minnesota and received a B.A. in Chemistry from St. Olaf College.  He received his M.D. degree from University of Minnesota School of Medicine having attended the UMD School of Medicine primary care track the first two years. He completed a Family Residency in Spokane in 1990 and moved to Whitefish Montana.
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Dr. Erickson is the Assistant Dean for the Montana WWAMI (Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho) Clinical Phase at the University of Washington School of Medicine and a Clinical Professor in the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Washington School of Medicine. In this position he oversees the clinical teaching opportunities for WWAMI students in Montana. This includes first year preceptorships, the Montana RUOP (Rural Underserved Opportunities Program) between the first and second year of medical school and over 45 required clerkship opportunities in nearly 20 communities in Montana. He also oversees third year clinical Tracks in Missoula, Bozeman and Billings where students can complete all of their third- year training in Montana. Starting in 2008, he developed and helped initiate Montana TRUST (Targeted Rural Underserved Track), a comprehensive four-year rural/underserved medical school curriculum. Annually, a select group of twelve Montana WWAMI students are admitted into TRUST. This program has received awards from both the AAMC and STFM. Since 1990 he has been a part of a 10-person primary care group in Whitefish, Montana (pop. 8,000) where he still maintains an active part time clinical practice as a rural family physician.