Professional Development – IT Board of Advisors​

Alex Pitzner is the Chief Information Officer and Associate Vice President for Technology Services for Harrisburg University of Science Technology. He has worked in the computer and telecommunication field for over twenty years. During this time, he has held a number of leadership positions working as an architect/designer, an information systems administrator and a network/system engineer.

Bill has 35 years of progressive experience in Health IT. His career includes serving as Chief Technology Officer (CTO) for Trivergent, a multi-hospital Management Services Organization (MSO), for four years, and 12 years as Chief Information Officer (CIO) at Western Maryland Health System. Currently, He is the Senior Director of Regional IT for the Maryland and Central PA regions at UPMC.

He is a certified CHCIO (Certified Healthcare Chief Information Officer) from CHIME and a Baldridge Executive Fellow from the Malcolm Baldridge Performance Excellence Program.

Mr. Byers also serves on the Computer Science Advisory Board at Allegany College of Maryland and is a member of HIMSS, CHIME, and the Lions Club in LaVale, MD.

Brian provides technology vision and leadership in the development and implementation of company-wide initiatives that support and further improve Select Medical’s exceptional patient and employee experience. He works closely with leadership to optimize the use of information technology to achieve strategic goals.

Brian joined Select Medical in January 2001 and has held positions of increasing responsibility within the company’s Information Services team. He has been instrumental in fostering the culture of Select Medical within the team. The team has focused on application, security and technology strategies to prepare for an integrated healthcare ecosystem.

Brian is a graduate of Gettysburg College and received his MBA from Penn State University.

Brendan Wesdock currently serves as the contract Program and Operations Manager, NASA Earth Observation GIS where he oversees program staff and a portfolio of projects. NASA’s Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS) is a key core capability in the Earth Science Data Systems (ESDS) Program. It provides end-to-end capabilities for managing NASA Earth science data from various sources—satellites, aircraft, field measurements, and various other programs.

Prior to this role, Brendan served over 24 years with GeoDecisions, a Division of Gannett Fleming, Inc., the last 12 years spent as president.  Brendan also serves on the Esri Partner Advisory Council and is an initial member of Harrisburg University’s IT Advisory Board.

Brian assumed duties as the executive director of Naval Supply Systems Command (NAVSUP) Business Systems Center (BSC) in Mechanicsburg, Pa., June 2017. NAVSUP BSC develops and maintains logistics and financial information systems for the Department of Defense (DoD) and is the Navy’s premier business IT provider. Brian is the senior civilian in the diverse workforce of more than 850 military, civilian, and contractor personnel, who can quickly respond to the changing needs of DoD, while producing advanced digital solutions to increase organizational readiness.

Brian served on active duty 1985-2000 as a Navy Supply Corps officer.  From 2000-2004, Brian was a director in the Enterprise Architecture Practice for The META Group and led numerous consulting engagements for public and private organizations to include U.S. Department of the Interior, the states of  Calif. and Ohio, and several insurance companies across the country.

In 2004, Brian returned to the Department of the Navy and served as NAVSUP chief engineer and shortly after, assumed an additional role as director, Technical Solutions department. In 2013, Brian established a new position as director, Data and Analytics department for NAVSUP BSC, and later was appointed as the director, Navy Enterprise Resource Planning Services department.

Brian has been awarded various personal awards including the Superior Civilian Service Award, the Meritorious Civilian Service Award, Navy Commendation Medal (three awards), and Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal (two awards).

Chris DeFlitch

Dr Chris DeFlitch is a proud western PA native who attended Gannon University, member of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity and graduated with honor in Physics. He attended Penn State University College of Medicine, and completed his residency and chief residency in emergency medicine at UMASS.

After working in Pittsburgh for a year, he returned to Penn State Hershey Medical Center as an emergency medicine physician. He created the Penn State Emergency Medicine residency, observational medicine, and helped develop the first Department of Emergency Medicine. He spend time as the medical director, Life lion helicopter director and Vice Chair of the department. His passion is for safe, efficient and effective emergency care. His innovation in patient flow led to the development of PDQ (physician directed queuing) which eliminates waiting in emergency departments. At HMC, there was nearly a decade where patients were seen immediately and there were nearly no patients left without care. This discovery, for dissemination, co-founded of a company, Patient Flow Rx (PFRx), which disseminated this innovation across the globe. He will celebrate 25 years at PSH this spring and continues to practice emergency medicine at the Hershey campus.

Academically, Dr DeFlitch has become full professor at Penn State University, where he has many peer review publications, authored a textbook called “healthcare systems engineering” and has been an invited lecturer across the nation, serving as visiting professor at Harvard and UMass. A little over a decade ago he co-founded a research center at PSU, called the Center for Health Organization Transformation (CHOT). This multimillion dollar grant supported institution is now a collaborative through NSF with like-minded universities. He has sponsored and mentored over 100 students in the study of healthcare delivery science via CHOT. He continues to mentor staff, faculty and students in the areas of emergency medicine, informatics, and healthcare delivery science, including those successfully being granted via NSF, NIH and AHRQ. His most recent grant submission includes a comprehensive infrastructure for SDoH and advancing interoperability in clinical decision support (CDS).

Administratively, Chris was asked to lead Penn State in the transition to the electronic medical record, converting all hospitals, clinics and emergency departments across Penn State Health to a unified EMR. Over nearly 20 years, Penn State health now has all acute care hospitals as well as >80% of the ambulatory visits on a unified EMR. Now the Penn State Health Vice-President and Chief Medical Officer, he is the physician executive responsible for health systems information technology (HIT) and informatics, including electronic healthcare delivery systems across all hospitals, and clinics. As we advance, passions for systems, healthcare and use of industrial engineering principles in the future of healthcare are limitless, and he’s excited to help PSH in the journey

For Dr DeFlitch, family is most important. He is married to his best friend for 30 years, Christina Strednak DeFlitch and is a proud father to Christopher, Owen and Sophie DeFlitch…as well as 2 dogs, and 4 cats in Hummelstown.

Dee joined LINKBANK with over 25 years of Technology and Software Engineering experience within the banking, pharmacy retail, healthcare, and insurance industries. In her current executive role as Chief Technology Officer for LINKBANK, Dee provides the leadership and vision to champion a growing, client-centric, technology-focused organization focused on positively impacting lives.

Her highly detailed, outcome oriented, and budget savvy approach has produced measurable business results in her previous tenures. Her efforts have empowered teams to implement solutions, engineer procedures, and manage processes to not only improve business functionality, but also provided increased profitability. Dee’s inherent passion for driving technology solutions with emphasis on building relationships across multiple lines of business – have positioned organizations to perform multiple high-visibility acquisitions through seamless systems integrations.

Prior to LINKBANK, Dee has held several Technology leadership roles throughout her career, leading Technology teams through successful acquisitions, various software implementations, a pandemic, and custom software development of enterprise wide applications. Dee began her career as a programmer, so Application Development and Project Management remain near to her heart.

She is a graduate of Shippensburg University with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree in Business Information Systems. Dee has a passion for supporting Women in STEM and Girls in STEM programs. As a mother, wife of a teacher, and an IT professional, Dee also serves on the Harrisburg University IT Board of Advisors to support the continuing education of the business and technology fields.

John Paul oversees Mid Penn Bank’s Information Technology and Information Security Programs. He is responsible for the strategic direction and leadership in IT that support the company’s growth and has built and refined a best-in-class, stable, and resilient infrastructure that can be scaled up on demand. This scalability has proven itself through Mid Penn‘s successful and aggressive M&A activity and its more than 5 years of double-digit organic growth. John Paul also fosters an environment where both bank and customer information are regarded as the “crown jewels“; the Bank’s unwavering commitment to Information Security and Privacy relies on the systems, programs and teams he has developed. He has over 18 years of financial sector experience in enterprise IT and Information Security.

Lindsay Oparowski is the Assistant Vice President of Digital Member Experience at PSECU, Pennsylvania’s largest credit union, is a seasoned professional with over 19 years of experience. As a key member of the Senior Leadership team, she plays a pivotal role in executing the strategic vision of the digital-first, $8 billion credit union.

Driven by the credit union’s ethos of “people helping people,” Lindsay is passionate about enhancing member experiences across all touchpoints for the more than 590,000 members of PSECU. Her team oversees critical functions such as digital banking and customer experience.

Notably, Lindsay was recognized as one of PA Business Central’s Women Making a Difference for 2023. She also actively contributes to the Operations and Member Experience Council for America’s Credit Unions.

Lindsay holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communication from Wake Forest University.

As the Digital Experience Leader at Member’s 1st Federal Credit Union, Mark is responsible for creating an impeccable digital journey that engages the organization’s members with a convenient, valuable, and satisfying experience. He drives the internal culture needed to ensure maximum member adoption applying a digital transformation strategy that embraces both Martech and Fintech initiatives.

Mr. Ely has over 18 years of Marketing and Leadership experience – with 16 years of his career concentration being dedicated to financial institutions.

Prior to his position with Member’s 1st, Mark served as the Vice President of Marketing at the Social Security Administration’s Credit Union (Securityplus.) In that capacity he served on the executive leadership team where he was tasked with the responsibility of driving innovation in all aspects of marketing, brand development, operations, member engagement, and the overall digital banking transformation.

Mark is a graduate of Lebanon Valley College where he earned both a Bachelors’ of Science (2002) and Master’s Degree in Business Administration (2009).

Mark is responsible for the implementation of Highmark Health’s enterprise technology strategy, as well as driving the growth among Highmark Health’s key technology products, platforms, and services. In this role, Mark oversees the evolution and execution of the technology transformational strategy, including key components such as cloud adoption, technology innovation and acquisition program, platform and technology services roadmaps, enterprise architecture and solutions.

Mark has held numerous leadership roles within the Highmark Health enterprise including Vice President, Product Development, VP Product Maintenance Support, and Chief Enterprise Architect. Mark has more than 30+ years of information technology experience.

Rageshree is an experienced technology leader with over 20 years of expertise in delivering innovative solutions across multiple domains, including eCommerce, pharmacy, clinical systems, consumer experience, mobile applications, and retail operations. As the Vice President of Engineering at Rite Aid, Rageshree is responsible for shaping and executing the company’s technology strategy, overseeing architecture, data services, cloud infrastructure, business intelligence, and pharmacy technology solutions.

Known for leading diverse, high-performing teams, Rageshree is dedicated to driving digital transformation, modernization and continuously delivering value to both customers, pharmacists, and stakeholders. With a passion for product development, continuous delivery, and program management, Rageshree is committed to fostering innovation and enhancing operational efficiency.

In addition to her professional role, Rageshree serves as a board member of Rite Aid Healthy Futures, a non-profit organization focused on advancing health and wellness.

Tim has served in the role of Chief Information Officer for UPMC Pinnacle since February 2020. Prior to that, Mr.Schoener was CIO for UPMC Susquehanna for the previous 9 years. Tim has worked in healthcare information technology for over 25 years. He is a CHCIO (Certified Healthcare CIO), HIMSS Fellow and CPHIMS (Certified Professional in Healthcare Information Management Systems) certified.

Tim received his B.S degree in Industrial Engineering from Penn State University before earning his M.B.A. from Liberty University. Tim also serves as a board director for a regional bank.