Abel Kho, MD, MS
Co-Executive Director, CHITREC
As co-executive director of CHITREC, Abel sets the direction and vision of the organization, works directly with the Office of the National Coordinator and manages key national and local relationships with providers and provider groups.
He is currently assistant professor of medicine and associate director of the Medical Informatics Program at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine. His extensive research includes creation of electronic networks, geographic information systems and dataset driven decision support. He continues AHRQ funded research as a Regenstrief Affiliated Scientist. Abel is also a practicing physician at the Northwestern Medical Faculty Foundation, serves as co-chair of the Informatics Working Group for the NHGRI-funded eMERGE consortium, and is a member in the American Medical Informatics Association.
Abel received his doctorate of medicine from the Medical College of Wisconsin and completed a residency and chief residency in internal medicine at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, Wisconsin. He completed a National Library of Medicine Medical Informatics Fellowship at the Regenstrief Institute, Inc. He has a master of science degree from Indiana University School of Medicine and a bachelor of science degree from the University of Illinois. Abel likes to leave the city behind for the outdoor activities in Wisconsin and can’t wait to introduce his one-year-old son to fly-fishing.
Fred D. Rachman, MD
Co-Executive Director, CHITREC
As co-executive director of CHITREC with Abel Kho, Fred sets the direction and vision of the organization and manages key national and local relationships with providers and provider groups, especially in the federally qualified health center (FQHC)/Safety Net arena.
Fred has more than 20 years experience in primary health care delivery and administration. He presently serves as chief executive officer of the Alliance of Chicago Community Health Services, an HRSA-funded network of primary care community health centers, which supports a centrally-hosted electronic health record system shared by 24 Safety Net health centers in eight states.
In addition, Fred is an attending physician in pediatrics at Children’s Memorial Hospital and Northwestern Memorial Hospital and sees patients as a pediatrician at Erie Family Health Center in Chicago. He chairs the Ambulatory Healthcare Organizations Task Force for the Health Information Management Systems Society, and serves on the Illinois Health Information Exchange Advisory Committee.
He received his bachelor of arts degree in biology from Johns Hopkins University, his doctorate of medicine from Temple University, and completed his residency in pediatrics at Albert Einstein Medical Center, Philadelphia. He is board certified in pediatrics, and completed post-graduate courses in ethics, economics and health care management at Harvard University School of Public Health. When he is not crisscrossing the city or county for patients or meetings, Fred spends his free time relaxing on the west coast of Michigan.
Theresa Walunas, PhD
Director of Operations, CHITREC
Theresa manages all operational functions of CHITREC as its director of operations, including financial interface with the Office of the National Coordinator, Northwestern University and provider organizations. She also oversees the CHITREC Internship Program.
Her combination of strong scientific and technical backgrounds - immunology and microbiology, molecular biology and biochemistry, software development and computer science - makes her ideal for operating CHITREC. Prior to joining CHITREC, Theresa was the vice president and general manager of Integrated Genomics in Chicago, a microbial genome products company that specializes in using biochemical pathways to optimize fermentation processes and provides in-depth physiological and biochemical models of micro-organisms. Before Integrated Genomics she developed software and databases for Medifacts Systems, Inc. and worked on post-doctoral research in molecular immunology at the University of Chicago.
She received a bachelor of science degree in biology from Trinity University in San Antonio, a master’s degree in computer science from DePaul University and a doctorate in immunology from the University of Chicago, where she was a National Science Foundation Fellow. Theresa enjoys exploring the Chicago dining scene, seeking out sources of good coffee and almost anything involving yarn.
David Liebovitz, MD
Director of Clinical Informatics, CHITREC
David serves as CHITREC’s director of clinical informatics. In this capacity, David provides strategic direction as well as pragmatic insights for programming.
Currently he is the chief medical informatics officer for the Northwestern Medical Faculty Foundation, the full-time academic medical practice affiliated with the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern. In this role he works to further the development of the outpatient medical records system and optimize information exchange with Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where he serves as medical director for clinical information systems. Within the hospital David has been the lead physician for implementation of computerized physician order entry and online notes. In addition, he works on the inpatient general medical service, sees outpatients in his clinical practice, and in his role as an associate program director for the Internal Medicine Residency Program, supervises residents’ inpatient and outpatient experiences and their interactions with medical records. David is also faculty director of the Masters in Medical Informatics Program at Northwestern University.
He received his undergraduate degree in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, his doctorate of medicine from the University of Illinois at Chicago. You may encounter David jogging along Chicago’s lakefront at times accompanied by one of his daughters encouragingly biking alongside.
Brian Mehta, MBA
Outreach & Strategy Advisor, CHITREC
Brian serves as an advisor to CHITREC for marketing, provider outreach and organizational strategy activities.
A veteran marketing and business development executive, Brian is currently director of brand communications at Motorola Mobility. Previously, Brian has consulted for Northwestern University Clinical & Translational Sciences Institute and the Alliance of Chicago and has served as managing director at s2 marketing + communications. As director of North America marketing for the Mobile Devices Business at Motorola, he was responsible for managing brand marketing campaigns and carrier marketing relationships at the national and regional levels. As director of marketing for the midwest region of U.S. Cellular, he led marketing implementation for advertising, customer acquisitions and retention, sponsorships, regional product and field marketing. He has held a variety of sales, business development, product management, and finance positions at Alcatel and SBC/Ameritech.
Brian has a bachelor of arts degree in economics from Northwestern University and a master of business administration from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management, Northwestern University. He enjoys good travel (with and without child), good food, good wine and Chicago sports.