Throughout his nearly 30-year career in health care, Alan Vierling, DNP, R.N., NEA-BC, FABC, has had just one goal: “Go where I can make a difference.” This commitment to servant leadership has taken Vierling across the country as he has worked as a clinician, teacher and health care executive at a variety of medical institutions.

Vierling currently serves as Chief Operating Officer of the Alaska Native Medical Center in Anchorage. He formerly served as the President of Sparrow Hospital in Lansing, Mich, where he led Lyndon B. Johnson Hospital. Vierling’s role at LBJ was to help create a better culture in an organization faced with challenges in case delivery, employee engagement and physician relations – and all improved in less than one year. In August 2017, he successfully led LBJ through Hurricane Harvey crisis management and response by maintaining an open, full-service facility, deploying ride-out and recovery teams, and sheltering storm evacuees.

Before leading LBJ, Vierling served as Harris Health’s senior vice president of organizational transformation and LBJ’s interim chief nursing officer. His experience in clinical care, health care consulting and executive management includes tenures at HCA Columbia in Salem and Blacksburg, Va.; Carilion Clinic in Roanoke, Va.; Medical Facilities of America in Roanoke; Genesis Healthcare System in Zanesville, Ohio; and Encore Health Resources in Houston.

Vierling earned a Doctorate in nursing practice from Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Va., and a Bachelor of Science and Master of Science in nursing from Radford University in Va. In 2017, he was recognized by the Houston Chronicle as one of “Houston’s Top 150 Nurses,” and by Harris Health System as a “Harris Health Hero.”

Dr. Ted James is an internationally recognized speaker and executive coach who is passionate about transforming health care through innovation and leadership development. Drawing on more than 20 years of experience as a physician leader, educator and health care management consultant, he inspires individuals to become engaged change agents who have a positive impact on organizational culture. He believes that the only way to succeed in health care is to promote new ways of meeting patients’ needs and to create clinical teams that thrive.

As a medical director and lecturer within the Harvard health care system, Dr. James has extensive experience with efforts to advance health care. He leads international programs focused on digital health, clinician engagement and patient experience. He enjoys collaborating with health care executives and industry experts from around the world, as well as sharing his knowledge through organizations, such as the Institute for Healthcare Improvement and the National Academy of Medicine.

Dr. James is an author who writes about the trends shaping the future of medicine and strategies for transforming the health care ecosystem. He has received numerous awards for his contributions to teaching, leadership and quality. One of his greatest professional satisfactions comes from partnering with others to reimagine health care in ways that improve organizational performance and the well-being of patients, care teams and communities.

Joe Theismann is an entrepreneur and the former star quarterback for the Washington Redskins. Most recently, he spent the last two decades working for ESPN and the NFL Network as an NFL analyst.

Theismann graduated in 1971 from the University of Notre Dame, where he received All-American honors in both football and academics. That same year, he was runner-up to Jim Plunket for the Heismann Trophy balloting. Theismann chose to begin his career with the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League after being drafted by the Miami Dolphins and Major League Baseball’s Minnesota Twins.

A 12-year NFL veteran, Theismann played in 163 consecutive games from 1974-1985 for the Washington Redskins and holds Redskin records for passing yardage (25,206), completions (2,044) and attempts (3,602). He was a two-time Pro Bowl selection and Pro Bowl MVP, leading the Washington Redskins to a 27-17 victory over the Miami Dolphins in Super Bowl XVII.

He was selected as the NFL’s Man of the Year in 1982 for his community service and dedication to the health and welfare of children. In 1983, he won the league’s Most Valuable Player Award, leading the Redskins to a second consecutive Super Bowl appearance.

Theismann’s career ended abruptly in 1985 after sustaining a badly broken leg during a Monday Night Football game against the New York Giants on national television. In 2003, he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame, and in 2013, he received the Walter Camp Football Foundation “Distinguished American” Award.

With every chapter of his life, Theismann evolved from the athlete to the ultimate businessman. An Emmy award-winning analyst, businessman and athlete, he utilizes his gifts, talent and high energy to share his strategies for handling unforeseen change.

As the founder of the street portrait blog, Humans of New York, Brandon Stanton has emerged as a worldwide internet phenomenon and one of today’s most influential storytellers. With millions of social media followers, his individual story, like those on HONY, illustrates the power of the internet, the value of storytelling and our desire to remain connected with real people in a tech-driven world.

Stanton’s gift for storytelling has spawned two best-selling books, Humans of New York, which spent 45 weeks on The New York Times best-seller list, and Humans of New York: Stories. On stage, he candidly shares his own personal story, and the perspective he has gained since embarking on his journey to help others tell theirs. Listeners take away a renewed appreciation for the power of one person and one idea to inspire millions, and the encouragement to be a force for good and contribute something meaningful to the world.

Gloria Goins is the former chief diversity and inclusion officer for Bon Secours Mercy Health System. For three consecutive years, DiversityInc recognized Bon Secours as one of the 10 best health care systems for diversity and inclusion. Becker’s Hospital Review recognized Goins herself as one of the top 15 chief diversity officers in the country to know.

In addition to leading the diversity and inclusion organization at Bon Secours, Goins also led the organization’s employee engagement strategy. Under her leadership, Bon Secours achieved the highest employee engagement score in the organization’s history (the 99th percentile) and was recognized by the Gallup Organization as one of the Top Best Workplaces in the world for seven consecutive years.

Goins is responsible for creating two world-class diversity and inclusion organizations from their very inception. In this regard, she served as the first vice president of diversity for Cingular Wireless (which now is AT&T wireless) and as the first Chief Diversity Officer at The Home Depot where she was a senior member of the operations team with accountability for all employment, multicultural marketing and community strategies for emerging markets.

She currently is a faculty member at Thomas Jefferson University where she teaches a course on diversity and inclusion within health care management.

Goins earned a Master of Business Administration from Mercer University, a Juris Doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts in psychology from Stanford University.