Dr. Janet Stifter, PhD, RN, CPHQ, NE-BC, is the Vice President of Hospital Operations for Perioperative and Interventional Services and Professional Nursing Practice at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. With over 30 years of nursing leadership, she is a champion for quality, safety, and evidence-based care. Dr. Stifter’s career spans accreditation, regulatory compliance, professional development, and advancing technology to enhance patient care. She has shared insights on reducing the cognitive burden of complex health technologies, drawing from RUMC’s successful implementations. Renowned for her leadership in perioperative nursing, she focuses on professional growth and using innovation to improve outcomes in complex cases.

Dr. Stifter holds a PhD and BS in Nursing from the University of Illinois Chicago and an MS in Nursing from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Dio Sumagaysay, RN, MS, is the Vice President of Perioperative & Multi-Specialty Procedural Services at Oregon Health & Science University Hospital (OHSU) in Portland, Oregon. In this role, he partners with CNOs and COOs across OHSU system hospitals, including OHSU Hillsboro Medical Center and Adventist Health Portland, to advance surgical care, nursing practice, and strategic priorities. Before joining OHSU, Dio spent 11 years in administrative roles as Director of Nursing, Perioperative Services at New York Presbyterian Hospital-Cornell Medical Center, and Director of Surgical Services at Scripps Memorial Hospital Encinitas in San Diego. He also served seven years in clinical and leadership roles at The Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore and Georgia Regional Hospital in Savannah.

Dio holds a BS in Nursing from the University of St. La Salle, Philippines, and an MS in Nursing Administration from New York University.

Brian Dawson, MSN, RN, CNOR, CSSM, is the President and CEO of BD Perioperative and Healthcare Consulting, LLC, providing expert guidance to clients such as Sutter Solano Hospital, Keck Hospital of USC, and St. Joseph Medical Center of Virginia Mason Franciscan Health. Previously, he served nearly seven years as System VP of Perioperative Services at CommonSpirit Health, where he led strategic and operational initiatives for perioperative services across 120 hospitals. Under his leadership, surgical volumes grew by 35%, and surgical services expanded by 20%.

A Naval veteran, Brian’s roles included COO of Naval Hospital Camp Lejeune and CEO of the U.S. Naval Hospital in Okinawa, Japan, the Navy’s largest overseas medical facility. He holds a BS in Nursing from American University and an MS in Nursing Administration/Leadership with honors from Old Dominion University.

Rami Karjian is the Head of OR Business at LeanTaaS. He began his journey in healthcare with McKinsey & Co, working together with health systems to improve patient flow across different areas of their hospitals. After a few years in the US, he moved to Asia to lead the Firm’s Service Operations practice in the region.

After over a decade with McKinsey based in the US and Asia, working with clients across the globe, Rami wanted the challenge and learning of directly taking on a scaled operating role. He joined Flextronics, as President of their Global Services division (the leading high-tech repair and logistics company globally). In that role, he led a business of 15,000 employees with operations in 25 sites across the Americas, Europe, and Asia. In addition to driving a transformation of that $1B+ revenue business he also incubated and spun-out a supply-chain SaaS company.