DFWHC is governed by a 15-member Board of Trustees comprised of hospital Chief Executive Officers or Chief Operating Officers. Voting members hold annual elections to fill vacant positions. A newly elected member serves a three-year term. The Board is authorized, via bylaws, the discretion of selecting two additional ex-officio, non-voting members to serve for a one-year term to provide specific expertise.
Vanessa Walls serves as Chief Market Executive of the Northern Market for Children’s Health. In her role, she is responsible for driving market strategy with direct responsibility as the Administrator for Children’s Medical Center Plano. Vanessa held many roles within Children’s Health, including a prior three years as the Administrator for Children’s Medical Center Plano and five years as the Administrator for Our Children’s House. Prior to joining Children’s Health in 2011, Vanessa was the VP of Ambulatory Services for Children’s Hospital & Medical Center in Omaha. Her career has spanned 30+ years as a leader in health administration.
Juan Fresquez Jr., MBA, serves Methodist Health System as president of Methodist Mansfield Medical Center. A healthcare leader with more than 30 years of experience in acute care hospital management, he has demonstrated abilities in the areas of operations, leadership, physician relations, cost management, quality and process improvement, compliance, clinical quality management, and customer service. Prior to joining Methodist, Juan served in numerous executive roles with Tenet Healthcare in the Texas and Arizona markets, where he was instrumental in improving patient satisfaction, quality, and financial performance.
Hired as Chief of Staff to the President/CEO in 2016, Natalie Wilkins arrived at Cook Children’s from North Texas Specialty Physicians where she served as administrative director of clinical programs. She first joined the independent physician association in 2011 as director of accountable care operations before being tapped to lead the funding, testing and operating of health innovations focused on advanced illness strategies. She previously served as director of system leadership and hospital operations at Baylor Scott & White in Dallas from 2009 to 2011. Wilkins holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Marketing from Baylor University and a Master of Science degree in Health Care Administration from Trinity University.
In 2016, Steven Edgar joined Medical City Denton from Wesley Woodlawn Hospital, a 99-bed acute care hospital in Wichita, Kansas, where he served as CEO for four years. During his tenure at Wesley Woodlawn he achieved outstanding patient satisfaction and expanded service lines including ER, cardiology, and surgical services. Prior to Wesley Woodlawn, Edgar served as Chief Operating Officer and Associate Administrator of the 760-bed Wesley Medical Center in Wichita. Edgar holds a bachelor’s degree in health science-physical therapy from the University of Missouri, Columbia, and a Master of Public Administration – health administration, from University of Missouri, Kansas City.
Kyle Armstrong joined Baylor University Medical Center in February 2020. He had formerly served as the president of Baylor Scott & White Medical Center – McKinney since 2016. He joined the McKinney team from Baptist Memorial Health Care in Memphis, one of the largest not-for-profit health systems in the Mid-South. Armstrong earned master’s degrees in both health administration and business administration from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He earned his undergraduate degree from Baylor University in Waco and has been a Fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives since 2014. Armstrong was awarded the DFW Hospital Council’s Young Healthcare Executive of the Year Award in 2019.
Christina Richard serves as COO at Kindred Hospitals, a post-acute healthcare services company that operates long-term acute-care hospitals and provides rehabilitation services across North Texas. Kindred’ mission is to help patients reach their highest potential for health and healing with intensive medical and rehabilitative care through a compassionate patient experience. Richard has been with Kindred for more than 26 years, starting her tenure in November of 1996. She received a Master’s Degree in social work from Barry University and a Master’s Degree in Health Care Administration Management from the University of Texas at Arlington.
Will Turner has been the president of Baylor Scott & White – Waxahachie since 2018. He has been with Baylor since 2012, most recently serving as the interim leader of operations for Baylor Scott & White Medical Center – Carrollton. Prior to working at the Carrollton hospital, Turner was in pharmaceutical sales, and began his career with Baylor at the Hillcrest campus in Waco. The Waxahachie hospital has 129 beds and 1,200 employees.
Shannon Fletcher is a Fort Worth native and has extensive experience in the nonprofit, government and public policy sector. Currently, she serves as Vice President, Chief of Staff to JPS Health Network. Previously, she served as the Chief of Staff for Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney’s Office. In this capacity, Shannon led the Chief of Staff division and was responsible for all non-lawyer, non-investigator operations of the office which included overseeing personnel matters, internal information technology, facility requirements, media, community outreach and the development of both the Criminal District Attorney’s office annual budget and annual report. Shannon has been named “Great Women of Texas” by the Fort Worth Business Press as well as “Top 40 Under 40” and “20 Women to Watch.” She serves as a board member of the TCU Neely Advisory Board and Texas 2036, a nonprofit organization that utilizes data and research to create policy informed decisions regarding the future of Texas. She was a former board member to the United Way of Tarrant County, Tarrant Area Food Bank and Presbyterian Night Shelter.
Chris York, FACHE, was named president of Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas in May of 2023. He has more than 30 years of healthcare leadership experience, much of it in the Dallas-Fort Worth market. He joins Texas Health from Community Health Systems, where he served as market CEO for Northwest Health System in Springdale, Arkansas, since January 2022. He spent nearly 15 years with Baylor Scott & White Health, most recently serving as president of Baylor Scott & White Medical Center Grapevine and Baylor Scott & White Medical Center Waxahachie. York earned master’s and bachelor’s degrees in business administration from East Tennessee State University. He was a fellow with the Baylor Scott & White Health/Southern Methodist University Executive Development and Growth Experience and was a healthcare executive fellow with the Advisory Board Co./Harvard University.
Edmundo Castañeda, FACHE, was named Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Parkland Health in January 2022. He arrived at Parkland with more than 20 years of experience in healthcare leadership, administration and operations. Castañeda most recently worked for Dignity Health, part of CommonSpirit Health, in the greater Sacramento, CA, area. There he served as President of Mercy General Hospital and Woodland Memorial Hospital. During his tenure with Dignity Health, he collaborated with approximately 1,000 active staff physicians to include Dignity Health-aligned medical groups. Prior to joining Dignity Health in 2012, Castañeda served as Chief Executive Officer at Tenet’s Sierra Medical Center in El Paso from 2007-2012. Castañeda, who is fluent in Spanish, is a Fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives. He earned his Master of Healthcare Administration from Texas State University; and his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Trinity University in San Antonio.
Chris Rubio has been with UT Southwestern Medical Center for more than seven years. He has served as the Chief Operating Officer of William P. Clements, Jr. University Hospital, the main teaching hospital of UT Southwestern, since 2019. He is responsible for the operations of Clements University Hospital (751 beds) and Zale Lipshy Pavilion (124 beds) an academic hospital that includes acute, behavioral health and inpatient rehabilitation units. Prior to UT Southwestern, Chris worked with The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center for more than 11 years serving as Director of Administration, Anesthesiology and Critical Care and Director of Research Development. Rubio is a graduate of Boston University with a degree in Physiology. He received his MBA from the Naveen Jindal School of Management, UT Dallas.
Jared Shelton, FACHE, serves as president of Texas Health Harris Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Fort Worth, joining the leadership team in 2024. Shelton previously served two years as president of Texas Harris Methodist Hospital HEB, and before that six years as president of Texas Health Allen, and another six years Texas Health Dallas in progressive leadership roles advancing to the role of vice president of professional and support services. He completed his undergraduate studies at Wake Forest University with a Bachelor of Science degree in business and a minor in religion. He also earned a master’s degree in health care administration from Trinity University.
Ken Stevens joined Medical City Lewisville as COO in 2023. He previously served as vice president of operations at Medical City Frisco since 2020. Stevens began his career with Medical City Healthcare in 2011 as a financial analyst at Medical City Arlington before a return to supply chain and operations. He holds a Master of Health Care Administration from The University of Texas at Arlington and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Texas Tech University.
Matt Chance joined the staff of Scottish Rite for Children in 2015. As Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, he has oversight of all the clinical, ancillary, nonclinical support and IT aspects of the day-to-day operations, and works closely with the physicians and staff to ensure every Scottish Rite patient receives clinical and service excellence. Matt earned his undergraduate degree from Austin College and a master’s degree in Healthcare Administration from Trinity University. Prior to joining Scottish Rite for Children, Matt served as Chief Executive Officer of Baylor Medical Center at Uptown and in various operational roles at Children’s Medical Center Dallas and with the Veterans Affairs North Texas Health Care System.
Ryan Gebhart has worked with Baylor Scott & White Health for more than a decade. He was recently President at Baylor Scott & White Medical Center – Centennial and prior to that tenure, Vice President of Operations at Baylor Scott & White Medical Center – Plano. He was instrumental in helping build the Baylor Scott & White – Plano’s Cancer Health and Wellness Center in 2017. Ryan has a master’s degree in healthcare business administration from Baylor University and a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Missouri in Columbia. He was named the DFW Hospital Council’s Young Healthcare Executive of the Year in 2024.