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.
Becky Tucker serves as the senior vice president of channel integration at Texas Health Resources. She was formerly the president of Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Southwest Fort Worth, promoted into that role in August 2018 after a stint as vice president of the system’s Neighborhood Care & Wellness campuses in Burleson, Prosper and Willow Park. She joined Texas Health Resources in 2004 as an administrative assistant in Plano while earning her degrees in kinesiology from the University of Texas and master’s degrees in business administration and healthcare administration from Texas Woman’s University. Tucker was also honored with the DFW Hospital Council’s Young Healthcare Executive of the Year Award in 2014.
Jessica O’Neal was named chief executive officer of Medical City Las Colinas in November 2021. She had previously served as CEO of Medical City Children’s Hospital and Medical City Women’s Hospital Dallas in 2018. From 2016-2018, O’Neal served as chief operating officer of the 515-bed West Florida Hospital in Pensacola, Fla. Under O’Neal’s leadership, pediatric specialty care network services and providers were integrated into the hospital’s delivery system and she launched a wide spectrum of pediatric services. She previously served as VP of operations and chief operating officer of Methodist Dallas Medical Center. O’Neal holds a Master of Science in Health Care Administration from Trinity University and a Bachelor of Science in Nutrition/Dietetics from Texas Christian University. She was also honored with the DFW Hospital Council’s Young Healthcare Executive of the Year Award in 2013.
At Texas Health Arlington Memorial, Kretz led efforts to establish a hyperbaric and wound care center and build the Dan Dipert Family Chapel. Under his leadership, the hospital became a Level IV Trauma Facility and was recertified as a Cycle III Chest Pain Center and a Primary Stroke Center. Previously, he served as president of Texas Health Cleburne for eight years where he oversaw the expansion of the Emergency Department and the Surgical Services Department. Before joining Texas Health, Kretz was administrator and chief executive officer of Graham Regional Medical Center in Graham, Texas. He also served as chief operating officer at Graham Regional for one year, and from 1992-1995, held administrative leadership roles at HCA St. Mark’s Hospital.
With more than 24 years of experience in a variety of leadership roles at Parkland Health, Dr. Roberto de la Cruz served as Chief Hospitalist before being named Chief Medical Officer in 2016. In addition, he is a Clinical Professor in Internal Medicine at UT Southwestern Medical Center. He served as Associate Medical Director of Parkland’s East Dallas Health Center from 1998-2000. Dr. de la Cruz is a 15-year veteran of Hospitalist Medicine and was Associate Medical Director of the Texas Primary Care Hospitalist Service at Baylor University Medical Center. He attended medical school at the University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine and completed his Internal Medicine residency training at UT Southwestern and Parkland. He is board certified in Internal Medicine and has experience in Palliative Care and Hospice Medicine.
Seth Toomay, MD, became Associate Vice President and Health System Chief Medical Officer of UT Southwestern in August 2019. He is a Professor of Radiology at UT Southwestern Medical Center and is a member of its Vascular and Interventional Radiology Division. He provides clinical vascular and interventional radiology services at Parkland Memorial Hospital, Clements University Hospital and Zale Lipshy University Hospital. Dr. Toomay received a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry from Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. He then earned his medical degree at UT Southwestern, where he remained to complete his radiology residency and fellowship training in interventional radiology.
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.
Hired as Chief of Staff to the President/CEO in 2016, 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.
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.
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.
Vanessa Walls serves as President 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.
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 CEO 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.
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.