Meet the Shepherd Center Leadership Team

Brian Barnette, CHCIO, CPHIMS, PMP, serves as a vice president and the chief information officer at Shepherd Center. In this role, Brian leads all of Shepherd Center’s information services, which includes information technology, communications, biomedical engineering and clinical informatics. Read More

Sarah L. Batts, MBA, is the executive director of the Shepherd Center Foundation, which is responsible for setting development policy and leading the fundraising and volunteer teams in support of Shepherd Center’s mission. Read More

Chet Bhasin, FACHE, MBA, MS, is the chief operating officer of Shepherd Center. Before joining Shepherd Center in early 2017, Chet served as the director of back/spine, orthopedics and post-acute services at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas. Chet provided leadership in physician relations, revenue enhancement, cost reduction, regulatory compliance and project oversight in various services and programs. Before joining Texas Health, Chet held several administrative leadership roles in Kindred Healthcare facilities in Texas and Illinois. Read More

Since 2004, Susan Bowen, RN, CCRN, CPHQ, CLNC, has enthusiastically served as the director of quality/outcomes/patient safety for Shepherd Center. She has a passion to lead the organization in reduction of patient harm through “Mindful, Evidence-Based Practice." Read More

Brock Bowman, M.D., is the associate medical director at Shepherd Center and the medical director of the Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation Program. Dr. Bowman is board certified in physical medicine and rehabilitation and is subspecialty certified in spinal cord injury medicine. He has a particular interest in treating individuals who have sustained brain and spinal cord injuries concurrently. He was recently named to the Top Doctors List by U.S. News & World Report magazine. Read More

Wilma Bunch is the vice president of facility services at Shepherd Center. Since 1990, Wilma has served in various leadership positions at Shepherd Center. She began her career as a registered and licensed dietitian before transitioning to hospital management. Read More

Emily Cade, MS, CCM, CRC, CLCP, is the director of outpatient services at Shepherd Center. Emily has worked at Shepherd Center since 2004, first as a case manager and then as a program manager for the Andrew C. Carlos Multiple Sclerosis Institute. She was appointed to her current position in 2015. Read More

Mitchell Fillhaber, MS, is the senior vice president of corporate development and managed care at Shepherd Center. In this role, Mitch is responsible for managed care, partnership development, marketing and public relations, and for the referral development component of Shepherd’s admissions liaison positions. Read More

Steve Holleman, MBA, CPA, has served as chief financial officer of Shepherd Center since 1995. During this time, Shepherd Center has enjoyed eight consecutive years of recognition by U.S. News and World Report as one of the top 10 rehabilitation hospitals in the nation. With Steve’s leadership, Shepherd Center’s revenue has grown by 436 percent, and its net assets have grown by 358 percent, in addition to providing millions of dollars per year in charity care and other unfunded services for people who have sustained spinal cord and/or brain injuries. Read More

Susan Holt is the executive assistant to Shepherd Center’s president and CEO, as well as the chief operating officer. In this role, Susan maintains daily calendars, takes telephone calls, arranges executive director’s meetings, prepares department budgets and handles financial requests. Read More

Lorie Hutcheson is the vice president of human resources at Shepherd Center. In this role, Lorie is responsible for creating innovative ways to engage all employees and for establishing the culture, systems and training that develop leaders and empower employees to solve problems and focus on fully supporting the hospital’s patients. Read More

Susan Johnson, MA, CCC-SLP, is the director of the Brain Injury Rehabilitation Program at Shepherd Center. Susan launched the hospital's brain injury program. Today, she is responsible for the inpatient brain injury and stroke units, residential living, day program and outpatient program, and the SHARE Military Initiative. Susan serves to facilitate effective communication between staff and patients and/or patient family members to ensure quality care and rehabilitation outcomes. Read More

Jacqueline Jones, RN, CCM, BSN, MM, is the director of Admissions and Case Management at Shepherd Center. In this position, Jacqueline works across departments to ensure the coordination of services to provide patients with high quality, comprehensive and focused services that improve care, quality of life and financial outcomes. Read More

Michael L. Jones, Ph.D., FACRM, is vice president of clincial research and assistive technology at Shepherd Center, and founding director of the Center’s Virginia C. Crawford Research Institute. He also oversees Shepherd’s Assistive Technology Center and Noble Learning Resource Center, and is co-director of the Livewell RERC for Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Access, a partnership between Shepherd Center, Duke University and Northeastern University. Read More

Tammy King, RN, MSN, ET, CRRN, CCM, is the chief nursing officer at Shepherd Center. Tammy has served in various roles at Shepherd Center, including program director of the Marcus Community Bridge Program, ShepherdCare case management, urology manager, clinical nurse specialist, special projects nurse, acting nurse manager and clinical staff coordinator. Read More

Shari McDowell, PT, DPT, is the program director for the Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation Program at Shepherd Center. Since 1992, Shari has served in various leadership roles at Shepherd Center, including serving as a physical therapist in the Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) Program and in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), a physical therapy and SCI education coordinator, and as the inpatient spinal cord injury program manager. Read More

Sarah A. Morrison, PT, MBA, MHA, is president and CEO of Shepherd Center. Since 1984, Sarah has served in various leadership roles at Shepherd Center, including vice president of clinical services, director of the Spinal Cord Injury Program, director of the medical/surgical and ICU programs, manager of the spinal cord injury day program, a physical therapy supervisor and a physical therapist. Read More

Dan Poisson, CHFM, CHSP, FSM, is the director of facilities management at Shepherd Center. In this role, he is responsible for the leadership, coordination and oversight of engineering, transportation and security departments. Read More

Jamie Shepherd, MBA, is the director of community services and risk management at Shepherd Center. Jamie, the son of Shepherd Center co-founder James H. Shepherd, Jr., has followed in his family’s footsteps by contributing to Shepherd Center’s mission of helping people with a temporary or permanent disability caused by injury or disease, rebuild their lives with hope, independence and dignity. Read More

James H. Shepherd, Jr., is the chairman of the Board of Directors and chief strategy officer for Shepherd Center. He co-founded Shepherd Center in 1975 with his parents, Harold and Alana Shepherd, and David Apple, M.D., the hospital’s first medical director. Read More

Tamara N. Thompson, DNP, RN, MPH, MA, is the chief compliance officer, and is responsible for overseeing and managing compliance and business ethics within the organization, ensuring that Shepherd Center and its employees are complying with regulatory requirements and with internal policies and procedures. Read More