VHA Innovation Ecosystem Team
Dr. Ryan Vega
Chief Officer, Office of Healthcare Innovation and Learning
Ryan Vega, MD, MSHA, currently serves as the Chief Officer of
the Office of Healthcare Innovation and Learning in the VHA Office of Discovery, Education
and Affiliate Networks where he oversees the management of both grassroot and strategic
innovation initiatives across VHA. Dr. Vega is a graduate of the Louisiana State University
School of Medicine and completed his Internal Medicine residency at the Virginia
Commonwealth University Health System where served as Chief Medicine Resident in the
Department of Internal Medicine as well as the VA Chief Resident for Quality and Safety. He
also gained additional training in clinical quality through the Advanced Training Program at
Intermountain Health Care under the tutelage of Dr. Brett James and received his Master of
Science in Healthcare Administration from Virginia Commonwealth University where he was an
A.D. Williams Scholar.
Innovation Superpower: Leadership
Dr. Beth Ripley
Deputy Chief Officer, Office of Healthcare Innovation and Learning
Beth Ripley, MD, PhD, serves as the Deputy Chief Officer for
OHIL where she oversees strategic operations to advance innovation efforts across VHA. She
is a leader in the expansion of 3D printing technology capabilities and applications across
VHA and serves as the Enterprise Lead for the VHA 3D Printing Network Initiative, Director
for VA Ventures, and Chair for the VHA 3D Printing Advisory Committee. Dr. Ripley
collaborates with talented and diverse staff throughout the VA system, experts across
federal agencies, and industry partners to improve the delivery of personalized healthcare
solutions for Veterans through 3D printing solutions. Dr. Ripley is a staff radiologist at
the Seattle Division of the VA Puget Sound Health Care System and an Assistant Professor of
Radiology at the University of Washington School of Medicine. She received her bachelor’s
degree in Art History from Stanford University and her MD and PhD in Neurosciences from
University of California, San Diego School of Medicine. She completed radiology residency
training and a cardiovascular imaging fellowship at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard
Medical School, and a body imaging fellowship at the University of Washington.
Innovation Superpower: Empowerment
Kristopher "Kit" Teague
Executive Director, VHA Innovation Ecosystem
As Executive Director for VHA Innovation Ecosystem (IE) in the
Office of Healthcare Innovation and Learning, Mr. Teague is responsible for both strategy
and operations for VHA IE in order to advance care delivery and service through
mission-driven innovation that changes and saves Veteran lives. VHA IE’s four portfolios—VHA
Innovators Network, Diffusion of Excellence, Care & Transformational Initiatives, and
National Centers for Innovation to Impact—are tasked with identifying and scaling
innovations and best practices by empowering frontline employees and leveraging external
partners as force multipliers to build VA's culture and capacity for transformational health
care innovation. Prior to this role, he served as the Deputy Director for VHA IE. Mr. Teague
has over 20 years of experience in health care between his time in the private sector and
VA. 17 years of this experience has been with VA, with nine of those years incubating,
evaluating, and scaling clinical and administrative innovation across VHA. He started his VA
career in 2003 as an Auditor for the VA Office of Inspector General in Washington, DC. Since
then, he has sought to diversify his experience by holding positions at both the regional
and local levels of VHA. He served as a Contracting Officer for the VISN 21 Network
Contracting Office and Chief of Personnel Security for the VA Palo Alto Health Care System
prior to rejoining the VA Central Office with VHA IE. With VHA IE, he has served in a
leadership capacity for the past four years and personally managed over 21 different
innovation projects, including software prototypes for various clinical specialties,
production pilots of emerging technologies, regional rollouts of innovative clinical
treatments, multi-site equipment activations, and complex clinical data mapping and
informatics. Mr. Teague earned a bachelor’s degree in History/Political Science at Arkansas
Tech University and Federal Acquisition Certification for Program and Project Managers
through VA Acquisition Academy. He was nominated for the VHA Robert L. Jesse Award for
Excellence in Innovation in 2020.
Innovation Superpower: Persistence
Allison Amrhein, MPH
Director of Operations, VHA Innovators Network
As Director of Operations for the VHA Innovators Network,
Allison Amrhein guides a team of incredible Innovation Specialists from VA Medical Centers
across the country through operational day-to-day functions and leads operational strategic
planning for the VHA Innovators Network. Particular areas of leadership responsibility
include financial maintenance and planning, internal VA communications and relationship
building, development of value metrics and oversight of data collection, and management of
the annual Spark-Seed-Spread Innovation Investment Program application and review process.
Prior to her role as Director of Operations, Allison served as an Innovation Coordinator,
managing high-value innovation projects and contracts, as well as the Director of Executive
Correspondence for the Office of the Under Secretary for Health for Operations and
Maintenance during her tenure at VA. Prior to joining VA, she was a health systems
researcher and technical writer for a number of non-profit organizations. Allison received
her Master of Public Health from the University of Kentucky and Health Administration degree
from Indiana University. She is also a certified yoga instructor, dog mom, and has a
four-year-old son named Charlie.
Innovation Superpower: Perseverance
Blake Henderson
Director, Diffusion of Excellence
Blake Henderson is an experienced product developer and
teambuilder working as an advocate for frontline employee innovators at VHA. He has been
integral in the development of VA business systems, such as VA’s Light Electronic Action
Framework (LEAF), and clinical platforms like the Remote Veteran Sleep Apnea Management
Platform (REVAMP). He currently serves as the Director for Diffusion of Excellence, which
identifies, replicates, and scales promising practices throughout the largest integrated
health care system in the United States.
Innovation Superpower: Imagination
Joshua Patterson
Director, Care & Transformational Initiatives
Joshua Patterson is the Director for Care & Transformational
Initiatives in the VHA Innovation Ecosystem. Leading Care & Transformational Initiatives, he
focuses on driving five strategic priorities in the VHA Innovation Ecosystem to include:
Augmented/Virtual Reality, Precision/Personalized Medicine, 3D Printing (national scaling),
Artificial/Machine Intelligence, and Veteran-facing Solutions. He aims to provide an avenue
to source innovation through internal and external partners (i.e., industry, academia, and
other government agencies) to accelerate innovation in VHA. Joshua has over 19 years of
experience in the government with 14 years within VA. He started with VA at the former
Health Administration Center (now within the Office of Community Care) where he worked on
providing data/business analytics and strategic planning within the Office of the Director.
He has been supporting innovation at VHA Innovations for eight years, serving as a project
manager for projects from development through national deployment.
Innovation Superpower: Tenacity
Dr. Thomas Osborne
Director
for NCCHI
Thomas Osborne, MD, is the Director of the National Center for
Collaborative Healthcare Innovation (NCCHI) and Chief Medical Informatics Officer (CMIO) at
VA Palo Alto Health Care System. As Director of NCCHI, he is leading multidisciplinary teams
in the co-development and implementation of pioneering healthcare solutions throughout VA,
with other government agencies, and with leading technology companies. His teams overarching
goal is to deliver the best and most advanced healthcare solutions to our Veterans. He is
the inaugural recipient of the VA Under Secretary for Health Robert L. Jesse Award for
Excellence in Innovation. His work has been published in numerous medical journals and
textbooks on topics such as predictive analytics, artificial intelligence, sensor
technology, augmented reality, virtual reality, and the future of health care. Dr. Osborne
received his medical degree from Dartmouth Medical School, completed his residency at
Harvard Mount Auburn Hospital, and fellowship at Harvard Massachusetts General Hospital. He
is board certified in both Diagnostic Radiology and Neuroradiology. Dr. Osborne is also a
staff neuroradiologist at VA Palo Alto Healthcare System and Clinical Associate Professor
(affiliated) at Stanford University School of Medicine.
Innovation Superpower: Grit
Suzanne Shirley, LCSW
Director of Community Engagement and Fellowship
Suzanne Shirley serves as the Director of Community Engagement and Fellowship with the Veterans Health Administration Innovation Ecosystem (VHA IE).
In this role, she oversees the Fellowship tracks, the MIT Catalyst Fellowship Program in
VHA, and leads community engagement efforts across VHA IE. Through the strategic
implementation of experiential learning opportunities that aim to shape future thought
leaders in health care and deliver enterprise-wide solutions, Suzanne engages the skills and
talents of a strong community of innovators spanning across government, academia, non-profit
organizations, and industry.
Innovation Superpower: Vision