Dr. Alan M. Preston, CEO

Dr. Preston attended Tulane University school of Public Health and Tropical Medicine where he holds a Doctor of Science in Health Services Research, additionally he holds a Master in Healthcare Administration.  He has over 20 years in the multi-site healthcare services field. Prior to founding Synergyst in 2004, Dr. Preston was CEO of 4 different Managed Care Payors, CEO of large Multi-Specialty Physician Group with primary care clinics, outpatient surgery center, physical therapy, occupational medicine, radiology, and urgent care. In addition, Dr. Preston was CEO of a Radiation Oncology Physician Group with over 8 locations.  Dr. Preston's particular areas of expertise include research, strategic business development, marketing and sales. Dr. Preston is Honorary Insurance Commissioner for the State of Louisiana.  He has served on many regulatory committees for the State of Louisiana, Department of Insurance and currently is on the Advisory Board for St. Mary's University and The University of Texas San Antonio, College of Science. Dr. Preston is the current Executive in Residence at the University of Incarnate Word in San Antonio where he and others are developing a competency based master's in Health Care Administration (MHA) program. Dr. Preston is also adjunct professor at Tulane University's School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine where he teaches Statistical Research Strategies to doctoral students. Dr. Preston currently is the Chair of the Health and Wellness committee for the North Chamber of Commerce in San Antonio. To reach Dr. Preston, please email Alan@synergyst.net.

 

Trudy Madan, President

Ms. Madan holds a Master in Science in Healthcare Administration from Texas Woman's University. She has over 10 years experience in the healthcare services field. Prior to joining Synergyst, Ms. Madan was a Senior Executive at various Managed Care Payors and Physician Organizations. During this time, she negotiated multi-million dollar contracts with national hospitals, multi-specialty physician groups and ancillary organizations. Ms. Madan's particular areas of expertise include physician and hospital contracting, strategic business development, marketing and sales. Ms. Madan has assisted organizations in obtaining NCQA Accreditation. Ms. Madan is also a licensed Agent for Group Insurance and does extensive consulting in the areas of managing Health Benefits and reducing costs. Ms. Madan currently serves on the Boards of the American Diabetes Association, Arts San Antonio and others.

To reach Trudy, please email Trudy@synergyst.net.

 

 

Brian Amy, M.D., Medical Director & Director of Quality Assurance

Dr. Brian W. Amy received his medical degree from the Louisiana State University School of Medicine New Orleans, his Master of Science degree in Microbiology from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, and both Master of Health Administration and Master of Public Health graduate degrees from Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine.  Dr. Amy is a Fellow of the American College of Preventive Medicine, a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, and a member of the American College of Medical Quality and the American College of Physician Executives.  He is board certified by both the American Board of Preventive Medicine and the American Board of Surgery.  Dr. Amy is the former State Health Officer (SHO) and Executive Director of the Mississippi Department of Health.  He led the state agency’s response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and received the ASTHO Presidential Meritorious Service Award 2006 for Outstanding Leadership during Hurricane Katrina.  During his tenure as State Health Officer, he served on the Executive Board of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officers, and on several occasions testified before the United States Congress on healthcare related issues.  Dr. Amy is an Adjunct Professor in Health Systems Management at Tulane University and has authored or co-authored numerous book chapters, journal articles, abstracts, and presentations. To reach Dr. Amy, please email him at Brian@synergyst.net

 

 

Joni Reyna, VP Clinical Trials

Ms. Reyna holds a Master of Science in Speech & Hearing Science from Texas Tech University.  She has over 20 years experience in the San Antonio healthcare services field.  Prior to joining Synergyst, Ms. Reyna was top Sales Executive for various healthcare organizations, including home health, infusion and hospice services.  She has also been instrumental in providing physician marketing and practice acquisition services for various practice management organizations and regional multi-site primary care physician groups.  Ms. Reyna’s areas of expertise include communications, strategic business growth, physician and patient relations, marketing and sales.  She has served on various community health boards, including the San Antonio Medical Marketing Association and the Women’s Health Conference Steering Committee.  To reach Joni, please email Joni@synergyst.net.

 

Sheri Chandler, VP Research Operations

Ms. Chandler has over 20 years experience in the healthcare services field. Prior to joining Synergyst Research, Ms. Chandler was a Senior Executive at various Managed Care Payors and Physician Practice Management Organizations. During this time, she was involved in the start up and market expansion of new health plans, call center development and staff/physician/new member training program development. Ms. Chandler's areas of expertise include strategic business development, health care operations, physician-patient relationship and staff development. Ms. Chandler has successfully assisted organizations in Medicare Advantage Contract submissions as well as obtaining CEU accreditation for physician training programs.   Ms. Chandler currently serves on the Board of the San Antonio Council on Alcohol and Drug Abuse. To reach Sheri, please email Sheri@synergyst.net.

 

 

 

Jerri McGinnis, Regional VP Clinical Research

Ms. McGinnis holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Public Relations from Texas Tech University. She has over 12 years of health care services, practice management and pharmaceutical experience. Prior to joining Synergyst, Ms. McGinnis was the National Vice President and an Officer of two Swiss-based medical and pharmaceutical companies. During this time, she successfully launched a new medical therapy into the US market through building and managing privately owned medical treatment centers. She also launched a successful pharmaceutical skin care line into the US retail market and advised on international pharmaceutical and medical device expansion. In addition, Ms. McGinnis was a Senior Executive for a national practice management firm. She developed multi-specialty physician networks that became the top grossing units in the Dallas market. Ms. McGinnis' particular areas of expertise include start up operations, practice management, business development, marketing and sales. To reach Jerri, please email Jerri@synergyst.net.