NATIONAL association of travel Healthcare organizations

Colleen Connolly, Head of Sales & Account Management, Marketplace Division - Trusted Health

A native of Northern Virginia, Colleen has spent her professional career in and around the Washington, D.C. Area. After graduating from Virginia Tech, she landed her first role at The Advisory Board Company selling consulting and research services to hospitals and health systems across the country. She left ABC to pursue her MBA at The University of Baltimore.  Upon graduation, she began selling and managing a team bringing HR consulting services to mid-sized companies at CEB, now Gartner. Colleen spent 6 years at POLITICO where she built and led sales and account management teams in the subscription, advertising, and research divisions. Having been recommended Trusted Health by a former colleague, Colleen got her start in the staffing industry in 2021 and has not looked back!  Her mission is to develop great people and great relationships through her internal team and external clients all with the goal of bringing Trusted nurses to patients who need care. A recent move to Richmond, VA has brought Colleen out of the fast-paced city life and now she enjoys walks, exploring coffee shops, visiting museums, and making connections with her community.

Dexter Braff, President - The Braff Group

Dexter W. Braff is President of The Braff Group, one of the nation’s leading health care merger and acquisition advisory firms. Since its founding in 1998, the firm has completed more than 370 health care deals.

With 30 years of experience representing health care service companies, Dexter is recognized as the industry expert in health care M&A. He has written and contributed to feature articles that have appeared in numerous health care industry publications and has written a chapter in the Handbook of Business Valuation published by John Wiley & Sons. He is frequently interviewed on various topics regarding health care mergers and acquisitions by news outlets including Bloomberg News, CNBC, USA Today, The Huffington Post, The Palm Beach Times, and numerous health care sector journals. Additionally, the firm is the publisher of marketWATCH, a quarterly review of mergers and acquisitions activity in six industry segments: Behavioral Health Care, Digital Health, Home Health and Hospice, Pharmacy Services, Urgent Care, and Home Medical Equipment.

Earl Dalton, MHA, MSL, RN, NEA-BC - Health Carousel

NATHO Director

Earl currently sits as chair of the Clinical Executive committee for the National Association of Travel Healthcare Organizations (NATHO) and membership in the Joint Commission’s Staffing advisory council and technical council. In 2018 Earl keynoted the Philippines Nurse Association’s Annual conference and events in South Korea and UAE. Dalton recently was a contributing author on “Building a Culture of Safety: A National Nursing Licensure Model” published in Beckers 2021. Dalton was published in Customer Care News for innovation in customer experience in 2015 and won the Mount St Joseph Distinguished Nurse Administrator award for Cincinnati.

Eleonore Ruffy, Vice President - RN Network

I have been a leader in the healthcare staffing industry for 14 years and have worked in the physician locums, physician permanent placement and travel nursing spaces. I have been a Vice President at RNnetwork for the past 5 years. During my time at RNN I have led recruitment and client-side teams, our associate sales team, our BD and National Accounts teams, as well as some of our key business partner teams. I am an SIA, ASA and an ATD contributing member. I have also led our divisional reporting team and am very passionate about data, metrics and discovering trends that can help all executives like me make sound business decisions.

Holly Bass, Executive Vice President of Recruitment - Medical Solutions

Holly Bass brings more than 20 years of experience in healthcare staffing and recruitment to Medical Solutions. She leads sales efforts within the company’s Travel Nurse division and motivates and inspires her teams by focusing on culture, core values, customer service, and employee engagement. Holly previously served as President of PPR Travel Nursing, which was acquired by Medical Solutions in 2018.

Holly is a recipient of the 2018 Inaugural Great Place to Work® For All Leadership Award and was named to SIA’s 2021 Global Power 150 Women in Staffing list. She currently serves as a member and past president of the NATHO Board of Directors. Holly earned her degree and double major in Business Administration from the University of North Florida.

Jean Cook, Chief Operating Officer - Travel Nurse Across America (TNAA)

At TNAA Jean provides strategic oversight and direction for the Operations teams including: HR, Quality Assurance/Credentialing, Contract Administration, Housing and Legal/Risk. Jean also coordinates the company’s strategic planning efforts and is the executive sponsor for recognition, engagement, diversity and wellness efforts. As an executive, a “recovering accountant” and an Operations leader Jean believes in the power of appreciation and coordination among all the functions of a company.

Jean joined TNAA in 2016 as CFO and moved to COO in 2020. She brings more than 30 years of finance, strategy, HR and risk management experience with 20 of those years in executive leadership.  Jean has worked in multiple industries and has experience with companies ranging from revenue of $5 million to $1 billion.

Jean is a graduate of the University of Arkansas and lives in Little Rock where she can regularly spend time with her Father and Daughter. She also has 2 spoiled dogs.

Meg Vernon, Managing Director - Stability Healthcare

Meg Vernon, Managing Director of Stability Healthcare, has been working in healthcare staffing for close to 20 years. While At Stability Healthcare she's assisted in achieving the Inc 500 Fastest-Growing Private Companies for 3 years in a row and achieved the top 5 of SIA's Fastest-Growing US Staffing Firms. Throughout her career, she's had the fortune to work in nearly every facet of a healthcare staffing firm giving her insight on how to streamline processes and create efficiencies. Meg's passion is to marry tech with talent, elevating the employee and client experience.

Ryan Anholt, Executive Vice President - Delta Healthcare Providers

Anholt joined The Delta Companies (TDC) in January of 2002 as a permanent recruiter for Delta Physician Placement (DPP) and was Recruiter of the Year in 2004. After a successful career in recruiting he joined the leadership team in 2005 and was promoted to Executive Vice President of DPP in October of 2006 and served in that role for over two years. In February of 2009 he joined Delta Healthcare Providers (DHP) and was tasked with building the travel therapy recruiting team. Throughout his tenure with DHP, the team has exponentially grown the number of travelers on assignment. Anholt was named Executive Vice President of DHP in July of 2017.  In 2019 he joined the NATHO board of directors and served has Vice President in 2021 and President in 2022 where he has overseen NATHO’s membership growth of 60%. Ryan lives in Grapevine, TX with his wife Kelly and their boys Colby and Caden who attend Grapevine Faith Christian School.

Terim L. Dortch, MSN, RN - Medical Solutions

CEC Co-Chair

Terim joined Medical Solutions in 2018. As the Manager of Clinical Services, Terim manages a large performance management and clinical services team of nurse managers who interview and oversee the performance of several thousand contingent clinicians working in facilities nationwide. Terim also meets with facility partners to develop an understanding of their hiring expectations and provides insights into onboarding policies for facility partners. Currently, she is co-vice chair of the Clinical Executive Committee for the healthcare travel industry and co-authored a paper to call to action a National Compact License. Prior to joining Medical Solutions, Terim worked as the Emergency Department Clinical Nurse Supervisor at a major Magnet pediatric trauma facility in Omaha, NE. A former travel nurse herself, she is also an experienced pediatric trauma and Med/Surg nurse leader. Terim received her MSN in Executive Leadership from Nebraska Methodist College and BSN from the University of Nebraska Medical Center-Lincoln.

Thad Dufelmeier, RN, CCWP - Theodore Drew & Associates

Thad Dufelmeier is the Founder/CEO of Theodore Drew and Associates (TD). Founded in 2009, TD offers Joint Commission consulting, clinical oversight, business process outsourcing, competency services, State Licensure services, payroll and accounting services, and digital marketing services. Thad was a Critical Care RN for the first 15 years of his career, with experience in major medical centers in the Greater Los Angeles area. He also assists healthcare staffing companies in becoming Joint Commission certified with over 200+ JC certifications under his belt. He is also a husband and father of 3 sons and loves sports and cooking.