MEET NOVA’S LEADERSHIP TEAM
Executive Leadership Team
Ulf Rohde
Ulf Rohde is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Nova Medical Centers. After completion of his pre-medical education at Baylor University and upon the achievement of his medical studies, Dr. Rohde opened his first medical center in Conroe, Texas, north of Houston. In 2002 Dr. Rohde re-focused the direction of the company on occupational medicine which has culminated in Nova growing to 50 clinics in four states employing over 600 healthcare staff. Dr. Rohde brings more than 20 years of invaluable healthcare experience to Nova as its original owner, operator, and clinician.
Shelton Frey
Chief Operating Officer and Chief Legal Officer
With over 20 years of operational and legal experience, Mr. Frey is responsible for the development and implementation of operational strategies that ensure the ongoing financial success of the organization while meeting the highest standards of quality of medical care. Mr. Frey also oversees the company’s legal department and is a trusted advisor to the executive leadership team on legal, compliance and regulatory matters. He has a proven record of success in previously held leadership positions as Vice President and General Counsel at Correctional Healthcare Companies and also as Senior Public Service Administrator and Legal Counsel with the Illinois Department of Corrections. Mr. Frey also previously served as an Assistant Attorney General and engaged in private practice in Illinois. Shelton holds a B.S and J.D. from Southern Illinois University and is licensed to practice law in the State of Illinois
Bruce Meymand
Mr. Meymand has more than 25 years experience in healthcare management with focus in strategic planning, sales and marketing, team administration and leadership. Mr. Meymand joined the organization in 1999 and has served in several capacities from Business Development, to Director of Marketing, to Vice President of Sales and Marketing, to Vice President at large and most recently Chief Operating Officer. His long organizational tenure and experience in the industry uniquely positions him to lead development and strategic initiatives across the enterprise. These include but are not limited too marketing and communications, software research and development, strategic stakeholder initiatives, regulatory affairs, executive leadership advisory as well as strategic planning of the enterprise at large.
Rebecca Busker
Mrs. Busker has over 30 years of business and financial experience in various accounting, financial, tax, executive management, and operational roles.
Prior to Nova Medical Centers, Mrs. Busker served as the Chief Financial Officer for an international publicly held manufacturer as well as serving as CFO for a privately held commercial HVAC manufacturer. Earlier in her career, Becky held various roles in Big Four public accounting as well as a multi-hospital healthcare entity.
Mrs. Busker earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Business Control Systems and a Masters of Science degree in Accounting from The University of North Texas and is a licensed CPA in the State of Texas.
Gert Rohde, DO
Dr. Rohde graduated from the University of North Texas Health Sciences Centers and has over 20 years of healthcare experience. He was the Chief Resident at Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston, Texas, prior to entering the specialized field of occupational medicine in 2002. Dr. Rohde oversees all business and day-to-day operations for Nova Medical Centers.
Mark Pucek, M.D.
Dr. Mark Pucek joined Nova Medical Centers in May 2018, bringing nearly 30 years of occupational and strategic healthcare experience to Nova’s Executive Leadership Team. Dr. Pucek is responsible for supervising Nova’s medical providers and for oversight of all medical services, including serving as Chair of the Credentialing and Continuous Quality Improvement Committees.
Dr. Pucek served as Chief Medical Officer and Regional Medical Director for the Southeast and Southwest Regions at U.S. HealthWorks. Dr. Pucek was Founder/Owner/Center Medical Director for Houston Center for Occupational Medicine. Dr. Pucek performed consulting work for nearly two decades with Kirby Marine Corporation in Houston, Texas and a guest expert medical advisor to the Towing Safety Advisory Committee (2008) at the Coast Guard National Maritime Center in Washington, D.C. Dr. Pucek served as a member of the Medical Advisory Committee for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. He also served as the Global Medical Director for Huntsman Corporation from 2008-2013.
Dr. Pucek completed a Family Medicine Residency program at the University of Texas in Houston, received his medical degree from the University of Texas Medical School at Houston, and attended the University of Texas at Austin and Louisiana State University for his undergraduate studies.
Isaac Mais
Mr. Mais is the senior human resources leader for the company and is a key member of the Senior Leadership team. He is responsible for the continuous improvement of the human resources organization and workplace environment. With more than 20 years of progressive human resources experience, Mr. Mais serves as a strategic partner to the executive team, pro-actively developing and driving the human capital strategy for Nova Medical Centers. He is a business savvy change agent with deep and broad experience who builds strong relationships and leverages business and HR expertise to drive results. Mr. Mais plays a key role in board relations, strategic planning, executive team coaching, financial responsibility, talent acquisition and retention, compensation, employee benefits, and organizational culture. He brings an entrepreneurial spirit, strong leadership, outstanding coaching skills, and an exceptional ability to resolve complex issues.
Legal and Compliance
Shelton Frey
Chief Operating Officer and Chief Legal Officer
With over 20 years of operational and legal experience, Mr. Frey is responsible for the development and implementation of operational strategies that ensure the ongoing financial success of the organization while meeting the highest standards of quality of medical care. Mr. Frey also oversees the company’s legal department and is a trusted advisor to the executive leadership team on legal, compliance and regulatory matters. He has a proven record of success in previously held leadership positions as Vice President and General Counsel at Correctional Healthcare Companies and also as Senior Public Service Administrator and Legal Counsel with the Illinois Department of Corrections. Mr. Frey also previously served as an Assistant Attorney General and engaged in private practice in Illinois. Shelton holds a B.S and J.D. from Southern Illinois University and is licensed to practice law in the State of Illinois
Blake Waters
In-House Counsel
Blake Waters has over 9 years of experience in the healthcare industry. Mr. Waters began his career as a Registered Nurse working primarily in an emergency room setting. After transitioning from a nursing career to a legal career, Mr. Waters has continued to focus on the healthcare industry. Blake serves as Nova’s In-House Counsel and provides a wide variety of legal advice including the areas of corporate and regulatory compliance, contracting, and litigation. He holds a B.S.N. from Texas A&M – Corpus Christi, and a J.D. from South Texas College of Law – Houston and is licensed to practice law in the State of Texas.
Clinic Operations
Rochelle Latkanich
Ms. Latkanich has over 18 years of successful operational and strategic healthcare experience. Rochelle is responsible for oversight of Nova’s enterprise center operations. Ms. Latkanich’s expertise spans multi-site, multi-state retail care, urgent care, primary care, employer onsite clinics, and occupational medicine. Before joining Nova Medical Centers, Ms. Latkanich has served in key leadership roles with several large national healthcare companies, including Take Care Health/ Walgreens where she had oversight of 121 clinics, MedExpress- 130 centers, Concentra -80 centers and Healthstat’s 290 clinics.
Ms. Latkanich has a combined business and clinical background. She earned her Master of Business Administration from Waynesburg University and her Master of Nursing- Family Nurse Practitioner from LaRoche College.
Samantha Toews PT, DPT
Dr. Toews has been with Nova Medical Centers since 2010 and has played an integral role in leading the Physical Therapy team through growth and structure changes at both the department and corporate levels.
Dr. Toews will be responsible for providing leadership and operational oversight for center operations throughout Nova Medical Centers.
Dr. Toews earned her Doctorate of Physical Therapy at Langston University; Bachelor of Science Degree in Biology at Oklahoma Panhandle State University.
Accounting
Rebecca Busker
Mrs. Busker has over 30 years of business and financial experience in various accounting, financial, tax, executive management, and operational roles.
Prior to Nova Medical Centers, Mrs. Busker served as the Chief Financial Officer for an international publicly held manufacturer as well as serving as CFO for a privately held commercial HVAC manufacturer. Earlier in her career, Becky held various roles in Big Four public accounting as well as a multi-hospital healthcare entity.
Mrs. Busker earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Business Control Systems and Masters of Science degree in Accounting from The University of North Texas and is a licensed CPA in the State of Texas.
Business Services
Nan Olsen
Mrs. Olsen has more than 30 years of experience in the healthcare industry and has been an integral member of the Nova Team since 2004. Mrs. Olsen’s responsibilities include accounts receivable, billing and coding, regulatory compliance, system integration and programming, software development and implementation, customer service, and process improvement. Prior to Nova Medical Centers, Mrs. Olsen served as the Business Manager for various healthcare entities including MD Anderson Cancer Center, Kelsey Seybold Clinics, and Ochsner Medical Facilities.
Mrs. Olsen received her Bachelor of Administration in Business Management from the University of New Orleans.
Medical
Mark Pucek, M.D.
Dr. Mark Pucek joined Nova Medical Centers in May 2018, bringing nearly 30 years of occupational and strategic healthcare experience to Nova’s Executive Leadership Team. Dr. Pucek is responsible for supervising Nova’s medical providers and for oversight of all medical services, including serving as Chair of the Credentialing and Continuous Quality Improvement Committees.
Dr. Pucek served as Chief Medical Officer and Regional Medical Director for the Southeast and Southwest Regions at U.S. HealthWorks. Dr. Pucek was the Founder/Owner/Center Medical Director for Houston Center for Occupational Medicine. Dr. Pucek performed consulting work for nearly two decades with Kirby Marine Corporation in Houston, Texas, and a guest expert medical advisor to the Towing Safety Advisory Committee (2008) at the Coast Guard National Maritime Center in Washington, D.C. Dr. Pucek served as a member of the Medical Advisory Committee for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. He also served as the Global Medical Director for Huntsman Corporation from 2008-2013.
Dr. Pucek completed a Family Medicine Residency program at the University of Texas in Houston, received his medical degree from the University of Texas Medical School at Houston, and attended the University of Texas at Austin and Louisiana State University for his undergraduate studies.
Nilima Rai, MD
Regional Medical Director
Dr. Rai graduated from the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. She has been a practicing physician in the Houston area for over 20 years. Dr. Rai has been an Assistant Professor at the University of Texas, Houston and on the staff at St. Luke’s in Houston. Dr. Rai has been practicing occupational medicine with Nova Medical Centers for over 15 years and also serves as a Regional Medical Director and a member of the Credentialing Committee and Continuous Quality Improvement Committee.
Bryan Novosad, MD
Regional Medical Director
Dr. Novosad is a Board Certified Family Physician who has over 40 years of healthcare experience. He completed his medical training at the University of Texas Medical Branch-Galveston and his residency in Family Medicine at John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth, Texas. Dr. Novosad has previously served as Medical Director to a number of health plans and medical groups. Since joining Nova Medical Centers in 2011, Dr. Novosad’s role has increasingly grown to serve as a Regional Medical Director and a member of the Credentialing Committee and Continuous Quality Improvement Committee. Dr. Novosad’s broad knowledge and expertise in occupational healthcare enable him to be a valuable resource for Nova’s clinical practitioners.
Brian Chadwick, MD
Regional Medical Director
Dr. Chadwick graduated from McMaster University and the University of Toronto and holds both an MD and a Ph.D. Following a successful 15 year OB/GYN practice, Dr. Chadwick has refocused his career in Occupational Medicine and enjoys the new challenges and satisfaction of treating injured workers. Dr. Chadwick is the Medical Director of Nova’s Atlanta Airport clinic and the Regional Medical Director for responsible for clinics in Georgia and East Tennessee. He is responsible for ensuring delivery of high quality, outcome-based healthcare in the regional clinics through Nova’s Continuous Quality Improvement initiative, and actively works directly with clients to create positive relationships.
Brandon Elrod, DO
Regional Medical Director
Dr. Elrod received his Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine from Touro University College of Osteopathic Medicine in Vallejo California. After graduation, he commissioned as a Captain in the US Army where he completed his internship in Pediatrics and then trained in Family Medicine at Madigan Army Medical Center. Dr. Elrod received an Honorable Discharge from the Army after completing nearly 6 years of service. He has been practicing occupational medicine with Nova Medical Centers since 2015 in his hometown of El Paso Texas and is also a Regional Medical Director for Texas.
Derek Lichota, MD
Regional Medical Director
Dr. Lichota has been the Medical Director at Nova Medical Centers in Grand Prairie, TX since September 2017 and will continue in that role as well. After receiving a BS in Biology from the University of Miami, he attended Medical School at Texas A & M in College Station, TX, with a concentration in Orthopedics. Outside of Nova Medical Centers, Dr. Lichota is interested and has worked in numerous positions in sports medicine and orthopedics including Senior Staff Orthopedist at the Scott and White Memorial Hospital, Director of Sports Medicine and Associate Profession at Texas A & M University, and Medical Director at the University Mary Hardin Baylor Athletic Training Department.
Physical Therapy
Trisha Perry, PT, DPT
With over 20 years of experience in the healthcare industry, Dr. Perry oversees Nova’s entire compass of physical therapy, including growth planning and execution, development and strategic operational efficiency. Dr. Perry is a board member of the Occupational Health Special Interest Group of the American Physical Therapy Association’s Academy of Orthopaedic Physical Therapy, as well as a member of the Section on Health Policy and Administration. She earned her Doctorate of Physical Therapy from A.T. Still University – Arizona School of Health Sciences, her Master of Physical Therapy and dual Bachelor of Science degrees in Biology and Psychology at Southwest Baptist University. Dr. Perry is a charter member of the Work Rehab Clinical Practice Guidelines Development Group and has held multiple allied health board positions and committee member roles.
Kimberly Marryott Lee PT, DHS
Dr. Lee is a physical therapist with over 20 years of clinical and management experience, and has been providing leadership and operational oversight for therapy services in the occupational health environment since 2011. Dr. Lee graduated from Hahnemann University with her Masters in Physical Therapy in 1994, and then went on to receive her Doctorate in Health Professions from the University of Indianapolis in 2006. She is also a certified vestibular rehabilitation therapist and a credentialed clinical instructor. Dr. Lee has served as a Delegate to the American Physical Therapy Association House of Delegates, past Vice President and Legislative Chair for the Physical Therapy Association of Georgia, member of the inaugural RM Poole Leadership Development Committee, and served on faculty at Georgia State University in the Department of Physical Therapy.
Anthony Cheung, PT, DPT, OCS, Cert. SMT, Cert. DN, Dip. Osteopractic
Dr. Cheung oversees and implements enterprise-wide learning, research, and development initiatives for the Physical Therapy department. Dr. Cheung earned his Doctor of Physical Therapy from Texas Woman‘s University; Bachelor of Science degree in Kinesiology at the University of Houston. Dr. Cheung is a Board Certified Specialist in Orthopedic Physical Therapy through the American Board of Physical Therapy Specialties as well as an author on the upcoming “Work Rehabilitation and Physical Therapist Practice” Clinical Practice Guidelines from the Orthopedic Section of the American Physical Therapy Association. Dr. Cheung holds a Diploma in Osteopractic from the American Academy of Manipulative Therapy and has co-taught for courses on both spinal manipulation and dry needling interventions. Dr. Cheung is an instructor for an online continuing education course of the Cervical Spine through PTWebucation and has lectured on manual therapy for Pima Medical Institute’s Physical Therapist Assistant program while also serving on their PTA Program Advisory Board.
Sales
Danica Nabors
Mrs. Nabors has been an integral part of the Nova Medical Centers team for over 12 years. She is responsible for the development and administration of all sales operations to achieve Nova’s objectives of growth, profitability, productivity, and visibility while ensuring a consistent, uniform message.
Network and Payer Strategy
Mark Neer
Mr. Neer is a senior healthcare management executive with more than 25 years of experience and previously held leadership positions within the healthcare industry, including Senior Vice President of Network Development for WellComp Managed Care Services, a subsidiary of York Risk Services. His experience spans healthcare providers, networks, payors and state regulatory entities. At Nova, Mr. Neer is responsible for network/managed care relationships and strategic development on a national basis. He oversees Nova’s internal credentialing and quality assurance programs. In addition, Mr. Neer assists the senior leadership team with strategic direction for further expansion into new markets.
Human Resources
Isaac Mais
Mr. Mais is the senior human resources leader for the company and is a key member of the Senior Leadership team. He is responsible for the continuous improvement of the human resources organization and workplace environment. With more than 20 years of progressive human resources experience, Mr. Mais serves as a strategic partner to the executive team, pro-actively developing and driving the human capital strategy for Nova Medical Centers. He is a business savvy change agent with deep and broad experience who builds strong relationships and leverages business and HR expertise to drive results. Mr. Mais plays a key role in board relations, strategic planning, executive team coaching, financial responsibility, talent acquisition and retention, compensation, employee benefits, and organizational culture. He brings an entrepreneurial spirit, strong leadership, outstanding coaching skills, and an exceptional ability to resolve complex issues.
Carissa Martin
Jennifer Bruton
Ms. Bruton has more than 10 years of talent acquisition and human resources experience, Ms. Bruton is a key advisor to senior leadership, tasked with providing vision and strategic direction for talent acquisition activities, talent management, employee relations, change management, workforce planning initiatives, compensation, employee engagement, culture, productivity, and staff retention.
Mr. Bruton holds a Bachelor of Science from Texas A&M University and a Juris Doctorate from the University of Houston Law Center.
Information Technology
Mark Seale
Mark Seale has more than 20 year’s experience in Information Technology and has specialized in Healthcare IT. Mark’s experience ranges from the entry level report runner to managing IT Operations for a 250 site healthcare company, and serving as CTO/SVP for healthcare startups and M&A ventures. As the top technology leader for multiple organizations, Mark has enjoyed the opportunity to lead the architecture and strategic roadmap as well as mentor and develop new IT professionals. Mark’s leadership background includes significant work in process improvement and business engagement using tools from Six Sigma and Lean. Mark joins Nova Medical Centers with a goal of redefining what IT can mean to the business and bringing a strategic vision that IT will be a business enabler.
Facilities
Brent Rohde
Mr. Rohde oversees all aspects of facility development and construction and consults with company personnel on all aspects of clinic design to ensure a safe and effective clinic environment for patients and employees. Previously, Mr. Rohde served as the Vice President of Health, Safety, and Environment and continues to provide leadership in health, safety, and risk management to the organization by ensuring all facility policies and programs meet or exceed legal requirements.
Mr. Rohde earned Bachelor’s Degrees in Finance and in Business from Houston Baptist University.