ADVISORY BOARD
Paul Torrens, M.D.
Paul Torrens is Professor of Health Services, teaches courses in health services organization and financing, health services organization and theory, managerial processes in health service organizations and managed care. Dr. Torrens received his M.D. from Georgetown University and his M.P.H. from Harvard University. A physician by initial training, he has had a long career in the two areas of health care management and health care policy.
As a health care manager, Dr. Torrens has had many years of direct management experience in hospitals and health organizations. He has also many years of membership on governing boards of health care organizations of various kinds; he currently serves on the Board of Directors of Blue Shield of California, as well as the Board of PacificCare Behavioral Health of California. He is also a member of the Financial Solvency Standards Board, Department of Managed Care, State of California, and the Attorneys General Task Force on Charity Care.
As a health policy expert, Dr. Torrens has served in a wide variety of advisory and consulting capacities to governmental and non-governmental organizations in all parts of the United States and in eighteen foreign countries.
David R. Holmquist
Dave Holmquist is the General Counsel of the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), the second largest school district in the country with over 700,000 students. Prior to that, he served as the Chief Operating Officer at LAUSD. Dave holds a JD from Western State University.
Benjamin C. Wei
Ben is the Senior Vice President of Mesirow Financial Consulting, a diversified financial sevices firm headquarted in Chicago with more than 1,200 employees across the country and in London. Ben has over 14 years of experience in financial consulting, corporate valuation and investment analysis. He is responsible for leading valuation engagements for financial and tax reporting purposes for publicly-traded and privately-held companies. He advises corporate clients and private equity firms on valuation of investments in portfolio companies and illiquid securities. Ben's industry experience includes technology, communications, medical device, pharmaceuticals and consumer products. Ben is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with an MBA from the Anderson School of Management at UCLA.
Mark Shiu, D.O., M.P.H.
Mark Shiu is a family physician involved in delivering health care in an array of settings. Dr. Shiu practices at Medicor Medical Group which he founded in Rancho Cucamonga. He also provides care as a hospitalist as well as an Urgent Care/Emergency physician. Dr. Shiu is actively involved in the Family Medicine Residency Program as a faculty physician at the County of San Bernardino/Arrrowhead Regional Medical Center in Colton, CA. Throughout his practice, Dr. Shiu continually explores ways to apply information systems to advance the overall delivery of care. Dr. Shiu received his D.O. degree from Western University of Health Sciences/College of Osteopathic Medicine in Pomona, CA and his M.P.H. in Epidemiology from UCLA. Dr. Shiu is board certified by the American Board of Family Medicine and American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians.
Vivian Chow
Vivian is an entrepreneur who has served as the CEO of information technology firms that she co-founded. Vivian has an extensive enterprise resource planning and business intelligence implementation experience. In 2004, her company, Soltre, was listed among the fastest growing private companies by the Los Angeles Business Journal. In 1999, Vivian was awarded the Ernst & Young "Entrepreneur of the Year for Technology" in Los Angeles. She was the co-author of the "Oracle Certified Professional Financial Applications Consultant Exam Guide". Vivian graduated with honors from the California Institute of Technology with both an MS and BS in Computer Science.
Christopher J. Steins
Chris Steins is the founder and CEO of Urban Insight. Chris has 10 years of experience in technology consulting and urban planning. He has participated in all aspects of information systems life cycle development, including user requirements, project management, system design, development and deployment. He has served as a consultant to public sector, state, county and local agencies, Fortune 500 private firms, educational institutions, and nonprofit organization. Chris is the former managing editor of The Planning Report and Metro Investment Report, two prominent Los Angeles-based monthly newsletters on urban planning, real estate and infrastructure development, and the former executive director of a nonprofit affordable housing development corporation.
Chris serves on the executive board of Urban Land Institute Los Angeles and is a lecturer at the University of Southern California. He is the immediate past Chair of the American Planning Association's Information Technology Division, and is a frequent author on topics related to planning and technology.
He received his Masters (M.Pl.) degree in Urban Planning and Development from the USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development, and his Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of California, Los Angeles, and holds a variety of technology certifications from UCLA, Microsoft, CompTia and Novell.