FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Emilie Fennell
Director, Communications and External Relations
512-334-1649
Emilie.Fennell@tmf.org
1-800-725-9216
AUSTIN, Texas, Aug. 8, 2022—TMF Health Quality Institute, a leading nonprofit health care consulting company, elected David C. Mason, DO, MBA, FACOFP, chair of the board.
Dr. David Mason works in Fort Worth, Texas, and specializes in family medicine and osteopathic manipulative medicine. He obtained a doctoral degree in osteopathic medicine from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. Dr. Mason also has a Master of Business Administration from The University of Texas at Dallas. Dr. Mason is certified in family medicine as well as neuromusculoskeletal medicine and osteopathic manipulative medicine. Throughout his career, he has received many awards and honors, including the American Osteopathic Association Mentor Hall of Fame, the Arnold P. Gold Foundation Humanism in Medicine Award and the What Others Want Award for Clinical Service from the University of North Texas Health Science Center. He currently serves on the American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians’ Osteopathic Clinical Research Committee, and he has previously served on several other national committees and boards. Dr. Mason joined the TMF board in August 2019.
Lisa Ehrlich, MD, will serve as vice chair. Dr. Ehrlich is an active staff member at both St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital and Methodist Hospital in Houston, Texas. She received her Doctorate of Medicine from The University of Texas Medical Branch, and she completed her residency in internal medicine at the University of Michigan Medical Center.
Laurie East, MBA, CPA, FACMPE, will continue to serve as secretary/treasurer. Ms. East is a leader with extensive health care finance, physician practice, small business and nonprofit experience. She is currently a managing partner at Cardinal 360, LLC, a health care consulting business.Gayle Semtner, MEd, was re-elected to chair the Operations Committee. Ms. Semtner represents Medicare beneficiaries on the TMF board of trustees. She has served as the community development specialist for the Oklahoma Healthy Aging Initiative at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, and she was the program manager for the Aging and Disabilities Resource Consortium with the Aging Services Division of the Oklahoma Department of Human Services.Linda Villarreal, MD, was elected as officer-at-large. Dr. Villarreal maintains her internal medicine practice in her hometown of Edinburg, Texas. She is the immediate past president of the Texas Medical Association (TMA), serving as TMA’s president from 2021-2022. Jeffrey Schmeltekopf, CLU, ChFC, CFP, AIF, continues to serve as the non-physician officer-at-large. Mr. Schmeltekopf is co-owner, partner and chief compliance officer of Dean, Jacobson Financial Services, LLC. He earned his Bachelor of Business Administration from Baylor University, and he has completed multiple executive education programs at some of the nation’s most prominent business and management schools. Newly elected members to the board include:
Janet Marie Lieto, DO, FACOFP, CMD, CPPS
Eddie L. Patton Jr., MD, MS, MBA, FAAN
Linda Villarreal, MD - Officer-at-Large
TMF’s board of trustees is comprised of physicians, health care leaders and consumer (Medicare) beneficiary representatives. Click
here for a full listing of board members and their biographies.
About TMF Health Quality Institute
TMF Health Quality Institute focuses on improving lives by improving the quality of health care through contracts with federal, state and local governments, as well as private organizations. For 50 years, TMF has helped health care providers and practitioners in a variety of settings improve care for their patients.