Theme: Changemakers

An internal program designed for VA employees featuring an array of changemakers in and out of government.

VA Central Office
810 Vermont Avenue, NW
room 230
Washington, District of Columbia, 20420
United States

Anne Havnier

Senior Change Management Strategist

Anne Havniear is a veteran, a 2001 graduate of West Point, a proud wife, and a mom. She strives to normalize "real talk" in professional settings and welcomes those moments another person removes their veneer. As a certified Prosci change management instructor/Certified Change Management Professional, she passionately champions meaningful ways to lead the people side of change for the 300,000+ employees in the Department of Veterans Affairs so that America's Veterans receive the best outcomes.

Benjamin Kligler

Executive Director, Patient Centered Care & Cultural Transformation

Benjamin Kligler, MD, MPH, is a board-certified family physician who has been working as a clinician, educator, researcher and administrative leader in the field of complementary and integrative medicine for the past 25 years. In May 2020 Dr. Kligler was named Executive Director of the Office of Patient Centered Care & Cultural Transformation at the VA. He is a Professor of Family and Community Medicine at Icahn Mount Sinai School of Medicine.

Dominique Boone

Chief, Engagement Experience Office

Dominique Boone is a licensed clinical psychologist at Central Virginia VA Health Care System. In her current role she focuses on organizational health with the understanding that the healthiest hospital systems provide the most transformative care. Dominique believes in the undeniable impact of kindness and agrees that “with one kind gesture you can change a life and one person at a time, you can change the world.” In her personal time she enjoys relaxing in nature and volunteering.

John Looft

Director, Motion Analysis Laboratory

John M Looft, PhD, is a clinical biomedical engineer who directs the Minneapolis VA’s Prosthetic & Patient Services’ Motion Analysis Laboratory and is a principal investigator in the Minneapolis Adaptive Design & Engineering (MADE) program. Dr. Looft’s research focuses on improving access for Veterans to participate in activities. On the clinic side, Dr. Looft focuses on promoting personalized understanding within the scope of personalized medicine by using motion capture to promote conversations between the clinical team and the Veteran.

Kalautie JangDhari

Executive Director, Miami VA Healthcare System

Kalautie JangDhari is the Executive Director, Miami VA Healthcare System. She previously served as Director, West Texas VA, and Associate Director for the Orlando VA and VA Pacific Islands Healthcare System. Ms. JangDhari began her VA career as an Administrative Fellow and continued in progressive positions of responsibility at VA medical facilities, network/regional offices and VHA Headquarters. Ms. JangDhari is a life member of the Interagency Institute for Healthcare Executives, Leadership VA Alumni Association, and Co-Chair of the VHA Healthcare Leadership Development Advisory Board.

Lara Eilhardt

Attorney, Office of General Counsel

coming

Mary Ann Murdoch

Program Analyst

During Ann’s 24-year military career she rose from enlisted Private First Class to Lieutenant Colonel. At the Pentagon, Ann worked many issues of diversity and gained a deep appreciation for the complexity of managing diversity programs in a huge organization and how unintended consequences and competing priorities sometimes got in the way of achieving goals. Among her proudest accomplishments at the Pentagon was revising seven Army regulations upon the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” After she retired from the military, Ann confronted her life-long struggle with gender dysphoria and did the scariest, most difficult thing in her life: she transitioned from a life of privilege living as a seemingly cis-gendered, straight white male to living a life of authenticity as a woman who is open about her transgender history. She went immediately from receiving unearned deference to having to fight to protect her right to do something as basic as use a public restroom.

Stephen Blatt

Physician

Stephen Blatt, MD is a board-certified ophthalmologist, and has been a full-time physician at Edward Hines, Jr. VA Medical Center since 2017. Before that, he was an ophthalmology resident at Hines VA from 2007-2010. He has spoken to national audiences about overcoming a severe form of career burnout, which led to career dropout for some time. Through mindset shifts taught to him by Navy SEALs, Dr. Blatt turned struggle and setback into a fulfilling work life.

Thomas Osborne

Chief, Medical Informatics Officer, VA Palo Alto Health Care System

Thomas Osborne, MD, is the Director of the National Center for Collaborative Healthcare Innovation and Chief Medical Informatics Officer at VA Palo Alto HCS. He is leading the development of pioneering healthcare solutions throughout VA, with other government agencies, and with leading technology companies to deliver the best and advanced healthcare solutions to our Veterans. Dr. Osborne received his medical degree from Dartmouth Medical School before completing residency and fellowship training at Harvard hospitals.

Walt Dannenberg

Executive Director, Long Beach Healthcare System

Mr. Dannenberg is responsible for admin and clinical operations of the Tibor Rubin VA Medical Center, 6 Community Based Outpatient Clinics and a Community Resource and Referral Center (CRRC). The VA Long Beach HCS provides an array of primary, specialty, and tertiary care services for Veterans in Long Beach and Orange County, California. Mr. Dannenberg oversees operations that include more than 3,400 staff, over 400 operating beds, and an annual budget that exceeds $800 million. He plays an integral role in leading overall organizational performance and fosters relationships with the many community partners, academic affiliates, and key VA stakeholders. Mr. Dannenberg is a fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives, and a certified VA Mentor. He is a graduate of the 2010 Health Care Leadership Development Program and a member of the 2016 Class for Leadership VA. He has served on the national advisory board for the Healthcare Leadership Development Program since 2013.

Wayshak Hill

Program Analyst, Outreach, Transition & Economic Development, VBA

Mr. Wayshak (Shak) Hill serves as a Program Analyst for Outreach, Transition & Economic Development (OTED) within the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA). Mr. Hill has experience owning businesses, writing books and producing and staring in a financial educational video, a financial literacy adult class he dedicates to his mother. Mr. Hill is a graduate of the United States Air Force Academy and holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) with a concentration in Finance.