achl-logo R achl-logo R

About Us

ACHL’s mission is to design, develop, and implement quality continuing education activities for medical and pharmacy professionals across diverse practice settings that will have a positive influence on the way healthcare is practiced and improve patient outcomes.

ACHL’s vision is to improve health outcomes through collaborative, impactful education.

Our
core services
title-sep

Clinical Content
Development

Our editorial team collaborates with expert faculty to create innovative and scientifically rigorous content in a variety of therapeutic areas. Most notably, ACHL excels in developing content that not only imparts new knowledge regarding the latest data but introduces strategies for day to day application for clinicians to introduce in a real-world environment, efficiently and effectively.

Program
Management

Experienced in developing education in a variety of diverse and complex formats ranging from live symposia to digital applications to QI programs, our program management team spearheads the development of complex education.

Accreditation

Our accreditation team is experienced in developing education aligned to accreditation criteria and standards for ACCME, ACPE and others. They work collaboratively with internal and external teams to ensure the highest standards of compliance are met.

Digital Services

Our digital team has extensive experience in developing scalable, innovative and adaptive learning platforms for a continuing education environment. From sophisticated UI/UX strategies to proven data migration and integration practices, our digital customized digital platforms are responsive and effective in education delivery.

Production &
AV Services

From concepting, to setup/onsite support, to post production, our production team ensures that the videos and audio that enhance our education is purposeful, optimized and cost effective.

Our Company
title-sep

The Academy for Continued Healthcare Learning (ACHL) is an independently owned and operated full service medical education company that has been developing certified healthcare education for nearly twenty years.


Headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, and supported by a staff of twenty full-time employees, ACHL actively engages and collaborates with diverse stakeholders in healthcare to improve the quality of care by developing comprehensive educational strategies reflective of the multifaceted and globally diverse healthcare environment. Through this collaborative model, we seek to transform the reach and redefine the value of IME.

Our Team
title-sep

tree
Executive Director

Lisa Keckich, MS

Executive Director

lkeckich@achlcme.org

Lisa has over 25 years of client services experience that encompasses roles in CME, association management, business development, strategic planning, marketing, and operations. As Executive Director at ACHL, she leads cross functional teams that collaborate as a focused unit to achieve business goals and drive the evolution of concepts into achievable business strategies. She is responsible for the overall development and implementation of educational activities that support the continuing professional development of physicians, nurses, pharmacists, and other clinicians.

Prior to ACHL she spent six years at DIME, a full-service accredited provider and nine years at SmithBucklin Corporation, as an executive director and consultant serving healthcare associations, including the American Society of Hand Therapists and the American Academy of Esthetic Dentistry. In this capacity, she directed the strategic and financial positioning of her client organizations and drove organizational growth.

Lisa earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Denver in Sociology and a Master of Science degree from DePaul University in public service management. She is a member of the Alliance for Continuing Education in the Health Professions (ACEHP), the Illinois Alliance for Continuing Medical Education (IACME), and the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE).

ACCREDITATION AND OUTCOMES

Katlyn Cooper

Sr. Director, Accreditation and Outcomes

kcooper@achlcme.org

Katlyn has contributed in various capacities to the development of ACHL’s CME activities since 2012. She manages multiple accreditations, including ACCME, ACPE, CDR, CBRN, and CCMC, and ensures ACHL activities are designed, developed, and implemented in accordance with appropriate regulatory guidelines.

To service outcomes, Katlyn collaborates with the scientific team to develop and validate instructional designs and evaluation instruments to assess the effectiveness of ACHL’s educational programs. Katlyn’s efforts in analyzing outcomes data, summarizing relevant findings, and synthesizing program evaluation data support grant proposal development, reporting and presentations for grantors, and submissions to professional scientific conferences and publications.

EDITORIAL AND SCIENTIFIC

Natasha Mitchner, PhD

VP, Scientific Services

nmitchner@achlcme.org

Natasha has over 20 years of experience in medical education and communications. As VP of Scientific Services at ACHL, Natasha works collaboratively with faculty to develop educational strategies and scientific content for live and digital-based CME programs across diverse therapeutic categories. Prior to joining ACHL, Natasha worked at DIME, a full-service accredited provider, for over seven years.

Jonathan Sokolowski, PhD

Scientific Director

jsokolowski@achlcme.org

Jonathan has been in science writing/editing and medical communications since 2001, initially joining ACHL in 2008.

As a Scientific Director, Jonathan works with expert faculty and ACHL team members to develop and deliver creative, strategic, and scientifically rigorous content for a wide variety of distribution platforms across an array of therapeutic areas, with extensive experience in cardiovascular, endocrinology, rheumatology, dermatology, immunology, and neurology, among others.

PROGRAM MANAGEMENT

Laurie Novoryta, MBA, MOL

Sr. Program Director

lnovoryta@achlcme.org

Laurie has worked in medical education for over 18 years and has been involved with CME program development since 2012. At ACHL, Laurie has managed programs covering multiple therapeutic areas, which are more commonly incorporating patient experiences and providing resources on shared decision making. Laurie was recently involved in the launch of an adaptive learning activity that allows learners to experience education uniquely tailored to their individual needs based on how they engage in questions across multiple topics on inflammatory and autoimmune skin conditions.

Karen Catino

Sr. Program Manager

kcatino@achlcme.org

Karen has worked in the medical education field for over 15 years in a variety of professional roles. She manages all aspects of CME activities from inception to completion for both live meetings and online formats.

Karen is responsible for project implementation while meeting the educational objectives of stakeholders and educational partners. Ensuring expectations are met on all levels of the project throughout the lifecycle of the activity.

Katie Hacias

Sr. Program Manager

khacias@achlcme.org

Katie supports ACHL part-time, primarily focusing on the annual Linda Morgante MR Nurse Leadership Program. She has over 15 years of medical education experience that includes implementing complex educational platforms in varied media. As an Associate Program Director, she is responsible for establishing and maintaining relationships with educational stakeholders/ collaborators (associations, payers, hospitals, faculty, etc.), and presenting innovative solutions to meet educational objectives and drive improved quality of care.

McKenna Reinhard

Sr. Program Coordinator

mreinhard@achlcme.org

McKenna has worked in the medical field for over a decade in a variety of roles and therapeutic areas. As Senior Program Coordinator, she is responsible for managing activities across both live and online platforms. She works with stakeholders to manage the execution of educational these programs from inception to completion.

OUTCOMES

Katlyn Cooper

Sr. Director, Accreditation and Outcomes

kcooper@achlcme.org

Katlyn has contributed in various capacities to the development of ACHL’s CME activities since 2012. She manages multiple accreditations, including ACCME, ACPE, CDR, CBRN, and CCMC, and ensures ACHL activities are designed, developed, and implemented in accordance with appropriate regulatory guidelines.

DEVELOPMENT & PARTNERSHIPS

Richard Keenan

VP, Education Development

rkeenan@achlcme.org

Rich has over 15 years of CME experience focused on identifying, developing, and offering educational activities to address educational needs among healthcare professionals. Rich began his healthcare career in Pharma, with varying roles in sales, sales management and marketing providing experience across multiple therapeutic areas and healthcare channels. His marketing roles included extensive work and interaction with physician leaders in immunology, infectious disease, and cardiovascular disease.

Vanessa Senatore

VP, Stakeholder Engagement

vsenatore@achlcme.org

Vanessa has over 17 years of medical education experience in program development implementing complex educational platforms as well as operational oversight of all programs. As VP of Stakeholder Engagement, she is responsible for establishing and maintaining relationships with educational stakeholders/collaborators, presenting innovative solutions to meet educational objectives, and drive improved quality of care. Vanessa is a member of the Alliance for Continuing Education in Health Professions (ACEHP) and the Illinois Alliance for Continuing Medical Education (IACME).

Funmi Adeyemi

Grants Coordinator

fadeyemi@achlcme.org

Funmi Adeyemi joined the business development team of ACHL in June 2022. As Grants Coordinator, she works on grant submissions within commercial support portals, monitoring commercial support websites for RFP availability/funding cycles, conducting research in support of grants development, and tracking grant statuses. Funmi enjoys working on grants submissions to support ACHL’s varied educational designs for CME programs.

Funmi graduated from University of South Florida (USF) in 2022 with a bachelor’s degree in health sciences.

FINANCE

Don Hallagan

Chief Financial Officer

dhallagan@achlcme.org

Don has significant experience, including the last five years at ACHL, with financial and operating decisions, including strategy, workflow, systems, staffing, requests for proposal, and legal matters.

Palak Kothari

Financial Controller

pkothari@achlcme.org

Palak Kothari has over 8 years of experience in accounting and finance domain and has held variety of professional roles. She has experience in managing operational accounting systems, developing various financial reports, revenue recognition process(s) and bank/project reconciliation. Over the years Palak’s has worked on various accounting process improvements and onboarding and supporting training on new accounting systems.

Melissa Stradal

AP Accountant and Certification Services Coordinator

mstradal@achlcme.org

Melissa manages, and ensures timely fulfillment, of the accounts providing financial, administrative, and clerical support to ACHL.

Since 2014, Melissa has also provided logistical support for CME programs, including certification management. She is active in the CME community and is a member of the Illinois Alliance for Continuing Medical Education (IACME).

DIGITAL SOLUTIONS

Ritesh Kothari

SVP, Digital Solutions

Ritesh@achlcme.org

Ritesh has over 18 years of CME experience at ACHL with a focus on identifying and implementing emerging technologies in ever-changing digital environment. He has vast experience building enterprise-level learning solutions (i.e. Learning Management System), client-server applications, mobile applications (i.e. iOS/Android) and digital applications (i.e. green screen technology, 3D composition, 3D animation, animated medical illustration, AR/VR).

Priyank Tamboli

Assistant Director, Digital Solutions

ptamboli@achlcme.org

Priyank is an application architect with nearly 15 years of experience in designing and implementing successful multi-tier applications and system integration solutions. He has excellent understanding of application analysis and design concepts, as well as the ability to apply proven design patterns to the system design, employ extreme programming, and SCRUM techniques for robust implementation.

MARKETING

Emily Bennett

Manager, Marketing & Communications

ebennett@achlcme.org

Emily comes to ACHL with over 15 years of marketing experience in a variety of industries across agency, corporate, and non-profit sectors, including healthcare associations. Emily is responsible to develop strategy for, and execute on, multi-channel marketing campaigns that further the mission of ACHL and its partners.

Close

Katlyn Cooper

Sr. Director, Accreditation and Outcomes

kcooper@achlcme.org

Katlyn has contributed in various capacities to the development of ACHL’s CME activities since 2012. She manages multiple accreditations, including ACCME, ACPE, CDR, CBRN, and CCMC, and ensures ACHL activities are designed, developed, and implemented in accordance with appropriate regulatory guidelines.

To service outcomes, Katlyn collaborates with the scientific team to develop and validate instructional designs and evaluation instruments to assess the effectiveness of ACHL’s educational programs. Katlyn’s efforts in analyzing outcomes data, summarizing relevant findings, and synthesizing program evaluation data support grant proposal development, reporting and presentations for grantors, and submissions to professional scientific conferences and publications.

Close

Richard Keenan

VP, Education Development

rkeenan@achlcme.org

Rich has over 15 years of CME experience focused on identifying, developing, and offering educational activities to address educational needs among healthcare professionals. Rich began his healthcare career in Pharma, with varying roles in sales, sales management and marketing providing experience across multiple therapeutic areas and healthcare channels. His marketing roles included extensive work and interaction with physician leaders in immunology, infectious disease, and cardiovascular disease.

Rich earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration, with a minor in accounting from Marist College, Poughkeepsie, NY.

Close

Brittany Puster

VP, Education Development

bpuster@achlcme.org

Brittany brings over 13 years of CME experience to ACHL including expertise in business development, program conceptualization and execution, and tactical industry knowledge. She strategically works to provide unique and engaging continuing education activities for clinicians with the ultimate goal of improving patient outcomes.

Brittany actively partners with patient advocates, and key patient / clinician foundations to ensure educational offerings are representative of real-world experiences. Her expertise across a variety of therapeutic areas, key partnerships, and collaborative opportunities ensures optimization of educational offerings.

Brittany earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology, with minors in Business Management and Environmental Population and Organismic Biology from the University of Colorado, Boulder.

Close

Don Hallagan

Chief Financial Officer

dhallagan@achlcme.org

Don has significant experience, including the last five years at ACHL, with financial and operating decisions, including strategy, workflow, systems, staffing, requests for proposal, and legal matters.

He is adept at meeting the expectations of a broad range of audiences, including clients and partners, board members, private equity owners, and commercial and investment bankers.

When involved with client and partner agreements, Don’s goal is “WIN-WIN” outcomes. He has Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Accountancy from the University of Notre Dame and is a Certified Public Accountant.

Close

Melissa Stradal

AP Accountant and Certification Services Coordinator

mstradal@achlcme.org

Melissa manages, and ensures timely fulfillment, of the accounts providing financial, administrative, and clerical support to ACHL.

Since 2014, Melissa has also provided logistical support for CME programs, including certification management. She is active in the CME community and is a member of the Illinois Alliance for Continuing Medical Education (IACME).

Close

Palak Kothari

Financial Controller

pkothai@achlcme.org

Palak Kothari has over 8 years of experience in accounting and finance domain and has held variety of professional roles. She has experience in managing operational accounting systems, developing various financial reports, revenue recognition process(s) and bank/project reconciliation. Over the years Palak’s has worked on various accounting process improvements and onboarding and supporting training on new accounting systems.

Palak holds Master’s in Accounting and Finance Management from Keller Graduate School of Management from Chicago, IL.

Close

Natasha Mitchner, PhD

VP, Scientific Services

nmitchner@achlcme.org

Natasha has over 20 years of experience in medical education and communications. As VP of Scientific Services at ACHL, Natasha works collaboratively with faculty to develop educational strategies and scientific content for live and digital-based CME programs across diverse therapeutic categories. Prior to joining ACHL, Natasha worked at DIME, a full-service accredited provider, for over seven years.

Natasha completed her undergraduate work at Hampshire College and received a PhD in Cell and Molecular Biology from the University of Cincinnati. She began as a scientific writer after a post-doctoral fellowship at Northwestern University. She is a member of the American Medical Writers Association.

Close

Jonathan Sokolowski, PhD

Scientific Director

jsokolowski@achlcme.org

Jonathan has been in science writing/editing and medical communications since 2001, initially joining ACHL in 2008.

As a Scientific Director, Jonathan works with expert faculty and ACHL team members to develop and deliver creative, strategic, and scientifically rigorous content for a wide variety of distribution platforms across an array of therapeutic areas, with extensive experience in cardiovascular, endocrinology, rheumatology, dermatology, immunology, and neurology, among others.

Jonathan completed his PhD in Neuroscience at the University of Connecticut and his post-doctoral training in pharmacology at the University of Chicago.

Close

Arman Nabatiyan, PhD

Senior Medical Writer

anabatiyan@achlcme.org

Arman earned his master’s degree in systems neurobiology & neurophysiology at the University of Cambridge in England and his PhD also at the University of Cambridge in cancer cell biology/genetics. He formerly served as faculty at Sussex University in England then Northwestern University and Rush University Medical Center in Chicago.

He has authored 13 scientific papers, 5 books and is the primary inventor of several US patents. He has also served as policy advisor to the State of Illinois on science and innovation initiatives. His areas of expertise include, but are not limited to, oncology, immunology, neurology, gastroenterology, & molecular diagnostics/devices.

Close

Ceren Tuzmen Walker, PhD

Senior Medical Writer

cwalker@achlcme.org

Ceren began her CME career in 2020. She received her PhD in 2017 from the Biological Sciences Department at Carnegie Mellon University and her postdoctoral training at the University of Pittsburgh where she was focused on development of oncolytic viruses to be used in metastatic cancer treatment.

Ceren has also worked for a small organization, called sciVelo, to develop scientific content supporting commercialization of early-stage translational research projects within the University of Pittsburgh.

As a Senior Medical Writer, Ceren collaborates with expert faculty and the ACHL team members to develop both scientifically and medically accurate content spanning a variety of therapeutic areas.

Close

Ritesh Kothari

SVP, Digital Solutions

Ritesh@achlcme.org

Ritesh has over 18 years of CME experience at ACHL with a focus on identifying and implementing emerging technologies in ever-changing digital environment. He has vast experience building enterprise-level learning solutions (i.e. Learning Management System), client-server applications, mobile applications (i.e. iOS/Android) and digital applications (i.e. green screen technology, 3D composition, 3D animation, animated medical illustration, AR/VR).

Ritesh earned a Bachelor of Engineering (BE) degree in Electronics and Communications, and a Masters' degree in Computer Science from Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, Illinois.

Close

Priyank Tamboli

Assistant Director, Digital Solutions

ptamboli@achlcme.org

Priyank is an application architect with nearly 15 years of experience in designing and implementing successful multi-tier applications and system integration solutions. He has excellent understanding of application analysis and design concepts, as well as the ability to apply proven design patterns to the system design, employ extreme programming, and SCRUM techniques for robust implementation.

Priyank earned a Master of Computer Application (MCA) from Gujarat University, Gujarat, India.

Close

Katlyn Cooper

Sr. Director, Accreditation and Outcomes

kcooper@achlcme.org

Katlyn has contributed in various capacities to the development of ACHL’s CME activities since 2012. She manages multiple accreditations, including ACCME, ACPE, CDR, CBRN, and CCMC, and ensures ACHL activities are designed, developed, and implemented in accordance with appropriate regulatory guidelines.

To service outcomes, Katlyn collaborates with the scientific team to develop and validate instructional designs and evaluation instruments to assess the effectiveness of ACHL’s educational programs. Katlyn’s efforts in analyzing outcomes data, summarizing relevant findings, and synthesizing program evaluation data support grant proposal development, reporting and presentations for grantors, and submissions to professional scientific conferences and publications.

Close

Karen Catino

Sr. Program Manager

kcatino@achlcme.org

Karen has worked in the medical education field for over 15 years in a variety of professional roles. She manages all aspects of CME activities from inception to completion for both live meetings and online formats.

Karen is responsible for project implementation while meeting the educational objectives of stakeholders and educational partners. Ensuring expectations are met on all levels of the project throughout the lifecycle of the activity.

Close

Katie Hacias

Sr. Program Manager

khacias@achlcme.org

Katie supports ACHL part-time, primarily focusing on the annual Linda Morgante MR Nurse Leadership Program. She has over 15 years of medical education experience that includes implementing complex educational platforms in varied media. As an Associate Program Director, she is responsible for establishing and maintaining relationships with educational stakeholders/ collaborators (associations, payers, hospitals, faculty, etc.), and presenting innovative solutions to meet educational objectives and drive improved quality of care.

Katie earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Public Relations from Illinois State University with a minor in Psychology.

Close

McKenna Reinhard

Sr. Program Coordinator

mreinhard@achlcme.org

McKenna has worked in the medical field for over a decade in a variety of roles and therapeutic areas. As Senior Program Coordinator, she is responsible for managing activities across both live and online platforms. She works with stakeholders to manage the execution of educational these programs from inception to completion.

McKenna received a Bachelor of Science in Veterinary Science with a minor in Psychology from the University of Arizona and Master of Science in Organizational Leadership with an emphasis in Healthcare Administration from Grand Canyon University.

Close

Laurie Novoryta, MBA, MOL

Sr. Program Director

lnovoryta@achlcme.org

Laurie has worked in medical education for over 18 years and has been involved with CME program development since 2012. At ACHL, Laurie has managed programs covering multiple therapeutic areas, which are more commonly incorporating patient experiences and providing resources on shared decision making. Laurie was recently involved in the launch of an adaptive learning activity that allows learners to experience education uniquely tailored to their individual needs based on how they engage in questions across multiple topics on inflammatory and autoimmune skin conditions.

Laurie earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Sociology from Illinois State University, and a Master of Business Administration and Master of Organizational Leadership from North Park University in Chicago.

Close

Vanessa Senatore

VP, Stakeholder Engagement

vsenatore@achlcme.org

Vanessa has over 17 years of medical education experience in program development implementing complex educational platforms as well as operational oversight of all programs. As VP of Stakeholder Engagement, she is responsible for establishing and maintaining relationships with educational stakeholders/collaborators, presenting innovative solutions to meet educational objectives, and drive improved quality of care. Vanessa is a member of the Alliance for Continuing Education in Health Professions (ACEHP) and the Illinois Alliance for Continuing Medical Education (IACME).

Vanessa earned a certificate in Operations Strategy through Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management Executive Education program and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology, with a minor in Sociology, from Illinois State University.

Close

Emily Bennett

Manager, Marketing & Communications

ebennett@achlcme.org

Emily comes to ACHL with over 15 years of marketing experience in a variety of industries across agency, corporate, and non-profit sectors, including healthcare associations. Emily is responsible to develop strategy for, and execute on, multi-channel marketing campaigns that further the mission of ACHL and its partners.

Emily is the chair of the marketing committee for the Illinois Alliance for Continuing Medical Education (IACME) and a member of both the Alliance for Continuing Medical Education in Health Professions (ACEhp) and Association Forum.

Emily is certified in Digital Marketing Strategies from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and received her Bachelor of Arts in Communications from Hope College, in Holland, Michigan.

Close

Lily Zurkovsky, PhD

VP, Scientific Strategy

lzurkovsky@achlcme.org

Lily is a lifelong learner who believes in the power of education to improve patient lives. Lily has over five years of experience in designing and developing accredited medical education. She has presented on use of novel technologies and incorporating patient perspectives into education and sat on the steering committee for the ACCME Annual Meeting. As VP of Scientific Strategy, Lily works with Outcomes and Business Development colleagues to drive ACHL’s growth by meeting key opportunities to address educational learning gaps.