Leadership

Dr. Kessler brings to MSOM more than two decades of leadership experience in academic medicine, clinical education and institutional advancement. He formerly served as Dean and Professor of Family Medicine at Campbell University's Jerry M. Wallace School of Osteopathic Medicine in Buies Creek, N.C. Before that, he held key leadership positions, including Dean at Lincoln Memorial University in Harrogate, Tenn., and Director of Medical Education at Cleveland Clinic South Pointe Hospital in Ohio.

Dr. Kessler earned his Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine and Doctor of Healthcare Administration from the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine in Pennsylvania. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of the National Board of Osteopathic Medical Examiners (NBOME) and the Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation (COCA), where he contributes to developing national policies and accreditation standards in osteopathic medical education. His numerous accolades include honors from the American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians (ACOFP), where he recently served as president and now holds the title of immediate past president. He is widely recognized for his commitment to advancing the osteopathic profession and his leadership in preparing clinically excellent, community-focused physicians.

Maulik Joshi, DrPH, is President and Chief Executive Officer of Meritus Health and President and Professor of the Meritus School of Osteopathic Medicine. Throughout his career, his work has focused on improving healthcare quality, building high-performing teams and organizations, and executing strategy to achieve bold and meaningful results for patients and communities.

At Meritus, Joshi leads a community-based academic health system whose mission is to improve the health and well-being of the communities we serve and whose vision is to be the best community-based academic health system. Meritus Health is powered by nearly 5,000 people — more than 4,400 employees, 230 medical students and over 250 volunteers — across the 327-bed, level III trauma Meritus Medical Center; the 72-bed Brook Lane Psychiatric Hospital; the 250-provider Meritus Medical Group; Meritus Home Health; Meritus Equipped for Life; and the Meritus School of Osteopathic Medicine.

Under a strategy centered on quality, growth, education and community health, Meritus has evolved from a strong healthcare delivery organization into a community-based academic health system. In 2025, Meritus was named a national finalist for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. Meritus Medical Center has also earned seven consecutive “A” grades for hospital safety from The Leapfrog Group, an achievement reached by only about 5% of hospitals nationally.

Before joining Meritus, Joshi served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Anne Arundel Health System. Earlier in his career, he held leadership roles with the American Hospital Association as Associate Executive Vice President and President of its Health Research & Educational Trust, as well as with the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the University of Pennsylvania Health System and The HMO Group. These roles have spanned healthcare operations, quality improvement, research, policy, strategy and organizational transformation.

Joshi earned a Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics from Lafayette College and both his Doctor of Public Health and Master of Health Services Administration degrees from the University of Michigan. He previously served as Editor-in-Chief of the Journal for Healthcare Quality and is an adjunct faculty member in the University of Michigan School of Public Health’s Department of Health Management and Policy, where he teaches annually.

He is co-editor of The Healthcare Quality Book: Vision, Strategy and Tools, now in its fifth edition with more than 40,000 copies sold, and coauthor of Healthcare Transformation: A Guide for the Hospital Board Member and Leading Healthcare Transformation: A Primer for Physician Leaders, both in their second editions. He has authored nearly 100 peer-reviewed articles, commentaries and perspectives on healthcare quality, leadership, execution and strategy. Joshi also serves on numerous boards and commissions locally, statewide and nationally.

Dave Lehr is Meritus Health’s Chief Strategy Officer and Chief Operating Officer of the Meritus School of Osteopathic Medicine. In 2021, Governor Larry Hogan appointed him as a commissioner to the Community Health Resources Commission. He also serves on the board for the Washington County Chamber of Commerce. Before joining Meritus, Dave was the chief information officer for Luminis Health, based in Annapolis, where he was selected as one of the top 25 emerging leaders in health care in 2019 by Modern Healthcare. He also served as a co-chair for the national opioid taskforce for the CHIME which brings CIOs together from across the country to fight the opioid epidemic.

Josh Repac, Chief Financial Officer and Vice President for Meritus Health and the Meritus School of Osteopathic Medicine. Prior to coming to Meritus health, he served as director of the Berkeley Research Group and manager advisory of KPMG, LLP, both health care reimbursement companies located in the Baltimore region. He is a certified public accountant and holds a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Baltimore/Towson University and a Bachelor of Science in accounting from the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland, College Park.

Lynn Haines, Esq., Vice President, legal services, previously served as associate general counsel for the organization, providing legal advice; drafting, negotiating and reviewing contracts; and serving as a legal resource for various departments. Before joining the health system, she was in-house counsel for Access World (USA) LLC, a Fortune Global 500 subsidiary company in Baltimore, Md., and corporate counsel for Magnolia Management Inc., a skilled nursing home management corporation formerly located in Hagerstown, Md. She received her juris doctor degree from the University of Baltimore School of Law and her bachelor’s degree in psychology from West Virginia University in Morgantown. She is a member of the American Health Law Association and licensed to practice in Maryland. She also served as a volunteer mediator for the District Court of Maryland for many years.

Dr. George serves as the Associate Dean of Clinical Education at the Meritus School of Osteopathic Medicine. He received his medical degree from the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine in Philadelphia, Pa., and completed his residency in family medicine at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, N.C. Dr. George was an Andlinger Fellow in health policy with the Center for Public Health in Vienna, Austria, where he focused on models of care delivery. Dr. George is board-certified in Family Medicine by the American Board of Family Medicine.

Dr. Kadavakollu serves as the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs of the Meritus School of Osteopathic Medicine. He studied at New Mexico State University, and holds a Ph.D. in medicinal chemistry, a master's degree in organic chemistry and an undergraduate degree with a triple major in mathematics, physics and chemistry from Andhra University, India. He has played a vital role in the successful establishment of two start-up osteopathic medical schools: California Health Sciences University College of Osteopathic Medicine (CHSU COM) and Burrell College of Osteopathic Medicine (BCOM).

Dr. Kadavakollu received several teaching awards and is an experienced academic administrator with a passion for curriculum, academic affairs, and teaching osteopathic medical students by team-based learning. He is also skilled in assessment, COMLEX preparation, and community outreach.

Dr. Miller serves as the associate Dean of Graduate Medical Education at the Meritus School of Osteopathic Medicine. He received his medical degree from the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine in Philadelphia, Pa., and completed an osteopathic internship at Jefferson Northeast in Langhorne, Pa., followed by a residency in family medicine at Geisinger Medical Center in Danville, Pa. Dr. Miller is board certified in family medicine by the American Board of Family Medicine and the American Osteopathic Board of Family Physicians. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians and member of the American Society of Addiction Medicine.

Dr. Vasauskas received her BS in Biology from Mount Saint Mary’s University in Maryland and her PhD from the University of South Alabama College of Medicine (departments of Pharmacology and Comparative Medicine). She completed a four-year postdoctoral fellowship in the Center for Lung Biology at the University of South Alabama, and during this time received an F32 Ruth Kirschstein National Research Service Award by the National Institutes of Health to fund her work in pulmonary endothelial physiology. Her research has also been funded by the American Heart Association (AHA), the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), the American Medical Association (AMA), and the Network of the National Library of Medicine (NNLM). In addition to her pulmonary biology research, Dr. Vasauskas also has interest in the effects of proactive self-care and stress reduction, including nutrition, osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT), yoga, and exercise on disease prevention and reversal. This interest is expanding from investigating effects of wellness proactivity on not only the individual, but also entire communities.

Dr. Vasauskas has been conducting research and teaching physiology, biology, and medical science-related courses for over 15 years and has mentored undergraduate, graduate, and medical students in both industry and academia. Prior to her career in academia, she spent several years in the biotechnology industry, where she served as project leader for oncology diagnostic development.

Dr. Vasauskas has experience in developing and growing institutional research programs, overseeing multiple research projects, instituting and ensuring research compliance, maintaining and accreditation reports, and directing student and faculty research.  She most recently served as the Associate Dean for Research and Scholarly Activity and Associate Professor of Physiology at the Baptist University College of Osteopathic Medicine. Prior to that, she served as the Director of Research and Grant Development and Associate Professor of Physiology at the Alabama College of Osteopathic Medicine. She is also a registered yoga teacher and has been leading yoga classes since 2006.

Chanté Richardson, Ph.D., MBA, serves as Associate Dean of Student Services and Community Engagement. Dr. Richardson obtained her Bachelor of Science degree in Neuroscience with an emphasis in Chemistry from the University of Pittsburgh and Master of Science in Biological and Physical Sciences with an emphasis in Molecular Medicine from the University of Virginia. She earned her MBA from Ashford University and her PhD in Experimental Pathology from the University of Virginia. Dr. Richardson previously chaired the Institutional Diversity Council at the Alabama College of Osteopathic Medicine (ACOM). Her leadership contributed to ACOM receiving the Insight into Diversity Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award and the Dothan Housing Community Partner Award.