Leadership

Paula Gregory, DO, MBA, FACOFP, will serve as the inaugural Dean for the proposed Meritus Medical School - the Meritus School of Osteopathic Medicine.

Dr. Gregory brings to the organization and the community tremendous experience and expertise as a physician, educator and leader. She received her undergraduate degree in Biology from the University of Georgia and her Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine from the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine.

Among her many achievements, Dr. Gregory served as Assistant Dean and Chair of Clinical Education at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine - Georgia campus, where she started a free clinic in association with the Pilgrim Cathedral Church. Dr. Gregory was also the founding Dean and Chief Administrative Officer of the Kansas City University School of Medicine and Bioscience – Joplin campus.

Dr. Gregory is joining Meritus from California Health Sciences University where she served as the Chair of Primary Care.

Dr. Gregory has taught clinical education for more than three decades and also serves as the current Associate Editor of the American College of Osteopathic Family Physician's peer-reviewed journal, Osteopathic Family Medicine.

Dr. Gregory chose medicine because she enjoys helping people achieve their dreams.

Maulik Joshi serves as the president and CEO for Meritus Health and President of the proposed Meritus School of Osteopathic Medicine. 

Prior to serving at Meritus Health, Dr. Joshi was the executive vice president of integrated care delivery and chief operating officer for the Anne Arundel Health System, a regional health system headquartered in Annapolis, Md., that serves an area of more than 1.2 million people. Previously, Dr. Joshi served as the associate executive vice president at the American Hospital Association and president of the Health Research & Educational Trust. He has also served as senior advisor at the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, president and CEO of the Delmarva Foundation, vice president at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, senior director of quality for the University of Pennsylvania Health System and executive vice president for The HMO Group.

Dr. Joshi has a doctorate in public health, a master’s in health services administration, both from the University of Michigan and a Bachelor of Science in mathematics from Lafayette College. He was editor-in-chief for the Journal for Healthcare Quality. He also co-edited The Healthcare Quality Book: Vision, Strategy and Tools (fifth edition to be released in 2022, with more than 32,000 copies sold) and co-authored Healthcare Transformation: A Guide for the Hospital Board Member and Leading Healthcare Transformation: A Primer for Clinical Leaders. Dr. Joshi is adjunct faculty at the University of Michigan School of Public Health in the department of health management and policy and annually teaches a course in their executive master’s program. Dr. Joshi has served on numerous not-for-profit boards within and outside of health care, including most recently as a governor-appointed commissioner on the Maryland Community Health Resources Commission.

Dave Lehr is Meritus Health’s chief strategy officer and Chief Operating Officer of the proposed 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 proposed 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.

Jason Cole is the vice president and chief information officer or CIO for Meritus Health and CIO of the proposed Meritus School of Osteopathic Medicine, responsible for all information technology for the organization. Previously, he served as senior director/CIO at Suburban Hospital in Bethesda, Md., a part of Johns Hopkins Medicine Health System. He also served as senior leader of information technology for Johns Hopkins Community Physicians with 42 ambulatory locations. Additionally, he held several key positions at MedStar, affording him vast exposure to hundreds of application and infrastructure projects across MedStar hospitals. He began his career in technology at two large finance companies, Bank of America and MBNA Financial and earned his bachelor’s degree from York College of Pennsylvania.

Dr. George serves as the associate Dean of Clinical Education at the proposed 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 a 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 proposed 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 proposed 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. Park serves as Surgeon in Chief and Clinical Innovation Officer for Meritus Health and the Associate Dean of Research and Innovation for the proposed Meritus School of Osteopathic Medicine. Prior to joining Meritus, Dr. Park was the James and Sylvia Earl Chair of Surgery and Surgeon in Chief, Luminis Health in Annapolis, Md., and Professor of Surgery at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Dr. Park has made major advancements in the improvement of laparoscopic techniques and technology, complex hernia repair, foregut and spleen surgery. He holds over 20 patents and has been instrumental in the development and application of new technologies in endoscopic surgery.

Chanté Richardson, Ph.D., MBA, serves as Associate Dean of Health Equity, Diversity and Inclusion. 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.