HSC Board of Directors

President & CEO, The HSC Health Care System

Nathaniel Beers is the President and CEO at The HSC Health Care System. He served as the Chief Operating Officer, Chief of Specialized Instruction, and Executive Director for Early Stages in the Office of Special Education in DC Public Schools since 2009.

Nathaniel volunteers as a general and developmental behavioral pediatrician at Children’s National Medical Center, where he was the Medical Director of the Children’s Health Center at CNMC. Prior to joining DC Public Schools, he was the Deputy Director of Policy and Programs for the Community Health Administration of the DC Department of Health and the Title V Director for DC. He has served on the Mayor’s Advisory Committee on Child Welfare and the Children with Special Health Care Needs Advisory Board.

Nathaniel was a Past President of the DC Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics. He was also the Chair of the AAP National Committee on Membership. He serves on the Council of School Health for the AAP and serves in a variety of other roles for the AAP, both regionally and nationally. 

Nathaniel completed his undergraduate education at the University of Rochester and his medical school education at George Washington University.  Nathaniel remained in DC to complete his residency at Children’s National Medical Center. He completed the Anne Dyson Child Advocacy fellowship at Children’s Hospital of Boston and was the chief fellow for the Division of General Pediatrics. While in Boston, Nathaniel completed a Master’s in Public Administration at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and was also the Medical Director of the Perkins School for the Blind.

Since his return to DC, Nathaniel has worked on many issues as they relate to children in DC. He was part of the executive committee and a founding member of the DC Partnership to Improve Children’s Healthcare Quality, a collaborative between the DC pediatric community and Medicaid. He was an active member of the Children’s Advocacy Roundtable, coordinated by DC Action for Children.  He has served on a number of advisory committees relating to children and their health and education.  He also led efforts to coordinate the first DC City-wide Childhood Obesity Summit. Nathaniel has done research on children with disabilities and access to care issues and the interface between health and education systems.

Nathaniel is a DC native and graduate of the School Without Walls Senior High School. He is married to Lee Savio Beers, a pediatrician at Children’s National Medical Center, and has a daughter and a son. Both of whom attend DCPS.

Secretary/Treasurer

Michael D. Ward, CPA, is a director in the professional services firm of BDO USAA, LLP, where he oversees accounting and financial management services for nonprofit organizations and serves as an outsourced chief financial officer to nonprofit organizations.

His work with clients include strategic financial management, overseeing day-to-day accounting operations, assisting clients with the development and implementation of accounting policies and procedures appropriate to the organization’s work, and providing technical assistance in regulations surrounding federal awards and the development and implementation of the systems and processes required to account for federal funds. Michael was previously a partner with the accounting firm of Walker & Company and prior to that served as chief executive officer of the Lt. Joseph P. Kennedy Institute, an agency of the Archdiocese of Washington providing services to children, youth and adults with developmental disabilities in the greater Washington area. Michael has also worked with MCI Telecommunications, Price Waterhouse and Deloitte & Touché. He holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Georgetown University. Michael serves on the board for the Pediatric Center and the Foundation. 

Vice Chairperson

Neil Grammer is the Senior Vice President of Internal Audit for Interstate Hotels and Resorts, the nation’s largest independent hotel management company.  His responsibilities include monitoring and reporting on internal controls, monitoring compliance with US and International privacy and Payment Card Industry (PCI) regulations, conducting business and enterprise risk assessments and assisting on business process re-engineering efforts within Interstate. 

Neil has over 20 years of internal controls, enterprise risk and compliance, public accounting and business process improvement experience with various companies including United Health Group, Marriott, Gannet and Arthur Andersen. He currently serves as Finance Committee Chair for Grace Episcopal Day School in Kensington, MD.  For several years, he was treasurer and finance committee member of the Collington Episcopal Life Care Community in Mitchellville, MD.  He also served as Vice Chair of the Prince George’s United Way and was a member of the Rodney Slater Task Force for Ethics and Financial Operations for the United Way of National Capital Area.

Neil was appointed to The HSC Foundation Board of Directors in April, 2015.

Mr. Michael Jones served as EVP and Chief Customer Officer of Lowe’s Companies Inc. (NYSE: LOW) from May 2014 to October 2016. In this role, Jones was responsible for store environment, merchandising, customer experience, marketing, US strategy, research, and program management for the Lowe’s US store operations.

Prior, from January 2013 to May 2014, Jones served as Chief Merchandising Officer for Lowe’s US store operations with responsibility for both domestic and international sourcing, product assortment, national and private brand positioning, and pricing operations.

From January 2011 to January 2013 Jones served as EVP and President for Husqvarna AB’s (OMX: HUSQ) North and Latin American business operations. In this role Jones led sales, service, and all operational activities (including manufacturing) for Husqvarna’s North and Latin American business operations.   Prior, from October 2009 to January 2011, Jones served as President of Sales and Service for Husqvarna’s North and Latin American operations.

Jones was also a long tenured, 15-year General Electric (NYSE: GE) executive, who served as the General Manager of Cooking Products within the Appliance Division from June 2007 to October 2009. Jones also held various leadership positions within GE in sales, service and product management, in both domestic and international business units since 1994. Jones held roles at GE such as Chief Commercial Officer – Europe, while living abroad in Budapest Hungary with his family for GE’s European Lighting, Appliance and Power Control business, covering Europe, Middle East and Africa.

In early 2017, Jones founded Jones Holding Corporation LLC (JHC), a privately funded holding company dedicated to the acquisition of small cap manufacturing and distribution operations with growth potential via “direct to consumer” online strategies and service excellence. JHC completed its first acquisition in June, 2017.

Jones earned a Bachelor’s in Business Administration from California Coast University, and is on the board of a newly formed public entity, One Madison Group (NYSE: OMAD). Jones is also currently on the Board of Johnson C. Smith University. Previously, he has served on the board of Mabe Appliances (Brazil), Charlotte’s Chamber of Commerce and Discovery Place (Charlotte).

Jones lives in Charlotte with his wife and two sons.

Wendy Goldberg has a long and committed interest in advocating for children's health, education and well-being. She served as the chair of the Children's National Advocacy and Public Policy Institute until 2018, which established official policy positions and engagement strategies on children's health for the Children's National Medical Center. She serves as co-chair of Raise DC, a cross sector partnership of local education leaders and stakeholders, which advocates to provide every youth with opportunities to succeed from cradle to career. In addition, Goldberg serves on the boards of the Children's Law Center, Health Leads, and the Community Foundation for the National Capital Region. She served as board chair of the DC Promise Neighborhood Initiative from 2009 to 2015.

Sharon Brickhouse Martin is a senior healthcare consultant with expertise in organizational and operational evaluation and improvement. Her skills include business process reengineering, management development and team building, and information systems utilization.

Her clients have included teaching and non-teaching hospitals, hospices and health systems, physician associations, information systems and supply vendors, managed care organizations, and military and government healthcare organizations. Sharon is the founder and president of Brickhouse•Martin Healthcare Engineering, which works to sustain improvements and manage change using proven engineering analyses. In this capacity, she manages the firm’s information technology services. Sharon previously served in senior positions at Ernst & Whinney, Coopers & Lybrand and Booz Allen Hamilton. An experienced facilitator and trainer, Sharon currently serves on the advisory board of the College of Engineering at Virginia Tech, the board of directors of the Comprehensive Health Investment Project of Virginia, and the advisory board of the Ron Brown Scholars Program. She has also served on the advisory council for the Medical Care for Children Partnership of Fairfax County, Virginia and as president of the board for the National Capital Chapter of the Institute of Industrial Engineers. She holds a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering and operations research as well as a master’s in engineering administration, both from Virginia Tech. Sharon was elected to Foundation board in 2015.

Diane C. Lewis, MPA, is the executive vice president and co-principal of ALTA Consulting Group, Inc., a management consulting firm with extensive experience in health policy and community development, including HUD funded HOPE VI projects.

She directs collaborative efforts to expand healthcare access and women’s health, develop workforce development strategies, and inform and advocate for public policy. Diane’s professional experience spans more than 35 years of work in government and the private sector in health, management, advocacy and community development. Diane is chairperson of the DC Health Benefit Exchange Authority’s Executive Board, and serves on the boards of the Consumer Health Foundation, House of Ruth and IONA Senior Services. She also sits on a grant review panel for Susan G. Komen for the Cure and is a member of the People to People Ambassador Program’s healthcare policy delegation to China. Diane received her bachelor’s degree in economics from City College of New York and her master’s of public administration from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. She joined the Foundation board in 2013.

Steve Riley is the Executive Director of Potomac Community Resources, Inc., an award-winning non-profit organization that provides therapeutic recreational, social, and respite care programs to individuals with developmental differences and their families in Montgomery County, Maryland.

Steve brings decades of experience working with various non-profit organizations in the area, serving as a board member or in other leadership roles. He holds a Juris Doctor from The Catholic University of American Columbus School of Law and a Bachelor of Foreign Service from Georgetown University. He is a member of the District of Columbia Bar Association, The Order of Malta, and The John Carroll Society.

Chairperson

Roger E. Meyer, MD, is the chief executive officer of Best Practice Project Management, Inc., providing project management services to drug companies in the development of drugs to treat psychiatric and neurological disorders.

Roger holds academic appointments as clinical professor of psychiatry at Georgetown University and adjunct professor of psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania. He has published more than 165 papers and six books, and served as president of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology and the American Association of Chairmen of Departments of Psychiatry. A graduate of Harvard Medical School, he completed an internal medicine internship with Dr. Robert Petersdorf at King County Hospital/University of Washington, and a residency in psychiatry at the Massachusetts Mental Health Center. Following a two-year tour of duty at the National Institutes of Health, Roger began a distinguished career as distinguished researcher in the area of drug and alcohol abuse that spanned 25 years and three universities (Boston University, Harvard Medical School and the University of Connecticut). At Connecticut, Roger served as professor and chair of psychiatry, associate dean, executive dean and director of the NIH-funded Alcohol Research Center. He subsequently moved to The George Washington University as vice president of medical affairs and executive dean. Roger also has been a consultant and/or grant reviewer for the Association of American Medical Colleges, Department of Veterans Affairs, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institute on Drug Abuse and the White House offices on drug abuse in the Nixon, Reagan and George H.W. Bush administrations. Roger has served on the Foundation board since 2003.

Schonay M. Barnett-Jones has been affiliated with Children’s National for the past fourteen years. She co-chaired the launch of the Parent & Family Advisory Council, and continues to be active in the Children’s Hospital Foundation fundraising efforts, for the Children’s Miracle Network. Schonay is a Director at Visa, Inc., where she is responsible for managing the development of Visa operating regulations and waivers for the US market.  Schonay received her B.A. in Economics with a minor in Management & Organizational Behavior from Spelman College, a MBA from Howard University, a Certificate in Information Technology   from the George Washington University, and is currently a candidate for a Master’s in Health Care Administration at the University of Maryland. Schonay serves as a Children’s National Board of Directors representative on The HSC Health Care System Board (dba) HSC Foundation Board. 

Christopher Nace is an individual with Cerebral Palsy who has been devoted to sharing his experience and improving access to systems for all individuals with disabilities. Professionally, Christopher currently serves as DC International School’s (DCI) Special Education Coordinator. Prior to coming to DCI, Christopher served as the Program Manager for Youth and Transition Services for the DC Department on Disability Services for two years and spent five years at the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) in the Transition Services department. In those roles, he was responsible for ensuring students with disabilities are successfully prepared for life after high school.  Christopher hold two Bachelor Degrees and Masters of Science in Conflict Analysis and Resolution from George Mason University. 

He also has a Masters of Education in Special Education and Transition Services from the George Washington University.