Our Faculty and Staff

The Advisory Board Academy faculty and staff is comprised of a team of over 100 researchers, education specialists, and teaching staff including MDs, PhDs, RNs, and MBAs.

Our expert research staff use the same best practice research methodologies employed in all of the Advisory Board Company’s membership programs to create a library of courses tailored to the precise needs of health care professionals. In aggregate, our research staff has spent over 200,000 hours of research and development time creating a comprehensive curriculum.

In addition, the Advisory Board Academies has a dedicated team who work with our partners to unlock the full value of all the Academies has to offer and ensure the highest quality of service to our partner organizations.

At the center of our team are faculty members who facilitate our workshops. Faculty are selected based not only on their credentials and experience in health care but also on their teaching capabilities. In addition to their role in facilitating Advisory Board Academy workshops, each faculty member also serves as a faculty advisor to a pool of institutions to help guide participant selection, curriculum, and application planning, as well as align course content with partner strategic priorities.

Below are biographies for members of the Advisory Board Academies leadership team.

Siska Shaw

General Manager

MBA, Harvard University
AM, Harvard University
BA, Middlebury College

Ms. Shaw joined The Advisory Board Company as the firm's second employee and has served in leadership roles throughout the firm's history. She has directed over 25 research initiatives on hospital and health system strategy and operations. Currently, Ms. Shaw oversees the Advisory Board's initiatives in leadership development for health care leaders, including the Nursing Leadership Academy, the Performance Leadership Academy, the Academy Fellowship, the Physician Leadership Academy, and the Center for Frontline Nursing Leadership.

Timothy O'Hara

Managing Director

MBA, Stanford University
BA, University of Virginia

Mr. O’Hara is responsible for overall service quality, partner satisfaction, and operational excellence with the Advisory Board Academies. Previously, Mr. O’Hara led the Advisory Board’s research efforts to develop new programs and services that were designed to equip hospitals to better manage workforce performance, including the development of the Academies’ progress tracking and recognition services. In his over 10 years with the Advisory Board, Mr. O’Hara has served in variety of research, business, and publishing roles.

Stephen Kett

Executive Director

MA, Harvard University
BA, University of Vermont

Mr. Kett oversees the Advisory Board Academy’s faculty and is a lead faculty member for the Advisory Board's Academy Fellowship, helping hospitals and health systems address their most pressing priorities by identifying emerging senior leaders in the organization and accelerating their readiness for executive roles. Prior to joining the Advisory Board, Mr. Kett was a Partner at the TQM Group, a service quality consulting firm serving Fortune 500 clients. Previously, he served as a senior consultant at Bain & Company, a strategic management consultancy based in Boston, Massachusetts. There, in addition to his full-time consulting activities, he headed Bain's Worldwide Associate Consultant Training Program.

Laurie Sprung

Managing Director

MPH, Harvard University
PhD, Syracuse University
BA, Cornell University

Dr. Sprung oversees the development of curriculum and services across the Advisory Board Academies, working with partner institutions to strengthen the organization by elevating the performance of health care leaders. In her previous role, she served as the National Practice Leader for Clinical Operations in the Advisory Board's H*Works division, helping health care organizations improve operational efficiency and capacity management. Prior to joining the firm, Dr. Sprung led projects on strategy, organization, and operations for McKinsey & Company. Previously, Dr. Sprung was on the clinical staff at McLean Hospital, a Harvard-affiliated private psychiatric hospital and served as clinical instructor in psychology in the department of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School.

Carle Falk

Managing Director

MHA, The George Washington University
BA, Drew University

Ms. Falk spearheads research initiatives on physician leadership development and fostering business collaboration between physicians and health systems. Prior to joining the Advisory Board in 1995, Ms. Falk worked as manager for the national health care practice of Ernst & Young, where she analyzed federal legislation and predicted future policy trends and their implications for the firm's entire hospital client base. Previously, she served as director of member services for the National Health Council, where she designed health policy educational programs for association executives and managed advocacy campaigns requesting increased funding for medical research.

Michael Wagner

Managing Director

MPA, Harvard University

Mr. Wagner is currently a Managing Director with the Advisory Board Academies where he is responsible for developing curriculum, training faculty, teaching classes, and conducting workshops at leading hospitals in the United States, Canada, and Europe. He has presented research findings, moderated case study discussions, and conducted workshops for more than 600 health care organizations, professional associations, government agencies, the United States armed forces, insurance firms, pharmaceutical companies, and medical device manufacturers. Prior to joining the Advisory Board, Mr. Wagner served four terms in the South Dakota House of Representatives, serving as assistant majority leader and vice chair of Health and Human Services. Additionally, Mr. Wagner was elected to five terms as President of the Aldermanic Council of Mayors of a small town in South Dakota and served as vice president of the State Municipal League.