ONC Posts Roles and Bios for Communications, Adoption, State HIE/Beacon Directors: Deering, Kendall, Cronin
Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) for Health Information Technology posted roles and bios on March 8, 2010,  for
–Acting Director, Office of Communications, Mary Jo Deering, PhD;
–Acting Director, Office of Provider Adoption Support (OPAS), Mat Kendall, MPH; and
–Director, Office of State and Community Programs, Kelly Cronin, MPH, who oversees the State HIE Cooperative Program and Beacon Community Program. Roles and bios are excerpted from ONC Web site:

Mary Jo Deering, Ph.D.
Acting Director, Office of Communications
“Mary Jo Deering, Ph.D, is currently the Acting Director for Communications in the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).  She leads comprehensive, HHS-wide communication activities related to the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, which provided $2B to ONC to support the transformation of American health care through the adoption and meaningful use of HIT and the secure, interoperable exchange of health information.  She also oversees ONC’s cooperative agreement with the National eHealth Collaborative, a public-private partnership that promotes the development of a nationwide health information system.

“Previously, Dr. Deering was the Director for Informatics Dissemination and Outreach in the National Cancer Institute’s Center for Biomedical Informatics and Information Technology, which leads the cancer Biomedical Informatics Grid (caBIG).  She also served as Lead Staff for the NCVHS National Health Information Infrastructure Workgroup, and for the NCVHS Workgroups on the Nationwide Health Information Network and on Secondary Uses of Data, all of which provided recommendations for the HHS Secretary. While serving as Deputy Director for eHealth and Management in the HHS Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, she led innovative programs in consumer health informatics, including convening the first scientific panel that laid the foundations for evaluating interactive online consumer health programs and promoting their effectiveness.   Dr. Deering served on the Federal Communication Commission’s Advisory Committee on Telecommunications and Health Care.”

Mat Kendall, MPH
Acting Director, Office of Provider Adoption Support (OPAS)
“Mat is currently the Acting Director of the Office of Provider Adoption Support (OPAS), in the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC).   OPAS is responsible for administering the Regional Extension Center (REC) cooperative grant program, which is working with organization across the Country to assist primary care providers in priority settings to achieve meaningful use of an electronic health records system.  OPAS is also responsible for running the Health Information Technology Research Center (HITRC), which will assist RECs across the country to communicate and share best practices, tools and other resources.  Finally, OPAS is responsible for administering the Workforce Community College cooperative agreement programs, which will partner with community colleges to train students for specific fields related to health information technology.  

“Prior to working at ONC, Mat was the Director of Operations for the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene’s Primary Care Information Project (PCIP). The PCIP helped primary care providers in medically underserved communities adopt electronic health record systems.  In addition to being responsible for managing the program’s budgets, contracts and staffing, Mat managed teams responsible for outreach, EHR implementation, hardware support, and other aspects of the implementation process.  During Mat’s time at the PCIP, nearly 1,500 providers were recruited to the program and implemented electronic health record systems.  

“Prior to working for the PCIP, Mat served as Executive Director of the Indian Health Center of Santa Clara Valley, a federally-qualified health center in San Jose California.  He was responsible for writing a successful “330 New Start” grant for the Center and conducted a capital campaign that enabled the IHC to purchase a new building and to overhaul its information technology infrastructure.  Mat has a Masters in Public Health from Johns Hopkins University and a B.A. from Haverford College.”

Kelly Cronin, MPH
Director, Office of State and Community Programs
“Kelly Cronin directs the Office of State and Community Programs in the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology. She has been involved in establishing and evolving the national agenda for Health IT over the last 6 years in various roles in ONC, the Office of the Secretary, and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. She currently oversees the State Health Information Exchange Cooperative Agreement Program and Beacon Community Programs in ONC.  

“Prior to ONC, Ms. Cronin directed patient safety initiatives at the Food and Drug Administration and coordinated the drafting of the Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act while working for the House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee. Her work experience also includes health policy analysis, health services research, and clinical trial coordination. She holds a masters degree in Public Health from George Washington University (GWU), and is a lecturer in the Department of Health Policy.”