He previously served as the CEO from 2016 to 2020. Barbee first joined the medical center in 2011 as chief nursing officer and associate executive director. He also held roles of vice president of clinical services and chief operating officer at UTMC.

Barbee began his career as a staff nurse at Phoenix Baptist Hospital, he spent a number of years as a traveling nurse and held several roles at Mercy St. Vincent Medical Center as a clinical care nurse, clinical manager and director of patient care services.

He has a bachelor’s degree in nursing from Illinois State University Mennonite College of Nursing and Master of Business Administration from University of Phoenix.

Ellis graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point and earned his medical degree from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. He completed an internal medicine residency at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., as well as a fellowship in infectious diseases at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio. He is board-certified in internal medicine and infectious diseases and has an ASTMH Certificate of Knowledge in tropical medicine and travelers’ health.

Ellis served 20 years in the U.S. Army, first as a field artillery officer and then as a medical corps officer. During this time, he was in a variety of leadership, clinical, teaching and research roles, most recently as deputy director of the Infectious Diseases Division of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, Md. His research interest focused primarily on the epidemiology and prevention of staphylococcal infections.

Ellis retired from active duty in 2015 and transitioned to UTMC as an infectious diseases faculty member and medical director of the Infection Control and Prevention Program.

In August 2017, he assumed the role of chief medical officer. As a professor of medicine, Ellis remains committed to medical education and patient care, providing continuity of care for patients infected with HIV and performing infectious disease consultations in inpatient and outpatient areas.

Stesney-Ridenour’s 35-year career in hospital management includes oversight of a range of hospital functions, including operating budgets, personnel management and strategic planning. As president of Beamont Hospitals, she had primary administrative responsibilities for three hospitals totaling more than $2.2 billion in gross revenue.

She has also overseen key aspects of everyday hospital functions, including oversight on cardiovascular services, emergency centers, surgical services and a host of radiation and oncology departments, among others.

Stesney-Ridenour has a master of business administration from the University of Detroit. She is president of the Midwest Chapter of the American College of Healthcare Executives and serves as a board and executive committee member for Alternatives for Girls, a non-profit devoted to ending homelessness, poverty and exploitation for girls throughout the United States.

Prior to his work with UTMC, Holmes worked as the chief financial officer for Advanced Specialty Hospitals of Toledo and NewVista Health and Wellness Centers in Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati. In these positions, Holmes worked closely with the CEO and other members of the leadership team on key financial planning initiatives, in addition to developing and monitoring key metrics for tracking the cost and performance of crucial company policies.

In addition to his work in the medical field, Holmes also has a great deal of accounting and finance experience in other industries, having held key financial leadership roles at a variety of companies and organizations throughout northwest Ohio.

Holmes received his bachelor of business administration degree from Cleveland State University in 1986 and is a certified public accountant in the state of Ohio.

Russ earned his pharmacy degree from the University of Toledo in 1995 and went on to earn his Doctor of Pharmacy Degree in 2007 from Shenandoah University. In 2000, he earned his MBA degree from the University of Findlay. Russ received his Board Certification in Pharmacotherapy in 2007. Russ started his career at UTMC as a pharmacy intern and subsequently an inpatient pharmacist. Prior to administration, Russ spent time as the Managed Care Coordinator for the prescription benefit, Pharmacy Operations Manager, and Director of Pharmacy.

A native of Cleveland, Kless earned a bachelor of science degree in nursing from Case Western Reserve University. He also holds a master of science in nursing and a master of business administration from Indiana Wesleyan University. In addition to being a licensed RN with over 15 years of experience, including a wide range of leadership roles, Kless holds a Nurse Executive certification from the American Nurses Association Credentialing Center. He is a business focused clinician with experience directing operations across a seven-hospital system and nursing enterprise of over 5000 nurses including finance management, leadership development, clinical operations, system integration, process improvement and implementation of Lean principals.