HSHS About Us Leadership
HSHS - Man holding rosary

Our Leadership

HSHS Board of Directors

  • Bill Murray - Chair
  • William H. Blum - Vice Chair
  • Sister Gertrude (Trudy) O'Connor, OSF - Secretary
  • Robert B. Atwell - Director
  • Janice Wiegmann, RN, PhD - Director
  • J. Michael Houston - Director
  • John Sheehan - Director
  • Matthew Lambert, M.D. - Director
  • Sister Christa Ann Struewing, OSF - Director
  • Mary Starmann-Harrison - Director
  • ​William Lyke - Director

HSHS Executive Management Team

 
  • Mary Starmann-Harrison - President and CEO
  • Marc Shelton, MD - SVP, Chief Clinical Officer
  • Michael W. Cottrell - SVP, Chief Financial Officer
  • David K. Beach - SVP, Chief Human Resources Officer
  • Amy Bulpitt, JD, MBA - SVP, Chief Legal Officer
  • Jennifer Cobb, MBA, M.Div. - SVP, Chief Mission Officer
  • Vacant - SVP, Chief Strategy Officer
Learn more about our team below

 

About Mary Starmann-Harrison, RN, FACHE

 

Mary Starmann-Harrison, RN, FACHE began her service with Hospital Sisters Health System (HSHS) as President and Chief Executive Officer in March 2011. Mary joined HSHS after serving as the first Regional President and CEO of SSM Health Care of Wisconsin. SSM Health Care of Wisconsin operates St. Mary’s Hospital in Madison, and St. Clare Hospital & Health Services in Baraboo, among other health care facilities in south central Wisconsin. She was integral in fostering the relationship between Dean Health System, Dean Health Plan and SSM Health Care of Wisconsin solidifying an integrated delivery system that continues to deliver exceptional care while controlling costs.

Mary began her career in 1977 as a Registered Nurse in the Emergency Department and has served in health care management since 1979. She previously served as a CEO for the Western Region of Tenet Physician Services where she was responsible for the management of approximately 300 physician practices in the Western region of the United States. Prior to that, she held various leadership roles including CEO of St. Luke’s Medical Center in Phoenix, Arizona.

Over the past three decades Mary has successfully led numerous quality initiatives that have been recognized at the state and national level. She was part of the SSM Health Care team that received the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award in 2002 – the first health care entity to receive this prestigious award. SSM Health Care of Wisconsin hospitals and health care facilities have also received multiple Wisconsin Forward Awards for quality during Mary’s tenure as CEO. Mary has also served on the Board for the American Hospital. Mary received her bachelor of science degree in Nursing and her master’s degree in Health Service Administration from Arizona State University. 

About Marc Shelton, MD

 

Marc Shelton, MD was appointed to serve as senior vice president and chief clinical officer for HSHS in April 2019. In this role, Dr. Shelton works collaboratively with HSHS leadership on quality, patient safety, clinical system delivery innovation, and physician leadership and training initiatives. He has executive responsibility for system quality, HSHS Medical Group, patient safety and continued physician alignment through the HSHS care integration strategy.

Prior to becoming SVP and CCO, Dr. Shelton served as president of Prairie Cardiovascular Consultants since 2008, which is part of the HSHS family.  Dr. Shelton joined Prairie 25 years ago as an interventional cardiologist. 

Dr. Shelton received his undergraduate degree in chemistry from the University of Missouri in Columbia and his Doctor of Medicine from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine where he also did his internal medicine residency. He did his fellowship in the cardiovascular division at Washington University School of Medicine and was on faculty as an interventional cardiologist at Barnes Hospital prior to joining Prairie. Dr. Shelton has given lectures in 11 countries and has been very active in the American College of Cardiology. 

About Michael W. Cottrell, CPA, MHA

 

Michael W. Cottrell, CPA, MHA, accepted an invitation to serve HSHS as senior vice president and chief financial officer in February 2009. In this role, Mike is accountable for assuring the existence of a highly qualified finance team and integrated finance structure to sustain financial integrity, support the achievement of annual and long-term strategic operating and growth goals and maintain AA performance in all aspects of system performance. Other accountabilities include accounting, decision support and analysis, risk and compliance, budgeting, revenue cycle, capital allocation, payroll, auditing, taxes and governance reporting.

Mike was director of healthcare municipal finance at Merrill Lynch from 2007-2009, where he established innovative finance strategies to health system leaders and governance members, and developed healthcare operations within Merrill. Prior to his term at Merrill Lynch, Mike was senior vice president of finance and chief financial officer at Bon Secours Health System from 1985-2007, where he was responsible for overseeing financial reporting, planning, and management, operating and capital financing, coordination and development of corporate budget functions, including hospital operations and the development and coordination of management financial systems. He was also responsible for evaluation of potential acquisition candidates and overall system financing programs.

Mike received his bachelor’s of science, accounting, from Virginia Commonwealth University and later received his master’s of science, health administration, from Virginia Commonwealth University Medical College of Virginia. In 1978, he became a Certified Public Accountant for the State of Virginia. He is involved in several professional organizations including the Healthcare Financial Management Association, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, and the District of Columbia Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

About David K. Beach

 

David Beach was appointed to serve as senior vice president and chief human resources officer for HSHS in November 2015. In this role, David provides overall leadership and guidance for HSHS in the development and implementation of policies, plans, and programs related to all phases of human resources management and development activities. Among other responsibilities, he actively participates as a key member of the HSHS executive team in furthering the HSHS ministry, mission and values in the strategic planning and implementation of talent acquisition, HR analytics, compensation, benefits, organization and leadership development, colleague health services, workers compensation, and colleague relations.

David has more than 30 years of experience in human resources. He most recently was the vice president of human resources at Spectrum Health Systems in Michigan, a health care network comprised of 12 hospitals, a health plan, 181 service locations, 2,000 volunteers, 1,300 physicians and advanced practice providers, and more than 23,000 employees. In addition, David was previously the vice president of Spectrum Health Hospital Group, and the vice president of talent development and organizational capability at Meijer, Inc., a $15 billion retail supercenter and the 19th largest privately held company in the United States.

David holds a Master of Arts in Moral Theology and Bioethics from the College of the Holy Apostles, and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and English from the University of Michigan. He also completed several professional certifications, including the Senior Professional Human Resource, Strategic Human Resource Executive Education, the Harvard Business School Certification for Project Management, and the Advanced Certificate in Labor Arbitrations.

About Amy Bulpitt, JD, MBA

 

Amy Bulpitt, JD, MBA accepted an invitation to serve as senior vice president and chief legal officer for HSHS, and began her service in November 2016. She previously served as vice president, legal affairs for the HSHS Central Illinois Division. Amy joined the HSHS family in 2010 after working at Hughes and Tenney, L.L.C. where she specialized in health care law. She graduated from Illinois Wesleyan University with a bachelor’s degree in history. She went on to earn her Juris Doctorate and Health Law Certificate from the Health Law Program at St. Louis University School of Law and her Executive MBA from the Olin School of Business at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri.

About Jennifer Cobb, MBA, M.Div.

 

Jennifer Cobb, MBA, M.Div., began her service with Hospital Sisters Health System (HSHS) as senior vice president and chief mission office in April 2020.  Jennifer came to HSHS after spending five years at Mercy in Chesterfield, MO as executive director, mission and spiritual care specializing in strategic leadership for the delivery of spiritual care across the Mercy ministry including 40 hospitals, 700 physician practices, and physical locations in four states and additional virtual locations. Prior to joining Mercy, Jennifer served in various pastoral care positions throughout Texas. Jennifer is a published professional on various topics surrounding spiritual care and wellness within the healthcare industry and has presented at various conferences including the Catholic Health Association. 

Jennifer holds a Bachelor of Arts from Southwestern University, a Master of Divinity from Southern Methodist University, a Master of Business Administration in Health Care from University of Phoenix and is a Board-Certified Chaplain.