Kyle Zebley, newly named CEO of the American Telemedicine Association
Photo: Kyle Zebley
The American Telemedicine Association this week announced that Ann Mond Johnson, who has served as chief executive officer of the trade group for eight years, will retire as CEO effective Dec. 10.
The ATA's board of directors has unanimously chosen Kyle Zebley – who currently serves as senior vice president for public policy at the ATA – to succeed her.
Zebley also serves as executive director of the telehealth organization's lobbying arm, ATA Action, and he will continue in that role.
WHY IT MATTERS
Mond Johnson first joined the American Telemedicine Association as CEO in early 2018, and her tenure coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic that fundamentally transformed telehealth's place in the care delivery equation.
Under her leadership, the ATA has served as a vocal proponent for virtual care as provider adoption increased and policies around regulation and reimbursement evolved.
She worked to grow the ATA, which was founded in 1993, to be more than just a professional society building an extended member network across major healthcare systems, technology developers and other key stakeholder groups and alliances.
ATA Board Chair Nathaniel Lacktman, who is the telemedicine and digital health industry lead at Foley & Lardner LLP, said Mond Johnson has been a "driven and energetic advocate for using digital health technologies to increase healthcare access, especially among those who most desperately need quality care, establishing telehealth as an essential modality of delivering care where and when it's needed."
Zebley joined the ATA in July 2020 and has worked to expand its policy and advocacy efforts – notably with the 2022 launch of ATA Action, which works to influence federal and state federal telehealth policies.
ATA Action "has become the leading voice in the nation for telehealth policy advocacy," said Lacktman. "Kyle has the full backing of myself and the Board, and we look forward to his leadership in continuing to deliver value to our members and represent the interests of our industry at all levels of government."
Zebley's previous experience includes working as chief of staff for the Office of Global Affairs at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, where he represented the U.S. in global health diplomacy – pandemic preparedness, pharmaceutical policy, digital health standards – at forums including the G7, G20, the World Health Organization and the United Nations.
THE LARGER TREND
The ATA has been very busy recently, advocating strongly for telehealth against headwinds such as challenging new regulations, expiring Medicare flexibilities and, most recently, the federal government shutdown.
Among its other recent priorities: ATA Action's acquisition earlier this year of the Digital Therapeutics Alliance to co-launch the new Advancing Digital Health Coalition; and the creation this past December of the ATA Center of Digital Excellence with health system heavy-hitters Intermountain, Mayo Clinic, MedStar, Ochsner, Stanford Health and UPMC.
ON THE RECORD
"It has been a remarkable journey and privilege to guide the work of the ATA through this transformative period. I am proud of our incredible accomplishments, especially our work creating actionable tools to help organizations improve access to needed care, and the talented, dedicated team behind our success," said Mond Johnson in a statement.
"As we look to the future, I'm energized by the opportunity to build on that strong foundation and continue advancing the ATA and ATA Action's mission, driving innovation, strengthening collaboration across the healthcare ecosystem, and ensuring that every American has access to safe, high-quality, technology-enabled care," said Zebley.
Mike Miliard is executive editor of Healthcare IT News
Email the writer: mmiliard@himss.org
Healthcare IT News is a HIMSS publication.
