Brad Barber, JD
Senior Vice President & Chief Development Officer

Brad joined Children's Hospital in 2006 as senior vice president and chief development officer of the hospital's foundation. Brad came to Children's after more than 25 years fundraising for the University of California, where he was the Assistant Vice President for Institutional Advancement for the University of California System.

From 1994, he worked in the UC Office of the President, playing a critical role in helping to advance the University’s private support programs and policies. Under his leadership, private support to the University increased from $417 million in 1994 to $1.2 billion in 2005. Brad is a graduate of U.C. Berkeley and the Boalt Hall School of Law.

Carol L. Brosgart, MD
Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer

Before joining Children’s Hospital in 2009, Carol held a number of senior management roles at Gilead Sciences, Inc. From 2005 through 2009, she was Vice President, Public Health and Policy. She started the Public Health and Policy department at Gilead in 2005. Carol joined Gilead as Director, Clinical Research in 1998 and was promoted to Vice President, Clinical Research in 2001. Her domestic and global policy efforts have focused on establishing HIV testing as part of routine health care; increasing awareness, screening and linkage to care for chronic hepatitis B and C; seasonal and pandemic influenza planning; the elimination of racial and ethnic disparities in health care; and, improved access to care and chronic disease management of infectious diseases of public health importance.

Prior to Gilead, Dr. Brosgart spent over 20 years in clinical care, research and teaching as the Medical Director of the East Bay AIDS Center (1987-1998) at Alta Bates Medical Center in Berkeley, CA. and the Central Health Center (1978-1987) of the Alameda County Health Care Services Agency. Dr. Brosgart directed NIH collaborative research trials as a member of the leadership of the Community Programs for Clinical Research on AIDS (CPCRA) and contributed to the development of antiretrovirals for HIV and on agents for the prophylaxis and treatment of opportunistic complications of HIV. She joined the National HBV Task Force of the Office of Minority Health in 2007. In 2007, Dr. Brosgart was also appointed to the Board of Directors of Juvaris BioTherapeutics, Inc., a privately held biotechnology company, developing novel vaccines for infectious diseases and oncology and to the Health Management Institute of the National Association of Managed Care Physicians. The following year (2008), she was elected to the Boards of Directors of the National Hispanic Medical Association and the San Francisco AIDS Foundation. In 2009, she was named to the Board of Tobira Therapeutics, a privately held biotechnology company focusing on the development of novel antiviral therapies for HIV. She has served on the Institute of Medicine Committee of the National Viral Hepatitis Roundtable since its inception. She chairs the Public Policy Committee of the NHMA and since 2009 has been a member of the National and Global Public Health Committee of the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA). Dr, Brosgart also serves on the Hepatitis B Committee and the Public Policy Committees of the American Association for the Study of Liver Disease (AASLD). Dr. Brosgart is a member of the clinical faculty of the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and the Joint Medical Program at the University of California, Berkeley (UCB). During her service in both the public and private sectors, she has published extensively in the areas of infectious diseases, focusing on antiviral therapy for CMV, HIV, and HBV.

Serving in an advisory capacity to the State of California, the NIH, the CDC, the AHCPR (now AHRQ) /HRSA and to the Office of Minority Health (DHHS), she has contributed to state-wide and national public health policy for HIV and other communicable diseases.

Dr. Brosgart completed an undergraduate degree at the UCB in 1973 with an independent major in community medicine. Her medical degree was completed at the UCSF in 1977. Dr. Brosgart trained in pediatrics at UCSF and completed an additional residency in preventive medicine offered by a joint program of the California State Department of Public Health and UCB.

Cynthia Chiarappa, MBA
Vice President Marketing & Corporate Communications

Cynthia Chiarappa joined Children’s Hospital in 2010. She has over 25 years of communications and marketing experience, most recently at California Pacific Medical Center, where during her 14 year tenure she developed the strategy for the medical center's communications and marketing efforts. She was responsible for regional marketing, community relations, media relations, internal and crisis communications. She also led California Pacific’s strategic branding efforts and played an integral role in ensuring that internal and external communications were consistent with the organization’s ability to deliver on its promises.

Prior to joining California Pacific, Cynthia was Director of Marketing at LensCrafters in Cincinnati, Ohio and at Vision Service Plan in Sacramento, California. She has a Master of Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing and lectures on health care communications and marketing, most recently for the Tuscan health region in Pisa, Italy.

Richard DeCarlo, BSN, MBA
Senior Vice President & Chief Operating Officer

Richard DeCarlo joined Children’s in 2010 as Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. Richard is responsible for Children’s operations including inpatient and outpatient services, as well as support services, Human Resources, Hospital Information Services, and Facilities at the hospital and satellite locations

Richard has significant experience in hospital operations, physician development, ambulatory services and business development. He joins Children’s from Miller Children’s Hospital in Long Beach where he was Chief Operating Officer. At Miller, he oversaw 2,500 employees and was responsible for clinical operations as well as shared services across the two-hospital campus including Imaging, Pathology, Emergency Services and Facilities Management.

Richard also brings extensive experience in the areas of quality, financial management and patient and family-centered care initiatives. As the project executive for the Miller Children’s Hospital Pavilion and Expansion project, Richard managed a $200 million construction project that involved the construction of a new inpatient, four-story tower, 120,000 square foot addition.

Carolyn G. Dossa, CPMSM, MBPA
Vice President, Institutional Quality

Carolyn joined Children’s Hospital in 2007. She has many years of healthcare experience. In her 19 years at John Muir, Carolyn’s responsibilities included medical staff services, including the CME and Investigational Review committees, and hospital-wide accreditation and regulatory compliance. In prior positions at Mt. Diablo Medical Center she was also responsible for medical records, physician services, the Family Practice Residency Program and physician referral. 

During her 5 years with the California Medical Association Carolyn was responsible for the Consolidated Accreditation and Licensure Survey process, as well as the peer review and quality consultation programs.  

Carolyn has a BA in community services/health education from California State University, Chico, and an MBPA from John F. Kennedy University in Orinda, Calif. She is also a certified professional in medical services management.

Carolyn has been a speaker at many conferences about accreditation. She is a member of the National Association Medical Staff Services, the California Association of Medical Staff Services, and was previously a member of Women Health Care Executives.

Jacquelyn Garman, Esq.
Vice President, General Counsel

Jacquelyn was named vice president and general counsel at Children's Hospital in 2006. She was formerly a partner with Hanson Bridgett Marcus Vlahos & Rudy, LLP, where she specialized in litigation on behalf of healthcare clients. She received her JD at Stanford Law School, after receiving her BA and MA at Washington State University.

Kathleen Hogue Gonzalez
Vice President, Research Administration
Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute

Kathleen has been a member of Children’s Hospital staff since 1972 in progressively more responsible positions involved in research administration. As a senior leader at Children’s Hospital Oakland Research Institute (CHORI), Kathleen has fiscal and compliance oversight for all hospital and laboratory-based research programs, as well administrative and facility responsibilities for the basic research laboratory. Children’s total sponsored program funding, approximately $50 million annually, is derived from a mix of grants and contracts from federal and non-federal sources. Kathleen has been an active member of the Society of Research Administrators International, currently serving on the Board’s Executive Committee. In addition, Kathleen represents CHORI with the Association of Independent Research Institutions.

Jim Grosskopf, CRA, FAHRA
Vice President, Hospital Operations

Jim joined Children’s Hospital in 2005, bringing with him many years of administrative management and technical experience. Before he was director of Diagnostic Imaging at Children’s, he was administrator for the Sutter Fairfield Surgery and Diagnostic Imaging Centers, then a new startup service of Sutter Regional Medical Foundation.

From 1985 to 2004, Jim was the administrative director of Medical Imaging, Cardiovascular and Radiation Oncology Services for John Muir Medical Center and California Pacific Medical Center. Jim also held the position of director of Radiology and Radiation Oncology Services for Group Health Cooperative of Puget Sound, a large HMO in Seattle serving 350,000 members. He was responsible for diagnostic imaging in two hospitals, three specialty centers and 19 outpatient clinics.

Jim has served as a board officer regionally and nationally for American Healthcare Radiology Administrators, Inc. and is a fellow of the organization (FAHRA). Jim has lectured and published nationally, and is a certified radiology administrator (CRA).

Donald Livsey, MBA
Vice President & Chief Information Officer

Don began his 25-year healthcare career as a medical technologist at Brigham and Women's hospital. After receiving his MBA from the University of California, Irvine, in 1987, Don moved to healthcare information technology. He has previously held positions with Transitions Systems Inc., Huntington Memorial Hospital, St. Joseph Health System and Children's Hospital of Orange County.

Don has been managing telecommunication support services and the information systems department at Children's Hospital & Research Center Oakland since 2000. At Children's he helped put in place a computerized physician medication order entry system that helped Children's earn a 2002 Most Wired Hospital award and a 2003 inclusion in CIO magazine's list of the 100 most resourceful companies. Don also helped Children's select and implement a digital diagnostic imaging system that will be accessible institution-wide.

Alexander H. Lucas, PhD
Senior Vice President, Research & Executive Director, Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute

Alexander H. Lucas, PhD joined Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute (CHORI) in 1988 and established the program in immunology. In 2001, he was appointed deputy director of research at CHORI, and in 2004, he established CHORI’s Center for Immunobiology and Vaccine Development.

Dr. Lucas has been funded by the National Institute of Health (NIH) for thirty years and received an NIH Method to Extend Time in Research (MERIT) award.  He became Children's Hospital’s senior vice president, research and the executive director of Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute (CHORI) in August 2009.

Nancy Shibata, RN, MSN
Vice President, Nursing & Chief Nurse Executive

Nancy has been a member of the Children's Hospital staff since 1979. She has served in a variety of roles, including Pediatric Intensive Care Unit staff nurse, PICU assistant head nurse, PICU manager, nursing supervisor, director of Ambulatory Care, director of Critical Care Services, director of Nursing, and was named vice president of nursing in 2003. In her current role, Nancy directs operational, financial, quality and strategic activities for the Nursing Division including inpatient, surgical, and ambulatory areas.

Kim Strange, MS
Senior Vice President & Chief Financial Officer

Kim came to Children’s in 2009 with a wealth of experience as a chief operating officer and chief financial officer for both for-profit and not-for-profit acute-care medical centers and community hospitals.

Kim joined Children’s after serving as interim hospital president of Glendale Memorial Hospital, a 334-bed medical center. While at Glendale, he focused his attention on managed care contracting. His efforts netted $180,000/month in new revenues.  He also improved labor productivity, resulting in more than $2.6 million annual savings. Kim also served as Glendale’s chief operating officer (COO) from 2003 to 2008.

Kim was senior vice president and chief financial officer from 1999 to 2003 at St. Mary Medical Center, Apple Valley, California.  He aggressively re-negotiated managed care contracts, yielding more that $1 million net revenue annually. He also identified and corrected an IT system payroll calculation error that resulted in $400,000 annual savings.

Kim also served as CFO of Irvine Medical Center, and both COO and CFO of Hi-Desert Medical Center, Joshua Tree, California.

Kim has a BS in Business Administration from California Sate University, Northridge, and MS in Health Administration from the University of Colorado, Graduate School of Business.

Patricia (Patti) Taggart, MBA,
Vice President, Ambulatory Services & Chief Administrative Officer, Bay Children’s Physicians

Patti joined Children’s staff in January 2010.  She previously worked at Children’s from 1983 to 2003, as manager of Pediatric Rehabilitation and director of several subspecialty divisions. For the past seven years, Patti has been director of Ambulatory Services at the University of California, San Francisco, Medical Center.

Patti is now responsible for managing Children’s specialty care network, as well as all outpatient services and Bay Children’s Physicians.