Bedtsy L. Thompson, MD, MSPH, DrPH
Chief Medical Officer, Centers or Medicare & Medicaid Services, Region IX Captain, U.S. Public Health Service
Dr. Thompson is the Acting Regional Health Administrator for the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health in Region IX and a Captain in the U.S. Public Health Service. In that role, she serves as the senior federal public health official and scientist in the region.
Dr. Thompson has considerable experience in multiple facets of the health field. She has worked as a clinician in underserved areas; a Medical Epidemiologist and Branch Chief for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Chief Medical Director for a non-profit health maintenance organization; and Regional Chief Medical Officer for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Dr. Thompson is board-certified in Internal Medicine and Preventive Medicine, holds a master’s in Public Health, and a doctorate in Health Policy. Throughout her career, Dr. Thompson has focused on prevention at both the individual and community level.
Greg Christian
Senior Vice President, Area manager - Kaiser Foundation Hospitals and Health Plan - San Bernardino County Area
Greg Christian is the Senior Vice President, Area Manager for Kaiser Foundation Hospitals/Health Plan, San Bernardino County Service Area, which includes the Fontana and Ontario Medical Centers and the surrounding medical office building clinics. Prior to his appointment to this position in November 2007, he served as the Director of Hospital Operations and Chief Operating Officer for Fontana Medical Center. Greg also served as the Assistant Administrator/Operations support leader for the Kaiser Permanente Tri-Central Service Area from 1996 to 2006.
Before joining Kaiser Permanente, Greg was the Vice President for ServiceMaster Management Services with a focus on operations, client development and retention for the 13 western states.
During Greg’s tenure in the San Bernardino County Service Area, he has led the opening of two new state of the art hospitals (Ontario 2011 and Fontana 2013), while guiding the organization to several quality and service awards including the #1 ranking as Best Hospital in the Inland Empire according to U.S. News and World Report 2015.
Greg holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business and Economics from Westmont College in Santa Barbara, and an MBA with an emphasis in Healthcare Management from American Intercontinental University (AIU).
Greg brings more than 30 years of healthcare leadership experience to his community. He has a strong background in healthcare delivery, operations, people development, line management, and working with Kaiser Permanente’s Labor Management Partnership. He is also very active in the community where he works with the County of San Bernardino Emergency Management Service, the Hospital Association of Southern California (HASC) and his local church.
John Bulinski
District 8 Director
California Department of Transportation
John Bulinski is the District Director of the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) for District 8 encompassing Riverside and San Bernardino counties. It is the largest geographically of the 12 statewide Caltrans districts, with four interstates and 32 routes totaling over 7,000 lane miles within its boundaries.
John Bulinski, Caltrans District 8 Director, has more than 25 years of service to the Department of Transportation. As Director in District 8, Director Bulinski will oversee roadway activities between Riverside and San Bernardino Counties. District 8 is the largest geographically of the 12 statewide Caltrans districts, with four interstates and 32 routes totaling over 7,000 lane miles within its boundaries. Director Bulinski previously served as the Caltrans District 2 District Director in Northern California. In this capacity, he was responsible for overseeing projects in nine counties and for the maintenance of more than 4,000 lane miles of highway in the second largest geographic district in California since 2008.
Under his direction, District 2 won several prestigious awards including the 2013 Excellence In Transportation Major Structure Award for the Spanish Creek Bridge and the Excellence In Transportation Maintenance Operations or Equipment Award for the Cedarville Cement Treated Recycling Project. Most recently, District 2 was awarded the national Pavement Pioneer Award for the long life asphalt pavement projects along Interstate 5 in Red Bluff and Weed.
Previous to his appointment in District 2, Director Bulinski was the Supervising Transportation Engineer over the Caltrans North Region Project Development Design Office. His vast knowledge and experience in transportation design, construction, project management and highway maintenance has been repeatedly called upon by area professionals, as well as other Caltrans directors across California.
Director Bulinski is a graduate of Humboldt State University and holds a Bachelors of Science Degree in Civil Engineering. Director Bulinski and his wife, Jan, have three children—Rachael, William, and Logan and two granddaughters, Ella and Clara. Outside the office he enjoys woodworking, racquetball, softball, fishing, bicycling and camping.
Hasan Ikhrata
Executive Director
Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG)
Hasan Ikhrata is the Executive Director of the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG), the largest metropolitan planning organization in the United States. Appointed in January 2008, Mr. Ikhrata has over 25 years of public and private sector experience in Transportation Planning in the Southern California Region. At SCAG Mr. Ikhrata implements the policies of an 86-member Regional Council and directs day-to-day operations of the agency. He is credited with being a transformational and unifying leader who has enhanced SCAG’s value to member agencies and fostered unprecedented levels of public input and participation in the development of regional transportation plans.
Prior to joining SCAG in 1994, Mr. Ikhrata worked for the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), and the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD). Mr. Ikhrata has received numerous awards and honors from various organizations and agencies for his outstanding leadership and contributions. Mr. Ikhrata holds a Masters Degree in Civil and Industrial Engineering from Zaporozhye University in the former Soviet Union; a Masters degree in Civil Engineering from UCLA and a PhD Candidacy in Urban Planning and Transportation from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.