New Board Chair Officers and Board Members Named to Holy Cross Health

NEW BOARD MEMBERS: Jonathan Ayers, MBA, LaRonda Chastang, MSW, Sister Kathleen McManus, RSM, Brian Nelson, J.D. Karen O’Byrne, Rudy Molinet, RN

Submitted by Paige Feigenbaum and Christine Walker

(Photo Credit: Holy Cross Health)

     FORT LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA–– Holy Cross Health has named Rudy Molinet as chair and Karen O’Byrne as vice chair of the Board of Directors and welcomed new board members Jon Ayers, LaRonda Chastang, Kathleen McManus and Brian Nelson.

Rudy Molinet, RN, MPH, FACHE, Chief Executive Officer, Artemis Synergies Consulting is Chair of the Holy Cross Health Board. The Wilton Manors resident previously served as vice chair of the Board and on the Finance & Executive Committees. Molinet is board-certified in healthcare management as a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives. As CEO of Artemis Synergies, Molinet and his team provide executive coaching, business consulting and strategic planning services specializing in healthcare organizations. He is an adjunct professor at Florida Atlantic University Executive Education and provides executive coaching services to graduate students and develops innovative programs to improve the student experience. Molinet currently serves as the Vice Chair of the City of Wilton Manors Planning & Zoning Board and is involved with several charities and foundations serving the LGBTQ+ community.

Karen O’Byrne, CPA, MBA, Senior Vice President, Value Creation, Warburg Pincus is Vice Chair of the Holy Cross Health Board. She continues to serve as the Chair of the Board’s Finance Committee and will serve on the Board’s Executive Committee. O’Byrne joined Warburg Pincus in 2022 and is a CFO Advisor on the Value Creation team. She brings more than 30 years of financial and operational experience, leading growth-oriented technology organizations. Prior to that, she was the President and Chief Executive Officer at Motus LLC, having previously served as its Chief Financial Officer. Before that, Karen was the Chief Financial Officer at Modernizing Medicine and Campus Management, and held the lead finance role in the Web Hosting unit of Verio, Inc. She received both her MBA and Bachelor of Science in Accounting from University of Florida.

New Board Members

Jonathan Ayers, MBA is the former Chairman and CEO of IDEXX Laboratories, a global leader in pet healthcare innovation. He and his wife Helaine recently made a $2 million gift to support Holy Cross Health’s Outpatient Rehabilitation Center, and the center will be renamed the Jon and Helaine Ayers Rehabilitation Institute. The gift enables the Rehabilitation Institute to undergo a transformational physical renovation and purchase eight new pieces of state-of-the-art equipment. In June 2019, Ayers’ life was forever changed when he was seriously injured in a catastrophic bike crash, caused by another cyclist, leaving him a quadriplegic. He is Chair of the Board of Directors for Panthera, a non-profit that’s devoted to the conservation of 40 species of wild cats throughout the world, and the couple has also established The Ayers Wild Cat Conservation Trust. Ayers will Chair the Holy Cross Health Board’s Strategic Planning & Marketing Committee and will be a member of the Executive Committee.

LaRonda Chastang, MSW is SVP of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for Trinity Health and a nationally recognized diversity and inclusion leader, equity advocate, change agent and public speaker. Named one of Modern Healthcare’s Top 25 Diversity Leaders in 2022 and Crain’s Notable DEI Leaders in 2023, Chastang is responsible for the development and implementation of Trinity Health’s national DEI strategy, partnering with executive leaders across 26 states and supporting over 123,000 colleagues that serve more than 30 million people annually. She is the immediate past Vice President for the Board of Education for Plymouth Canton Community School and serves on the boards of the SafeHouse Center and the C.L.A.S.S. Agency. Chastang will serve on the Holy Cross Health Board’s Executive Committee and Strategic Planning & Marketing Committee.

Brian Nelson, J.D. is a seasoned attorney and the managing partner of Asenda Ventures, a private equity firm that acquires and improves commercial property in the Southeast and actively invests in innovative technology ventures. Previously, as partner and in-house counsel, he led the expansion and sale transactions of two enterprise software companies and held leadership roles in the commercialization of intellectual property, acquisitions and talent development. As an attorney at AMLaw 100 firms, Nelson focused on corporate law, venture capital and licensing. Nelson launched the Victoria Mair Nelson Lymphedema Training Fund, a multi-year interdisciplinary program between the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine-Dept. of Physical Therapy and Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center. He also serves on the Jewish Adoption and Family Care Options (JAFCO) Annual Poker Fundraiser Steering Committee, and he is a member and supporter of Men Giving Back, which provides annual grants to local not-for-profits. Nelson will chair Holy Cross Health Board’s Compliance Committee.

Sister Kathleen McManus, RSM, O.T., MEd. is a healthcare coordinator on behalf of the Institute of the Sisters of Mercy in Merion, Pennsylvania. She coordinates and identifies healthcare services for Sisters’ needs and helps them transition to residential facilities as memory impairment or medical needs arise. She has an extensive background as an occupational therapist with an emphasis on geriatric care in adult day care, skilled nursing and home settings. She is a member of the Pennsylvania Occupational Therapy Association, American Occupational Therapy Association and American Geriatric Society. Sister McManus will serve on the Holy Cross Health Board’s Compliance Committee.

“We are so fortunate to have Rudy and Karen in leadership positions and to have Jon, LaRonda, Brian and Sister Kathleen join our Board,” said Holy Cross Health President and CEO Mark Doyle. “They all share our vision and core values, and I look forward to working closely with them as we continue to serve as a compassionate and transforming healing presence within our communities.”