Meet the leaders working to improve health care in Indiana.
Blake Dye – Interim President
bdye@IHAconnect.org
In addition to serving as chair of the IHA Board of Directors in 2010, Dye brings decades of experience in hospital administration across a broad range of health care facilities. He began his career at Henry Community Health, where he served 31 years in various roles, including more than a decade as president and CEO. He later served as president of St. Vincent Heart Center and as senior vice president at IU Health where he retired in 2022. Dye earned his Bachelor of Science in Public Health Administration and his Master of Health Administration from Indiana University. He is a fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives, a former member of the American Hospital Association Regional Policy Board, and previously served on the Executive Committee of the Suburban Health Organization Board of Directors. In 2016, he was appointed by then-Governor Pence to the Executive Board of the Indiana State Department of Health, where he was reappointed by Governor Holcomb and served a six-year term. In 2004, he was honored by the American College of Healthcare Executives with the prestigious Regent Senior Executive Award.
Matthew Browning – Senior Vice President, Data and Member Solutions
mattbrowning@IHAconnect.org
Matthew Browning is vice president of data and member solutions for the Indiana Hospital Association. In this role, he provides data, analytics, and strategy support to all members and oversees IHA's Inpatient Discharge Studies, Outpatient Study, Comparative Outcome Profile, and other data collection projects. His duties include continual evaluation of the effectiveness of the association's data analytics resources, strategic planning, and monitoring of issues related to health information technology, including privacy and security. Before his role at IHA, Browning served as executive director - of strategic programming for Hendricks Regional Health. He provided administrative leadership for quality, patient safety, risk management, infection prevention, performance improvement, patient experience, hospital security, pastoral and mission integration services, leasing and real estate operations, and strategic planning and decision support. Browning currently has an MHA from Indiana University, an MBA from the University of Indianapolis, and is presently CPHQ (Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality). Browning serves on several boards, including the Hendricks County Parks Foundation, and is currently a commissioner on the Town of Brownsburg’s Redevelopment Commission. He has past board appointments at Safe Sitter, the Indiana Hospital Association, and Marian University.
Terry Cole – Senior Vice President, Finance
tcole@IHAconnect.org
Terry Cole is IHA's vice president of finance and oversees all the association's accounting and financial matters and human resources. Her responsibilities in this role include serving as the staff liaison to six IHA districts and the IHA Council on Finance. Before joining IHA, Cole served as Chief Financial Officer of MDwise. In this capacity, she oversaw the budget and accounting systems for MDwise and its four entities, including MDwise, Inc., MDwise Marketplace, Inc., MDwise Network, Inc., and MDwise Medicaid Network, Inc. She was also responsible for ensuring compliance with the state’s financial performance and reporting requirements. Before her experience at MDwise, Cole spent 11 years in public accounting as a financial auditor and health care consultant. Her veteran health care experience also includes positions as Director of Government Reimbursement programs at both Ascension Health and Clarian Health Partners (Indiana University Health) and Senior Manager at Blue & Co. Cole received her Bachelor of Science degree in accounting from Indiana University and is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Healthcare Financial Management Association.
Karin Kennedy – Vice President, Quality and Patient Safety
kkennedy@IHAconnect.org
Karin Kennedy is IHA's vice president of quality and patient safety. She joined IHA in 2012 as a patient safety and quality advisor to implement Indiana's Hospital Engagement Network in support of Partnership for Patients; a national initiative focused on reducing hospital-acquired infections by 40 percent and preventable readmissions by 20 percent. Kennedy has more than 20 years of health care experience in marketing, communications, and quality improvement. Before her role with IHA, she served as vice president of client services at Health Care Excel. She oversaw quality improvement and utilization operations for private and government clients.
Laura Kracher – Vice President, Public Affairs and Communications
lkracher@IHAconnect.org
Laura Kracher is IHA’s vice president of public affairs and communications and oversees external communications for the association. Previously, Kracher served as IHA’s senior director of government relations and advocacy, where she was responsible for lobbying on behalf of IHA’s 170 member hospitals at the Indiana Statehouse. Before joining IHA in 2016, Kracher spent five years at Bose Public Affairs Group. She developed and executed state and national public affairs campaigns, specializing in health care advocacy and coalition building to advance public policy. Kracher also previously worked for the Indiana State Senate. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications from Ball State University.
Andrew VanZee, FACHE – Vice President, Workforce
avanzee@IHAconnect.org
Andrew VanZee is a vice president at the Indiana Hospital Association, where he helps IHA members improve health care operations, information technology systems, and cybersecurity and implement telemedicine capabilities. Before joining IHA, VanZee worked as a chief quality officer and health IT director for the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration. VanZee also worked for the state of Indiana as CEO of Indiana Health Information Technology. Previously, VanZee served as vice president of operations and provider networks at Logansport Memorial Hospital. VanZee holds a Master of Health Administration from the University of South Carolina-Columbia, a Master of Information Systems from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and a bachelor’s degree in biology from Knox College. In his spare time, VanZee volunteers as a youth coach for Zionsville Little League and Zionsville Youth Soccer Association.
Laura Brown – Deputy General Counsel
lbrown@IHAconnect.org
Laura Brown is Deputy General Counsel for the Indiana Hospital Association, providing critical legal support to IHA’s members and across all of IHA’s various departments, including advocacy, finance, data, and patient safety. Laura recently served as the Director of Legislative and Legal Affairs for the Indiana Health Care Association. Previously, Brown served in the Holcomb-Crouch administration as Special Counsel and Parliamentarian for Lt. Governor Suzanne Crouch. Her experience also includes private practice at Krieg DeVault LLP and the Indiana State Senate, where she achieved the post of Deputy Majority Attorney. Brown obtained her Juris Doctor at Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law in 2014 and her Bachelor of Arts in History at DePauw University in 2011.
