Leadership

Pamela Edwards

Chief Clinical Officer

As chief clinical officer, Edwards oversees the practices of the clinicians on Agrace’s interdisciplinary teams that provide hospice care in private homes, long-term care facilities, Agrace’s two hospice inpatient units and its hospice residence. Edwards joins Agrace from a nonprofit hospice in Pensacola, Fla., Covenant Hospice, for which she served as vice president of clinical services. Prior to her hospice career, Edwards served in the U.S Army Nurse Corps for nine years, achieving the rank of Major.

Julia Houck

Chief Administrative Officer

As chief administrative officer for Agrace, Houck oversees outreach, admissions, palliative care, human resources and volunteer services. She joined Agrace in 2009 as vice president, human resources.  Prior to employment with Agrace, she held executive level positions at Cogdell Spencer ERDMAN, Marshall Erdman & Associates and Edward Kraemer & Sons, Inc.  Houck holds a master’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a bachelor’s degree from Edgewood College and holds PHR (Professional in Human Resources) certification.

Jennifer Maurer

Chief Financial Officer

In her role as the chief financial officer, Jennifer Maurer oversees the finance and purchasing departments at Agrace. She was previously the vice president of finance at Natus Medical, Inc., a neuro diagnostic and monitoring equipment manufacturer. Maurer’s career includes experience in medical device manufacturing for GE Healthcare as well as work for Johnson Controls. She is a Wisconsin Licensed CPA and received her accounting degree from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.

Dr. MJ Shah

Vice President of Medical Services & Medical Director

MJ (Mindy) Shah, MD, joined Agrace in 2015 and became vice president of medical services in 2018. She is board certified in geriatrics and in hospice and palliative medicine. Before coming to Agrace, she worked in Rochester, N.Y., in hospice and long-term care. She is a graduate of the University of Rochester School of Medicine, where she also completed geriatric medicine and palliative care fellowships.

Brian Tennant

Chief Information Officer

In his role as chief information officer, Tennant is responsible for strategic direction and operational oversight for information technology and health information management (HIM). In addition, Tennant also oversees marketing & communications, volunteer services and employee engagement. Prior to Agrace, he served as vice president–information services at Bethesda Lutheran Communities, a national nonprofit organization serving people with developmental disabilities, and in a variety of consulting management positions at Berbee Information Networks Corporation (now CDW). Tennant graduated from the University of Wisconsin–Madison with a master’s in business administration–accounting & information systems and a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering.

Marcia Whittington

Chief Development Officer

In her role as Chief Development Officer, Marcia Whittington is responsible for providing overall leadership and direction to the Agrace Foundation which includes implementation, coordination and evaluation of the agency’s fund development programs. These programs encompass annual appeals, planned giving, capital campaigns, grants, special events and corporate donor development. Whittington has more than 20 years of development and fundraising experience within the Greater Madison non-profit community. Most recently, she served as the Vice President of Institutional Advancement for Edgewood College.

Dr. Tony Braus

Hospice/Palliative Physician

Anthony Braus, MD, joined Agrace in 2012. He is board certified in geriatrics and psychiatry. Dr. Braus practiced hospital-based psychiatry for more than 20 years, primarily at the William S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital in Madison. He regularly consults with staff caring for Agrace hospice and palliative care patients who have forms of dementia and other psychiatric conditions. Dr. Braus received his medical degree from Michigan State University.

Dr. Terry Clarbour

Hospice/Palliative Physician

Terry Clarbour, MD, joined Agrace in 2017. She is board certified in internal medicine and hospice and palliative medicine, with qualifications in geriatric medicine. She completed a geriatric research fellowship at Loyola University/Hines VA, in Maywood, Ill., and has spent the past 15 years practicing geriatric medicine. Most recently, she served as a hospice physician for Rainbow Hospice in Mount Prospect, Ill.

Dr. Kimberly Kopecky

Hospice/Palliative Physician

Kimberly Kopecky, MD, joined Agrace in 2017. She received her medical degree from Harvard Medical School and completed a hospice and palliative medicine fellowship at the University of Wisconsin Hospital/VA Hospital in Madison. She is also completing a general surgery residency at Stanford Hospital and Clinics in Palo Alto, California. She has co-facilitated several research projects on palliative and end-of-life care through UW Hospitals and Clinics and Stanford Hospitals and Clinics.

Dr. Bernard Micke

Hospice/Palliative Physician

Bernard Micke, MD, joined Agrace in 1996. Dr. Micke practiced family medicine in Madison for several decades before coming to Agrace, where he helped our organization grow and gain the respect of patients, families and medical professionals in the communities Agrace serves. He serves on the Meriter Hospital Ethics Committee and is a graduate of the Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee.

Dr. Richard Nunez Lopez

Hospice/Palliative Physician

Richard Nunez Lopez, MD, joined Agrace in 2016. He is board certified in hospice and palliative medicine. Dr. Nunez Lopez completed his residency in internal medicine in 2014, and a fellowship in hospice and palliative medicine in 2016, both at John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County/Rush University Medical Center, Chicago.

Dr. Ali Siddiqui

Hospice/Palliative Physician

Ali Siddiqui, MD, joined Agrace in 2016. He is board certified in family medicine, and hospice and palliative medicine. Before coming to Agrace, he was a staff physician for palliative care and inpatient hospice services with UnityPoint Health­–Methodist Hospital in Peoria, Ill.

Dr. Geoffrey Smith

Hospice/Palliative Physician & Medical Director Designee

Geoffrey Smith, DO, joined Agrace in 2017. He is board certified in family medicine and is a certified hospice medical director as well as a certified wound specialist. Dr. Smith practiced medicine with Fort Health Care in Johnson Creek and Fort Atkinson, Wis., from 1989 to 2017, working in family medicine. Most recently, he worked at the Internal Medicine and Pediatrics Clinic in Fort Atkinson and the Johnson Creek Wound and Edema Clinic. He was also a medical director for Rainbow Hospice for 23 years. A graduate of Drake University, he received his medical degree from the University of Osteopathic Medicine and Health Sciences, Des Moines, Iowa.

Dr. Karuna Spiegelman

Hospice/Palliative Physician

Karuna Spiegelman, MD, joined Agrace in 2017. She is board certified in internal medicine and integrative holistic medicine, and completed a fellowship in hospice and palliative care in Pennsylvania in 2016. Dr. Spiegleman has been a hospitalist with Meriter UnityPoint Health in Madison for more than 10 years, and served on Meriter Hospital’s Medical Ethics Advisory Committee for nine years. In addition to English, she also speaks French, Russian and French Creole. She is proficient in Hindi and has a basic knowledge of medical Spanish.

Dr. David Watts

Hospice/Palliative Physician

David Watts, MD, joined Agrace in 2016. He is board certified in internal medicine and geriatric medicine, and was a faculty physician in the UW Division of Geriatrics in Madison from 1984 to 2016. Dr. Watts was named one of Madison’s “Top Docs” six times, and was named a “Patient Experience Champion” with UW Health in 2015. He received his medical degree from the University of Washington.

Dr. KJ Williams

Hospice/Palliative Physician

KJ Williams, MD,  joined Agrace in 2010. She is board certified in hospice and palliative medicine, having completed a fellowship in palliative medicine at the Marshfield Clinic, Marshfield, Wis., in 2004.

Dr. Loyd Wollstadt

Hospice/Palliative Physician

Loyd Wollstadt, MD, MSc, FACP, joined Agrace in 2017. He is board certified in geriatrics and internal medicine. Dr. Wollstadt received his medical degree from University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and has been in practice for more than 45 years. Most of Dr. Wollstadt’s clinical years have been as a full-time faculty member in the Department of Family and Community Medicine at University of Illinois College of Medicine, Rockford. He is affiliated with SwedishAmerican Hospital, Rockford, and has extensive experience caring for residents of long-term care facilities and hospice patients.

Dr. Bill Rock

Medical Director, Emeritus

William Rock, MD, began making house calls to patients for HospiceCare Inc. in 1980, and in 1984 he was hired as our first medical director. Widely known in the Madison medical community, Dr. Rock has dedicated his career to educating colleagues, patients, families and the public on topics related to death and dying. He has shared his time generously to help people become comfortable with these key concepts: that death is a part of life and that a life can be lived fully to its end.

A lifelong learner, Dr. Rock was certified in 2008 by the American Board of Medical Specialties in hospice and palliative medicine, then a newly recognized subspecialty. Upon his retirement from Agrace in 2011, he was named our first medical director emeritus.