Dave Chase

Chief Executive Officer

A quintessential Internet entrepreneur, Dave Chase has launched several new businesses over his career, initially from within Microsoft. These include leading Microsoft’s entry into the enterprise software business and founding Microsoft’s Healthcare business, both of  which began from virtually nothing and are now industry-leading, multi-billion dollar enterprises. He also gained deep experience in the healthcare industry as a senior consultant for Accenture's Healthcare practice, working with more than two dozen healthcare providers and systems.

Dave has spent the last several years working as an acting executive, founder, or consultant for a variety of startups, including market-leading companies such as LiveRez.com, MarketLeader, iMedia Communications, and WhatCounts.

Dave’s entrepreneurial roots go back to building up a lawn mowing business in junior high to help pay his way through college and leading ski trips to Whistler. Dave also owns a local media property in Idaho (SunValleyOnline.com) that became one of the country’s first local websites to be profitable. He regularly writes for the Huffington Post, Sandhill.com, iMediaConnection, Hearst’s Seattle PI, TechCrunch, and the Online Journalism Review. Dave can be found at @chasedave

 

Bassam Saliba

Chief Technology Officer

Bassam Saliba is an experienced entrepreneur with over 22 years in the computer industry, founding and running technology startups and leading the design and development of large-scale, complex, mission-critical software systems. Bassam is also the CEO of Equiom, a software consultancy and incubation firm with over 70 technology professionals. Prior to Equiom, he was the VP of Engineering for Scalix Corporation, a developer of enterprise-based messaging software. Before Scalix, Bassam was the co-founder and Chief Technology Officer of Fidesic, where he pioneered an electronic invoice presentment and payments (EIPP) platform. Bassam also spent 10 years at Microsoft in various roles, including the Group Manager for TransPoint, a technology venture between Microsoft, Citibank, and First Data Corporation. Bassam serves as an advisor to several startups in the Northwest, and sits on the boards of several startups including Moprise and Balance Financial.

Bassam has 19 patents filed (9 issued), and he brings extensive experience in business and technology, including strategy, architecture, design, development, and project management. Bassam holds a B.S. in Computer Science from the University of Colorado at Boulder and an M.S. in Software Engineering from Seattle University; he has also completed the EPGC (Executive Program for Growing Companies) program at Stanford University.

Laila Taji, BSN, MPH

Director of Industry Relations

Laila Taji is responsible for Industry Relations at Avado. She has been involved with Avado from the early days, bringing her extensive experience in clinical practice to the company. Prior to joining Avado, Laila was a practicing nurse working predominantly in pediatrics in both inpatient and ambulatory settings at several organizations including Harborview Medical Center, Stanford Children's Hospital, and New York Presbyterian Hospital. Laila brings to the team expertise in patient relations and care coordination. Laila holds a Master in Public Health from the University of Washington with focus on health IT, a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from John Hopkins University and a Bachelor of Science from Smith College.

At a personal level, she is a mother, wife and caregiver responsible for the health of her family and an elderly parent. The blend of her clinical, public health and family responsibilities is particularly helpful since the core of Avado is creating a collaborative care tool that is beneficial not only to professionals but also individuals and caregivers.

John Yii

Chief Information Officer

John Yii spent over 10 years at Microsoft where he managed projects for Windows Live Onecare, Windows XP SP2, MSN Money Central, Microsoft Passport, and the MSN Data warehouse and advertising engines. John also served as the Director of Operations and Group Program Manager for Fidesic Corporation. There he led the design, development, and deployment of the company’s flagship electronic invoice presentment and payment (EIPP) service for businesses. John holds a Bachelor of Mathematics in Computer Science from the University of Waterloo. He is a Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) and a Project Management Professional (PMP).

 

Dr. Howard Luks, MD

Medical Advisor

Dr. Luks is a practicing, Board-Certified Orthopedic Surgeon with offices in Westchester and Dutchess Counties. At New York Medical College he is an Associate Professor of Orthopedic Surgery where he is entrusted with the training of the next generation of Orthopedic Surgeons. At University Orthopedics, PC and Westchester Medical Center Dr. Luks serves as the Chief of Sports Medicine and Arthroscopy.

Dr. Luks is currently an Advisory Board Member for the Mayo Clinic Center for Social Media. He has had a deep digital presence for nearly 4 years and now nearly 20% of his practice's new patients come through a google search or social media related referral. He has worked with Fortune 500 companies as well as solo practitioners on their online endeavors. Inbound marketing techniques can prove equally effective regardless of the size or complexity of your organization.

 

Dr. Wendy Sue Swanson, MD, MBE, FAAP

Medical Advisor

Pediatrician Dr. Wendy Sue Swanson, MBE, FAAP, author of Seattle Children’s Hospital Seattle Mama Doc Blog, is working to revolutionize health communications by using social media to bridge the gap between parents and doctors. As one of the first pediatricians to blog for a leading children’s hospital, she leverages social media platforms to provide relevant, practical and timely guidance to parents focused on raising healthy children. Fostering candid conversations between doctors, patients and parents in an online setting is a new approach to medicine but one that may have a positive effect on the traditional patient-doctor relationship. This new communication can morph the relationship into one that is more interactive, informed, and in some cases, more valuable. Tackling issues from vaccines to work life balance, Dr. Swanson provides a voice of reason, not only as a pediatrician but also as a parent, and is focused on helping parents gain clarity and eliminate fear when making decisions for their children.

Dr. Swanson is an executive committee member of the American Academy of Pediatrics Council on Communications and Media. She is also on the Board of Advisors for Parents magazine and is on the board for the Mayo Clinic Center for Social Media. Dr. Swanson graduated with Honors in Psychology from Kenyon College. After college, she taught bilingual middle school science for two years through Teach for America in Oakland, CA. She earned an MD and MBE (Master's in Bioethics) at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and then completed her residency at Seattle Children’s Hospital. In addition to her blog, she can be found on Twitter at @SeattleMamaDoc

Dr. Swanson speaks nationally on physician use of social media and it’s role in advocacy. Recent presentations include:

  • Cerner Health Conference 2011 – Keynote Speaker
  • Ragan Mayo Clinic Social Media Summit 2011 – Keynote Speaker
  • American Academy of Pediatrics District Leadership Conference 2011