Suzet McKinney, MD

Principal & Director, Sterling Bay

Dr. Suzet M. McKinney is a public health expert, medical executive, thought leader, strategic thinker and nationally recognized expert in emergency preparedness and response.
As Principal and Director of Life Sciences for Sterling Bay, Dr. McKinney oversees relationships with the scientific, academic, corporate, tech, and governmental sectors involved in the life sciences ecosystem. She also leads the strategy to expand Sterling Bay’s footprint in life sciences nationwide. She previously served as CEO and Executive Director of the Illinois Medical District, where she managed a 24/7/365 environment that included 560 acres of medical research facilities, labs, a biotech business incubator, universities, raw land development areas, four hospitals and more than 40 healthcare-related facilities. Within two years of leadership, Dr. McKinney accomplished a financial turnaround of the IMD, successfully retiring more than $40 million in debt.
In 2020, Dr. McKinney was appointed by Illinois Governor JB Pritzker as Operations Lead for the State of Illinois’ Alternate Care Facilities, a network of alternate medical locations designed to decompress the hospital system during the COVID-19 pandemic. She worked with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and multiple construction, architecture and project management teams to prepare five facilities to open for overflow patient care.
 

David Smith

CEO and Founder, Third Horizon Stratergies

David is the CEO and founder of Third Horizon Strategies (THS), a Chicago-based, boutique advisory firm focused on shaping a future system that actualizes a sustainable culture of health. 

David is an expert in managed care, alternative payment models, and public health. He has established several coalitions focused on these efforts, most notably in the areas of Medicaid payment reform, opioid use disorder treatment, market stabilization, and health care and social disparities. He is the co-founder of the Health Care Council of Chicago (HC3), a group of Chicago-based health care businesses focused on economic development, system transformation, and social disparities. Prior to organizing THS, David was the chief client strategies officer and a partner with Leavitt Partners. 

David is the host of “The Cost of Care,” a podcast focused on achieving improved social interconnectedness and economic development through improved health. The show rates in the top 0.25 percent of all health-related podcasts. David serves on the board of the Sinai Hospital System and is on the Founder’s Council of United States of Care, a non-partisan initiative focused on expanding health care access. He also led the work of the Medicaid Transformation Project to drive improved access for underserved and vulnerable communities.