Faculty

Jason Wolf is an entrepreneurial executive, an explorer of organizations and a radical catalyst for organizational health and effectiveness, sustaining performance and cultures of service. As the Executive Director of The Beryl Institute, he provides direction and leadership in expanding the Institute’s services and outreach and driving its vision to become a globally recognized thought leader in addressing customer service and the patient experience in healthcare.
 
With over 16 years of leadership and consulting experience, Jason has led major initiatives both as an internal Organization Development leader for two Fortune 500 companies and in external consulting roles working with numerous organizations in the public, private and not-for-profit sectors. Before taking the helm of The Beryl Institute, Jason spent six years with the Hospital Corporation of American (HCA) as the Director of Organization Development where he designed and led the Organization and Leadership Development strategies for 45 facilities and 45,000 employees at one of the nation’s largest healthcare service providers.   At HCA, he played a vital role in creating collaborative efforts across geographic and functional boundaries to address the challenges and opportunities of the HCAHPS initiative and the patient experience. Prior to joining HCA, Jason founded and ran his own consulting firm, 4results, which specialized in organizational transformation, service culture and executive team development and served as Leader of Organization Effectiveness at Owens Corning – INTEGREX, where he was responsible for developing the cultural architecture for this external-facing service organization.
 
Jason is a sought after speaker in both academic and professional settings from the American College of Healthcare Executives to the Academy of Management, a seasoned consultant on such topics as sustaining high performance, building cultures of service, organization change, and leadership and an author with numerous articles and publications include the upcoming Handbook on Organization Development in Healthcare: A Guide for Leaders.

He currently serves as a Professorial Lecturer at American University's School of Public Affairs and has also served as a Lecturer at Vanderbilt University's Peabody College. Jason was a member of the Board of Trustees of the Organization Development Network from 1999-2002 and is an Associate of the Taos Institute. Jason completed his Ph.D. in Organization Development from Benedictine University where he explored the sustainability of high performance cultures in hospitals.  He holds a M.Ed. in Human Resource Development from Vanderbilt University and a B.S. in Foreign Service from Georgetown University.

Paul Spiegelman is founder and chief executive officer of The Beryl Companies, which includes: Beryl, a technology-focused patient experience company dedicated to improving relationships between health care providers and consumers; The Beryl Institute, a research and educational entity that publishes information about improving the patient experience and how that activity links to better financial outcomes for health care providers; The Circle, a training company that helps businesses enhance employee engagement and develop more positive workplace cultures; and The Small Giants Community, a global organization that brings together leaders who are focused on values-based business principles.   

Paul is leading a unique, people-centric culture that has remarkably high employee and customer retention rates.  Beryl has won “best place to work” awards, including being voted the #2 Best Medium Sized Company to Work for in America. Recently, Spiegelman was honored with the Ernst & Young 2010 Entrepreneur of the Year award.

Paul is a sought-after speaker and author on executive leadership, entrepreneurship, corporate culture, customer relationships and employee engagement. His views have been published in Entrepreneur, The Dallas Morning News, Inc., Healthcare Financial Management, Leadership Excellence and many other noteworthy publications, as well as in his first book Why is Everyone Smiling? The Secret Behind Passion, Productivity and Profit.  His next book, written by Beryl employees, is called Smile Guide:  Employee Perspectives on Culture, Loyalty and Profit. 

Paul practiced law for two years prior to starting Beryl. He holds a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of California Los Angeles and a law degree from Southwestern University in Los Angeles. He mentors MBA students at Texas Christian University and Southern Methodist University, as well as nurse executives in the Robert Wood Johnson Executive Nurse Fellows Program. He also is a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives and on the board of the Entrepreneurs Foundation of North Texas.

Britt Berrett is currently an Executive Vice President with Texas Health Resources, with chief responsibilities for Presbyterian Hospital Dallas. 

Prior to Texas Health Resources, Britt served as president and chief executive officer of Medical City, managing strategic planning and operations for both Medical City and Medical City Children's Hospitals, and guiding the hospital in its mission to be a dynamic learning healthcare organization that sets the standard of excellence for its employees, patients, physicians and community.

While on a two-year mission in Peru, Berrett developed a great appreciation for the role that healthcare providers can play in improving the quality of life for an entire community. It is his concern for the quality of life in the community that makes him a passionate advocate for excellence in healthcare and a perfect fit for Medical City.

Prior to joining Medical City, Berrett served as chief executive officer of Sharp Chula Vista Medical Center, a 306-bed facility located in San Diego and Daniel Freeman Memorial Hospital in Los Angeles, California.. He received his bachelor's degree in finance from Brigham Young University and his master's degree in hospital administration from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis

Nancy Lecroy brings more than 20 years of comprehensive management experience to The Beryl Institute. As Vice President of Marketing for The Beryl Companies, she oversees Beryl’s marketing, communications, public relations and branding initiatives, working closely with sales, customer relations and product management.  For ten years prior to joining Beryl, she served as the senior director for corporate marketing and brand management for VHA. She also spent nearly ten years in various management positions at area advertising and public relations agencies. Nancy holds a Bachelor of Arts in communications from University of Texas at Arlington and earned a marketing certificate from Southern Methodist University. She is a member of the Society for Healthcare Strategy & Market Development (SHSMD).

Kristin Baird, RN, BSN, MHA is president of Baird Consulting, a firm specializing in helping health care organizations to fulfill their missions by optimizing their customer experiences. She is a highly sought- after speaker on customer service in health care and empowering nurses. Baird is the author of Customer Service in Healthcare a Grassroots approach to Creating a Culture of Service Excellence (2000, Jossey Bass) and Reclaiming the Passion - Stories that Celebrate the Essence of Nursing (2004 Golden Lamp Press).

Baird is known for her passion for health care service excellence. Her unique perspective is based on over 30 years of health care experience ranging from clinical nursing in critical care, obstetrics and public health to marketing, business development and hospital administration. Baird served as Vice President or Marketing and Business Development for Watertown Area Health Service in Wisconsin for eight years where she helped the organization to achieve top ten percentile ranking in customer service. She received her bachelors of science in Nursing from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and a Masters in Health Services Administration from Cardinal Stritch University in Milwaukee, WI. She has received over 20 state and national awards for health care communications. Baird is a member of AONE, ANA, MGMA and SHSMD. She has achieved Fellow status in Wisconsin Healthcare Public Relations and Marketing Society.