IHI is delighted to announce this year's National Forum plenary speakers who will be presenting during the General Conference on December 13 and 14.

Donald M. Berwick, MD, MPP, FRCP

Donald M. Berwick, MD, MPP, FRCP, is President and CEO of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI).  He is one of the nation's leading authorities on health care quality and improvement. He is also clinical professor of pediatrics and health care policy at the Harvard Medical School. Dr. Berwick has served as vice chair of the US Preventive Services Task Force, the first “Independent Member” of the Board of Trustees of the American Hospital Association, and as chair on the National Advisory Council of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. An elected member of the Institute of Medicine (IOM), Dr. Berwick now serves on the IOM’s Governing Council.

Dr. Berwick is the author of numerous articles and books, including Curing Health Care and Escape Fire.

Ronan Tynan

Tenor Ronan Tynan hails from Kilkenny, Ireland. His story is an example of dogged perseverance in the face of seemingly insurmountable obstacles. Ronan lost his lower limbs after an accident at the age of 20.  Within 12 months he began winning medals at games for the disabled.  He then went on to become the first disabled person ever admitted to the National College of Physical Education in Limerick.  That was followed by training in medicine at Trinity College, Dublin, leading to his current position as a doctor of sports medicine.  Doctor Tynan is also an award-winning singer, recording artist and author.

His memoir, Halfway Home: My Life ‘Til Now, was released in 2002. Though hampered by disability early in life, the remarkable story of Ronan Tynan is an inspiration to all. Few artists are so worthy of the success they receive. Ronan is one who deserves all this and more.

Stephen H. Lewis

Stephen H. Lewis is currently the UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa.  Prior to that he served as Canadian Ambassador to the UN and Former Deputy Executive Director of UNICEF.  Mr. Lewis is also a Commissioner for the World Health Organization's Commission on the Social Determinants of Health, as well as a Senior Advisor to the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University in New York.

John E. Wennberg, MD, MPH

John E. Wennberg, MD, MPH, is the Director of the Center for the Evaluative Clinical Sciences at the Dartmouth Medical School.  He has been a Professor in the Department of Community and Family Medicine since 1980 and in the Department of Medicine since 1989, and currently holds the Peggy Y. Thomson Chair for the Evaluative Clinical Sciences.  Dr. Wennberg is the principal investigator and series editor of The Dartmouth Atlas of Health Care, which examines the patterns of medical resource intensity and utilization in the United States.