Fellowship Leadership

The UC San Diego Health Administrative Fellowship has an emphasis on exposure and mentorship across senior and executive leadership. The Fellow has an opportunity to engage with an Executive Sponsor, Mentor, and Individual Preceptor. The Preceptors meet with the fellow on a regular (bi-weekly) basis to foster professional development and project placement. The Executive Mentor provides general system-wide support and guidance with monthly and quarterly meetings. The Executive Sponsor connects the Fellow to Executive Committees and high-level meetings across the system.

Lisa Murphy is the chief administrative officer – clinical programs for Cardiovascular Institute, Center for Transplantation and Pulmonary Services at UC San Diego Health. In this role, Ms. Murphy is responsible for setting strategic and long-term priorities including expansion and growth of respective clinical programs; implementing growth and quality initiatives and achieving related financial performance goals; achieving integration of clinical administrative responsibilities for the faculty practice, all related in-patient and outpatient and ambulatory clinical services; and managing physician/provider relationships.

Prior to joining UC San Diego Health in 2005, Ms. Murphy was the administrator of Cardiothoracic Surgery & Heart Transplantation at the University of Chicago Health System. She spent several years in accounting positions at Crowe, Chizek & Company, Certified Public Accountants (CPAs) and at Northwestern Medical Faculty Foundation before passing the CPA exam in 1996. Ms. Murphy is also a 2012 graduate of the LEAD San Diego Impact program, which provides a comprehensive view of the major issues facing the San Diego region.

Lisa joins us as a new preceptor, with her support and mentorship of fellows tracing back many years. Her engagement will continue to enhance the fellowship experience at UC San Diego Health.

Lisa earned her Master of Business Administration in financial management and strategic management from the Booth School of Business at the University of Chicago, and her Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Notre Dame.

As chief quality and patient safety officer, Chad VanDenBerg leads UC San Diego Health’s quality improvement programs and processes. He ensures organizational regulatory compliance and promotes and supports best practices for evidence-based medicine.

In addition, he provides oversight and direction for the analysis of data related to clinical quality and patient safety. He serves as a champion for clinical excellence initiatives and leads the health system toward achieving its goals in these areas.

With more than 20 years of experience with quality systems and processes, Mr. VanDenBerg brings to his position a demonstrated commitment to patient safety. Most recently, he served as vice president, quality and performance improvement, for Grady Health System in Atlanta. Previously, he served for over a decade as the director for Grady’s Center for Clinical Performance Improvement.

Among his many achievements, Mr. VanDenBerg is an American College of Healthcare Executives Fellow and earned his Lean Six Sigma Green Belt from the Institute of Industrial Engineers. He also holds a Master of Public Health in health policy and management from Emory University and a BA in biology from Johns Hopkins University.

As chief of staff for UC San Diego Health, Matthew leads key initiatives in support of the chief executive officer’s operational and strategic priorities to advance the organization’s mission and vision. Additionally, Matthew leads the enterprise-wide Project Management Office (PMO) to enhance performance management by improving operational efficiencies and reducing costs across UC San Diego Health.

Matthew also serves as the chief of innovation and transformation. In this role, he spearheads UC San Diego Health’s new technology integration strategy and leads the integration of new and innovative technologies designed to improve efficiencies, reduce costs, and improve the quality of care and patient experience.

With experience in establishing performance management infrastructure, designing leadership development programs, and creating strategic business plans, Matthew’s skill set provides a well- rounded resource as preceptor to the fellowship program. Matthew serves as a mentor to the fellows, connecting them to innovative project opportunities and health system leaders. His leadership style challenges fellows to explore the wide range of administrative roles throughout the organization, while developing their ACHE Healthcare Executive Competencies. Matthew’s support, guidance, and experience offer a strong foundation to the UC San Diego Administrative Fellowship.

Matthew holds a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of California, Irvine, a Master of Science degree in biochemical engineering from Arizona State University, and a Bachelor of Science degree in chemical engineering from Cornell University.

Brendan Kremer is the chief administrative officer – operations (CAOO) at UC San Diego Health and chief operating officer for UC San Diego Physician group. He is responsible for the clinical, financial and operational performance of all clinical service lines and programs. In addition, Mr. Kremer is responsible for hospital support services, including facilities, food and nutrition, environmental services, and security. He works with leaders from experience, compliance, quality, strategy and finance to ensure that hospital operations are designed to meet the needs and requirements of patients, physicians, staff and the public. 

Mr. Kremer holds a master of health service administration and bachelor of science in public administration from the University of Southern California. He serves as a board member for the University Ambulatory Surgical Center, and is a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives and the San Diego Organization of Healthcare Leaders. He is also a Grammy voting member for the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. While new to the preceptor role, 

Brendan has mentored many fellows and has been an avid supporter of the Administrative Fellowship Program at UC San Diego Health for years. We are excited to see the program continue to evolve due to his involvement.