2025-2026 HIMSS National Capital Area Board of Directors Election
Voting is now open for the 2025-2026 HIMSS National Capital Area (NCA) Board of Directors.
Please Note: To vote in this election, you must be an active member of HIMSS and a member of the HIMSS NCA Chapter.
Being a member of the HIMSS National Capital Area (HIMSS-NCA Board) is an extraordinary opportunity to serve the HIMSS community and also to engage hospitals, managed care organizations, integrated delivery systems, non-profit healthcare organizations, as well as government agencies such as the Military Health System, Department of Veterans Affairs, and the Department of Health & Human Services.
Voting is open for the following 2025-2026 Chapter Board. These are one-year positions.
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Program Chair
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Sponsorship Chair
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Advocacy & Community Chair
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Membership Chair
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Communications Chair
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Outreach and Collaborations Chair
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Mentorship and Scholarship Chair
Positions descriptions are located in the Officer Handbook found here.
Candidates
Program Chair
Candidate: Nick Vass
Company: J29 Inc.
Campaign Message: In my first year as board chair of the Programs Committee, I was fortunate to work in partnership with such a talented board that I plan on expanding into year two - should I be re-elected. We have worked to expand participation from attendees and panelists within the VA, DHA, and even the HHS community more. Early in my career, numerous HIMSS chapters have helped me grow into my professional role and I have always wanted to go above and beyond to repay to others the value that I have personally gotten from these chapters, which has led me to run for Program Chair.
The Program Chair is one that needs someone to understands how important this position is to ensure that NCA chapter events are giving our members the best ability in the industry to hear perspectives from some of the top government Healthcare IT leaders in the country. I plan on working closely with the member community and board members to enhance the chapters monthly events through particular topic selection and panelist participation.
Sponsorship Chair
Candidate: Suzanne Charleston
Company: Transunion
Campaign Message: Suzanne Charleston is an innovative strategic thought leader in healthcare and beneficiary markets with growth, business development and capture activities. Her focus is on Federal agencies such as Health and Human Services, Defense Health Agency, Social Security Administration and Veterans Affairs. She is currently the Chapter Sponsorship Chairman and also serves on the golf committee, Suzanne is the Past president of the National Contract Management Association, Woodlawn Chapter and current Co-Chair of the Professional Services Council Military Health Committee. She supports the Veterans Service Organization BurnPits360 and is Vice President of the Great Falls Women's Club Scholarship Fund.
Advocacy & Community Chair
Candidate: Alan R. Constantian, Ph.D., Former CPHIMS
Company: Planned Systems International
Campaign Message:
1. I like working with the other Board members to put together high-quality programs for the membership.
2. I enjoy working with the student beat reports to keep tabs on key federal agencies. I want to make this a permanent feature for HIMSS NCA and think I need to keep it moving into a second year to achieve that goal.
3. I want to build on the June 30 DC-based webinar and work with District Health IT leaders in 2025-2026.
4. In 2025-2026 I want to engage more with HIMSS National to do advocacy work at the federal level, given that we are a federally-focused chapter.
5. I want Dan Blum to be able to confidently step away from his focus on community and advocacy activities so he can use his many talents in other ways to support HIMSS NCA, assured that I will be able to cover his Community and Advocacy duties adequately, especially when in this environment finding speakers for programs is so challenging. Dan’s extensive network is a great match for this and we need to put his time and talent to use where it serves HIMSS NCA best. He has done a great job mentoring me and while I will never be able to completely fill his shoes, I believe I can do a sufficiently adequate job in Community and Advocacy now and allow him to spend more time in support of other HIMSS NCA activities as the President deems necessary.
6. I need to identify an understudy to take over the Community and Advocacy role for 2026-2027 or later in 2025-2026 so we have good succession planning.
Membership Chair
Candidate: Alex Holston, M.D.
Company: LMI
Campaign Message: My goal is to make every member feel welcomed, valued, and inspired to get involved. During my board term, I hope to strengthen member retention, improve onboarding for new members and volunteers, and expand outreach to federal health professionals and early-career clinicians. I believe I am the right person for this role because I’ve already demonstrated reliability, collaboration, and a passion for advancing our chapter’s mission. My background as a physician and health IT leader brings a unique perspective to membership growth, blending clinical insight with strategic communication. I have also supported the Membership Chair by attending a board meeting on his behalf and assisting with member engagement efforts, reflecting my commitment to active chapter participation. As a HIMSS NCA volunteer, I’ve consistently supported chapter operations by coordinating event logistics—including venue, catering, guest Wi-Fi, and security—which has ensured smooth and professional monthly programs.
Communications Chair
Candidate: Adam J. Peters, MT, ASCP
Company: ManTech Advanced Systems International
Campaign Message: I’ve been privileged to serve as the communications chair. We have increased our program and advocacy messaging and the reach of those messages by growing our brand on social media. Sharing our advocacy, education opportunities, and charitable pursuits helps bring awareness to the chapter and enables others to participate in the HIMSS mission. To that end I hope to continue to serve to refine and enact the communications plan that we developed this year.
Outreach and Collaborations Chair
Candidate: Jessica Denman, MBA
Company: ServiceNow
Campaign Message: My federal health IT background, spanning over two decades in both public and private sectors, has provided me with a comprehensive understanding of the evolving health IT landscape. This experience, coupled with my roles at USAF, DHA, Halfaker, SAIC, JET Solutions, and ServiceNow, has equipped me to connect industry leaders, foster strategic alliances, and support initiatives that align with HIMSS NCA’s mission.
If elected, my objective is to further strengthen our chapter’s influence by identifying emerging health IT trends, cultivating partnerships that provide measurable value to members, and creating impactful events that drive engagement and elevate HIMSS NCA’s presence as a thought leader in the federal health space.
Mentorship and Scholarship Chair
Candidate: Michael Holmes, CPHIMS, PMP, SA
Company: MicroHealth LLC
Campaign Message: I started my involvement with the charity and mentorship programs over 10 years ago. First as a mentor and charity panel reviewer. After several years of being a mentor, I was asked to assist with managing the mentorship program and took on the role as Mentor co-chair, which I've performed for the past 6 years. 3 years ago I step into the role as Chair Mentorship/Scholarship leading the combined the scholarship and mentorship programs and increased outreach to local universities and increased involvement in both the mentorship and scholarship programs, doubling this year's mentee class size.
I've had the pleasure of seeing several mentees grow as young professionals and come back and volunteer to be mentors and continue the cycle of assisting college students prepare for the transition into their first professional roles. The years during and after COVID were particularly challenging as we transitioned the previous "IN-PERSON" mentorship program into all virtual one and then into a hybrid in-person/virtual program and finally back to an in-person program.
My past experiences as a mentor, scholarship reviewer and past committee Chair have prepared me well for the role as the Mentorship/Scholarship Chair.