Jonathan Efron, M.D., a noted colorectal cancer surgeon, joined UT Southwestern as Executive Vice President for Health System Affairs in December 2023. Dr. Efron provides leadership over the clinical enterprise, including UTSW’s Medical Group, hospitals, regional medical centers, and clinics. UT Southwestern physicians provide care in more than 80 specialties to more than 120,000 hospitalized patients, more than 360,000 emergency room cases, and oversee nearly 5 million outpatient visits a year.

Dr. Efron, Professor of Surgery at UT Southwestern and with the Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center, specializes in the treatment of colon and rectal cancer, inflammatory bowel disease, fecal incontinence, and anorectal disorders, with expertise in minimally invasive and robotic procedures and colostomy-sparing procedures, such as ileal pouch anal anastomosis. His research interests include sphincter-preserving surgery, recurrent rectal cancer, and minimally invasive surgery, among others, and he has published more than 71 articles in peer-reviewed journals, 11 book chapters, and over 104 abstracts.

Prior to joining UT Southwestern, Dr. Efron served as Senior Vice President for Johns Hopkins Medicine’s Office of Physicians, President of the Johns Hopkins Clinical Practice Association, and Interim Vice Dean for Clinical Affairs as well as Professor of Surgery and Urology.

He earned his medical degree from the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore, completed residency at Long Island Jewish Medical Center, and did his fellowship at the Cleveland Clinic of Florida. He was later appointed to academic and surgical positions at Cleveland Clinic Florida and Mayo Clinic Arizona. He is certified by the American Board of Colon and Rectal Surgery and American Board of Surgery.

Holder of the:

• William T. Solomon Professorship in Clinical Quality Improvement at UT Southwestern Medical Center

Will Daniel, M.D., a leader in driving clinical improvement, quality measures, and measureable outcomes, as well as positive transformational changes, was named Vice President and Chief Quality Officer in November 2016.

Most recently, Dr. Daniel was Vice President and Chief Quality Officer for Saint Luke’s Health System in Kansas City, Missouri, a 10-hospital system that has won national recognition for quality.

He received his undergraduate degree from Princeton University, then earned his M.D. at UT Southwestern Medical School in 1990. After completing his residency at Washington University/Barnes Hospital in St. Louis, he returned to UT Southwestern for a cardiology fellowship. He also completed an advanced cardiovascular interventional fellowship at Saint Luke’s Mid America Heart Institute. Dr. Daniel served as a Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of Missouri in Kansas City and as the Medical Director for Quality for the Mid America Heart Institute.

Christopher Madden, M.D., was named Vice President and Chief Operations Officer, UT Southwestern Medical Group in July 2019. He is responsible for the Medical Group’s clinical practice and clinical administrative functions at all sites of service, including UT Southwestern Hospitals and Clinics, Parkland Health & Hospital System, Children’s Health, the Veterans Affairs North Texas Health Care System, and all UTSW clinically affiliated partners.

Dr. Madden guides the overall direction of the Medical Group, including patient care, the development of strategic and marketing priorities, physician contracting, and financial performance. Dr. Madden works with Clinical Department Chairs to ensure that clinical activities at all sites of service are synergistic with UT Southwestern missions and priorities. In addition, Dr. Madden continues to build relationships with our affiliated partner institutions.

He previously served as interim Director of the Peter O’Donnell Brain Institute, as Chief Medical Officer for Parkland Health & Hospital System, and as Associate Vice President for Parkland Affairs.

Dr. Madden completed his residency at Ohio State University and a fellowship in skull base surgery at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge, England. He earned his medical degree at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio.

Becky McCulley, RN, M.S.N., became Vice President, Clinical Programming and Facility Development in August 2019. She focuses on the planning and development of all Health System clinical facilities. She also leads clinical programming and workforce development efforts to provide a comprehensive range of clinical services that meet the highest standards of clinically excellent, team-based care and service to patients and their families.

Ms. McCulley previously was Associate Vice President and Chief Operations Officer for UT Southwestern University Hospitals, leading the transition from the now-closed St. Paul University Hospital to William P. Clements Jr. University Hospital.

She has held many leadership positions throughout her career at UT Southwestern, including Associate Vice President and Chief Operations Officer for Neurosciences and Emergency Services, Associate Vice President and Chief Operations Officer for Neurosciences and Surgical Services, and Associate Vice President for Clinical Program Development. She served as Vice President, Patient Care Services and Chief Nursing Officer from 1994 until 2005.

Ms. McCulley earned a bachelor of science in health care administration from East Texas State University in Commerce. She then earned a bachelor of science in nursing and a master’s degree in nursing administration, both from the University of Texas at Arlington.

Holder of the:

• Nancy S. and Jeremy L. Halbreich Professorship in Gastroenterology

Mack Mitchell, M.D., a Professor of Internal Medicine, is the UT Southwestern Vice President for Medical Affairs. He is also the Chief Medical Officer for the Southwestern Health Resources Physician Network. Dr. Mitchell’s clinical expertise is in gastroenterology and liver diseases, and his research has been focused on alcoholism.

He earned his medical degree from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, where he was elected to Alpha Omega Alpha, and he has been listed repeatedly as one of D Magazine’s Best Doctors in Dallas.

Before coming to UT Southwestern, Dr. Mitchell was the Chief of Gastroenterology and the Medical Director of Ambulatory Services at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center; the Chairman of Internal Medicine at Greater Baltimore Medical Center; and the Chairman of Medicine at Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, North Carolina.

He is currently President of ABMRF/The Foundation for Alcohol Research, and was recently honored with the Seixas Award for Distinguished Service by the Research Society on Alcoholism.

Holder of the:

• Jonsson-Rogers Chair in Cardiology

John Douglas Rutherford, M.D., serves as Vice President for Clinical Operations at UT Southwestern Medical Center and holds a Chair in Cardiology. He joined the UT Southwestern faculty as Professor of Medicine in 1993 and received the Distinguished Physician Award in recognition of outstanding individual contributions to Parkland Memorial Hospital in 1995 and the Gifted Educator Award from the American College of Cardiology in 2011.

Dr. Rutherford, who earned his medical degree from the University of Otago in his native New Zealand, was the recipient of a traveling research fellowship from the New Zealand National Heart Foundation and was a Research Fellow in Medicine at Harvard Medical School.

Dr. Rutherford was recruited to the Harvard faculty in 1978 as a cardiologist and later was appointed co-director of the Samuel A. Levine Cardiac Unit at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.

Marcia Schneider rejoined UT Southwestern in February 2019 as Vice President, Health System Strategy and Business Development and Chief Strategy Officer.

A veteran health care system executive, Ms. Schneider directs the strategic planning, business development, and health care delivery system transformation for the UT Southwestern Health System.

Previously, she was Assistant Vice President for Health System Planning and Performance at UT Southwestern, supporting the strategic development of the UT Southwestern-Texas Health Resources collaboration and the resulting Southwestern Health Resources network. She also led the planning and programming for UT Southwestern’s William P. Clements Jr. University Hospital, which opened in December 2014.

Most recently, she was Vice President of Administration at Baylor Scott & White Health, leading operational transformation.

Ms. Schneider holds a Bachelor of Arts in Biology from the University of Texas at Austin and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Texas at El Paso.

Seth Toomay, M.D., became Associate Vice President and Health System Chief Medical Officer in August 2019. In this role, Dr. Toomay builds upon the success of UT Southwestern’s physician, nursing, quality, operations, and finance leaders working together to place clinical outcomes and the patient care experience at the center of our work. He ensures that high-quality, multidisciplinary care is consistently and uniformly provided throughout the continuum of care at all patient care locations.

Dr. Toomay previously served as Chief Medical Officer for Ambulatory Care at UT Southwestern.

Dr. Toomay earned a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry from Brown University. He then received his medical degree from UT Southwestern, where he remained to complete radiology residency training and fellowship training in interventional radiology. He has studied various topics in the vascular and interventional radiology field and has published multiple research articles in peer-reviewed publications.

Holder of the:

• Ron Anderson, M.D. Professorship in Clinical Care and Education at Parkland Memorial Hospital

A nationally respected nursing leader, Susan Hernandez, D.N.P., M.B.A., RN, joined UT Southwestern in 2014 as the Chief Nursing Officer. In 2015, she moved into her current role as Chief Nurse Executive. Ms. Hernandez oversees more than 3,000 nurses and nurse practitioners, who together provide care for 200,000-plus patients each year in two acute care hospitals and affiliated primary and specialty care clinics.

Under her direction, UT Southwestern’s University Hospital earned Magnet® recognition from the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) in 2016. The designation is the nation’s highest form of recognition for nursing excellence and serves as a benchmark for quality of care.

Prior to joining UT Southwestern, Ms. Hernandez spent nearly 20 years in nursing and leadership positions at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. She holds a doctorate of nursing practice, bachelor’s degrees in nursing and education, and an M.B.A. with a focus in health care administration.