Meet Our Team

Caroline Brown

Chief Strategy and External Affairs Officer

Caroline Brown is the Chief Strategy and External Affairs Officer for the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) and MUSC Health. The Office of Strategy and External Affairs works to advance MUSC's vision and mission through (1) thoughtful and innovative strategic planning and (2) meaningful collaborations and partnerships with external stakeholders ranging from global industry leaders to state and local partners. The team is dedicated to understanding where the healthcare industry is headed and ensuring MUSC is Leading Health Innovation for the Lives We Touch.

MUSC's strategic partnerships with Siemens Healthineers and Medtronic - two of the world's largest medical device and solutions companies - were established and operationalized under Caroline's leadership. She also oversees strategic planning for the health system and provides executive oversight to the OneMUSC enterprise strategic plan.

Caroline is an innovative, values- and results-driven leader with expertise in strategy; communications; establishing partnerships, affiliations, and joint ventures; deal making; and stakeholder relations.

A Charleston native fueled by the opportunity to impact the health of all South Carolinians, she earned her undergraduate degree in public relations and a Master of Business Administration from the Darla Moore School of Business at the University of South Carolina.

Wendy Minor

Executive Director, External Affairs

Wendy Minor is the Executive Director, External Affairs for MUSC and MUSC Health. In this role she oversees the organization's strategic partnerships with both internal and external stakeholders to drive innovation and achieve MUSC's strategic goals.

Wendy is relationship- and results-driven and brings many years of diverse work experience including project management, clinical affiliations and acquisitions, and ambulatory operations. She also has a clinical laboratory background.

Prior to joining MUSC in 2018 where she has worked in operations and finance, Wendy served in many leadership roles during her 28-year career at Novant Health. She earned an undergraduate degree in medical technology from Appalachian State University and her MBA/MHA from Pfeiffer University. She also received her Project Management Professional (PMP) certification.

Kathy B. Booker

External Affairs and Strategic Engagement Manager

Kathy Booker is the External Affairs & Strategic Engagement Manager for MUSC Charleston in Orangeburg. In this role, she maintains connectivity to enterprise-wide partnerships and locally manages relationships with key external stakeholders across Orangeburg and neighboring counties to establish unique collaborations and partnerships.

Born and raised in Orangeburg, SC, Kathy attended Winthrop University. She formerly served as executive assistant to RMC's President & CEO and the previous Board of Trustees and served more than 20 years as administrative coordinator to the president of Orangeburg-Calhoun Technical College. Kathy was appointed by Orangeburg County Council to the Regional Medical Center Board of Trustees in 2022 as the Chief of Board Operations; her appointment also required that she simultaneously serve as Board Secretary. She served as co-chairwoman of the South Carolina chapter of the United States Naval Academy Parent Club; Parent Ambassador for the South Carolina Governor's School for Science and Mathematics; chairwoman of the Orangeburg High School for Health Professions Board of Trustees; and Board member and chair-elect of the Orangeburg County Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors. An avid fitness enthusiast, Kathy is a fitness instructor at both Claflin University and the YMCA. She is the daughter of Doris Dickerson of Orangeburg and mother of two sons, Jackie and Jason.

Merrette Dowdell

External Affairs & Strategic Engagement Manager
MUSC Pee Dee Division

Merrette Dowdell is the External Affairs & Strategic Engagement Manager for MUSC Health's Pee Dee Division. In this role, she maintains connectivity to enterprise-wide partnerships and locally manages relationships with key external stakeholders across Florence, Lake City, Kingstree, Marion, Mullins and neighboring counties to establish unique collaborations and partnerships.

Merrette brings a unique perspective as the previous marketing and development coordinator at a federally qualified healthcare center, HopeHealth. Most recently she was the project manager for the local foods division of the City of Florence. In this role, her work addressed two key principles of progress in the City's comprehensive plan: to improve community health and community livability.

Merrette, a Florence native, earned her undergraduate degree in English and master's degree in secondary education- English from the University of South Carolina.

Andy Doyne

Senior Strategic Data Engineer

Andy Doyne is a Senior Strategic Data Engineer. In this role, he supports and extends data spaces and develops new information platforms to help solve business and clinical challenges. This includes but is not limited to data intake, data transformation, building and maintaining Tableau dashboards, and GIS mapping. He serves as an expert resource on MUSC Health's informational systems and how they relate to business and clinical challenges. Andy provides support, direction, and consultation based on forecasting and modeling, market information, and other related internal and external data sources to develop and track strategic and business plans for departments and Integrated Clinical Centers of Excellence (ICCE). Before his current role, Andy was a Senior Planning Associate on the team supporting the Primary Care ICCE and Transplant ICCE.

Prior to joining MUSC in 2019, Andy worked as a Planning Analyst in the Strategic Planning Department at Prisma Health. He earned his undergraduate degree in science-business from the University of Notre Dame and his Master of Healthcare Administration from the University of South Carolina.

Rebecca Felice

Program Director, Strategic Panning

Rebecca Felice is the Program Director, Strategic Planning for MUSC Health's Office of Strategy and External Affairs. In this role she manages the organization's facility planning and programming as well as facilitates the certificate of need process. Rebecca collaborates with key stakeholders to oversee the development and implementation of strategic clinical programming initiatives to ensure the organization's continued growth and expansion.

In her prior role, Rebecca served as the Clinical Analytics Manager in MUSC Health's Office of the Chief Data Officer where she supported a team of analysts developing data driven solutions and insights. Rebecca also previously served as a Senior Manager for UPMC's Department of Medicine where she led an analytics team to support strategic initiatives and projects across nine clinical divisions. Rebecca earned her Master of Healthcare Administration from Penn State and completed an administrative fellowship with MUSC Health.

Ann Collins Josey

Relationship Manager

Ann Collins Josey serves in the role of Relationship Manager on the Medical University of South Carolina's Office of Strategy and External Affairs (OSEA) team. OSEA works to advance MUSC's vision and mission through meaningful relationships, collaborations, and partnerships with key external stakeholders ranging from global industry leaders to state and local partners. Ann Collins manages a portfolio of prospective, new, and existing enterprise collaborations with key external stakeholders to drive innovation and achieve MUSC's strategic goals. A graduate of Clemson University, Ann Collins also holds a Master of Healthcare Administration from MUSC.

Jonae Riley

Strategic Planning Analyst

Jonae Riley serves as a Strategic Planning Analyst. In this role, she provides support to the Executive Director, Strategy. Jonae conducts statewide market analyses for strategic initiatives and provides recommendations for growth and improvement to the Pee Dee, Catawba, and Midlands divisions. In her previous role with MUSC Health, she contributed her project management skills to the Office of the CEO in support of mergers and acquisitions. Prior to joining MUSC Health, Jonae obtained a bachelor's degree in psychology from Clemson University. After completing her studies at Clemson, she obtained her Master of Healthcare Administration at MUSC in 2022.

Nicholas Salley

Strategic Planning Analyst

Nick Salley serves as a Strategic Planning Analyst for the Office of Strategy & External Affairs. In this role, Nick provides direct support to the Executive Director, Strategy and to other senior leadership within OSEA. He also conducts statewide market analysis, assists in space planning initiatives, helps conduct different growth plans to expand the system's statewide footprint, and provides strategic guidance to across MUSC Health's divisions.

Prior to joining MUSC Health, Nick obtained his bachelor's degree in Kinesiology from Charleston Southern University. He obtained his Master of Business Administration with an emphasis in Healthcare Management from Charleston Southern University in 2022.

Tyler Schmid

Senior Strategic Planner

Tyler Schmid is a Senior Strategic Planner for MUSC Health. In this role, he leverages internal and external data to provide stakeholders with recommendations and plans to achieve operational goals, supply forecasts to guide business decisions, and monitor trends in the industry to help drive innovation.

Before joining MUSC, Tyler was a service-line director for a hospital in Indiana. He has a clinical degree in Respiratory Therapy and eight years of experience working at Academic Medical Centers in Cincinnati and Indianapolis. His specialties included Neurosciences and Neonatal Intensive Care.

Tyler holds an undergraduate degree in health sciences from IUPUI in Indianapolis. He is currently pursuing his Master of Business Administration degree.

Ashley Shannon

External Affairs & Strategic Engagement Manager MUSC Catawba Division

Ashley is the External Affairs and Strategic Engagement Manager for the Catawba Division of MUSC Health. She has been with the Lancaster hospital since 1994 and has been working with the Chester facility since 2017. In her role with both hospitals, she is also a member of the Executive Leadership Team.

A native of Lancaster and a graduate of Winthrop University, she has been active in a plethora of community efforts and agencies since her youth. Past community involvement includes serving on the Board of Directors of The United Way of Lancaster County, Lancaster Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, HOPE in Lancaster Board, and the Lancaster County Council of the Arts Board. She has also played an active role in the School Improvement Councils of Discovery Elementary and Lancaster High School and coordinated a regular show with students of Lancaster High School's Learn TV station. Ms. Shannon currently serves on the Board of Trustees of The Arras Foundation, the Lancaster Chamber of Commerce's Leadership Lancaster planning committee, and the board of the Lancaster County Natural Gas Authority.

Ms. Shannon is an active member at Mount Nebo Missionary Baptist Church in Lancaster and is the mother of one adult daughter.

Meredith Verona

Office Manager and Executive Assistant to the Chief Strategy and External Affairs Officer

Meredith Verona is the Executive Assistant to the Chief Strategy and External Affairs Officer, Caroline Brown, and Office Manager. In this role, she is responsible for the execution of the day-to-day activities and operations of the Office of Strategy and External Affairs and works with the team to ensure financial and strategic goals are realized. Meredith collaborates with MUSC's diverse internal and external stakeholders including senior leadership, frontline staff, external partners, and other key members of the community.

Meredith is a seasoned administrative professional who brings many years of diverse work experience in operations, human resources, and business. She holds an undergraduate degree in psychology from the University of South Carolina.

Derin Wilson

Senior Strategic Planner

Derin Wilson is a Senior Strategic Planner for the MUSC and MUSC Health. Derin supports select ICCE in the assessment and planning of new service lines, operational functions, and strategic direction across the organization.

Derin is an operations leader with expertise in hospital operations, capacity management and the use of predictive analytics. He has a background of diverse healthcare work experience, having held multiple leadership roles focusing on patient flow, program development and hospital operations. Most recently, he was the operations manager for Tidelands Health's Department of Oncology in Myrtle Beach, SC. Prior to Tidelands, he was the Sr. Project Administrator for the Johns Hopkins Hospital's Office of Capacity Management and the Emergency Department. His role focused on managing the capacity of the health system through intentional project management and patient flow leadership. During his time at Johns Hopkins, he was vital in the development of the inaugural Capacity Management Residency Program.

Derin is a Maryland native and a former Gettysburg College tennis player. He earned his bachelor's degree in management and holds a Master of Business Administration with a concentration in healthcare management from Thomas Jefferson University.

Stephanie Kapets

Manager, External Affairs

Stephanie Kapets is the Manager, External Affairs for MUSC and MUSC Health. In this role she oversees a portfolio of the organization's strategic partnerships and contributes to the development of new partnerships in support of MUSC's strategic goals.

With fifteen years of experience spanning two continents, four countries, and ten US states, Stephanie has deep experience in healthcare operations, program management, revenue cycle and finance, procurement and supply chain, analytics, and systems implementation. She has previously been employed by Accenture, the U.S. Army's Regional Health Command Europe, and MUSC Health. Stephanie's greatest strength is her ability to translate her passion for healthcare innovation into meaningful financial, operational, and clinical outcomes.

Stephanie holds a master's degree in quantitative management with a concentration in healthcare analytics from Duke University's Fuqua School of Business and a bachelor's degree in biomedical engineering from the University of Michigan.

Hampton Terry, MHA, PMP

Senior Planner, Office of Strategic Planning

Hampton Terry is a Senior Planner for the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) and MUSC Health. Hampton supports the strategic planning initiatives, analytics, and facility planning across the System and select ICCE Divisions.

Hampton has over ten years of experience in healthcare administration and strategy with a focus on M&A/Transactions/Affiliations, physician relations, business development, and market growth & development. Prior to joining MUSC, Hampton worked in healthcare consulting and was previously Director of Business Development with Atrium Health.

Hampton earned his Bachelor’s degree from North Carolina State University in Business and a Master of Healthcare Administration from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

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