A conversation between leaders; Hosted by University of Alabama at Birmingham Health System

Joan Hicks has over 40 years of healthcare leadership experience in the areas of information technology and information management. In December 2004, Joan became the Chief Information Officer for UAB Health System. During this time HSIS has lead the implementation of the Electronic Health Record for University Hospital , UAB Highlands Hospital, The Kirklin Clinic and Health Centers. Joan served as the Privacy Officer for UAB and UAB Health System from March 2003 to 2011. During that time, she established HIPAA Compliance program for UAB and UAB Health System including policies, procedures, training and education for 10,000 staff members. Joan earned a Master of Science degree from UAB in Health Informatics and an undergraduate degree in Health Information Management, also, from UAB.

Ryan Allen joined the UAB Health System as the Chief Information Security Officer in January 2020. He oversees a team of cybersecurity experts who protect the confidentiality, integrity and availability of the information and systems used by our workforce, collaborating with colleagues within and beyond the UAB enterprise. Mr. Allen brings a wealth of experience to the UAB leadership team. He served as the CISO for the State of Alabama from 2017-2020. Prior to that he served as the Division Director of Infrastructure and Cyber Security for Children’s Hospital of Alabama, where he led IT operations functions for the third-largest pediatric hospital in the U.S. Ryan held a concurrent role with the UAB Department of Pediatrics as the Director of Operations, overseeing the Department’s IT and facilities efforts. Ryan has a Master’s of Science in Health Administration and a BA in Technical Writing from the University of Alabama, Birmingham, and also holds CISSP, and CHPS certifications. He earned a Presidential Service Award for his time spent volunteering as a POST certified police officer and continues to work with local law enforcement on cyber-crime initiatives. Ryan is affiliated with numerous community organizations, including; serving as a Board Member of Lord Wedgwood Charity, and the Coach Safely Foundation as well and a participating member of several national organizations focused on improving healthcare technology.

Mr. Jim Purcell was appointed Global Director of Infrastructure for McWane, Inc. in July 2019. McWane is a global conglomerate of companies that span heavy manufacturing, technology, and real estate. Jim’s department is responsible for global networks, data centers, servers, help desk, application development and disaster recovery. Prior to McWane, Jim was appointed as Acting Secretary of Information Technology at the State of Alabama in 2017, and lead the state’s Information Technology policy, planning, and governance. Jim was named CIO of the Year 2019 by the Alabama CIO association and named State Executive of the Year by State Scoop magazine.