The Team

Jaime Aguirre joined Rice Management Company in 2013 as Investment Director for Private Equity and Venture Capital. Previously, Mr. Aguirre was a Principal at Austin Ventures where he focused on growth equity investments and also acted as CFO of a portfolio company. He was previously a Vice President in the technology, media, & telecom investment banking group at Goldman Sachs. Earlier in his career, he worked in the investment banking division of Merrill Lynch as part of the energy group in Houston and the Latin America group in Mexico City. Mr. Aguirre received his M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and has a Bachelor of Business Administration and Master in Accounting from the University of Texas at Austin. He serves on the board of the Austin Children’s Museum, Emerus Hospital Partners, Iora Health, Energy Logistics Partners, Molecular Match, and Accelerate Learning.

John Hummer is co-founder, executive board director and president of BCOM.  He earned his undergraduate degree in economics from Kansas State University under a United States Army scholarship and his master’s degree in healthcare administration from the University of Kansas. He has 20 years of executive leadership experience in the private, investor owned, healthcare industry as well as academic teaching hospitals. He held the CEO position in 12 of his 20 years in the hospital industry. He has developed, expanded, and lead major hospitals in Las Vegas, NV, Washington, DC, New Orleans, LA, Ft. Lauderdale, FL., Las Vegas, NV and Las Cruces, NM. He is a past board member of The Federation of American Hospitals.

His experiences include several academic teaching hospitals. Hummer completed his administrative residency at Wesley Medical Center, Wichita, KS, a 760-bed teaching hospital for The University of Kansas Medical School. Early in his career, Hummer served as the chief operating officer for an osteopathic teaching hospital in South Florida providing him with an appreciation for osteopathic medicine. He served as the chief operating officer for The George Washington University Hospital (GW) a major teaching hospital located in our nation’s capital.  Hummer led and negotiated all key provisions and shared service contracts between UHS, Inc. and George Washington University (GWU) under the joint venture with GWU.  His professional experience with graduate medical education (GME) and its critical role within hospitals and communities, coupled with his network of hospital relationships, has and will continue to benefit BCOM.

John serves on the board of directors for the Borderplex Alliance, the regional economic development organization for Southern, NM, El Paso, TX and Ciudad Juarez, MX. He is a director for First American Bank’s Board of Trustees. He is a past chairman of the board for the Mesilla Valley Economic Development Alliance (MVEDA) and past chairman of the Greater Las Cruces Chamber of Commerce. He is also aH past president of The Rio Grande Rotary Club.

John and his wife Amy own the largest full service real estate company in Las Cruces – Steinborn Inc. Real Estate offering residential, commercial, property management, development and consulting services.  John and Amy served as co-chairs of Mesilla Valley Hospice’s “Continuing the Dream” Capital Campaign which raised $6.5 million for expansion of hospice facilities.

John, along with his wife Amy and their two sons Alex, and Sam, enjoy New Mexico, active in St. Albert the Great Catholic Church and avid NMSU Aggie supporters.

John Jetter is a globally recognized investment banker, natural resources project and investment manager, and private entrepreneur with more than 30 years of experience. After leaving the law practice of Purvis & Purvis in 1981, John spent the next 12 years of his career at Rio Tinto, where he held a number of senior management positions, most notably as the head of the company’s steel division in Germany and later as general manager of finance in Australia. John left Rio Tinto to join J.P. Morgan in 1992, where he became the Co-Head of Project Advisory for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Following this position, John was made head of investment banking for Austria, Germany, and Switzerland before finally accepting the role as CEO of J.P. Morgan, Germany. John was a member of J.P. Morgan’s European Executive Committee, the firm’s management and decision making body for the whole of Europe.

In addition, from 1996 until 2006, John was actively involved in the governance of the European Business School, one of the top 3 rated privately funded business schools in Germany. During that time John was both Chairman of the EBS Finance Faculty and Deputy Chairman of the Board of Governors, providing John with extensive experience in the governance of a leading private academic institution.

During his 15 years at J.P. Morgan, John focused on a wide variety of major projects and transactions, which included deals in the natural resource and energy sectors. John left J.P. Morgan to form a private family office that specializes in direct investments in resources and energy. Most recently, John became Executive Chairman of Burrell Western Resources, LLC an operating mining company that produces clean abrasives for use in a broad range of industrial applications. He is currently a Board Member of Otto Energy, Ltd and Venture Minerals, Ltd, both of which are publicly listed Australian companies. Otto energy is an operating oil and gas company with oil production in the Philippines. Venture Minerals is currently developing a tin, tungsten and magnetite deposit and is due to go into production in early 2014.

Ms. Throneberry is the current Senior Vice President for Administration and Finance at New Mexico State University. Ms. Throneberry has been with the University over 20 years and held numerous positions including Associate Vice President for Administration and Finance, Assistant Vice President for Auxiliary Services, Director of Financial Operations, and Assistant Athletics Director. Prior to joining NMSU, Ms. Throneberry worked in public accounting with both KPMG Peat Marwick and Arthur Andersen. Ms. Throneberry is an NMSU graduate and Certified Public Accountant.

In addition to a focus on quality measures and improvement across the health plan, he developed a five-touch approach for eliminating gaps in care for medically fragile members and has enhanced partnerships with providers to ensure quality care. Before joining Lovelace, he served as Vice President and Market Medical Officer for Humana Healthcare in Phoenix, where he was responsible for medical operations in Arizona, Colorado, Nevada and Utah. Prior to that, Dr. Cruickshank was Executive Vice President and Chief Quality Officer at IASIS Healthcare in Franklin, Tenn. He also served at CIGNA Healthcare in Phoenix, where he directed operations for a 22-state region as its Western Region Chief Medical Officer.

Dr. Cruickshank is board certified in Family Medicine. He completed post-graduate training at the Chicago Osteopathic Medical Center, earning his Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine. He earned his Master of Business Administration from Arizona State University. Dr. Cruickshank is also board certified in medical management (CPE) through the American College of Physician Executives.

Dr. Cruickshank has been a recipient of two prestigious awards from the United States Air Force for his distinguished service: the USAF Systems Command Flight Surgeon of the Year Award and the Meritorious Service Medal. He has honored his profession through participation and leadership in various medical associations, including the American Osteopathic Association and the Arizona Osteopathic Association. Dr. Cruickshank was named Albuquerque Business First Top CEO Honoree in 2014.

Suzan Martinez de Gonzales, Chief Executive Officer, is originally from Colorado, but she has made the State of New Mexico her home. She has a very diverse background that gives her a true understanding and first-hand knowledge of the population we serve; and a commitment to providing culturally appropriate services. Ms. Martinez de Gonzales rejoined La Clinica de Familia as of September 2011. Suzan oversees all Officers and Directors of the Medical, Dental, Behavioral Health, and Community based services. Suzan has worked in several administrative capacities in Community Healthcare for 21 years: serving LCDF as Medical Program Manager beginning in 1993, advancing to Director of Operations, and currently as the CEO. From January 2003 to September 2011 Suzan assumed the duties of Deputy Director of the New Mexico Primary Care Association in Albuquerque, NM. Suzan began her career working 14 years to end violence against women; from 1987 to 1993 Suzan was the Executive Director for La Casa, Inc. in Las Cruces. From 1984 to 1987 Suzan was the Mental Health Domestic Violence Team Leader for Servicios de La Raza, Denver CO. Suzan is a Certified Community Healthcare Executive from the John Anderson School of Management at UCLA, Certified paralegal, Denver Paralegal Institute, receiving her B.A. in Sociology with an emphasis in Social Welfare from Adams State College in Alamosa, CO.

Denten has been MountainView’s Chief Executive Officer since October, 2009, after joining the organization in June, 2008, as its Chief Operating Officer. Denten has held previous leadership positions at Payson Regional Medical Center in Arizona as Associate CEO, and interim CEO of Mountain West Medical Center in Tooele, Utah. He also was the Administrator at both a long- term care facility and a center for developmentally disabled in Wyoming. Denten received his B.S. of Business Management at Utah State University, and his MBA at New Mexico State University. Denten demonstrates personal commitment to our Las Cruces community and the healthcare business sector. At MountainView, Denten is known as a visionary and strong leader, which has been instrumental in MountainView’s recent successes.

Jennifer joined BCOM in January 2015 as CFO, following a career of over 30 years in financial administration and accounting. She began her career in public accounting, and held numerous positions of increasing responsibility at New Mexico State University, culminating in the position of Senior Vice President for Finance and Administration. Following her retirement from this position in 2010, she rejoined NMSU as a faculty member in the Department of Accounting and Information Systems. She holds a Bachelor of Accountancy and an MBA.

John Hummer is co-founder, executive board director and president of BCOM.  He earned his undergraduate degree in economics from Kansas State University under a United States Army scholarship and his master’s degree in healthcare administration from the University of Kansas. He has 20 years of executive leadership experience in the private, investor owned, healthcare industry as well as academic teaching hospitals. He held the CEO position in 12 of his 20 years in the hospital industry. He has developed, expanded, and lead major hospitals in Las Vegas, NV, Washington, DC, New Orleans, LA, Ft. Lauderdale, FL., Las Vegas, NV and Las Cruces, NM. He is a past board member of The Federation of American Hospitals.

His experiences include several academic teaching hospitals. Hummer completed his administrative residency at Wesley Medical Center, Wichita, KS, a 760-bed teaching hospital for The University of Kansas Medical School. Early in his career, Hummer served as the chief operating officer for an osteopathic teaching hospital in South Florida providing him with an appreciation for osteopathic medicine. He served as the chief operating officer for The George Washington University Hospital (GW) a major teaching hospital located in our nation’s capital.  Hummer led and negotiated all key provisions and shared service contracts between UHS, Inc. and George Washington University (GWU) under the joint venture with GWU.  His professional experience with graduate medical education (GME) and its critical role within hospitals and communities, coupled with his network of hospital relationships, has and will continue to benefit BCOM.

John serves on the board of directors for the Borderplex Alliance, the regional economic development organization for Southern, NM, El Paso, TX and Ciudad Juarez, MX. He is a director for First American Bank’s Board of Trustees. He is a past chairman of the board for the Mesilla Valley Economic Development Alliance (MVEDA) and past chairman of the Greater Las Cruces Chamber of Commerce. He is also aH past president of The Rio Grande Rotary Club.

John and his wife Amy own the largest full service real estate company in Las Cruces – Steinborn Inc. Real Estate offering residential, commercial, property management, development and consulting services.  John and Amy served as co-chairs of Mesilla Valley Hospice’s “Continuing the Dream” Capital Campaign which raised $6.5 million for expansion of hospice facilities.

John, along with his wife Amy and their two sons Alex, and Sam, enjoy New Mexico, active in St. Albert the Great Catholic Church and avid NMSU Aggie supporters.

Jennifer joined BCOM in January 2015 as CFO, following a career of over 30 years in financial administration and accounting. She began her career in public accounting, and held numerous positions of increasing responsibility at New Mexico State University, culminating in the position of Senior Vice President for Finance and Administration. Following her retirement from this position in 2010, she rejoined NMSU as a faculty member in the Department of Accounting and Information Systems. She holds a Bachelor of Accountancy and an MBA.

Dr. Ketchum comes to BCOM from the College of Osteopathic Medicine of Rocky Vista University, in Parker, Colorado, where he served as Professor and Chair of the Department of Biomedical Sciences and as Director of Research and Scholarly Activity. An accomplished researcher in the areas of diabetes, isolation of pancreatic islets, and cellular transplantation, having served as the Director of the GMP cell processing lab at the University of Virginia, which prepared insulin-producing pancreatic islet cells for clinical transplantation. Dr. Ketchum is a graduate of Brigham Young University (BS, Zoology, ‘82) the University of Minnesota (PhD, Anatomy, ’89). He was on the founding faculty of the Pikeville University, School of Osteopathic Medicine and was with Rocky Vista since its inception. Dr. Ketchum played a significant role in Rocky Vista University’s curriculum re-sequencing in 2010, which has proven to be very effective and successful in the training and placement of its graduates into residency training programs. (Rocky Vista University is the only other medical school to share BCOM’s proprietary status and tax structure.) As Associate Dean of Academic Affairs, Dr. Ketchum will be accountable for the development and implementation of BCOM’s curriculum and assurance of student progress and success.

Dr. Michael Morehead is currently the Dean for the College of Education at New Mexico State University. Upon his retirement from NMSU in 2015, he will join BCOM’s leadership team.
Originally from St. Louis, Mo., Morehead has a bachelor’s in education, a master’s in educational administration and a doctorate in educational administration from the University of Missouri in Columbia. Prior to joining the NMSU College of Education in 1992, he worked in administrative roles at Northern Arizona University and Emporia State University. He has been an educator since 1971, including teaching at the middle- and high-school level and serving as an administrator in secondary schools.

Morehead’s primary research involves teacher education, program quality, student internships and accreditation; all of which will benefit the growth and development of BCOM. Morehead has been instrumental in establishing linkages and outreach initiatives that foster collaboration between higher education and public schools. Morehead has been instrumental in establishing the Alliance for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning – a collaborative among New Mexico State University, K-12 education and other agencies that support teaching and learning in New Mexico. Additionally, Morehead has been instrumental in the planning for the Early College High School in Las Cruces.

In the area of teacher education he has assisted in creating a more field based teacher education program where students increase their time in classrooms prior to graduation. He has also led the college in developing more business partnerships and in expanding collaboration with community agencies that provide services to children and families. During his tenure as an educator Dr. Morehead consistently seeks collaborative and innovative strategies to meet the needs of the communities he serves.

Dr. Tania Arana is a behavioral neuroscientist and joins BCOM from the Paul L. Foster School of Medicine – Texas Tech University @ El Paso, where she was one of the founding faculty members and deeply involved in the development of the school. Dr. Arana most recently chaired their Admissions Committee as well as the Committee on Diversity. She received her PhD in experimental psychology from the University of Ottawa and is widely published in the area of educational methods and behavioral neuroscience. With relatives in Chihuahua, Mexico, Dr. Arana brings a wealth of local cultural experience to BCOM and is uniquely suited to help the school accomplish its mission of increasing the number and diversity of the local healthcare workforce.

Dr. Jons-Cox joins BCOM from Rocky Vista University, where she was one of the founding faculty members and greatly involved in the development of the school. During her time there, Dr. Jons-Cox served as chair and associate professor of the Osteopathic Principles and Practices department, director for the second year OPP course and the OPP elective course, and director of the third and fourth year Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine (OMM) curriculum. She also served as director of the Osteopathic Focused Track residency program and director of the Osteopathic Neuromusculoskeletal Medicine +1 residency program at the Rocky Mountain OPTI/Sky Ridge Medical Center. She has taught OMM throughout the continuum of first year of the medical school curriculum through residency. She served on numerous committees and chaired the Faculty Council and the Faculty Promotions and Credentialing Committee. She served as advisor for the Student American Academy of Osteopathy, the American Osteopathic College of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, and the Christian Medical and Dental Association. She currently holds a position for the National Board of Osteopathic Medical Examiners (NBOME) as a SOAP Note rater for the COMLEX II PE and was on  the NBOME Standard Setting Panel for COMLEX I and IICE in 2014. Dr. Jons-Cox is known for her innovative approaches to osteopathic medical education through her development of individualized osteopathic education labs, track labs, and competency portfolios. She is published internationally on the concept of self-directed learning in the osteopathic lab setting.

Dr. Jons-Cox graduated from the Kansas City University of Health and Biosciences in 2000. She completed an osteopathic internship at Cuyahoga Falls General Hospital (now Western Reserve Hospital), 21 months of an anesthesiology residency program at the Cleveland Clinic, and an Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine/Neuromusculoskeletal Medicine residency at the University of New England. She was in private practice for three years before beginning her academic medicine career.

Dr. Mychaskiw, is a board-certified, practicing pediatric cardiac anesthesiologist with over 20 years of experience, having completed medical school at the Kansas City College of Osteopathic Medicine and anesthesiology residency and fellowships at the Yale University School of Medicine. Dr. Mychaskiw has an extensive background in health policy and medical education and is a graduate of the AOA’s Health Policy Fellowship.

In 2012, Dr. Mychaskiw was selected as the Founding Chair of Anesthesiology and Anesthesia Medical Director of Perioperative Services at the new Nemours Children’s Hospital, in Orlando, Florida. A $400 million dollar project of the AI DuPont Charitable Trust, Nemours Children’s Hospital is the first new children’s hospital to be built in the U.S. in nearly 40 years.

Before leading this project, Dr. Mychaskiw served as Professor and Chair of the Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine at Drexel University, the largest medical school in the U.S. At Drexel, Dr. Mychaskiw developed numerous new service lines and was able to balance a budget in a department that, before his arrival, was losing $13 million dollars per year.

Additionally, Dr. Mychaskiw has served as Vice Chair of Anesthesiology at the University of Mississippi School of Medicine, where he led the opening of a new pediatric operating facility and development of a pediatric cardiac surgery program. An authority in osteopathic medical education, Dr. Mychaskiw has authored over 100 articles and book chapters, including works on hospital, medical school and operating room management. He has given hundreds of lectures around the world and is an authority on medical and educational administration in the U.S. and developing world.

Jeff Harris joined BCOM from the Las Cruces Public Schools, where he served as the Executive Director of Technology Support Services for the 2^nd largest school district in New Mexico.  His career has been focused on the design and development of large scale data systems and the use of technology to enhance education. He has previously held leadership positions with NMSU, Region 19 Education Service Center (Texas), and in several large consulting projects across New Mexico & Texas with his firm Harris & Associates Technology Group, LLC. His recent focus has been leveraging technology for staff, student learning, and building safety systems.  He is the Past-President and an Emeritus member of the NM Council of Higher Education in Computing and Communication Systems (NM-CHECS) and a board member of the New Mexico Technology in Education (NM-TIE) group that hosts the largest educational technology conference in New Mexico.  He is an Electrical Engineering graduate of NMSU and a long-time resident of Las Cruces.

Dr. Hayes is a nationally-known authority on clinical education of medical students and medical residents. He joins BCOM from the Genesys Healthcare System in Grand Blanc, Michigan, where he serves as the Designated Institutional Official and is accountable for the accreditation and operation of their graduate medical education programs, that is, residency training. Dr. Hayes has written extensively on development of graduate medical education and has been instrumental in the development of hundreds of new residency training positions in the US. Dr. Hayes is board- certified in emergency medicine and also holds a Master’s Degree in Public Health Administration.

Dr. Minugh-Purvis comes to the Burrell College of Osteopathic Medicine after serving as Associate Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and Director of the Division of Pre‐Medical and Pre‐health programs at Drexel University College of Medicine in Philadelphia.  She earned her BA in Anthropology and Latin American Studies from the University of New Mexico and PhD in Anthropology from the University of Pennsylvania.  She joined the Medical College of Pennsylvania, now Drexel University College of Medicine, as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy in1991.  Dr. Minugh‐Purvis has also served as Director of Gross Anatomy at the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine and Director of Advanced Gross Anatomy at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, now the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.  She served the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania as an executive of the Humanity Gifts Registry the state’s anatomical body donation program for medical education–from 2008 to 2015.  Dr. Minugh-Purvis brings with her 31 years of clinical experience in patient care as growth specialist for the Cleft Palate and Craniofacial Teams in the Division of Plastic Surgery at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

In the area of medical and pre‐medical education, Dr. Minugh‐Purvis’ experience includes curriculum development, student career advisement, and teaching in the various anatomical sciences at the medical and graduate levels.  She is the recipient of awards for her teaching in medical gross anatomy at both Drexel and the University of Pennsylvania. While at Drexel, she administered the largest post-baccalaureate/medical preparatory program in the nation. Drawing on her original training in Anthropology, she emphasizes the importance of human diversity and cultural competencies in all aspects of medical education, and has developed and instructed courses in medical Spanish.

Dr. Minugh-Purvis’ research examines craniofacial growth and development and skeletal morphogenesis from numerous perspectives. Her published work in this area includes the characterization of growth patterns specific to children with craniofacial syndromes and oro‐facial clefts; examinations of the Upper Pleistocene evolution of the human craniofacial complex; and the molecular biology underpinning aspects of skeletal morphogenesis and developmental variation.

Justin McHorse is originally from Taos Pueblo, NM, where he graduated from Taos High School. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Dartmouth College where he double majored in Native American Studies and English. Upon graduating from Dartmouth, Justin participated in the Institute for Recruitment of Teachers at Phillips Academy Andover.

After his summer in Andover, MA, he served as the Assistant Director of Admissions at Proctor Academy in Andover, NH, and then as the Diversity Outreach Coordinator for The Advent School in Boston, MA. Justin then headed to West Lafayette, IN, to study at Purdue University. He graduated with a M.S. in Education with a specialization in Higher Education Administration.

Following his graduate study at Purdue University, Justin accepted a position offer from Cornell University where he served as the Assistant Director of Diversity Programs in Engineering. One of his noted roles was as the advisor for the university’s chapters of the American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES) and the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE).

As it was always one of Justin’s goals to return to his home state of New Mexico, he welcomed the opportunity to serve as the Director of the American Indian Program at New Mexico State University. As the director, Justin strived to provide a positive climate that supports the recruitment, retention, and graduation rates of American Indians in the pursuit of a higher education.

To highlight one Justin’s accomplishments as the director, he played a key role in facilitating the construction and completion of the new American Indian Student Center at NMSU, which opened its doors in early 2011. Upon being satisfied that he contributed to the advance of the American Indian Program for the benefit of the students, Justin was open to new opportunity for growth and advancement.

Justin is excited to join the Burrell College of Osteopathic Medicine (BCOM) team as the Assistant Dean for Multicultural Affairs, Marketing and Communications. In his role, he employs the use of cultural knowledge and competence to help BCOM establish a culturally diverse, supportive and inclusive environment where students, faculty, staff and administrators are valued members of the community.