Jerome Aya-ay earned a Bachelor of Science in Biology from the University of Notre Dame before pursuing a Master of Science in Biomedical Sciences and Doctor of Medicine from Marshall University School of Medicine.

His entrepreneurial spirit emerged early — in the 1990s, he ran a food delivery business from his parents’ garage in Parkersburg, West Virginia. That venture, along with working at a tanning salon where he learned business fundamentals, shaped his path toward independent health care.

Today, Aya-ay leads Palmetto Proactive Healthcare, a 20-employee practice focused on accessible, transparent care. He champions a model prioritizing clear pricing and personal attention over the complexity and hidden costs in modern healthcare.

Beyond his practice, Aya-ay serves as President of the Upstate Medical Independent Medical Association, President Elect of the South Carolina Academy of Family Physicians and Trustee for District 3 of the South Carolina Medical Association. He also serves as Associate Clinical Professor at Via College of Osteopathic Medicine.

Reflecting on leadership, Aya-ay said, “You can burn the candle at both ends and fade fast, or shine bright enough to ignite the ambitions of others.”

Brent Ayers earned his Bachelor of Science in Business Management from Clemson University in 2010. He leads ProGrin Dental, a health care organization with 150 employees.

Ayers began working at age 14, serving tables at a retirement home, where he learned the value of human connection through time spent with residents who longed for companionship. Those early experiences shaped his leadership philosophy centered on servant leadership.

During college, Ayers met Jim Blanchard, the longtime CEO of Synovus Bank, at The Masters golf tournament. Blanchard later spent a day mentoring him at Synovus headquarters, offering guidance on leadership and business. When Ayers asked for his best advice, Blanchard said, “You can tell the true character of a man by how he treats those who can do nothing for him.”

Under Ayers’ leadership, ProGrin Dental has expanded significantly. In February 2024, the company opened iGrin Pediatric Dentistry in Boiling Springs. In January 2025, Ayers launched Anchored Dental Implant Studio, also in Boiling Springs, with a second location scheduled to open in Greenville in November 2025.

Ayers serves as a member of the C12 Christian Leadership Forum and Resurrection Church. He was recognized in 2020 as one of Greenville Business Magazine’s Best and Brightest under 35.

Jason Bernd leads Novant Health’s South Carolina operations, overseeing the organization’s expansion across the state. He recently announced patient care expansion projects breaking ground in Greenville, Charleston and Bluffton as the healthcare system grows with these communities.

A University of Virginia graduate with a degree in chemical engineering, Bernd earned his MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business. He was recognized as a Jefferson Scholar at UVA in 2001 and an Arjay Miller Scholar at Stanford in 2006. The Charlotte Business Journal named him to its 40 under 40 list in 2011.

Bernd serves on multiple boards, including the Charleston Regional Development Alliance Executive Leadership Council, Discovery Place Children’s Museum, Charlotte Symphony Orchestra, Trident CEO Council and Wingate University. He emphasizes that recruiting talented team members and clinicians remains Novant Health’s most important priority.

“Build your career by thinking in terms of your skill sets and your learning curve, not titles or pay,” Bernd said.

He lives in the Lowcountry with his four children.

Dr. Patrick J. Cawley leads MUSC Health as CEO and serves as executive vice president for health affairs at the Medical University of South Carolina, overseeing all clinical matters. Under his leadership, MUSC has expanded its clinical enterprise with a new Children’s Hospital, regional health network, multiple ambulatory sites and numerous joint ventures. The organization has become a national leader in telehealth while maintaining its position as South Carolina’s top hospital and health system per U.S. News and World Report.

Cawley previously served as chief medical officer of MUSC Medical Center, leading quality and patient safety improvements. He is a certified physician executive, fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives and Liberty Fellowship Program member. the Society of Hospital Medicine.

Cawley graduated from the University of Scranton and earned his medical degree from Georgetown University before completing internal medicine residency at Duke University. He holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst.

Stephen Chandler leads HCA Healthcare Summerville Hospital, guiding an organization with more than 1,000 employees. Chandler earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from LSU and a Master of Business Administration from Baylor.

Early in his career, Chandler cleaned doctor’s offices after school to finance debate tournaments, learning the value of attention to detail and hard work. Under his leadership, the hospital recently achieved Level 3 NICU designation and opened a new 60-bed inpatient tower representing a $67 million investment.

Chandler serves the community as a board member of the Summerville/Dorchester County Chamber of Commerce and co-chair of the Summerville/Dorchester County Vision Plan Steering Committee. He also supports Dorchester County First Steps. His contributions have earned recognition including Charleston 40 under 40 and the HCA Healthcare Outstanding Mentor Award.

“How you do anything is how you do everything,” Chandler said of the best advice he has received. He defines success by how much a community benefits from one’s work. Outside the office, Chandler is an avid tennis player.

Ellen Paulisick leads Longboard Dental, a 10-employee practice addressing the dental industry’s staffing challenges through founding the Dental Assisting School of the Lowcountry, a nonprofit program training high school seniors in dental assisting skills.

A University of Maryland graduate with a bachelor’s degree in biological sciences, Paulisick earned her Doctor of Dental Surgery from University of Maryland Dental School and served as chief resident at Baltimore VAMC.

“Be a winner, not a whiner,” she says.

Her first job lifeguarding throughout her teenage years taught hypervigilance and responsibility, qualities she brings to patient care.

Paulisick served as lead dentist at East Cooper Community Outreach dental clinic from 2022 to 2024. She earned recognition from Benco Dental’s 40 Under 40 Dentists in America in 2023 and received multiple distinctions including the Charleston Women Magazine She Shines Award in 2024.

She defines success as coming to work every day without feeling like working, creating a comfortable environment through innovations like adding a therapy dog to make the dental office feel less clinical.

Paulisick earned multiple distinctions in dental school including the Dean’s Award for Outstanding Community Service.

Joseph DeLeon leads one of the Lowcountry’s largest employers and a leading South Carolina-based health system jointly operated by Bon Secours Mercy Health and the Medical Society of South Carolina. With more than 30 years of senior leadership experience recognized for operational excellence, DeLeon joined Roper St. Francis Healthcare in 2024, where he oversees more than 6,800 teammates and a 350-provider medical group.

DeLeon is directing $1.7 billion in facility expansion projects, including development of the new flagship Roper Hospital in North Charleston. These initiatives will add nearly 600 healthcare jobs while the hospital’s construction alone is expected to generate 3,600 construction-related jobs and deliver a $2.5 billion economic impact to the region.

Prior to his role at RSFH, DeLeon served as president of Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Fort Worth, an 851-bed Level I Trauma Center and Magnet-designated facility. A former captain in the U.S. Air Force Medical Service Corps, DeLeon serves on the Charleston Regional Development Alliance and Charleston Chamber of Commerce executive committees.

Douglas Giampapa leads HealthyCell, a health care company focused on evidence-based nutritional supplements. Giampapa holds a bachelor’s degree from Cornell University and founded the company to address the supplement industry’s challenge of building consumer trust through clinical validation and transparency.

His first job stocking shelves at CVS taught him an early lesson about leveraging smart work over physical labor limits. This philosophy has guided his entrepreneurial journey, though not without significant obstacles. In 2021, lightning struck HealthyCell’s production facility and burned it down, leaving the company out of stock for months. Giampapa has also faced threats from a patent troll and come close to running out of money on multiple occasions.

“Progress happens through the magical partnership between the person with their head in the clouds and the person with their feet on the ground,” Giampapa noted, emphasizing the balance between vision and practicality that has sustained HealthyCell through these challenges.

The company, which employs 12 people, is launching its Bone Strength formula in the first quarter of 2025.

Joe Harper has led Sage Services Group as president since March 2006, building nearly two decades of leadership in the Charleston area. His career reflects a commitment to both business excellence and expertise in the health care sector.

Harper’s educational foundation includes a Bachelor of Arts from Erskine College, completed in 1998, followed by a Master of Health Administration with a focus in healthcare administration from the University of South Carolina in 2000. This specialized training in healthcare management has informed his approach to business leadership.

During his tenure at Sage Services Group, Harper simultaneously served as president of Insite Electronic Services from January 2017 through October 2018, demonstrating his capacity to lead multiple organizations. His professional versatility spans operational management and strategic direction across different business contexts.

Harper extends his leadership beyond the corporate sphere through community engagement. Since July 2024, he has served as a board member for the College of Charleston Athletic Fund, supporting collegiate athletics in the region where he has built his career.

Mark O’Halla leads Prisma Health, South Carolina’s largest not-for-profit healthcare organization serving over 1.5 million patients annually. Appointed in 2019, he brings more than three decades of senior healthcare executive experience to guide the state’s most comprehensive integrated health system and its nearly 30,000 team members.

O’Halla has been instrumental in driving healthcare transformation initiatives prioritizing patient-centered approaches and sustainable practices, including value-based care delivery. Under his leadership, Prisma Health entered a joint venture with WellStreet Urgent Care, expanding access to high-quality care while improving affordability and care continuity.

As chairman of the South Carolina Hospital Association Board of Trustees, he championed implementing a state directed payment plan ensuring vulnerable populations’ access to care while supporting healthcare organizations’ financial stability. Previously, O’Halla served as executive vice president and chief operating officer of McLaren Health Care, a Michigan-based integrated health system.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Toledo and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Rochester’s William E. Simon Graduate School of Business.

Gerald Taylor brings over three decades of experience in women’s health care to his role at Roper St. Francis Healthcare.

Taylor earned his doctorate of medicine from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1994 and completed his obstetrics and gynecology residency at Carolinas Medical Center in 1998. He became board certified in obstetrics and gynecology in 2001 and completed a fellowship in urogynecology and reconstructive pelvic surgery at Northside Hospital in Atlanta in 2005. Taylor later earned a master’s degree in healthcare administration from Queens University in 2022.

Taylor serves on multiple medical committees including the South Atlantic Association of Obstetricians and Gynecologists as board member and South Carolina state representative. Taylor co-authored the World Professional Association for Transgender Health Standards of Care 8th Edition chapter on reproductive care.

“Listening first allows me to fully understand the other person’s perspective, communicate more effectively, and build trust,” Taylor said.

Courtnay Thompson leads Select Health of South Carolina, the state’s first Medicaid managed care organization, which celebrates its 30-year anniversary in 2025. Under her leadership, the organization serves all 46 counties and partners with more than 19,000 network health care providers to help South Carolinians most in need access quality care and build healthy communities.

Thompson’s career began as a nurse, an experience that shaped her approach to leadership. “It taught me that treating others with compassion and kindness, no matter your role, sector, or the situation, is the only way to go,” she reflects.

Her commitment extends beyond Select Health through significant community involvement. Thompson chairs the South Carolina Alliance of Health Plans and co-chairs Lowcountry Orphan Relief, while also serving on the board of Ronald McDonald House Charities in Charleston.

A graduate of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing, Thompson defines success as bringing your best self to everything you do — professionally and personally — and celebrating every step forward along the way.

Kathy Warner oversees Medicaid markets across five states covering 1.3 million members as regional president for AmeriHealth Caritas, a position she has held since September 2021. Based in Charleston, she manages operations in Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Louisiana and Michigan.

Warner advanced to her current role after serving as market president for AmeriHealth Caritas from March 2019 to September 2021. She spent more than 12 years with WellCare Health Plans in progressively senior positions, including three years as state president for South Carolina where she directed a health plan with $300 million in annualized premiums. She led the new market start-up as state chief operating officer from February 2013 to July 2015.

Earlier in her career at WellCare, Warner held leadership positions in Georgia, managing operations across 63 counties serving more than 100,000 covered lives. She began her healthcare career at Columbus Regional Health, where she spent eight years as chief financial officer and director of managed care contracting.

Jeff Wilson was named president of Trident Health in 2024, where he serves as the CEO of Trident Medical Center. The health system employs nearly 3,000 people and has a medical staff of nearly 800 physicians.

Wilson joined Trident Health from Methodist Hospital Stone Oak in San Antonio, Texas, where he served as chief executive officer for two and a half years. During his tenure, he led more than $34 million in operating room and cath lab expansion projects and a $78 million tower expansion to improve the facility and enhance hospital services.

Wilson joined HCA Healthcare in 2005, holding various leadership positions in Richmond, Virginia-area hospitals and serving as vice president of orthopedics and spine in HCA’s Capital Division. He previously served as CEO of Methodist Hospital Specialty and Transplant, recognized as the No. 1 live donor kidney transplant program in the U.S.

Wilson earned a bachelor’s degree in political science and government from the University of Kansas, a master’s degree in health care administration from Virginia Commonwealth University and a certificate in management and public health from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.