Sylvia Aruffo, PhD

Chair

In 2005, Dr. Aruffo presented to the CMS in Washington, DC on Consumer Education. She had given the presentation on Quality in Patient Education at the 2003 JCAHO annual conference. Her PhD is in ethnography, research techniques applied to the development and adoption of new products. Prior to joining Baxter, she had won state and national awards for innovative curricula and techniques developed from principles of ethnography. Dr. Aruffo speaks five languages and worked for 12 years for Fortune 100 firms developing programs and products based on ethnographic research. She designed and implemented the training program for retirees in the Peace Corps reducing the drop-out rate from 70% to less than 1%.

Dr. Aruffo received her MBA and PhD from Northwestern University. She had P&L responsibility as Midwest Region VP of Sales for a former division of American Hospital Supply, growing revenue from $4 million to $21 million in two years. In 1995, she founded her first company, which sold electrocardiographic equipment in the US, Canada and Latin America. Proceeds from that company launched Communication Science. She was Director of Science and Technology Programs at Baxter Healthcare, where she was a Malcolm Baldridge quality examiner.

Michael Weiss

President

As president of Communication Science, Michael oversees strategic planning, provides leadership on key initiatives; and manages the day-to-day operations including sales and marketing. Under Michael’s leadership, CareKits and CareKitOnline™ is becoming the GO-TO resource for care managers and providers to reduce readmissions and patient costs.

Michael joined Communication Science in 2012. He previously served as Executive Vice President of StartSampling, a marketing services company where Michael led the development of marketing and research programs for large consumer healthcare and packaged goods companies. Prior to that, Michael worked at PriceWaterhouse Coopers as a strategy consultant to Fortune 500 companies. Michael graduated from Brown University and holds an MBA from the Kellogg School of Business, Northwestern University.

“CSI is a special organization because we have proven we can directly impact the lives of individuals while lowering the overall cost of care. The patient is 50% of the equation. Our goal each day is to apply our rigorous patient research and build new and innovative tools to help providers engage with patients and make them an active participant in their care. Together, we can make a difference.”

Shirley Grey, RN, MSN

Executive Vice President, Marketing

Ms. Grey has a rare combination: 13 years’ home health preceded by 10 years’ hospital nursing. For 8 years, she was administrator of a $4 million home health agency. She handled national sales for one of the country’s largest home health care firms. Ms. Grey consulted for Communication Science in 1997 before joining the Company in January 1998. She is a past president of the Illinois Chapter of the Case Management Society of America. Ms. Grey is on the boards of several charitable organizations. Her master’s degree in perinatal nursing is from University of Illinois.

Judith Franks-Farah, RN

Operations Director

Ms. Farah managed the emergency room at Mt. Sinai Medical Center on the south side of Chicago for 22 years. Concurrently, she was the manager of a physician practice clinic. She knows the case managers’ perspective from experience as a precertification nurse in an independent physicians’ association from 1996-98.

Carol Outland, RN, MSN

Clinical Product Development

Ms. Outland was professor of nursing and the director of an innovative birthing center at the University of Colorado. She has also been administrator of a home healthcare agency and hospice.