University Hospital of Brooklyn at
Long Island College Hospital
Hospital Leadership
John F. Williams, MD, EdD, MPH
President of SUNY Downstate Medical Center
Dr. Williams is a distinguished healthcare leader and anesthesiologist with proven experience in leading academic medical centers.
Dr. Williams' most recent position was Senior Vice President of Verras Health Care International. Previously, he served at George Washington University, where he was responsible for management and oversight of the medical center's clinical, education, and research initiatives. During his tenure at GWU, Dr. Williams was senior vice provost and vice president for health affairs at the medical center; vice president for health affairs and Bloedorn Professor of Administrative Medicine, university provost and vice president for health affairs and dean of the School of Medicine and Health Sciences.
Dr. Williams earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science at Boston University, a Master of Science at The London School of Economics and Political Science, a Master of Public Health from Yale University, and Doctorates of Medicine and Education from The George Washington University.
He is a member of the Association of American Medical Colleges, the Association of Academic Health Centers, the Homeland Security Advisory Council and the Federation of Associations of Experimental Biology and has been recognized by: Congressman Edwards Markey, the United States Public Health Commissioned Officers Foundation and the Minority Access Foundation. Dr. Williams has also been recognized by the President of Panama and the People's Republic of China for his work in public health, medicine and healthcare of under-represented minorities.
David J. Wlody, MD, is Chief Medical Officer and Chief of the Department of Anesthesiology at the Downstate LICH site. He is also Vice Chair for Clinical Affairs and Professor of Clinical Anesthesiology at SUNY Downstate Medical Center. Dr. Wlody holds a medical degree from the University of Vermont College of Medicine. He completed his residency in anesthesiology at St. Louis University Hospital and a fellowship in obstetric anesthesia at Washington University Medical Center – Barnes Hospital in St. Louis. His areas of responsibility include Quality and Performance Improvement and Risk Management.
Catherine Gallogly-Simon, MS, RN, NEA-BC, CCRN, is the Chief Nursing Officer. She earned her advanced nursing degrees from Long Island University and is a graduate of the Wharton Nursing Leaders program at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Ms. Gallogly-Simon, who has held a variety of nursing leadership positions at Downstate LICH, oversees close to 1,000 nurses, as well the departments of social work, infection control, case management, respiratory care and the school or nursing.
Thomas Pfeiffer is the Assistant Vice President of Finance. He earned his degree in Accounting from the City University of New York at Queens College. Spanning three decades, he has held hospital financial leadership positions in finance and financial reporting at Continuum Health Partners, St. Vincent's Midtown Medical Center, Catholic Medical Center and Brooklyn Jewish Medical Center.
Zipporah Dvash, MSHC, is Assistant Vice President of Public Affairs and Development. She earned a Master of Science in Health Communication from Boston University. Ms. Dvash's areas of responsibility include public relations, marketing, communications and fund raising. She has held prior non-profit and hospital leadership positions at Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center and the Jeffrey Modell Foundation.