Administrative
Fellowship Program

These opportunities accommodate your career development interests in other areas, such as:

• Center for Innovation
• Planning Services
• Provider Relations

Or you may have an interim operations management experience.

In addition to your rotations, you can develop your leadership acumen in other ways:

• Participate in a structured mentorship program
• Attend at least one conference of your choice (for example, American College of Healthcare Executives)
• Sit with or potentially serve as an interim leader on institutional leadership committees

The Administrative Fellowship Program's first priority is the long-term leadership needs of Mayo Clinic; our second priority is immediate needs and opportunities. With these priorities in mind, we assign you to rotations according to your capabilities, interests and need for development. If you have a strong interest in a specific area, we will make every effort to provide an experience in that area, though we ask you to be flexible and responsive to our organizational needs and opportunities. During your rotation planning discussions, you'll be encouraged to envision the full range of experience you hope to gain so that, at the end of your fellowship, you'll be a strong candidate for the positions you wish to pursue. You are assigned to a base location, where most of your rotation assignments take place. However, we will try to give you the opportunity to experience another Mayo Clinic location during your fellowship. Your "traveling" rotation may take you to Jacksonville, Florida; Phoenix/Scottsdale, Arizona; Rochester, Minnesota; or a Mayo Clinic Health System practice. Standard rotations and examples of recent assignments:

Administrative Services

• Serve as national strategies interim administrator
• Serve as Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology interim administrator
• Serve as Division of Hematology interim administrator

Finance

• Develop operational plans and budgets for clinical departments
• Assist with organizational redesign of Admissions and Business Services
• Develop performance monitoring dashboard for Medical Revenue Systems
• Develop billing processes map to identify major improvement opportunities

Human Resources

• Develop performance management tools
• Measure activity analysis of benefits information
• Support clinical department staff recruitment
• Assist with Administrative Fellowship Program recruitment and selection activities

Research Administration

• Develop clinical trials program business plan
• Support Department of Internal Medicine research retreat planning team

Education Administration

• Serve as Mayo Clinic School of Medicine interim administrator
• Lead team in creating Mayo Clinic School of Health Sciences Alumni Association
• Coordinate the first Serving the Underserved Educational Forum

Management Engineering

• Support electronic medical record project — automated patient itinerary
• Lead team in developing proposal for telecommunicating site
• Develop new procedures for patient receiving unit at Mayo Clinic Hospital, Methodist Campus
• Evaluate space requirements for Gonda Vascular Center

Mario Cuartas, M.S., was born in Bogota, Colombia and was raised in Salt Lake City, Utah. He graduated from Weber State University with a Bachelor’s degree in Health Administrative Services and from Rush University with a Master’s of Science in Health Systems Management. During graduate school, Mario worked as an administrative project assistant in the Rush University Medical Center Quality Department and the Rush University Children’s Hospital. Mario is passionate about improving healthcare quality, reducing costs, and increasing access. Mario now resides in Peoria, Arizona, with his beautiful wife, Destri, and their son, Logan. Outside of work he enjoys attending sporting events, playing sports, camping, fishing, traveling, snowboarding, playing board games, and spending time with his family.

Praneetha R. Elugunti, M.B.A., graduated from Georgia State University with a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Science in biology. Her experience as a volunteer at Grady Memorial Hospital led her to pursue a career in health administration, as it exposed her to the challenges that hospitals face in the current health care environment. Praneetha is a graduate of the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), where she pursued a dual master's degree in health care administration and business administration. As a self-proclaimed lifelong learner, and given her previous health care experiences, Praneetha looks forward to meeting new people and evolving with the latest trends in health care. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her family and friends, volunteering, and traveling.

Stephen M. Fischer, M.H.S.A., is a graduate of the University of Michigan. As an undergraduate, Stephen worked as a research technician in a genetics laboratory at Indiana University Bloomington (IUB), where he obtained degrees in biology and biochemistry. Following graduation from IUB, Stephen held various research positions at the Indiana University School of Medicine, where he managed a research laboratory and helped design preclinical pharmacotherapeutic treatments for alcoholism. While at the University of Michigan, Stephen worked at the C.S. Mott Children's Hospital and Von Voigtlander Women's Hospital as an administrative intern. In his free time, he spends time with his family, gardens, and is an avid outdoorsman.

Rachel Rutledge, MHA, graduated from The Ohio State University. She obtained her undergraduate business and Master of Accounting degrees in 2012 and her MHA in 2017. In between, Rachel lived in Boston and worked as a CPA on PwC’s healthcare audit team. As an MHA student, she completed internships at The James Cancer Hospital (Ohio State) and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (Boston). Outside of work, Rachel enjoys baking, running, traveling, and spending quality time with people!

Rachel Uitti, M.H.A., received her bachelor’s degree in Finance and Marketing from Florida State University and a Master of Healthcare Administration from the University of Minnesota. Her interest and passion for healthcare administration was realized after completing two summer internships at Mayo Clinic, in Jacksonville, FL during her undergraduate studies. While in graduate school, Rachel worked part-time as the Quality Coordinator for Twin Cities Orthopedics and was a teaching assistant for a graduate level problem-solving course. Additionally, she served as a board member for CLARION, an interprofessional healthcare organization. Rachel enjoys spending time with family, being outdoors, and watching FSU football.

Sarah R. Yeakel, M.B.A., is a graduate of the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). She also earned a bachelor's degree in marketing, with a minor in public relations from Berry College in Georgia. Various internship opportunities fueled her desire to work in health care and led to her pursuit of a master's in health care administration and business administration. In her free time, she enjoys being active outside, running and playing with her black lab, Luca.

Ajani (AJ) N. Dunn

Ajani (AJ) N. Dunn, M.H.A., is an associate administrator at Mayo Clinic's campus in Jacksonville, Florida. His administrative assignments include the Department of Internal Medicine, Medical Specialties, Center for Individualized Medicine and the Administrative Fellowship Program. Mr. Dunn joined Mayo Clinic as an administrative fellow in 2002 upon completion of a master's degree in health care administration and a bachelor's degree in physical therapy at the University of Florida. He is a fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) and is active locally as a faculty member with the University of North Florida's Health Administration program and as a past president of the ACHE North Florida Chapter. He and his wife enjoy traveling and University of Florida Gators football.

Natalie A. Caine

Natalie A. Caine, M.H.A., FACHE, is an associate administrator at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. In this role, she provides strategic leadership to the Department of Medicine. Ms. Caine joined Mayo Clinic in 2005 as an administrative fellow and has extensive practice leadership experience. She most recently served as the operations administrator for the Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine and the Division of Community Anesthesiology. She also serves as the Rochester site director for the Administrative Fellowship Program and has held administrative roles for the Critical Care Independent Multidisciplinary Program (IMP), Hospital Internal Medicine, Division of Rheumatology, Division of Allergic Diseases and the Nurse Practitioner-Physician Assistant Executive Committee. Ms. Caine completed her undergraduate degree in marketing at Missouri State University and holds a Master of Health Administration from the University of Missouri. Ms. Caine completed her administrative internship at Yale New Haven Health System and is a fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives.

Jenny T. Ho

Jenny T. Ho, M.P.H., M.H.S.A., is a research operations administrator at Mayo Clinic's campus in Phoenix/Scottsdale, Arizona. She started her career with Mayo Clinic in 2000 as an administrative fellow in Rochester, Minnesota, and subsequently moved to Mayo's Arizona campus to support Revenue Cycle and Public Affairs. From 2008, Ms. Ho worked for Cleveland Clinic and was involved in the startup of Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. In 2011, she returned to Mayo Clinic as an operations manager in the Division of Education Administration in Arizona. Ms. Ho received her bachelor's degree from UCLA and master's degrees in public health and health administration from the University of Michigan.

Adam C. Thompson

Adam C. Thompson, M.P.H., M.H.S.A., is an associate administrator for Surgical & Procedural Operations at Mayo Clinic. With physician partners, he provides leadership to surgical and procedural services at Mayo Clinic's campus in Jacksonville, Florida. Mr. Thompson began his career as an officer in the U.S. Army Medical Service Corps. Following progressive leadership assignments stateside and overseas, he joined Mayo Clinic to complete a postgraduate training program in health care administration. From 2005 to 2009, he supported the Department of Anesthesiology at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. Most recently, Mr. Thompson served as vice president of surgery for WellStar Health System in Atlanta. He earned a bachelor's degree from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York, and master's degree from the University of Oklahoma. He lives with his family in Ponte Vedra, Florida.

Deb R. Fischer

Deb R. Fischer, M.B.A., is a vice chair of administration for Academic Support Operations in Mayo Clinic Health System – Northwest Wisconsin Region (centered in Eau Claire, WI). In her current role she provides administrative leadership to NWWI’s Education and Research shields. Ms. Fischer completed her undergraduate degree in Pharmacy at the University of Minnesota and began her career with Mayo Clinic, Rochester, as a hospital pharmacist in 1981. She earned an M.B.A. degree from University of St. Thomas (St. Paul, MN) which led her to career alternatives. She joined the Mayo Clinic Quality Office as an internal consultant working to teach and facilitate teams pursuing improvement strategies, then, became a Quality Administrator with Mayo Clinic Health System Administration. In 2008 she moved to Eau Claire, Wisconsin to join Mayo Clinic Health System as an administrative Vice President overseeing quality, planning, research, and a variety of clinical departments.

For general information about the Administrative Fellowship Program and the application process, email MayoATP@mayo.edu.

Directors

For specific questions about the Administrative Fellowship Program and the fellowship experience, contact:

Mayo Clinic, Phoenix/Scottsdale, Arizona

Jenny T. Ho, M.P.H., M.H.S.A., site director
Email: ho.jenny@mayo.edu

Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, Florida

Ajani (AJ) N. Dunn, M.H.A., program director
Email: Dunn.Ajani@mayo.edu

Adam C. Thompson, M.P.H., M.H.S.A., site director
Email: thompson.adam@mayo.edu

Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota

Natalie A. Caine, M.H.A., FACHE, site director
Email: caine.natalie@mayo.edu

Mayo Clinic Health System, Eau Claire, Wisconsin

Deborah (Deb) R. Fischer, site director
Email: fischer.deborah@mayo.edu