Our Leadership
Joseph Nelson, Chief Executive Officer
Joe brings more than 25 years of experience in federal health IT, information management, and healthcare technology. Before FordHall, he served as the VA's Program Manager for Veterans Health Information Exchange (VHIE/VLER) implementation, joint VA/DoD interoperability, and private sector interoperability.
A retired Navy Medical Service Corps Health Information Systems Officer, Joe served as Chief Information Officer at Naval Hospital Great Lakes, where he was named Navy Medicine CIO of the Year in 2005. He helped lead the technology planning and activation of the Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center, a first-of-its-kind partnership between VA and DoD.
Joe holds a Master of Science in Information Technology Management and a Bachelor of Science in Health Care Management.
Charles Foster, Chief Operating Officer
Chuck brings both government and commercial experience in healthcare administration, information management, and information technology. Over a 23-year Navy career as a Medical Service Corps Health Information Systems Officer, he served as Chief Information Officer at U.S. Naval Hospitals Sigonella and Okinawa, in the CIO office at the Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery (BUMED), and as a Navy Fellow in VA OI&T Enterprise Architecture Management.
After the Navy, Chuck held leadership roles at a commercial patient engagement software firm and in IS&T Business Operations at a commercial healthcare system, where he led strategic finance and contracts management.
Chuck holds a Master of Science in Information Resources Management and a Bachelor of Science in Health Care Management.