Meet The Candidates!
Meet The 2026 Candidates!
Review the candidates’ biographies, position statements, videos, flyers, and more before voting in the 2026 AHIMA Election.
Mark Your Calendar
The AHIMA election will begin Monday, July 6, at 8 a.m. CT and runs through Monday, July 20, at 5 p.m. CT.
Who Is Eligible to Vote?
All Professional, Professional Premier, Professional Emeritus, and Professional Global members of AHIMA with an active membership status are encouraged to vote. Go to the MyAHIMA Hub to check your membership status or renew.
Student members and certified professionals who are not members are ineligible to vote.
Important Information: AHIMA is partnering with an online election system to tabulate the votes in AHIMA’s National Election. Each eligible AHIMA member will be assigned a unique access key which can only be used to vote once. To vote, your AHIMA membership status must be active. Please go to MyAHIMA Hub to ensure your membership is active. If you need assistance confirming your membership status, please contact AHIMA.
AHIMA President/Chair-Elect (1 Open Position)
Elizabeth Delahoussaye, RHIA, CHPS
Elizabeth Delahoussaye is a nationally recognized healthcare privacy and compliance executive, current member of the American Health Information Management Association House of Delegates, and recipient of Becker’s Hospital Review’s “Women in Health IT to Know” and “Women in Health IT to Watch” recognitions.
Dan Utech, MBA, RHIA, CHPS, FAHIMA
Dan Utech, MBA, RHIA, CHPS, FAHIMA, is a health information leader with more than 17 years of experience across HIM, healthcare IT, privacy, operations, governance, and education. He currently serves as Treasurer on the AHIMA Board of Directors and has also served as president of TxHIMA, DFWHIMA, and NMHIMA.
AHIMA Board of Directors (3 Open Positions)
Tonya Bates, MSML, RHIA, CHPS, CC
Tonya L. Bates, MSML, RHIA, CHPS, CC, is a seasoned health information management, compliance, privacy, and security leader with more than 20 years of progressive experience across provider, academic, vendor, and corporate healthcare settings. She currently serves as Compliance, Privacy, and Security Officer at Enjoin.
Sallie Bissette Jara, Ed.D, MHA, MBA, RHIA, CHC
Sallie Bissette Jara, EdD, MHA, MBA, RHIA, CHC is a seasoned healthcare executive with more than 20 years of experience in health information management, compliance, and revenue cycle operations. She currently serves as Chief Compliance and Privacy Officer for Roper St. Francis Healthcare.
Lori Diederichs, MS, RHIA
Lori Diederichs, MS, RHIA, is a seasoned health information management (HIM) leader with over 20 years of experience driving strategy, compliance, and innovation across complex healthcare systems. She currently serves as Senior Director of Health Information Management at CentraCare.
Darris Mishler, DHA, MBA, CPHS, PMP, CISSP, CPHIMS, SHIMSS
Darris Mishler is a healthcare technology and health information leader specializing in interoperability, data governance, and digital health strategy. He currently provides consulting services focused on EHR interoperability, data exchange and conversion, information governance, and technical operations supporting independent practices.
Brittani Moberly, PhD, MBA, RHIA, CCS, CDIP, CPHIMS
Brittani Moberly, PhD, MBA, RHIA, CCS, CDIP, CPHIMS, has nearly a decade of experience in health information management, healthcare administration, and higher education. A two-time graduate of Eastern Kentucky University, she has long been passionate about advancing healthcare education and developing the next generation of healthcare leaders.
Speaker-Elect of the House of Delegates (1 Open Position)
Please Note: This election will occur in August 2026.
Jill Choi, MBA, RHIA, CHPC
Jill Z. Choi, MBA, RHIA, CHPC, is a nationally recognized health information management (HIM) leader with more than 38 years of progressive HI experience. She currently serves as Director of Health Information Management at Nationwide Children’s Hospital where she oversees multiple operational areas.
Melissa Koehler, DHA, MBA, RHIA, CHDA, CDIP, CCS, CCS-P, CCDS, CSBI, FAHIMA
Melissa Koehler, DHA, MBA, RHIA, CHDA, CDIP, CCS, CCS-P, CCDS, CSBI, CRCR, CSPR, FAHIMA, is the Assistant Vice President of Health Information Management at Inova Health System, where she leads enterprise HIM operations.
Council for Excellence in Education (CEE) Member
(1 Open Positions)
Marissa Lajaunie, MBA, RHIA
Marissa Lajaunie is a Master Instructor at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette (UL Lafayette) and earned both her Bachelor of Science in Health Information Management (HIM) in 2009 and her Master of Business Administration (MBA) in 2011 from the university. She has also been a Registered Health Information Administrator (RHIA) since 2009.
Aerian Tatum, DBA, RHIA, CCS, FAHIMA
Dr. Aerian Tatum is a health information leader with an impressive breadth of experience spanning over two decades. With over 25 years of expertise in coding and reimbursement and over ten years of teaching experience in the HIM field, Dr. Tatum has established herself as a prominent figure in the industry.
CCHIIM Commissioner (3 Open Position)
Dee Banet, MSN, RN, CCDS, CCDS-O, CDIP, CCS
Dee Banet is a strategic leader in Clinical Documentation Integrity (CDI) with more than 25 years of experience advancing the integrity, usability and the value of health information across complex healthcare environments. As Chief CDI Officer at Physician Care Coordination Consultants (PC3 Health), she leads enterprise-level strategy.
Jennifer Clinedinst, MSJ, RHIA, CDIP, CCS
Jennifer Clinedinst, MSJ, RHIA, CDIP, CCS, is a Health Information Management (HIM) executive with more than 20 years of progressive leadership experience across acute care, behavioral health, and academic settings. She currently serves as Director of Health Information Management at Saint Peter’s Healthcare System.
Leah Grebner, PhD, RHIA, CCS, FAHIMA
Dr. Leah Grebner, PhD, RHIA, CCS, FAHIMA, is a health information management professional, educator, author, and health information advocate with more than 30 years of experience. Her career spans coding, compliance, quality, consulting, operations, and higher education.
Lisa Grimes, RHIT, CDIP, CCS
Lisa has over 30 years of experience in Health Information Management including HIM Management, revenue cycle optimization, medical coding and auditing, privacy compliance and HIT education. Currently she is serving as an Operational Performance Expert in the Revenue Cycle Services Coding Quality Department at Indiana University Health.
Robin Poole, BS, RHIA, CHPS, CRCR
Robin Poole, BS, RHIA, CHPS, CRCR is an experienced health information management leader with a proven track record of advancing data integrity, regulatory compliance, and operational excellence across complex healthcare organizations. She currently serves as Director of Health Information Management at Bryan Health in Lincoln, Nebraska.