2025 Speaker Bios

Yong G Peng, M.D., Ph.D. FASE, FASA Chief of Cardiothoracic Anesthesia division and Professor of Anesthesiology at the University of Florida College of Medicine. His research interest included hemodynamic monitoring and management of complex cardiovascular procedures. He also interested in TEE simulation and education.

Dr. Richards is a proud first-generation Double Gator, having completed double majors and medical school at the University of Florida. He completed his anesthesiology residency at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston before returning to his home state of Florida—just in time for mango season—to practice at Moffitt Cancer Center. A South Florida native with deep family roots in the Caribbean Island of St. Kitts and Nevis, Dr. Richards specializes in integrating point-of-care ultrasound in clinical decision-making, ultrasound-guided regional anesthesia, and advancing patient safety and quality improvement. Beyond medicine, he has a passion for baking, tropical fruit gardening, and photography.

Michelande Ridoré fell in love with the process of teaching and learning research and quality improvement throughout her 20 plus year healthcare career.  She is an improvement scientist and published poet.  She has also been published in the Official Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics, American Journal of Perinatology, Vaccine, and BMC Infectious Diseases.  She earned a Doctorate of Education in Applied Learning Sciences from the University of Miami.  She was formerly the Program Lead for the Children’s National Medical Center NICU, the Quality Manager of the Improvement Science and Analytics department at the Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU, and currently serves as the Director of Quality for the Holtz Children’s and the Women’s Hospital at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, Florida.  She maintains that being the daughter of first-generation Haitian immigrants, the most steadfast pillars of kindness and love, is her greatest purpose and joy.

Dr. Rizzi moved to Florida 2 years ago and currently practices at St. Joseph,s Hospital in Tampa. Before that he spent his career at the Lenox Hill Hospital in Manhattan, New York. He was the Director of the PACU’s, CFO of the practice, and held several different titles within the hospital physician leadership. Dr. Rizzi has been active at the committee level for both the NYSSA and the SCCM. His anesthesiology training was at New York University - Bellevue followed by a critical care fellowship at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.

Luis I. Rodriguez, MD FASA is currently a Pediatric Anesthesiologists at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital. He obtained his Medical Degree at the Universidad Central de Venezuela, Luis Razetti School of Medicine. Moving to the US and completed anesthesia residency and Pediatric Anesthesia Fellowship at Jackson Memorial Hospital. Served as an Associate Professor of Anesthesiology and Chief of the Division of Pediatric Anesthesiology at the University of Miami until 2023. His research interests include electronic medical records data analysis to improve patient safety and physician quality metrics, awareness and OR efficiency. He currently serves as Secretary for the Florida Society of Anesthesiologists and also as Florida Delegate for the ASA House of Delegates. Dr. Rodriguez serves as a Faculty Mentor for medical students, residents and fellows. In his free time, he enjoys spending time with his wife Melissa and children Ignacio and Alejandro, enjoying outdoor activities such as fishing, running, stand-up paddleboarding, and camping.

Shena J. Scott, MBA, FACMPE, Founder & CEO of Scott Healthcare Consulting, Inc., has been actively involved in medical group practice administration for over thirty (30) years. She spent the first twenty-two (22) years of her career as the executive director of a mid-sized anesthesia practice in Melbourne, FL. In 2013, she led that practice through a merger with five other practices in three different specialties to form a 300+ provider group that supports all the emergency medicine, radiology, and anesthesia services for the largest integrated delivery system in Brevard County, Florida. After serving for five years as BPA’s senior non-physician executive, she left that company in 2018 to form Scott Healthcare Consulting, Inc. Ms. Scott has spent the last several years consulting with anesthesia practices and hospitals across the country helping them to align incentives and modify staffing expectations to minimize the need for facility support and optimize utilization of scarce and expensive anesthesia resources. Additionally, she helps anesthesia groups with practice improvement in a variety of areas including strategic planning and governance, and physician compensation systems. She is a former Chair of the MGMA Board of Directors, having led that 50,000+ member association through a merger with its credentialing arm. She also served as president of the MGMA Anesthesia Administration Assembly. She currently serves on the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) Committee on Practice Management and is a frequent lecturer at ASA, MGMA and other conferences.

Judy is an attorney in private practice in the Washington, D.C. area specializing in health care law and representation of anesthesiologists. She has had extensive experience in business and legal issues relating to medical practice and anesthesiology, including negotiating services agreements with hospitals and ASCs, addressing billing compliance requirements, and providing guidance on regulatory requirements. Judy has written multiple articles and practice management monographs for the American Society of Anesthesiologists on such topics as hospital contracts, employment agreements, and regulatory issues, as well as articles on those topics for the Society for Ambulatory Anesthesia and state societies of anesthesiologists.

Dr. Shapiro joined Mayo Clinic in 2020 and splits her clinical time between the Department of Critical Care Medicine and the Department of Anesthesiology. She is currently the medical director of the Cardiothoracic ICU at Mayo Clinic Florida. She is interested in mechanical circulatory support as well as heart and lung transplantation outcomes.

I completed my Anesthesia residency at Columbia University in NY and fellowship in Critical Care at the Medical University of South Carolina. I am a practicing General Anesthesiologist and Cardiothoracic ICU Physician at Mayo Clinic in Florida. I am also the Associate Medical Director for the preoperative evaluation clinic and therefore have an interest in preoperative assessment and optimization.

Dr. Fouad Souki, M.D., M.S. is a Professor of Clinical Anesthesiology at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and serves as Program Director of the Transplant Anesthesia Fellowship. Specializing in Solid Organ Transplant and Vascular Anesthesia, he earned his medical degrees (BS, MS, MD) at the American University of Beirut, completed his residency at Jackson Memorial Hospital/University of Miami (JMH/UM), and advanced with a fellowship in Transplant Anesthesia at the same institution. His research spans perioperative safety, geriatrics, substance abuse, and post-transplant complications, with publications addressing heart failure, fibrinolytic trends, and high-risk transplant cases. He mentors fellows and residents while contributing to national committees (ASA, Florida Society of Anesthesiology, Society for Advancement of Transplant Anesthesia) and peer-reviewed journals. His dual role as clinician and educator underscores his commitment to advancing transplant anesthesia and training future specialists.

Dr. Judit Szolnoki is a pediatric anesthesiologist and chair at Nemours Children’s Hospital in Orlando, FL. She obtained her Medical Doctor (MD) degree from Semmelweis University of Medicine in Budapest, Hungary, followed by a residency in anesthesiology at SUNY Upstate Medical University. Her post-graduate training includes fellowship in Pediatric Anesthesiology at The Children’s Hospital, University of Colorado Denver. Dr. Szolnoki furthered her education by completing the Master of Science Program in Patient Safety Leadership at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Dr. Rosalie Tassone is Chief of Anesthesia at HCA Florida Palms West Hospital and Chair of the Committee on Pediatric Anesthesia for the Florida Society of Anesthesiologists. She is an active member of the Society for Pediatric Anesthesia and serves as Chair for the Committee on Research for the Society for Pediatric Pain Medicine.

Dr. Thompson grew up in Broward County, Florida. She received her Bachelor of Science in Cell and Molecular Biology at the University of South Florida. Following this, she earned her medical degree from New York Medical College. She went on to complete a residency in anesthesiology and fellowship in obstetric anesthesiology at Ochsner Medical Center in New Orleans Louisiana. She currently works at UF Shands in Gainesville, Florida.

Dr. Imani Thornton is the Program Director for the HCA Florida Westside Northwest Anesthesiology Residency Program. She joined HCA in 2019 and is the inaugural Program Director for the residency that started in 2021. She is originally from Detroit, Michigan, where she completed anesthesia residency at Henry Ford Hospital. She is also board certified in critical care and completed her fellowship at Johns Hopkins. She serves on the FSA Board of Directors and is a fellow of the ASA. She is married, has two children and enjoys playing tennis in her free time.

Paloma Toledo is the chief of obstetric anesthesiology at the University of Miami. Her research has focused on improving the quality and safety of care for women delivering infants in the United States. She is a past chair of the FAER Board of Directors, was the ASA liaison to the ACOG Council on Patient Safety in Women's Healthcare, and her research has been funded by the Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, and the National Institutes of Health.

Dr. Turnage has been an anesthesiologist at Flagler Hospital in St. Augustine, FL since 2003. Dr. Turnage is originally from Liberty, MO. He earned a BA in biology from William Jewell College, an MD from St. Louis University and trained in anesthesiology and critical care medicine at the Mayo Clinic. He has been on staff at the University of South Florida College of Medicine, St. Louis University School of Medicine and the Mayo Clinic in Florida. He has been an FSA alternate delegate to ASA and currently serves as an FSA delegate to the FMA.

Professor of Anesthesia with a Fellowship in Cardio-Thoracic and a Special Interest in Airway Management. Past President of the Society of Airway management.

Dr. Albert J. Varon is Miller Professor and Vice Chair for Faculty Development in the Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative Medicine, and Pain Management at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. He also serves as Chief of Anesthesiology at the Ryder Trauma Center in Miami, Florida, and as Second Vice Chair of the University of Miami Faculty Senate.

Dr. Anna Varughese, MBBS, MD, FRCA, MPH, FAAP is a pediatric anesthesiologist and serves as Professor, Johns Hopkins Medicine and Vice Chair of the Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Associate Chief Quality and Safety Officer and Perioperative Director at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital, Johns Hopkins SOM in St. Petersburg, Florida. Previously, at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center (CCHMC), Dr. Varughese served as the Associate Chief of the Department of Anesthesia for 15 years. Dr. Varughese also earned her Master in Public Health (MPH) at the Harvard School of Public Health in 2005. She is well recognized for her clinical expertise, particularly in the areas of patient safety and quality, teaching skills and administrative competence. The American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) recognized her with a mentoring award in 2013. Her research focus includes health services, outcomes, and the quality, safety and cost components of patient care delivery. Dr. Varughese has had more than 50 peer-reviewed publications in major journals and books, and she has conducted many scientific presentations at national and international meetings.

Dr Watkins is an Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology for the Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine at Johns Hopkins Medicine. He is a pediatric anesthesiologist at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in Saint Petersburg, Florida, where he serves as Director of Education and as the Pediatric Anesthesia Fellowship program director. His academic interests include the design and use of emergency cognitive aids and simulation-based education and training to improve patient safety. He currently serves on the Patient Safety Editorial board for the American Society of Anesthesiologists.

Robyn Weisman, M.D. is an assistant professor of anesthesiology and a member of the Regional Anesthesia and Acute Pain Management division. Dr. Weisman completed her medical education and residency training at the University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine. Dr. Weisman completed her fellowship in Regional Anesthesia and Acute Pain at the University of Miami - School of Medicine in 2011 and she has been an active member of the faculty since then.

Dr. Wendling is an Associate Professor of Anesthesiology and OB/GYN at University of Florida and Division Chief of Obstetric Anesthesiology. He has published research in optimizing outcomes for low and high risk cesarean deliveries, airway management in patients with unstable cervical spine conditions and medical education.

I am a Senior Member in the Department of Anesthesiology at Moffitt Cancer Center (MCC). I currently serve as the Director of Quality and Research for the Department of Anesthesiology. My areas of interest include Quality and Safety, Equipment, Monitoring, and Technology.

Veronica M. Zoghbi, M.D. is an Assistant Professor and the Director of Pediatric Regional Anesthesia at the University of Miami. She earned her medical degree from Universidad Central de Venezuela, followed by a Research Fellowship in Endocrine and Minimally Invasive Surgery at Cornell University in New York, NY. Dr. Zoghbi subsequently pursued two years of General Surgery Residency and a Fellowship in Perioperative Safety and Management at the University of Pennsylvania, where she also served as a research fellow in the Departments of Surgery and Anesthesiology. Her research during this time focused on perioperative in-situ simulation, TeamSTEPPS training, and the development of non-clinical skills training for surgical residents. Dr. Zoghbi then transitioned to the field of anesthesiology, completing her residency at Temple University Hospital in Philadelphia. She went on to pursue advanced fellowship training in Pediatric Anesthesia and Pediatric Regional Anesthesia at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford, where she subsequently joined the faculty in the Division of Pediatric Anesthesia. Currently, at the University of Miami, Dr. Zoghbi is committed to advancing pediatric regional anesthesia and enhancing patient outcomes through education and innovation. Her professional interests include AI tools, patient safety and quality improvement, green anesthesia, sustainability, and global health initiatives.