Jonathan Bakdash

Quality Improvement and Patient Safety, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality

Jonathan Bakdash, Ph.D. Dr. Bakdash is a Social Science Analyst for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). He has over two decades of experience conducting basic and applied cross-disciplinary behavioral research. His current research areas include healthcare, decision-making, applied statistics, human-machine interaction, and visual perception.

Naomi Yount

Principal Research Associate, User Network for the AHRQ Surveys on Patient Safety Culture (SOPS), Westat

Naomi Yount, Ph.D. Dr. Yount is an industrial-organizational psychologist and Principal Research Associate with more than 15 years of experience with organizational research, analysis, with a focus on patient safety and patient experience with care. She worked on the development of the workplace safety supplemental item set for hospitals and nursing homes as well as other SOPS surveys and supplemental item sets. She also serves in an analytic advisory capacity for the CAHPS and SOPS Databases.

Jamie Thomas

Senior Quality Improvement Manager, AMI

Jamie Thomas, MSN, MBA, RN, NI-BC, CPHQ Thomas is the Senior Quality Improvement Manager with AMI, supporting the Pennsylvania Department of Health’s LTC RISE program. Her career spans critical care nursing, informatics, and healthcare quality improvement consulting. In this role, she oversees quality initiatives, manages improvement teams, and develops resources that help long-term care facilities achieve sustainable outcomes.

William Martyak

Chief Clinical Officer, AMI

William Martyak, PA-C Martyyak is the Chief Clinical Officer with AMI, supporting the Pennsylvania Department of Health’s LTC RISE program. He brings a strong background in clinical leadership and healthcare consulting, leading the development of clinical strategies and managing interdisciplinary teams and program materials that strengthen quality, safety, and staff support in long-term care facilities.

Joann Sorra

Vice President, Westat (Moderator)

Joann Sorra, Ph.D. Joann Sorra, PhD, is an industrial-organizational psychologist and Westat Vice President with more than 25 years of experience conducting organizational and health services research. She has served as Project Director for the AHRQ CAHPS and SOPS support contract for the past 15 years. Her areas of expertise include organizational culture, patient and workforce safety, patient and caregiver experience with healthcare, implementation science, program evaluation and survey methodology. Dr. Sorra is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association (APA) and the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP).