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INMED Executive Officers from left to right: Skylar Rolf, Micah Flint, Nicholas Comninellis

INMED's leaders are committed to assisting the most disadvantaged people on earth through equipping the next generation of health care professionals. All INMED Executive Officers, Board of Advisors, and Board of Directors, are volunteers, with exception of the Chief Programs Office and Chief Operations Officer. INMED's Board of Advisors provide counsel on academic and service learning decisions. The Board of Directors are all veterans of international service, assisting in some 32 nations among them. INMED's professional Consultants provide regular logistic support.

Nicholas Comninellis, M.D., M.P.H. Nicholas' Blog Nicholas Comninellis is an Assistant Clinical Professor of Community & Family Medicine at the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine, and founder of the Institute for International Medicine - for whom he is a full-time, unpaid volunteer. He served inner city citizens for a year at Shanghai Charity Hospital during the pre-prosperity era, and over two year period initiated a healthcare ministry in the war-besieged city of Huambo, Angola in southern Africa. He also served one-month medical assignments in Honduras, Haiti, Zimbabwe, Burkina Faso, Niger and Kunming, China. Dr. Comninellis then worked for six years in the Kansas City public hospital system, before launching INMED in 2003. He attended the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine, the Saint Louis University School of Public Health, and was a family medicine resident at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center/John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth, Texas. Dr. Comninellis also earned a diploma in tropical medicine from the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research. He is board certified in both preventive medicine and family medicine, and is author of six books on contemporary issues.

Micah Flint, MPA Micah's Blog Micah Flint joined the INMED staff in 2005 as CEO and served in this position for 4 years while the organization grew rapidly. In 2009, Micah took the challenge of transitioning into the new role of Chief Programs Officer, where he overseas the development and maintenance of INMED programs. Micah is a native of Kansas City, and graduated from the University of Missouri with Bachelors degrees in biology and political science, and from Park University with a Masters of Public Administration degree in healthcare administration and disaster management. Micah is married to INMED graduate and first love, Jennifer Rathburn. Their family grew in 2008 with the birth of their first daughter, Lailah. "I've always dreamed that my career would be much more than a job," says Micah. "When I became acquainted with INMED, I was excited to realize this dream would become a reality."

Skylar Rolf, MA Skylar's Blog Skylar Rolf joined the INMED staff in 2007. Born into a farming family in rural MO, he graduated from Tarkio High School in 2002 and attended Northwest Missouri State University, graduating in 2006 with a B.S. in Business Management and Marketing. While at NWMSU, Skylar was a leader with Campus Crusade for Christ. In 2007, he attended the Kanakuk Institute, earning a Master of Arts Degree in Youth and Family Ministry from John Brown University. "I knew that I wanted to use my business skills to make a difference in people's lives. INMED is the perfect organization to allow me to positively impact others physically and spiritually."

Antoinette Brown, RN St. Lukes Health System Recognized as an exemplary, competent, and compassionate role model by St. Lukes Hospital, Antoinette Brown carries her profession far beyond regular hours in the renal and radiology recovery units. She leads health fairs at her home church, Sheffield Family Life Center, and volunteers her talents in some of the most neglected communities in the world. Antoinette Brown earned the INMED International Medicine Diploma in 2007,, serving at Burrows Memorial Christian Hospital in the underdeveloped northeast region of Assam, India. More recently, she utilized these acquired skills while volunteering at Banso Hospital in Cameroon.

Lani Ackerman, MD Founder & President, Health Environmental and Learning Program (HELP) Faculty Physician, Scott & White Family Medicine Residency Program This remarkable physician began her career determined to serve people who were most unreached. She honed her skills as a family medicine resident at John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth, Texas, and during a 6-month assignment at Memorial Christian Hospital in Bangladesh. She also married Tim and started a family. But Lani never forgot her first commitment. The Ackermans went on to serve 8 years in the nations of Nepal and Bhutam, just north of India. She taught family medicine in a national university, served in mission hospitals and orphanages in the Himalayas, and created a community project that advanced agriculture and animal husbandry.

James Li, MD Director, Remote Medical Service Field Course, Harvard School of Medicine Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine, Harvard School of Medicine Dr. Li served at Kikuyu Hospital in Kenya, Masanga Hospital in Sierra Leone, and San Cristobal Hospital in Nicaragua. His convictions about international service culminated in creating Remote Medicine - an organization providing medical assistance and training for Western physicians in technical and ethical aspects of resource-scarce medical practice. Dr. Li's insights have been published in the Lancet, Annals of Emergency Medicine, Journal of Emergency Medicine, Journal of Clinical Microbiology, and the American Journal of Emergency Medicine. He observes, "Once we have experienced for ourselves the plight of poorer nations, we must also bring the resources we represent to bear on those regions of have-nots."

Gary Morsch, MD, MPH President, Heart to Heart International Founder, Docs Who Care Dr. Morsch has served in refugee camps and mission hospitals throughout the world, including Calcutta, Kosovo, Afghanistan, and Tanzania. His vision for humanitarian aid is also manifest through creation of Heart to Heart, an organization working to improve health and help disaster victims in some 57 countries. Dr. Morsch is also founder of Docs Who Care and author of Heart and Soul: Awakening Your Passion to Serve, and The Power of Serving Others. Dr. Morsch attributes his success to his passion for medicine and a philosophy adopted from Mother Teresa: "We can do no great things, only small things with great care."

Daniel Hinthorn, MD Chief of Infectious Diseases at Kansas University Medical Center Board of Scientific Counselors, National Center for Infectious Diseases Dr. Hinthorn is a leader in HIV/AIDS research with the National Institutes of Health and a pioneer in medical education with some 115 scientific publications to his credit. His extensive resume includes service as an Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer for the Center for Disease Control & Prevention and being a leader of the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Collaborative Antiviral Study Group. Dr. Hinthorn is frequently sought for his expertise regarding bio terrorism, and he regularly presents at the Exploring Medical Missions Conferences. In 2005, his career-long contributions were recognized with the University of Kansas Alumnus of the Year Award.

Cindy Obenhaus, RN Director, Healthy Mothers-Healthy Babies Foundation Maison de Naissance, Haiti This neonatal nurse began volunteering in Haiti in 1987, providing care through mobile clinics and through teaching neonatal resuscitation and modern obstetrics. In the process, she realized that most medical care in Haiti was substandard in quality, too expensive, and too far away from those who needed it most. She developed a vision and recruited partners, culminating in 2004 with the opening of Maison de Naissance, a modern birthing center providing free care to an impoverished Haitian community. Cindy's leadership and exemplary model were recognized at the 2007 Exploring Medical Missions Conference where she was awarded the INMED 2007 International Medicine Award.

Oscar Paulo, MD Medical Director, Uige Provincial Hospital, Angola, Africa Dr. Paulo is a native Angolan who has lived his entire life in Angola, Africa serving his native people. In 1990, he established the first medical care clinic north of the capital city of Luanda. He also served as leader of health ministries for the Baptist Convention of Angola. Today, Dr. Paulo is the point man for medical care in the northeastern province of Uige - a region marked by malaria, tuberculosis, and malnutrition. In 2007, he led a six-month campaign against a cholera epidemic that ravaged local and neighboring communities. Dr. Paulo was a guest at the 2006 Exploring Medical Missions Conference.

Bruce Banwart, MD Pediatric Intensivist, Children's Mercy Hospital, Kansas City Volunteer Specialist, Operation Smile This physician's life is a virtuous dichotomy. He practices and teaches sophisticated intensive care at one of America's leading pediatric hospitals. Dr. Banwart also actively cares for the world's most impoverished people through primary care clinics in Latin America and through Operation Smile, which is an organization that provides reconstructive facial surgery to indigent children in the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and Iraq. "These especially needy children require complex post operative care," observes Banwart upon returning from weeks in Thailand. "I'm encouraged to discover that even as a sub-specialist there is an appropriate niche for me in medical missions."

James Elias, DDS Director of Dental Service Mushili Health Center, Zambia Dr. Elias is a graduate of the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Dentistry and founder of the Center of Dental Excellence in Independence, MO. He is one of only some 250 professionals accredited by the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry and promotes a personal philosophy of "gentle and caring" dentistry. Since 1999, Dr. Elias has been investing substantial service time at the Mushili Health Center in Zambia, Africa. A man with a passion for sharing his vision, Dr. Elias continues to mentor American health profession students throughout his months of service to the peoples of Africa.

Board of Directors

Don Philgreen, M.D. Faculty Physician, Research Family Medicine Residency Don Philgreen has been a family physician for 35 years and faculty member with the Research Family Medicine Residency since 1996. He is also medical director for the LIGHT House and Rachel House ministries that assist young women who are involved in crisis pregnancy. Don's medical experience includes four years service to the Pima and Papago on the Gila River Indian Reservation. In 2004 Don was named the Missouri Family Physician of the Year by the Missouri Academy of Family Physicians. Don and his wife Martha live in the Kansas City area and have 5 children and 7 grand children.

Thad May, M.S., P.E. Environmental Engineer, George Butler & Asso. Thad May is a Professional Engineer with a specialty in water and sanitation. His work experience includes development projects in Zambia, Africa, and YWAM service in China. Thad earned his B.S. in Civil Engineering and M.S. in Environmental Engineering from the University of Kansas. He and his wife, Mary, have four grown children. His son Thaddaeus completed a medical internship in Angola for three months in 2001, organized by Dr. Comninellis.

Peter Greenspan, MD Assistant Professor, University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine Associate Chairman, Department of OB-GYN, Truman Medical Center-Lakewood Dr. Greenspan is a native of Brooklyn, New York, and a graduate of the Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine. Since 1997 this Board-certified obstetrician/gynecologist has instructed medical students and residents in the Kansas City area. Dr. Greenspan, a messianic Jew, is a recognized authority on subjects of apologetics, medical ethics and human cloning.

Roy Moran, Th.M. Pastor, Shoal Creek Community Church Roy Moran is the primary leader of a church that is fully engaged in orphan care, health, and economic development for the community of Bhukwini, South Africa. Before founding Shoal Creek, Roy was Vice President of Human Resources for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Along with his responsibilities at Shoal Creek, Roy has served as a consultant in the areas of leadership development, executive coaching, and team building with SkillPath. Roy is a graduate of Baylor University and Dallas Theological Seminary. He loves golf, his four children, and wife, Candy, in reverse order.

Ted Higgins, MD General & Vascular Surgeon, Research Medical Center As a resident physician, Dr. Higgins served a three month surgical elective at Hospital Albert Schweitzer in Haiti where he was mentored by Dr. William Larimer Mellon. The experience proved pivotal for this young physician who, in addition to his private practice in the United States, has been providing surgical care in the Dominican Republic each year since 1995.

Dan Schmidt, CPA Dan Schmidt is a Certified Public Accountant and the owner of The Emerging Business CFO, which provides finance and accounting solutions for startups and small businesses in the Kansas City area. He is also a Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor. His background includes 7 years as a financial statement auditor for various public accounting firms, as well as Senior Accountant to Controller positions at private companies. His ultimate goal is to help small business owners use their accounting software and systems in a way that frees them up to do what they are best at doing, not spend unnecessary hours keeping the books. Even more important than his work life, he and his wife, Gina, recently welcomed their first child, a son, Britton.

Josh Comninellis Since 2005 Josh has continued to support INMED through creation of original artwork and graphic design. In 2008, he traveled to INMED's training site in Angola, the Lubango Evangelical Medical Center where he filmed and later produced the INMED documentary Manuel Letter. Josh is a film production major at Missouri Western State University and producer of numerous films, including Despite Our Faults, Grace, Per Capita and The Meeting - runner up in the 2008 Liberty Film Festival.

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