Board of Trustees
The Board of Trustees of American University of Health Sciences is charged with oversight and guidance for all aspects of the university’s operations. The AUHS Board of Trustees is comprised of leading professionals from a variety of disciplines.
2025 Commencement Speaker
Thi Minh Dang, PharmD
Trustee
Thi Dang holds a Doctor of Pharmacy degree, and she is the owner and operator of San Gabriel Medical Pharmacy.
Ms. Dang has 8 years’ experience as a pharmacist and 9 years’ pharmacy practice residency experience. Her education and experience in pharmacy will greatly contribute to the mission of the AUHS School of Pharmacy.
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Noble Drakoln
Member
Noble A. DraKoln has been involved in multiple tech startups as a consultant, investor and C-suite executive. As an NFT/blockchain game developer over the past two years he has been deeply involved helping assist new blockchain projects come to life and has created an innovative music NFT/blockchain project called BANDRoyalty.com with his co-founder Barnaby Andersun.
He began is tech investing adventure during the early days of the conversion from paging to full digital cellular networks, from TDMA to CDMA, he successfully ran a venture that made mergers and acquisitions in the 900mHz, 150mHz, and 450mHz spectrum’s.
At the introduction of DVDs he successfully ran and sold off a VHS to DVD conversion studio, and he has been a part of guiding, consulting, and assisting in financing internet startups in both Web 1.0 and Web 2.0 phases.
Mr. Drakoln started out as a futures/commodities broker at the age of nineteen trading the E-mini S&P, gold futures contracts, and treasury bond strips. Since that time he has authored the Wiley & Sons published best-selling books Winning the Trading Game and Trade Like a Pro.
Over the span of his twenty year career he has traded S&P 500 contracts, various options, and futures for himself and clients. His books have been translated into multiple languages, he has been a keynote speaker around the world, contributing writer to Forbes, Futures Magazine, along with dozens of other financial magazines, and a radio and T.V. financial commentator on Bloomberg and Fox Business News.
Jeffrey Davis
Member
Tamara M. Whitman
Member
2000 – 2001
Masters of Business Administration, Global Management
University of Phoenix
San Diego, California, USA
1996
Bachelor of Science, Biology
University of Alabama at Birmingham
Birmingham, Alabama, USA
Caroll Ryan, PhD
President/CEO
Bio
Dr. Carol Ryan is an accomplished hands-on leader with more than 24 years of experience in higher education serving in executive, administrative, academic, and instructional capacities. She has been instrumental in developing and launching new academic programs, and has successfully lead numerous accreditation efforts with regional, national, and programmatic accrediting bodies. She was appointed by the AUHS Board of Trustees in 2017 to serve as President and Chief Executive Officer. Dr. Ryan is active in several professional organizations. She has served on numerous accreditation teams as an educational standards evaluator and subject matter expert for DEAC and was a member of the Research and Educational Standards sub-Committee and the Appeals Panel. She chairs WASC accreditation visits. Dr. Ryan earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from California State University at Fullerton, a Master of Arts from Azusa Pacific University, and a PhD from Northcentral University.
Marilyn Uvero, PhD(c), EdD, MSN, RN
Senior Vice President/COO & Provost/Chief Nurse Administrator
Bio
Dr. Marilyn Uvero’s professional career as an education executive expands over 30 years and includes holding several positions as provost, Dean of student affairs, member of the academic senate, and Chair of nursing programs. Dr. Uvero has been successful in establishing strategic and operational plans, developing new programs, and strengthening competitive market positions. She has been inducted by Walden University as selected Honoree Member by Pi Alpha Alpha, National Honor Society for Public Affairs and Administration based on her academic performance and professional contributions. Dr. Uvero holds a PhD in Higher Education Leadership from Nova Southeastern University and a MS in Nursing Education from California State University, Dominguez Hills. She is currently pursuing a PhD in Public Policy and Administration at Walden University in the School of Public Policy, completing her dissertation.
Song Tan, MD, FAAP
Trustee
Song Tan holds a Doctor degree of Medicine and is the co-owner of Karing Pediatrics Medical Group. He has 33 years’ experience in healthcare field. Mr. Tan has active involvement in the Cambodian community, and his experience will be a great supplement to AUHS’s Mission in healthcare field and outreach to the community in Cambodia.
Kim Dang, PhD (Hon.)
Founder
Dr. Kim Dang is the Co-Founder of American University of Health Sciences and she held the CEO/President interim role at AUHS for 19 years. Dr. Dang developed, managed and established AUHS operational processes in the areas of student services, registrar, admissions, financial aid, career services, institution publications, and finance.
In 2002 Dr. Dang was given an Honorary Doctorate in Medical Education by St. Luke School of Medicine in Liberia. In 2016, Dr. Dang was honored with the Humanitarian Award by the Council of Black Nurses for her many works with the underserved communities in the U.S. and abroad.
Betty Williams, Dr.P.H, RN, FAAN
Trustee
With decades of experience in higher education, research, and scholarly contributions to the nursing profession and practice, Dr. Betty Williams has a strong interest and passion in leading the advancement of nursing programs stemming from her exemplary experience as an educator, consultant, and scholar. Dr. Williams was the founding dean of the American University of Health Sciences (AUHS) School of Nursing in 2006. Dr. Williams holds a Doctor of Public Health and an M.S. in nursing from the University of California, Los Angeles; an M.N. in nursing from Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio; and a B.S. in zoology from Howard University, Washington, D.C. She currently resides in Los Angeles.
Pastor Gregory Johnson
Founder
Pastor Gregory A. Johnson brings practical experience in operating an institution of higher education though his years of working consulting services as well as over 20 years of leadership in managing numerous eclectic private propriety schools, colleges and universities as Chief Operating Officer or Vice President. As the Co-Founder of AUHS, his extensive experiences regarding the business management perspective in health care education and services are invaluable. This process has been augmented by creating successful startups of educational facilities and the enhancement of excellence in education both of which are ingrained in the mission and vision of AUHS.
Suzanne Richards, RN, MPH, MBA, FACHE
Trustee
Suzanne Richards is currently serving as the CEO of SMR Healthcare Management, Inc. working as a healthcare consultant focusing primarily on hospital operations; owns and operates two home care companies in CA and NV; and owns and operates an ambulatory surgery center in CA. Prior to owning her own businesses, Ms. Richards had six years of successful leadership as the Chief Executive Officer of Healthcare Operations for KPC Healthcare, overseeing a group of seven acute care hospitals. She also serves as Chief Executive Officer during that time for its Southern California-based flagship hospital and regional trauma center, Orange County Global Medical Center. Prior to her appointment as Chief Executive Officer of KPC Healthcare, Ms. Richards served as the Chief Clinical Officer for Prime Healthcare.
Named Businesswoman of the Year in 2017 by the Orange County Business Journal, Ms. Richards is an accomplished healthcare executive with a diverse background in management and direct patient care. Throughout her career spanning more than twenty-five years, she has added significant value to the organizations and people she has served. She is now providing innovative leadership and a strategic vision to KPC Health and its system of community hospitals. KPC funds approximately $47 million in Medi-Cal/Medi-Cal Managed Care, and another $40 million in charity/indigent costs annually. In addition to her duties as a corporate and hospital CEO, in 2014 Ms. Richards was appointed by the CalOptima Board of Directors as the Hospital Representative to the Provider Advisory Committee, an agency ranked California’s top Medi-Cal Plan by NCQA for 2014-15 with $3 billion in revenues serving over 500,000 members. In 2014, she was elected by her peers to serve as the Orange County Area Representative on the Board of Directors for the Hospital Association of Southern California and is currently its chairwoman. In 2015, Ms. Richards was selected by the Orange County Board of Supervisors to serve on an Ad Hoc Committee tasked with developing policy reforms to address Emergency Department overcrowding and the need for expanding Behavioral Health Crisis Stabilization services.
She has served as CEO, COO and CNO at for-profit and not-for-profit hospitals in Orange and Los Angeles counties. Ms. Richards has extensive experience with diverse medical groups, health plans, IPAs, workers’ compensation, case management, Medi-Cal, and healthcare legal consultation. She has contracted with the county during COVID-19 pandemic to write and implement Alternative Care Sites.
A licensed Registered Nurse, Ms. Richards graduated from the California State University, Fullerton with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and spent the majority of her clinical career as an intensive care unit nurse. She earned a Master of Public Health (MPH) with an emphasis in Biostatistics from Loma Linda University and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the University of California, Irvine in the Healthcare Executive Program. Ms. Richards is also a former surveyor for The Joint Commission and has conducted accreditation surveys of healthcare entities throughout the United States since 2005.
Ms. Richards is a Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality (CPHQ), a Certified Healthcare Executive (CHE), a Diplomat and Fellow of the American Board of Quality Assurance and Utilization Review Physicians (CHCQM), a Certified HIPAA Professional (CHP), a Fellow of the American Institute of Healthcare Quality (FAIHQ), and a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives (FACHE).
Ms. Richards is a member and/or leader of multiple associations including the March of Dimes LA Market and the Chair of the Board of Trustees for American University of Health Sciences. She currently teaches strategic planning and population health for the graduate program at California State University Long Beach. She is frequently a featured speaker on healthcare issues and trends.
