Margaret L. Campbell, RN
Donald K. Crandall, MD, FACS
David Ellis
Brian E. Peters, MHSA
Craig Ruff
Kevin Seitz
Marianne Udow

Margaret Campbell has managed the palliative care practice at Detroit Receiving Hospital since 1988. From 1974 to 1988 she served in a number of critical care nursing positions, including staff nurse, educator and clinical nurse specialist. She is a faculty member at the Wayne State University College of Nursing and School of Medicine. Ms. Campbell is the president of the Medical Ethics Resource Network of Michigan and is a member of the advisory committee to the American Nurses Association Center for Ethics and Human Rights. She served on the Institute of Medicine Committee on Care at the End of Life which produced Approaching Death: Improving Care at the End of Life. Ms. Campbell is widely published on care of the dying patient in the acute care setting and is the author of Foregoing life-sustaining therapy: How to care for the patient who is near death.

Dr. Crandall graduated from the University of Michigan Medical School in 1963. He practiced surgery with Muskegon Surgical Associates, Muskegon, Michigan from 1970 to 1998, and, after graduating from an Advance Training Program in Health Quality Improvement at Intermountain Health in Salt Lake City, Utah, became Director of the Center for Healthcare Improvement at Mercy General Health Partners in Muskegon before accepting his present appointment. 

He has served on various local, state, and national boards, including the Michigan State Medical Society (President, 1983) and the American Medical Association House of Delegates (Member, 1977-1992, with service on the Council of Medical Service, dealing with issues related to the practice of medicine). He was also a Member of the Steering Committee of the Health Policy Agenda for the American People, which developed long-range policy direction for the health care industry, and has chaired the Integrated Information Systems Leadership Team of the Muskegon Community Health Project, charged with development of a community-wide health information system. 

The founder and former president of Voyager Information Networks, Mr. Ellis holds a master’s degree in the information and communication sciences from Ball State University. Before founding Voyager in 1989, he lived and worked extensively in Europe (Germany and his native England), the Far East (Malaysia, Singapore, and Hong Kong), and the United States (Hawaii, Indiana, and Michigan). His eclectic career path in intelligence, scholarly publishing, strategic consulting, and business leadership reflects a lifelong interest in their common core: information and communication.

Mr. Ellis has written papers and delivered presentations on the future of computing and telecommunications for numerous organizations, and in 1998 was invited to address a meeting of the World Technology Network at the Royal Society in London on the topic of the impacts of artificial intelligence on business. He is currently writing a book about the past, present, and future of intelligent machines, as well as a fictional novel borrowing from his ideas about that future.

Brian is the Director of Health Care Futures at the Michigan Health and Hospital Association, and serves as the association's staff to the Council of Physicians, the Council on Small or Rural Hospitals, and the Council on Osteopathic Health Care. In addition, he assists in the development of the MHA Environmental Assessment and delivers presentations on the future of health care to various audiences.

He worked extensively on MHA’s Health Care 2000 vision project, including studies of the Canadian and British health care systems. He serves on the Board of the Michigan Rural Health Association, the Advisory Board of the Davenport College (Lansing) Physical Therapy Assistant Program, and is the staff coordinator for the Michigan Organization of Nurse Executives.

He holds a Master’s Degree in Health Services Administration from the University of Michigan, a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from Michigan State University, and completed the Health Executive’s Development Program at Cornell University.

Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Ruff spent eleven years in Michigan's executive office. He was special assistant to Gov. William G. Milliken for human services and chief of staff to Lt. Gov. James H. Brickley. He developed legislation, coordinated interdepartmental policies, reviewed agency budgets, and worked closely with numerous professional associations and interest groups. 

As senior consultant to many of the company's clients, Mr. Ruff directs research studies, develops promotional and advocacy strategies, and oversees the management of specific issues for clients. He has authored research studies and publications on health care and public policy issues. He has been president of the firm since 1986.

Mr. Ruff attended the University of Michigan, earning a B.A. in political science and a master's degree in public policy studies.

Before joining the Blues in March 1991, Kevin Seitz was director of the Medicaid program for the State of Michigan. Prior to that, he was Associate Director of Human Services in the Fiscal Agency of the Michigan House of Representatives. He served as Planning and Research Associate for the Michigan League for Human Services and also was a Caseworker for the New York City Health and Hospital Corporation.

He received a master’s in social work from the University of Michigan and a bachelor’s in economics from Hobart College. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Michigan League for Human Services and the Michigan Council for Maternal and Child Health. He has received the Friends of Nursing Award from the Michigan Nurses Association, and was named one of the 500 most influential policymakers in the United States by the editors of Medicine and Health magazine.

Prior to her present appointment, Ms. Udow was Senior Vice President of Corporate Strategy and Health Care Administration, and prior to that, Senior Vice President of Planning and Development Services. She has also been Senior Vice President of the Planning and Operations Division at Mercy Alternative Health Systems. Ms. Udow has a master’s degree in health services from the University of Michigan School of Public Health. 

She is Board Chair of Michigan’s Children, an independent, citizen-based child advocacy organization, and is a Board Member of the Michigan Women’s Foundation, as well as a Co-Chair of its Women’s Health Funding Initiative committee. She also serves as a Mentor in the Mentium 100 Program, an executive development program for high-potential professional women. She is also a Vice President and Corporate Board Member of the Greater Detroit Area Health Council, as well as a Member of the Board of Trustees of the Institute for Health Improvement in Southeast Michigan. She has published and been recognized nationally for her contributions to health and women’s issues.