Learn More About the Integrita Story

In this video series, Tom Davis, Managing Director, interviews Dr Lisa Tushla, about the origins and vision for Integrita Healthcare Education Foundation.

Managing Directors

Lisa A. (Carey) Tushla, PhD, H(ASCP)

Lisa is passionate about educating and supporting all members of the healthcare team to achieve the best possible outcomes. From her early days tutoring in high school, Lisa has enjoyed breaking down complex topics to make them more manageable for the learner. A physiologist by training with over 6 years of experience in clinical hematology, Lisa began her career teaching biology as an Assistant Professor at Marymount Manhattan College in New York. There she was recognized for her ability to translate complex scientific topics, as witnessed by her student’s’ dedication of the Speech and Carey Communication Center to her. Lisa has been a successful entrepreneur in the medical education field, with both PharmAdura (now Paradigm Medical Education) and Terranova Medica, LLC to point to. Since 2009 in her capacity as President at Terranova Medica, LLC, Lisa worked with the Mycoses Study Group and Educational Resource Consortium, the AIM at Melanoma Foundation, and the Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers on both healthcare education as well as patient education/advocacy programs. Most recently, Lisa and her team have helped AIM at Melanoma launch the Melanoma Nursing Initiative, the IO Essentials Initiative, and the Skin Cancer Education and Research Consortium.  She is pleased to bring  that wealth of experience to Integrita with the promise of making a difference for rare diseases or those not adequately supported by current advocacy organizations.

Tom Davis

Tom is a leading expert in the field of business transformation for companies engaged in the growth or creative stage of their life cycle. He has worked with countless companies, from those on the Fortune 500 to relative unknowns and start-ups as well. Tom has been an integral part of the highly successful team at Terranova Medica since late 2009, prior to that, Tom had been a serial entrepreneur. With an educational background in information and computer science, economics, and philosophy, Tom founded Information Works, an Information Design and Development company, in 1996. Based on his experience delivering solutions that offered captivating designs coupled with tangible sales and marketing results, Tom founded the highly successful Elite Products Group in early 1999. It was at Elite Products Group that Tom helped pioneer the comprehensive online traffic and sales analysis system that allowed Elite to become one of the most coveted online distribution channels of the early 2000s. Most recently, he had redefined business transformation by establishing Fluidity Partners, which works with growing businesses to leverage ideas and solutions across the areas of business development, design services, sales consulting, and marketing and strategic analysis.

Tom’s understanding of business far surpasses that of a typical director. He truly understands what it takes to start, grow, and maintain successful companies and brings those strengths to the Integrita Foundation as a whole, as well as each initiative he is involved in.

Rob Purdie

With over a decade of experience fighting coccidioidal meningitis, Robert (Rob) Purdie brings a unique perspective and passion to advocacy. Rob is the Patient and Program Development Coordinator at the Valley Fever Institute at Kern Medical Center and a member of Intergita. He is a lifelong Bakersfield resident who was diagnosed with coccidioidomycosis in 2012. Since his diagnosis, he has been dedicated to raising awareness of the impact Valley Fever has on individuals and communities and fighting to improve outcomes for his fellow patients fighting this challenging fungal infection.

Rob has spearheaded several awareness campaigns for Valley Fever. He has shared his personal knowledge and experience with numerous media entities at the local, state, and national level as well as internationally. His efforts include bringing community awareness through events such as the Valley Fever Walk, which he has helped organize since 2016.

Rob’s legislative efforts have included involvement in multiple aspects of California Assembly Bills on Valley Fever, resulting in $8 million in budget allocations for awareness and research. Rob has continued his efforts at the federal level working with patients and stakeholders to support legislation to improve patient outcomes.

Rob has been a Sponsored Participant and Presenter at workshops hosted by the NIH and FDA, provided Patient Advocacy at a Valley Fever Roundtable in Washington DC and recently at an international roundtable on fungal infections. He coauthored an article published in Clinical Infectious Diseases (CID), a leading journal in the field of infectious diseases with a broad international readership. Rob has many additional presentations scheduled, providing a voice for patients at several research and policy symposiums and meetings in 2023.

Rob’s desire to become involved in broader advocacy efforts springs from the relationships he has built with researchers, clinicians, and stakeholders and the realization that the issues experienced by Valley Fever patients are similar to those of other patients with fungal disease. His path to addressing the broader need was provided through collaborations established under a CDC Cooperative Agreement in mycology. Through these collaborations, Rob connected with additional members of the mycology community who shared his passion and vision for improving the lives of those battling fungal diseases. We trust that with Rob’s passion and guidance, Integrita will make a difference for patients across multiple disease states.