Leadership Team
E. Frank Ellis
Chairman & CEO
For thirty-five years, Frank has been a driving force behind the growth and development of Swope Community Enterprises’ member companies. He was president and CEO of Swope Health Services, formerly Swope Parkway Health Center, for twenty-one years, chairman and CEO of FirstGuard Health Plan, Swope Community Enterprises, Swope Community Builders, and the Applied Urban Research Institute, all of which work to improve quality of life for patients and residents in surrounding communities.
Mr. Ellis has received local and national recognition for his impact as a social entrepreneur – effectively applying business principles and practices to address the total health and economic well being of the indigent and working poor. He has successfully fostered public-private partnerships resulting in investments in some of Kansas City’s most blighted and depressed neighborhoods, transforming them with new housing, office and retail space, resulting in new jobs, social services, economic growth and a restored sense of pride, hope and self-sufficiency.
Mr. Ellis serves on the boards of the Heart of America Boy Scouts, United Missouri Bank, Rockhurst University, UMKC Trustees, Kansas City Chamber of Commerce, Economic Development Council, Greater Kansas City Community Foundation, Kansas City Area Development Council, Starlight Theatre, and Midwest Research Institute Board of Trustees. He is a former Chairman of the Board of Brush Creek Community Partners.
He graduated from the University of Michigan with a Master of Science degree in Public Health, and has performed postgraduate work at Harvard University School of Business.
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Gary L. Brown
General Counsel
As general counsel, Gary manages litigation matters, contract issues, and manages outside counsel for Swope Community Enterprises and its member companies.
Prior to joining Swope in 2003, Gary had twenty years of legal experience as general counsel with Global Water Technologies, Inc.; Psychrometric Systems, Inc. in Golden, CO; Fischbach Corporation in Englewood, CO, and as a partner with Gorsuch, Kirgis, Campbell, Walker and Grover in Denver. His experience has included contract review and negotiation, EEOC compliance and litigation, bonding and insurance issues, and general liability.
Mr. Brown holds a Juris Doctorate, cum laude, from Washburn University Law School in Topeka, KS, and a Bachelor of Science in Journalism from the University of Kansas in Lawrence, KS.
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Enrique A. Chaurand
Chief Communications Officer
Mr. Chaurand directs internal and external communications and marketing strategies for SCE and all of its affiliates. He is a native of Kansas City, MO whose past experience includes positions in the Administration of former President William Jefferson Clinton, working for former Secretary of Health and Human Services Donna Shalala and Secretary of Labor Alexis Herman as a senior public affairs specialist. He also worked for former Missouri Governor Bob Holden and most recently served as the Director of Speechwriting for current Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis. He attended the Walter Cronkite of Journalism at Arizona State University and holds a B.A. in Journalism.
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Kant Doshi
Chief Financial Officer
Kant is responsible for business development strategies for Swope Community Enterprises and its member companies. He has been affiliated with Swope since 1982 as an independent financial management and business development consultant. He was instrumental in designing member company business models and finance functions and assisted in formulating merger, acquisition and affiliation strategies for Swope’s board of directors and senior management team.
Prior to joining Swope Community Enterprises, Kant was owner and president of Doshi and Associates, P.C., a financial management and consulting firm specializing in advisory services for federal and state government agencies, commercial, private and not-for-profit clients. His clients included the Department of Health and Human Services, where he provided services to most of the Blue Cross/Blue Shield companies in the Midwest to establish their Medicare reporting and managed care operation. He has done extensive work for the Small Business Administration to provide 7(j) assistance, and for the Department of Education, which named him Contractor of the Year in 1992.
Before forming his own company, Kant was a partner in a local accounting firm
providing business analysis, expansion, merger and acquisition consulting and accounting services, and a manager of a regional accounting firm.
Kant has been a part owner in several businesses over the past twenty years including commercial and residential property development and management, property maintenance, fire sprinkler supply, and small business venture capital investment.
Kant was born in India and moved to the United States in 1970. He holds a Bachelors Degree in Accounting from the University of Bombay, Bombay, India, and a Master of Science in Business Administration from Pittsburg State University in Pittsburg, Kansas. He is a Certified Public Accountant.
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Patrick Kaufman
Vice President Finance and Accounting
Pat joined SCE/SCES in October 2005, with responsibility for accounting operations, financial reporting, fiscal policy, investment planning, materials management and risk management.
Pat brings 17 years of accounting and financial experience from the for-profit and non-profit sectors. Most recently, he was Director of Finance at the Stowers Institute for Medical Research with responsibility for the finance, accounting, employee benefits, and
Grants administration functions. Prior to that, he spent seven years at Sprint Corporation in various finance and accounting roles. Pat also worked in public accounting at Deloitte & Touche.
He is a member of the American Society of Certified Public Accountants and the Missouri Society of Certified Public Accountants. He has served on numerous community and nonprofit boards and councils, and currently serves on the University of Kansas Accounting and Information Systems Advisory Council. He is a native of Winfield, Kansas, and a graduate of the University of Kansas in Lawrence where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting and Business Administration. He is also a graduate of the Kansas City Tomorrow leadership development program.
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Robin Wheeler
Human Resources Director
Robin Wheeler serves as Human Resources Director for Swope Community Enterprises, Swope Health Services and Swope Community Builders. Prior to joining Swope, Robin was Human Resources Manager for KMG Consulting, LLC, where she provided numerous services including addressing employee relations issues, developing specialized compensation and benefits projects and implementing health and welfare benefits as well as retirement plans. Robin also served as Human Resources Manager for the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, where she performed an array of HR functions for this multi-site organization. Other organizations for which she has provided HR services include Providence Medical Center, and the City of Kansas City, Missouri. She received her Bachelor of Business Administration from UMKC’s Bloch School of Business, and her Master of Business Administration from Rockhurst University.
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