Board of Visitors

Ms. Sharon Brickhouse Martin

Ms. Martin is Founder and President of Brickhouse•Martin Healthcare Engineering (B•MHE). In this capacity, she is responsible for the management and information technology services that the firm provides to its healthcare clients. Prior to starting B•MHE in 1991, Ms. Martin served in senior positions in the healthcare consulting practices of Ernst & Whinney, Coopers & Lybrand, and Booz Allen & Hamilton, Inc. An experienced facilitator and trainer, Ms. Martin has been a frequent speaker and author on the subjects of project management, reengineering, teambuilding, and process improvement for healthcare organizations. Ms. Martin currently serves on several boards including the Advisory Board of the Ron Brown Scholars Program in Charlottesville, VA, and both the HSC Foundation Board of Directors and the HSCSN Board of Directors in Washington, DC. Previously she served on the Advisory Board of the College of Engineering at Virginia Tech, the Board of Directors of the Comprehensive Health Investment Project of Virginia, the Advisory Council for the Medical Care for Children Partnership of Fairfax County, Virginia, the Industrial Advisory Board of the CEED program for the College of Engineering at Virginia Tech, and as President and a member of the Board of Directors for the National Capital Chapter of the Institute of Industrial Engineers. She holds a B.S. in Industrial Engineering and Operations Research as well as an M.S. in Engineering Administration, both from Virginia Tech. She is also a qualified Myers Briggs Type Indicator instructor and a certified Project Management Professional (PMP).

Ms. Martin was appointed on July 1, 2019 by Governor Northam.

Dr. Melissa Byrne Nelson

Dr. Melissa Byrne Nelson earned her Bachelor of Science degree from Virginia Tech in 1992. While at Virginia Tech, she was elected president of her class and president of the Student Government Association. She earned her Doctor of Medicine from the Medical College of Virginia at Virginia Commonwealth University. As a medical student, she served as the president of the Student Government Association and the student member of the Board of Visitors at VCU. Dr. Nelson completed her residency at Cornell University Medical Center at the New York Presbyterian Hospital. She also pursued advanced training in developmental and behavioral pediatrics at Albert Einstein University and served on the faculty at New York Presbyterian Hospital and the Hospital for Special Surgery. Dr. Nelson is currently a partner and practicing physician with Pediatric Associates of Richmond, and has been voted by her peers a “Top Doc” by Richmond Magazine multiple times. She served as a leader of PACKids, advocating for the creation of a free-standing children’s hospital in Richmond. For this work, she was named Outstanding Woman for Health and Science of 2015 by the Richmond YWCA and a 2015 Person of the Year honoree by the Richmond Times Dispatch. Dr. Nelson continues to advocate for children and serves on the board for Child Savers and as an advisor to the Faison Center for Autism. Since 2017, she has served on the Governor’s Department of Health PANDAS/PANS Advisory Council. Dr. Nelson has served on the VCU-MCV Alumni Association Board and the Virginia Tech Alumni Association Board.

Dr. Nelson was appointed on July 1, 2019 by Governor Northam.

Mr. Chris Petersen

Mr. Petersen of McLean, Virginia, is a principal at Arbor Strategies, LLC. His practice concentrates in legal and compliance services relating to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act ("ACA"), privacy, state small-group and individual insurance reform regulation and the interaction between state and federal law. Mr. Petersen also advises clients on legal matters pertaining to minimum standards for supplemental and individual insurance products, association business, managed care, as well as other compliance issues. He also assists his clients before state insurance departments and provides representation before the National Association of Insurance Commissioners ("NAIC"), Congress and federal agencies. Mr. Petersen chairs the firm's privacy group. He previously served as the Vice President of the State Affairs/Legal Department of the Health Insurance Association of America. Mr. Petersen has spoken extensively on insurance reform matters and also has testified before Congress on insurance reform and privacy issues. Mr. Petersen is a member of the Virginia Bar Association, a member of the Board of Directors of the Professional Insurance Marketing Association ("PIMA") and received their President's Distinguished Service Award. He served on Governor-elect McAuliffe's transition team and presently serves as the treasurer of Common Good VA, Governor McAuliffe's political action committee. He is also presently serving as the president of Northam for Governor, Inc. Mr. Petersen earned his bachelor's degree from Washington University and holds a juris doctor degree from Georgetown University.

Mr. Petersen was appointed on July 1, 2016 by Governor McAuliffe and reappointed on July 1, 2020 by Governor Northam.

Mr. Mehul Sanghani

Mr. Mehul Sanghani is the founder and CEO of Octo Consulting Group – a nationally recognized and award winning technology-solutions firm located in Northern Virginia and serving the federal market. Octo specializes in providing agile software development, data visualization, data analytics, and strategy services for the classified U.S. intelligence community and the government health information-technology market. Since its founding in 2006, the firm has received multiple awards and recognitions, including being named the 23rd fastest growing business in the country by Inc. magazine, winning the Vanguard Award presented by the Virginia Chamber of Commerce to the state's fastest growing firm, and receiving separate Government Contractor of the Year Awards from the Fairfax Chamber of Commerce and Northern Virginia Technology Council. Octo also was named the 2014 Corporate Philanthropist of the Year by the Washington Business Journal and nominated for the National Jefferson Awards for Public Service based on the firm's charitable efforts and engagement with numerous community outreach activities. Mr. Sanghani serves on the boards of directors for the Fairfax Chamber of Commerce and the Virginia Tech Science and Engineering Regional Growth Enterprise. He is a member of the Pamplin College of Business Advisory Council, the Pamplin Finance Advisory Board, and Virginia Tech's National Capital Region Leadership Council. A native of Blacksburg, he is a member of Virginia Tech's Class of 1998 and has earned separate bachelor's degrees in industrial systems engineering and psychology.

Mr. Sanghani was appointed on July 1, 2014 by Governor McAuliffe and reappointed on July 1, 2018 by Governor Northam.