Board of Directors

Our Board of Directors consists of a dedicated and talented group of individuals with a wide-range of abilities.  Meet our Board of Directors below!

Steve Wagner- Founder

Wagner is CEO and Founder of The RightCare Foundation, Inc., an Arizona non-profit corporation and 501(c)(3) Public Charity, founded in 2010. RightCare exists to advocate for and promote best practice care in local communities. As a career firefighter paramedic and critical-care flight paramedic with over 16 years of public safety experience, Wagner brings sincere passion to RightCare causes. His role as a first responder helped him to identify the need for improvement in quality, timeliness, and accountability of care in local communities.

With a strong belief that patient outcomes will improve with Immediate Resuscitation, Wagner established The RightCare Foundation, Inc. to advocate for and promote best-practice care. His first priority in establishing a foundation for the RightCare Mission was to create a RightCare Bill of Rights www.rightcare.org/bill-of-rights. This founding document serves as a guide for all current and future RightCare causes. Wagner continues to advocate for and promote best-practice care in local communities. The support of fire chiefs, IAFF locals, city councils and physicians encourages Wagner to promote The RightCare Mission to “Save lives and inspire best practice”.

An active member of the community, Wagner serves as appointed Council Member of The Arizona Governor’s Advisory Council on Aging (GACA), Member of The Arizona Attorney General’s Taskforce Against Senior Abuse (TASA), Vice Chair of The Arizona Attorney General’s Healthcare Committee and Champion Member of The Health Improvement Partnership of Maricopa County (HIPMC). He is currently employed by The City of Phoenix Fire Department and has served as a critical care flight paramedic for AirEvac Services, a service of PHI Air Medical, Inc.

E-Mail:  swagner@rightcare.org

Don Crews- Board Member

Don began his career in the United States Army. Upon discharge he served with the California Conservation Corporation and California Department of Forestry. Don desired to explore life in a large city and wanted to increase facets of his business knowledge. He began in sales and marketing with Wells Fargo Bank and eventually transitioned to their Wholesale Secondary Market Division for mortgages.  As he further developed his business expertise and learned a solid foundation in finance, he become a business owner.

Upon selling his pool service and repair business in California, Don was ready to change course and pursue a career in emergency services. He served as a firefighter/paramedic for five years. During his tenure he earned two letters of commendation in his role of firefighter and received two awards for paramedic of the year. Don then moved on to pursue his interest in flight paramedicine. As a flight paramedic he received another commendation from Eurocopters for 1500 successful mission. Don was eventually promoted to manager of business development and marketing for two of the largest medical air carriers in the State of Arizona.

Currently, Don is focused on occupational health and OSHA compliance for a large distribution facility and performs contract work for the U.S. Service as a field paramedic. During his multifaceted career, Don co-authored medical protocols and syllabus with Adam D. Corrado, M.D. for the Colorado Emergency Services Department as well as developing training protocols for aircraft escape and survival in multiple airframes.

Further serving his community Don served as a board member for the San Jose Community Development Department and board member/presenter/lecturer for Mothers Awareness on School-Age Kids (M.A.S.K.). In his spare time, Don is raising a family and writing a children’s book.

E-Mail: dcrews@rightcare.org

 

Nancy Barto- Board Member

Nancy Barto served in the Legislature from 2006-2022, serving as Chair of the Health and Human Services Committees in both the House of Representatives and Senate, focused on health care and family-related issues.
Nancy has been a strong voice for reform and effective independent oversight of the agencies serving Arizona’s vulnerable elderly in long term care, individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, foster children and those with serious mental illnesses and looks forward to an alliance with the Right Care Foundation to continue advancing effective public policy in these areas.
Nancy took the lead sponsored numerous health care reforms into law, protecting patient privacy and ensuring affordable health care options can flourish in our state. Nancy has also shepherded important property tax and homeowner reforms into law. She was a member of the Education and Judiciary Committees during most of her service, and co-chaired the Joint Legislative Psychiatric Hospital Review Council and the Child Safety Oversight Committee since 2013. Prior to her Legislative service Nancy enjoyed a career as a mother, community volunteer and public policy advocate. She enjoys hiking, playing piano, games and time with her family. Joe and Nancy are members of Living Streams Church.
She and her husband, Joe Barto, grew up in the Valley and are proud parents of three daughters and sons-in-law and three grandchildren. Nancy studied Vocal Performance and Elementary Education at Arizona State University and A.S.U. West.

E-Mail:  nbarto@rightcare.org

 

Nat NickeleNat Nickele- Secretary

Nathaniel “Nat” Nickele earned his B.A. in Political Science at Grand Canyon State University in Phoenix, Arizona in 2001. Nat graduated with his Juris Doctorate from Phoenix School of Law in 2008 and was admitted to practice in Arizona Federal and State courts in 2009. Since that time, Nat has focused his practice in the areas of debt negotiation/settlement, credit repair, estate planning, and real estate matters. Nat likes to consider himself as “the unlawyer” because of his straight forward, common sense approach to practicing law.

In addition to his practice, Nat serves as an “of counsel” consultant to several other law firms and “in house counsel” to Toma Partners, LLC. He has served as a board member or adviser to several charities in Arizona.

When Nat is not working, he behaves even less like an attorney. He can usually be found clowning around with his wife and two young sons.

E-mail: nnickele@rightcare.org

 

Kathleen O’Brien ThompsonKathleen O’Brien Thompson- Communications Advisor

With over 15 years of diverse experience in business development, marketing, management, and building client relationships at all organizational levels, Kathleen O’Brien Thompson is a skilled developer of broad-based coalitions and networks of influence to increase credibility and visibility. Analytical and possessing critical interviewing skills developed during her tenure in market research, she specializes in strategic communication consulting and the creation of polished, relevant content.

Through her company, professional PUNCH, she and her team of experts provide marketing services including; branding campaigns, websites, video production and all forms of writing.

With a proven track record of reputation management, enhancing brand awareness, and increasing market share delivered via robust marketing campaigns, Kathleen relished the opportunity to work as Tour Manager for American Idol. Working in conjunction with Kellogg’s, she was able to ensure plentiful, ideal and unique branding opportunities that resulted in a Silver Medal Award from Event Marketer Magazine. She has worked with AMLAW 100 firms, Fortune 500 companies, was a campaign manager for the United Way and was a volunteer for the Fresh Start Women’s Foundation. Currently, she works with the numerous clients including Washington Speaker’s Bureau and the Phoenix Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists on creating content and providing creative direction on their web and social media platforms.

Quality patient care is an important issue that she has had to deal with personally. Her experiences with learning to become a patient advocate for family members proved important when she faced her own health concern. Her story was covered in this video.

Ms. O’Brien Thompson graduated Summa Cum Laude and holds a Bachelor’s degree in English & Communications. She has published numerous articles, is the contributing editor to two industry publications, and serves on the board of the Society of Professional Journalists, Phoenix Chapter.

E-Mail: kobrien-thompson@rightcare.org

 

Mark J. RobensMark J. Robens- Legal Advisor

Mark J. Robens has been a member of the Phoenix Fire Department since 1998 and is a Captain/Paramedic presently assigned to the Emergency Medical Services Division. Mr. Robens has also been an Attorney for over twenty-nine years and practices law with the firm of Burch & Cracchiolo, P.A. in Phoenix, Arizona.

Mr. Robens practices in the area of litigation and health care law. He consults with and lectures extensively to Fire Departments/Districts, Emergency Medical Service Agencies, Paramedics and Emergency Medical Technicians, Hospitals, Air Medical crews and Fire Service and Medical conferences, and on medical/legal issues, risk management, personnel management, supervisory and leadership issues, documentation/charting, Ethics and Ethical Decision-making. Mr. Robens and his law firm also provide legal advice to health care companies on a broad range of issues regarding contractual, employment/labor, corporate/business, tax and risk management issues.

Mr. Robens also teaches at the University and Community College level on medical-legal, supervisory, and ethics issues. His medical-legal seminars are presented all over the country at Fire Departments, and Fire Service and Medical Conferences, including the International Association of Fire Chiefs and Fire Department Instructor’s Conferences. He is a member of the State Bar of Arizona and is also licensed to practice in the District and Federal Appeals Courts.

In his spare time, he is a Commercial Pilot and has flown as an airline, air ambulance, and corporate pilot. He has two children and resides in Phoenix, Arizona

E-Mail:  mrobens@rightcare.org

 

Jim Mullany- Treasurer

James Mullany is an experienced investment and management professional in public market equity, debt, and alternative asset management, including private equity real estate investment, development and construction across multiple asset classes.

Early in his career, James served as a Portfolio Manager with Northern Trust Bank, a global leader in delivering innovative investment management, asset and fund administration, fiduciary and banking solutions to corporations, institutions and affluent individuals, followed by Southwest Next Capital Management and Berkana Townhomes/Old World Communities, where he was actively involved in the formation and management of both real estate related companies. Over the past 5 years, James worked with Rialto Capital Management, an international private equity and asset management real estate company.

Today, James is pursuing a new entrepreneurial real estate investment and management venture, Concierge Homes.

James currently serves as a Board Member for the City of Phoenix Deferred Compensation (DCP) Plan.

E-mail: jmullany@rightcare.org

 

Dustin Simmons- Board member

Dustin Simmons is a Registered Landscape Architect in Arizona. Originally from the Midwest, he has lived in Phoenix now for over 20 years with his wife and two children. For many years he has designed Senior Living projects around the valley with memory care courtyards, sensory gardens, and great attention to improving the wellbeing and happiness of residents through the healing properties of nature.

As a cardiac arrest survivor he is now involved on the protective side of Senior Living and has become an advocate for the policy changes RightCare is working towards to protect our most vulnerable citizens. He knows firsthand how crucial immediate-resuscitation is and how important it is to educate the public. Cardiac Arrest is the leading cause of death in the United States yet most people do not know what it is or what to do if someone collapses in front of them.

Dustin is actively involved in the community through volunteering with RightCare, the Desert Botanical Garden, the Maricopa Master Gardener program and is the Vice President of a local Mended Hearts Chapter.

E-Mail:  dsimmons@rightcare.org