Our Team

Heidi Betzinger

Program Director – Innovation/ Marketing and Communication

Heidi is responsible for the new product development process at Catalysis, from design to implementation. Her work involves understanding customer needs and industry trends to determine opportunities to innovate and differentiate. She leads teams to test and launch new business ventures. Prior to joining Catalysis, Heidi supported a broad spectrum of improvement work across ThedaCare as a lean facilitator for the ThedaCare Improvement System (TIS). She also served as Project Manager for the system-wide spread of the Inpatient Collaborative Care Model and for the construction of a new hospital, among others. Heidi earned her bachelor’s degree from Lakeland College in 2012 in Business Management and Marketing. She also received her Masters of Business and Project Management from Lakeland in 2013.

Angela Brubacher

Education Manager

Angela is responsible for designing and improving educational experiences including custom and public programs for healthcare leaders. She also completes a variety of operational and financial support functions to aid in organizational efficiency. Prior to joining Catalysis, Angela worked in banking and higher education holding various positions relating to customer service and writing instruction. Angela received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay in English. She also received her master’s degree in Rhetoric and Composition from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Karen Flom

Program Director - Education

Karen is the Director of Education where she is responsible for the development of curriculum and educational services. In her role, she works with healthcare organizations to understand their current state and design a transformation journey roadmap to help them reach their goals of attaining operational excellence.

Karen joined Catalysis after 20 plus years at healthcare organizations, including ThedaCare where she worked in process improvement and operations in both clinical and hospital settings. During that time, she served on the steering team and piloted the initial development of ThedaCare’s lean management system created to support leaders to better understand their business, develop strong collaborative teams, and create visual management to see and improve performance. You can read about her integral role in the development of ThedaCare’s lean management system in the book Beyond Heroes, by Kim Barnas. Prior to joining our team, Karen served as faculty for Catalysis where she worked with healthcare organizations across North America.

Peter Mariahazy

Chief Administrative Officer

Peter is responsible, in collaboration with the CEO, for developing the strategy in support of the mission, administrative execution of the overall business plan and strategic direction of the organization. Specifically, his areas of responsibility are financial administration, human resources, operational activity and support, succession planning, talent management, organizational and performance management, training and development, and compensation. Peter ensures Catalysis is compliant with all Federal, State and local regulations.  

Prior to joining Catalysis, Peter worked overseeing technology and human resources, as well as operations management. Most recently, he managed these areas at Modern Business Machines, A Xerox Company (MBM). In his tenure at MBM, Peter implemented Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software, fostered an evolution of employee benefits and maintained compliance with HR regulations. Peter is an avid volunteer in leadership positions with multiple non-profit organizations locally and nationwide.

A graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, Peter earned a bachelor’s degree in Organizational Administration.

Carlos Scholz

CEO

Carlos Scholz is an experienced lean practitioner and ongoing learner with expertise in both healthcare and manufacturing operations.

Carlos joined Catalysis as CEO in 2025.  Prior to this role he worked as Director of Operations for Medicine Specialties at The Permanente Medical Group in Sacramento, CA, with responsibility for leading strategic plans to achieve sustainable and reliable results for seven value streams, as well as coordinating and ensuring ongoing patient readiness and compliance. Prior to this role, he was a Performance Improvement Director, with oversight over the successful deployment and maturity of “The North Valley Way” as the organization’s Lean Management System based on Shingo’s principles, which was highlighted in John Toussaint and Kim Barnas’ book Becoming the Change.

Prior to joining The Permanente Medical Group Carlos was Assistant Vice President of Organizational Innovation at NYC Health + Hospitals, and worked in the manufacturing industry at Hanesbrands, Inc. and D’Addario & Company, Inc. where he held progressive leadership roles, having the opportunity to launch system-wide lean transformations.

Carlos holds an undergraduate degree in Industrial and Systems Engineering from IEST Anahuac, in Mexico and an Executive Masters in Healthcare Leadership degree from Brown University.

He was recognized as a Shingo Rising Star in May 2023 and as a Fellow of America’s Essential Hospitals in 2016.

Chris Weisbrod

Network Director

Chris works closely with Catalysis Healthcare Value Network member organizations to help them assess their current state and develop a plan to reach their transformation goals. He facilitates opportunities for CHVN members to learn, share, and connect with one another. Chris also serves as a Catalysis faculty member, teaching healthcare leaders from around the world about the principles of operational excellence and how they are the foundation for a lean transformation. He previously held various operations leadership and lean deployment positions at Akron Children’s Hospital in Ohio, where he worked with teams to implement several projects and programs to instill a culture of continuous process improvement throughout the organization. Chris received his Bachelors Degree in Communications from The University of Toledo, his Master of Business Administration from Ashland University and his Master Business Operational Excellence from The Ohio State University. 

Sara Woerishofer

Accountant

Sara joined the Catalysis team in May of 2018.  She is responsible for performing financial accounting procedures and office operations.  Sara previously worked for an accounting firm for 11 years, gaining experience in business accounting, personal tax preparation, different accounting procedures and software, and customer relations. Sara is a graduate of Fox Valley Technical College, with an Associate’s degree in Accounting.