Preston Smith, JD, FACHE

President

Preston brings over twenty years of healthcare leadership experience to the Premier Anesthesia and is board certified in healthcare management as a Fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives. Preston began his career as a healthcare attorney representing hospitals and medical practices - specializing in hospital law, medical malpractice defense, physician practices, dispute resolution and litigation. He also served as a Senator in the Georgia General Assembly for four consecutive terms and was the Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. As a result of his patient-centered advocacy and healthcare reforms, Preston was designated ‘Legislator of the Year’ by a broad spectrum of healthcare organizations. He was named to the list of ‘100 Most Influential Georgians’ by Georgia Trend and was ranked number one, nationally, by the American Justice Partnership as a ‘National Hero’ of the legal reform movement. Preston originally joined the Jackson Healthcare family of companies as President of Tyler & Company, a healthcare executive search firm, focused on recruiting senior leadership for healthcare systems, hospitals and medical practices. Prior to joining Jackson Healthcare, Preston was President of Anesthesia at a national, multi-specialty professional medical service company, later holding the roles of Chief Revenue Officer and Chief Compliance Officer for its parent company.

Al Head, MD, FASA

Chief Medical Officer

After 20 years of experience as a practicing physician and 11 years serving as an academic department chairman and director of a perioperative service line for a health system, it became clear to Al Head, MD, FASA, that the current healthcare system was not sustainable without significant changes. Reimbursements were declining while quality measures and regulatory services were increasing, and healthcare organizations needed guidance on how best to navigate this paradigm shift. Dr. Head is a former anesthesia residency director and academic chairman at the Medical College of Georgia. He received his medical degree from Emory University, where he was chief resident and completed his fellowship in cardiac anesthesia. He obtained an additional clinical and research thoracic fellowship at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) at Harvard University, and stayed on staff at MGH for nine years.

Brian Norris

Vice President of Operations

Brian has 20 years of executive leadership and serial entrepreneurship. Brian’s most recent role before rejoining Premier was on the hospital and health system side as the AVP of Medical Affairs and chief executive of the faculty practice plan of a university health system. During Brian’s tenure, the health system achieved unprecedented surgical volume and downstream surgical revenues. Brian has managed growth and cost containment in every surgical specialty and most general and specialty medical practices. He has achieved 2 patents on medical process devices and performed many startups across the Southeast. Brian attained his Bachelor of Science with honors in Organizational Management with a minor in Sociology, at Mobile College, and earned a Masters in Ethics concentrating in Bio, Medical, and Business Ethics at Spring Hill College.

Stephanie Black, RN, MBA

Vice President of Operations

Stephanie has over a decade of experience working in healthcare. Before being promoted to her current role, Stephanie served Premier Anesthesia as a Regional Vice President for over 3 years after having worked with Apollo MD for 6 years prior. At the end of her tenure at Apollo MD, Stephanie had earned the role of Vice President of Operations before finally joining Premier Anesthesia’s team as a Regional Director. Her work has led her to be involved with several hospitals where she was able to learn how to provide hands-on care to patients in need. Stephanie holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics and Finance at Kennesaw State University, a bachelor’s degree of Science in Nursing at Chamberlain College of Nursing, a Master of Business Administration with a concentration in Healthcare Management at Shorter University, and a clinical nursing license in the state of Georgia, which has allowed her to gain both a passion for, and commitment to, clinical quality, customer service, and practice management.

Randy Walker

Controller

Randy has an extensive background in healthcare and physician practice management with over 25 years of experience in Finance and Accounting. Prior to joining Premier Anesthesia, he was a partner with a financial advisory services firm. Randy has held leadership roles such as regional vice president of finance and vice president of finance. Randy's experience also includes nine years with an international accounting firm. He holds a B.S. degree in Accounting from the University of South Carolina.

Alana Leverette

Marketing Director

Alana Leverette serves as the Director of Marketing for Premier Anesthesia. In this role, she is responsible for the strategies that support the organization’s corporate brand, culture, and a full suite of product offerings. Alana is a marketing and business strategist with two decades worth of experience in B2B and B2C -- playing an impactful role in leading key initiatives and effectively translating the brand and creative vision of entrepreneurs, small businesses, and Fortune 100 corporations. Her strengths include superior attention to detail, commitment to people development, expertise in product, and digital marketing, highly effective communication, proven relationship building, and exceptionally effective business development. Before joining Premier Anesthesia, Alana was a marketing strategy consultant with a global technology Public Relations and Marketing firm. Alana has also held marketing roles at Fortune 50 telecommunications companies, including: Discovery Communications, Warner Media, and Comcast NBCUniversal. She is a board member at the Community Assistance Center, a passionate mentor, and a champion of diversity, equity, and inclusion. Alana earned a B.A. in Psychology from Augusta University.