Leadership
Our leadership team is dedicated to advancing children's health in our community and is driven by a passion to put children first.
Elias Neujahr, MHA, MBA
President
Mr. Neujahr joined CHoR in 2017 with a focus on expanding and improving care for children and families in Virginia. Under his leadership, CHoR has been listed among the nation’s top children’s hospitals in U.S. News & World Report in four specialties, signifying the outstanding quality, safety, research and other important components of providing the best care for kids.
Neujahr has also been a key leader in solidifying plans for CHoR’s long-awaited dedicated full service and comprehensive children’s tower, set to open in spring 2023. It will be the new home for inpatient, critical and emergency care, along with the Level I pediatric trauma center – and will complement our already existing inpatient services for mental health at our Virginia Treatment Center for Children, long-term care at our Brook Road Campus and NICU in VCU Medical Center’s Critical Care Hospital. The new tower, adjacent to the outpatient Children’s Pavilion, will complete an entire city block dedicated to caring for kids in an environment designed just for them.
In an effort to ensure that children can acquire critical medications, Mr. Neujahr was integral in CHoR being included among 11 of the country’s leading children’s hospitals as an inaugural member of the Children’s Hospital Coalition. The coalition aims to provide certainty in access to medicines and address supply chain issues that disproportionately impact children’s hospitals.
A tireless advocate for children’s health, he also shares his passion and expertise as an active Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals board member.
Neujahr holds master’s degrees in both health care and business administration from the University of Colorado. He has committed his 20+ year career to pediatric health care, with an extensive background in operations and leadership that includes previous roles at The Children’s Hospital of San Antonio in Texas, Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital and Physicians in Michigan, Women and Infants Hospital in Rhode Island and Colorado Children’s Hospital in Denver, Colorado.
Email: Elias.Neujahr@vcuhealth.org
Jeniece S. Roane, MS, RN, NE-BC
Associate Vice President of Operations
Roane plays an essential role on the executive team and within VCU Health’s leadership structure. Her extensive pediatric nursing and leadership career drive her work with our teams to enhance the patient experience and improve quality outcomes across our continuum of care. She is critical in crafting the vision for our new inpatient tower and will lead the execution of operational change for the new facility. Roane works with our quality teams to drive quality performance to the top decile.
With more than 25 years of nursing experience, Roane earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in nursing from the VCU School of Nursing, and she is currently pursuing her doctorate in nursing. She advocates for our community’s children in her personal time as an active member on the boards of Ronald McDonald House Charities and Family Lifeline. In 2021, Roane was honored with a prestigious YWCA Outstanding Woman Award.
Roane also currently serves as Interim Chief Nursing Officer for VCU Medical Center.
Email: jeniece.roane@vcuhealth.org
Donna Johnson, MS, MBA, RN, NE-BC, CPHQ
Associate Chief Nursing Officer
Donna joined the CHoR team in December 2020, bringing a wealth of experience in pediatric clinical care, leadership, safety and quality. Before joining our team, she served in leadership and clinical roles at other leading children’s hospitals and academic health systems. Donna directs all nursing activities for CHoR (excluding the Brook Road Campus).
She is passionate about creating healthy work environments, promoting quality and safety, and serving care team members so that they can provide the best care for patients. Her leadership will be integral to our growth and service excellence – and to the opening of our new children’s tower in the spring of 2023. Donna earned her Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing from The Catholic University of America with dual a master’s degree from University of Maryland. She is currently pursuing a PhD in health services leadership from Walden University.
Meet Donna Johnson, our new associate chief nursing officer
Email: donna.d.johnson@vcuhealth.org
Sharon W. Darby, DNP, RN, NHA, FACHE
Associate Vice President, Operations
Associate Chief Nursing Officer
Nursing Home Administrator
Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU – Brook Rd Campus
Darby oversees operations in our post-acute, dental and outpatient rehabilitative services on the Brook Rd Campus and in the community therapy centers. Her career has focused on achieving high performing teams with quality outcomes . Her prior experience includes more than 20 years in nursing at VCU Medical Center, with 10 years serving in nursing administration where her managerial duties included newborn and pediatric intensive, intermediate and general care units. Darby has a doctorate in nursing and a masters in health administration and is a licensed long term care administrator.
Email: sharon.darby@vcuhealth.org
Karen Hendricks-Munoz, MD, MPH
Interim Physician-in-Chief
Interim Chair of the Department of Pediatrics
Email: karen.hendricks-munoz@vcuhealth.org
C.D. Anthony Herndon, MD
Co-Surgeon-in-Chief
Professor and Chief, Urology
Email: claude.herndon@vcuhealth.org
David A. Lanning, MD, PhD
Co-Surgeon-in-Chief
Professor of Surgery and Pediatrics
Division of General Surgery
Email: david.lanning@vcuhealth.org
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Wei Zhao, MD, PhD, FAAAAI, FACAAI
Vice Chair of Clinical Operations
Pediatric Ambulatory Medical Director
Professor and Chief
Division of Allergy and Immunology
Email: wei.zhao@vcuhealth.org
Henry Rozycki, MD
Vice Chair of Research
Professor
Division of Neonatal Medicine
Email: henry.rozycki@vcuhealth.org
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Michael Ryan, MD, MEHP
Barry V. Kirkpatrick Vice Chair of Education
Assistant professor
Hospital medicine
Email: michael.ryan1@vcuhealth.org
Gary Southard Jr., MBA
Senior Administrator
Department of Pediatrics
Email: gary.southard@vcuhealth.org
Rocquel Crawley, MBA, BSN, RNC-BC, NEA-BC
Director of Nursing and Operations
Ambulatory Care
Email: rocquel.crawley@vcuhealth.org
Dory Walczak MS, RN, NE-BC, CPHQ
Director of Nursing
Acute Care Pediatrics, Critical Care and Child Life
Walczak provides clinical, operational and financial leadership for inpatient nursing and the Child Life department. She has an extensive pediatric background in critical care, cardiac surgery program development, quality and performance improvement initiatives in hospital acquired conditions, healthcare design/renovation and workflow processes.
Prior to joining CHoR, Walczak was the Nursing Quality Outcomes Manager and the Cardiac ICU Nurse Manager respectively at Children’s National Medical Center. Walczak obtained a Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing and a Master’s in Healthcare Informatics. She holds a Nurse Executive National Board certification, Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality and a LEAN Six Sigma Green Belt certification. She has co-authored publications and given podium presentations at the national level on topics related to nursing quality improvement initiatives and patient safety. Her nursing career has been dedicated to creating high quality, reliable systems of care and developing the next generation of nurses and healthcare professionals to lead in these ever-changing times.
Email: dory.walczak@vcuhealth.org