Society of Physician Entrepreneurs (SoPE) Southwest Florida Chapter is the regional chapter for the non-profit global biomedical and healthcare innovation network SoPE. Membership is open to medical professionals and other stakeholders in healthcare. Members include doctors, nurses, dentists, healthcare entrepreneurs, investors, engineers, IT professionals, and industry representatives. SoPE is here to provide the network to encourage, educate, and connect biomedical and healthcare entrepreneurs so that new ideas get a chance—The Society operates in the very early stages of innovation commercialization; encouraging physicians and other medical professional entrepreneurs with ideas about how to improve healthcare to explore the possibilities and empowering them should they decide to take those initial steps in the “go to market” process. SoPE is unique in its make-up, leadership and mission – The Society is the only known organization founded and led by physicians with the specific purpose of providing support to those physicians and other medical professionals on the front lines of delivering healthcare that need help in bringing their ideas, inventions and innovations for improving healthcare to life.
Michael Havig M.D. is an orthopedic surgeon and sports medicine specialist who is passionate about solving some of the challenges facing healthcare providers and patients in today’s complex environment. Frustrated by the lack of control healthcare providers have in caring for their patients, and patients have in choosing their providers and purchasing healthcare, he has leveraged health 2.0 technologies to improve patient and provider satisfaction as well as access to, and delivery of care. At HealthMe he brings his passion, and in-depth knowledge of the healthcare field, to develop and deploy our technology to solve problems healthcare providers and patients face in these markets.
Dr. Havig graduated from Princeton University, attended medical school at Vanderbilt University, and completed his Orthopedic Surgery residency at Emory University. He completed a fellowship in sports medicine and serves as a physician to the U.S. Ski Team and to local athletes of all ages and abilities. He is involved in his community as the team physician at Naples High School, Board Member and coach in the Greater Naples Little League, and has served as Chief of Surgery at Naples Community Hospital.
For over a decade, Carmen Scott Dawson has been leading innovation development company AdVanz, LLC dba Adreamz Institute, and been an Executive of Dr. Richard Caruso’s, Uncommon Individual Foundation (UIF). As CEO of Advanz, LLC, Carmen has advocated for hundreds of entrepreneurs obtaining > 30 Million Dollars in investment or tax incentives since 2011. As Vice President of UIF he designed and developed cutting edge entrepreneurial mentoring programs and was ultimately voted “Business Advocate Winner of the Year” for the Philadelphia Business Journal prestigious Minority Executive Leaders Awards Program in 2013. He has been the recipient of Congressional and Senatorial Letters of Recognition, as well as federal, state, and local citations / proclamations from numerous government officials throughout Pennsylvania and Washington DC for his unwavering commitment to innovation-based economic and community development.
Carmen’s first mentor, client was Dr. Richard Caruso, the 2006 Ernst & Young, “Entrepreneur of the Year” National Winner for directing the commercialization of the first regenerative skin product engineered to save lives of severe burn victims while leading a successful IPO as the Chairman and CEO of Integra Life Sciences Corp (IART). Under Carmen’s direction Advanz, LLC made it a directive to work with companies that have earned or are on the trajectory to win their regional Ernst and Young, “Entrepreneur of the Year” Award. In 2013, Carmen and Joseph Callahan CEO of Ciright Companies Co-Founded an innovation accelerator to drive market adoption of Ciright’s pioneering patents and portfolio of companies. Earning Calahan EY 2016 Philadelphia Winner “Entrepreneur of the Year!”
Lawrence A. Husick’s twenty-nine years’ experience as a technology consultant, computer system designer, and software author, as well as his twenty-five years of experience as an intellectual property lawyer give him a unique perspective on the need to focus on innovation as a central pedagogical theme. As a co-director of the FPRI Wachman Center Program on Teaching Innovation, he applies his background in both law and technology to the study of innovation as an organizing principle of history, science and technology, economics, and sociology.
He is a partner in Lipton, Weinberger & Husick, an intellectual property law firm in Malvern, Pennsylvania, is an adjunct professor at the University of Pennsylvania in the Organizational Dynamics graduate program, and at Johns Hopkins University in the Whiting Graduate School of Engineering. He is a founder of several entrepreneurial ventures, including Infonautics Inc. (now HighBeam), PocketDoctor.com and TeraDisc LLC.
April Donahue is the Executive Director of Collier County Medical Society in Naples, FL, a 501c6 membership association for over 600 physicians, and its 501c3 Foundation. Born in Indiana and a DePauw University graduate, April’s work experience also includes the Collier County Supervisor of Elections office, Hawaii Medical Association, and Sunrise Greetings, a Hallmark Cards subsidiary.
She is immediate past chair of the Conference of Florida Medical Society Executives, a board member for the Physician Led Access Network of Collier County, and a committee member with the American Association of Medical Society Executives. April is a class member of Leadership Florida 2020, Leadership Collier 2017, and Growing Associates in Naples 2013. She was recognized a 2019 Naples Illustrated “Naples 100” top business leaders, the Leadership Collier Foundation 2018 Volunteer of the Year, and one of Gulfshore Business magazine’s 2014 Southwest Florida “40 under 40”.
Jace Kentner was born and raised in southwest Missouri. He was an entrepreneur at a young age. He earned his Bachelor of Science, Public Administration, from Missouri State University. The University of Kansas (School of Medicine) awarded him a Master of Health Services Administration with a concentration in healthcare outcomes management and research. He also earned a Doctor of Jurisprudence from Drake University Law School, where he served on the Executive Editorial Board and as Secretary of the Drake Law Journal.
Jace was admitted to the Iowa and Missouri Bars and has practiced law for almost 24 years. His true love is transactional work involving businesses at all stages. He has represented many start-ups, mid-sized companies, and Fortune listed companies. His prowess in the board room was founded on a wealth of diverse corporate law experience and business acumen
A purpose-driven business and strategic advisor with experience as an attorney and managing partner in a venerable law firm with leadership as an in-house counsel in a dynamic healthcare organization, chief executive of a high growth diversified holding company, and as a director of a business and economic development organization for a large government organization.
Five Top Reasons You Should Attend Southwest Florida SoPE Chapter Events
- Networking with like-minded professionals
- Understand what seasoned investors expect in real life terms
- Learn by Example & perfect your own!
- Create your own Due Diligence process
- Be Part of It!
