Gil Peri
President
Gil Peri, president of Riley Children’s Health since 2021, is a pediatric healthcare executive with more than 20 years of achieving the best outcomes for patients, families and team members.
Previously the president and chief operating officer at Connecticut Children’s Medical Center, Peri oversaw health system operations, strategy and innovation. There, he led the hospital’s interdisciplinary team and strategically scaled pediatric expertise across a three-state region.
Prior, he was senior vice president and chief strategy officer at Children’s Hospital Colorado, leading enterprise strategy and clinical program development and overseeing service line operations and financial performance. He also led strategic growth, partnerships and retail ambulatory operations at Nationwide Children’s Hospital.
A graduate of the University of South Florida, Peri holds master’s degrees in business administration and public health and a bachelor’s degree in biology. He and his family live in West Carmel. Peri enjoys playing sports and spending time outdoors and is passionate about community service and healthcare.
John Harding
Chief Operating Officer
John Harding, chief operating officer, collaborates with partners across the healthcare system to achieve operational excellence.
Before Riley Children’s Health, Harding was the chief operating officer at the Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters, overseeing a major capital plan that added pediatric urgent care and expanded pediatric mental health services across the region.
He was previously vice president of operations at Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital and worked in operational and planning roles at Children's National Health Hospital. He has experience in the hospitality, firefighter and paramedic industries.
Harding received his bachelor’s degree in psychology from Georgetown University and his master's in business administration from Loyola University Maryland. He currently pursues his doctoral studies in leadership and learning in organizations at Vanderbilt University Peabody College. He is a fellow and past regent of the American College of Healthcare Executives.
Elaine Cox, MD
Chief Physician Executive
Elaine Cox, chief physician executive, helps create an excellent practice environment to ensure optimal outcomes for patients. Working with the medical staff, she is a part of the strategy team who helps with physician recruitment, outreach and partnership development and supports research and teaching initiatives for Riley Children’s Health.
Cox has served many leadership roles since joining Riley Children’s in 1995, including patient safety officer and medical director of infection prevention. She played a key role in developing the Ryan White Center for Pediatric Infectious Disease and Global Health and ran the Riley Outpatient Center for 16 years. She is also a key part of the system's international destination team.
Cox graduated from Indiana University School of Medicine and currently serves as a professor of clinical pediatrics at the school. She also served as the IU Health Academic Health Center’s medical staff president in 2018.
Mara Nitu, MD
Chief Medical Officer
Mara Nitu, chief medical officer, oversees clinical hospital operations and physician and APPs integration and creates an exceptional practice environment to ensure optimal patient outcomes.
Nitu joined the Department of Pediatrics at Riley Children’s Health in 2001. She previously served as Pediatric Lifeline’s medical director, PICU’s medical director and the Division of Pediatric Care’s division chief. She was vice chair of Clinical Affairs for the Department of Pediatrics and ACMO at Riley Children’s, engaging in clinical operations, statewide expansion, mentorship and professional development. Since 2018, she has led clinical effectiveness work and engaged Riley’s medical director team to eliminate waste and increase value.
A Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy graduate, she completed her residency at State University of New York at Stony Brook and fellowship at the University of Cincinnati. She is currently a professor of Clinical Pediatrics at Indiana University School of Medicine.
Megan Isley, DNP, MBA, RN, NEA-BC, NPD-BC
Vice President & Chief Nursing Officer
Dr. Megan Isley, vice president and chief nursing officer for Riley Children’s Health, oversees the nursing staff and respiratory therapists. In addition, she coordinates and manages nursing operations to support clinical care objectives and outcomes. Fostering a relationship-driven, values-based culture with an engaged workforce, she provides world-class care for patients.
Isley has more than a decade of clinical pediatrics and management experience. Accomplishments include opening the Riley Maternity Tower, expanding the behavioral health inpatient services and accrediting the new graduate nursing transition to practice program. Before Riley Children’s, she was assistant vice president of patient services at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. She also served in leadership roles at Nationwide Children’s Hospital and Duke University Medical Center.
Isley has been appointed a member of the Board of Commissioners for the National League for Nursing (NLN) Commission for Nursing Education Accreditation (CNEA).
She received her doctor of nursing practice and master’s degree in nursing from Duke University and her master’s in business administration and bachelor’s degree in nursing from West Liberty University.
Frank Runion
Chief Financial Officer
As chief financial officer for Riley Children’s Health, Frank Runion directs the financial operations and strategic financial planning for Riley Children’s and its pediatric service line. He oversees the budget, financial analysis and planning, capital management and workforce contract management.
Runion has been with Indiana University Health for over 20 years. Prior, he worked at St. Vincent Health and Wishard Health Services (now Eskenazi Health). He has over 30 years of healthcare and financial experience.
With a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Anderson University, he is a certified public accountant and a member of the Children’s Hospital Association, CFO Forum. Runion also serves on the Board of the Indiana Burn Camp and is the treasurer of his church.
Tyler Leishman
Chief Strategy Officer
Tyler Leishman, chief strategy officer and vice president of strategy, joined Riley Children’s Health in February 2022.
Recently, Leishman was the vice president of Strategic Provider Integration and executive director of the Pediatric Care Network at Children’s Hospital Colorado. Previously, he held leadership positions at the University of Colorado School of Medicine and the University of Minnesota Medical Center. Leishman has over ten years of leadership experience in academic medical centers in strategy and planning, business development, physician alignment, clinical integration, value-based care and reimbursement reform.
He earned his master’s degree in healthcare administration from the University of Minnesota and his bachelor’s degree in health management services from Weber State University.
Leishman is passionate about defining and driving value in children’s health. Having a child with complex medical needs, he is acutely aware of the importance of making pediatric care accessible to every child in Indiana.
Mark Anderson
Vice President of Human Resources
Mark Anderson supports HR needs at Riley Children’s Health. An empathic leader and innovative problem solver, he has created and led HR strategies, processes and procedures across multiple industries.
Recently, Anderson was the vice president of HR at Dascena Labs, a medical laboratory based in Houston, Texas. Before that, he held HR leadership positions at the University of Nevada, Panasonic Energy of North America and Tsuchiya Automotive Systems.
He earned a master’s degree in business administration with a concentration in HR management from Indiana University and a bachelor’s degree in Japanese from Brigham Young University.
Anderson is an enthusiastic cheerleader of Riley Children's, previously serving on the Riley Foundation Board. He is also a proud parent of a Riley kid and has helped another Riley kid set up annual toy drives during the holidays.
D. Wade Clapp, MD
Department of Pediatrics Chairman
D. Wade Clapp, MD, was named chairman of the Department of Pediatrics at Indiana University School of Medicine in 2009. He leads 420 faculty members, over 250 residents, and subspecialty fellows in five categorical and integrated residency programs and 19 fellowship programs.
Dr. Clapp is a neonatologist and scientist doing clinical work at Riley Children’s Health’s neonatal intensive care units, focusing on research in childhood cancer. He is the Richard L. Schreiner Professor of Pediatrics and a professor of microbiology and immunology and biochemistry and molecular biology at Indiana University, joining the faculty in 1991. Also, a researcher at the Herman B Wells Center for Pediatric Research, his internationally acclaimed work has had numerous breakthrough clinical trials.
Earning a bachelor’s degree from Hanover College and a medical degree from Indiana University School of Medicine in 1982, he completed his residency at Riley Hospital for Children and fellowships at Case Western Reserve University. He was previously the founding director of the Medical Scientist Training program and the director of Eskenazi Health NICU. Dr. Clapp is a member of the National Academy of Medicine.
Fred Rescorla, MD
Surgeon-in-Chief
Fred Rescorla, MD, is surgeon-in-chief for Riley Children’s Health. He is certified by the American Board of Surgery and was named a “Top Doctor” by U.S. News & World Report.
After undergrad at Calvin College, he attended the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. He completed residencies at Indiana University School of Medicine, where he later joined the pediatric surgery faculty to focus on minimally invasive and oncologic surgery.
Rescorla is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons and the American Academy of Pediatrics and participates in various surgical societies. He has published over 150 peer-reviewed journal articles and over 60 book chapters.
Rescorla earned the Trustees Teaching Award and advances pediatric surgical care in third-world countries, as he has lectured and taught pediatric surgical techniques on many occasions in Africa.