Deborah Beck, EdD, MPA

Meet Dr. Debbie Beck, Principal Consultant and Co-Founder of IHEC. With a wealth of experience in healthcare and higher education, Debbie has been instrumental in guiding over 20 institutions to achieve external accreditation, including prestigious bodies such as AAAHC, CAAHEP, CoARC, and SACS. Her expertise extends to on-site accreditation preparation and readiness reviews, ensuring organizations are well-prepared for rigorous assessments. Debbie’s consultancy portfolio encompasses a broad spectrum, from evaluating and developing comprehensive healthcare service lines to healthcare operations, facility programming and planning, and patient experience enhancement. Her leadership in quality assurance, risk management, compliance, provider credentialing, and emergency management has earned her accolades and recognition in the industry. With a background as both a healthcare clinician and executive leader, Debbie brings a unique perspective to her work. She holds a Doctorate in Higher Education Leadership and a Master’s in Public Administration. Recognized as a Fellow with the American College Health Association (ACHA), Debbie’s commitment to excellence in healthcare is unwavering. Currently serving as Principal and Healthcare Operations and Strategic Planner at Perkins&Will, Debbie previously held roles as President and COO of HEP’s Health Care Division and Vice President for Health and Wellbeing and Chief Health Officer at the University of South Carolina (USC). Under her leadership, USC’s healthcare model and initiatives garnered national recognition for their effectiveness and quality outcomes. Earlier in her career, Debbie honed her clinical expertise as a Neonatal/Pediatric Clinical Specialist at Mission Hospitals and Clinics, bringing a wealth of hands-on experience to her consultancy work. From adult ICU to cardiopulmonary rehabilitation, Debbie’s diverse clinical background enriches her strategic approach to healthcare consultancy.

Michelle Burcin, PhD, MPH, FACHA

Dr. Burcin is Principal Consultant and Co-Owner of IHEC. Michelle has been working and conducting research within the field of college health and student health services for more than 23 years and has extensive experience in survey development, implementation, and assessment as well as program evaluation. Dr. Burcin has consulted with countless universities in establishing effective student satisfaction surveys, student health and behavior assessments as well as employee well-being surveys. Michelle currently serves as the Academic Program Director for a fully online MPH (Master of Public Health) program and DrPH (Doctor of Public Health) program providing leadership for curriculum development, retention, and persistence initiatives. Prior to this role, Michelle served as the founding director of Healthy Carolina at the University of South Carolina where she was responsible for collaborative development, promotion, and assessment of a wide-ranging array of wellness programs and research. With Michelle’s leadership, Healthy Carolina became a nationally recognized initiative to enhance student learning; to improve the recruitment, retention and productivity of students, faculty, and staff; and to be a catalyst for health research. Dr. Burcin earned her MPH and PhD in public health from the Arnold School of Public Health at the University of South Carolina. In 2013, Michelle was named a Fellow with the American College Health Association (ACHA) for her leadership in the development of Healthy Campus 2020.

Tajuane Dockery, DNP, RN-BC

Advisor/Consultant. Dr. Dockery is an experienced consultant in quality assurance, clinical informatics, and clinical operations. She has assisted multiple organizations with the procurement and implementation of electronic health records and a comprehensive quality assurance program. She is a people leader with a demonstrated history of working in the healthcare and higher education industries with a wealth of experience in health service operations, governance, quality assurance and risk management. She has more than 25 years of healthcare clinical experience with significant practice and training in health informatics and electronic health records (EHRs). Tajuane’ s clinical experience spans across several practice settings to include student health, physician practice networks, inpatient hospital, long-term care and home health. She has more than 15 years of nursing leadership experience. Tajuane is also an Assistant Professor of Nursing at Newberry College in South Carolina where she teaches Community Health Nursing, Nursing Leadership, and Research and Evidence Based Practice to students enrolled in the Bachelor of Science in Nursing program.

Leah Arnett, MHA, Med

Advisor and consultant. Ms. Arnett has a broad range of experience in healthcare and higher education encompassing clinical, administrative and governance across private, public, and nonprofit entities. With over four decades of experience including consulting and contributing to joint venture start-ups; assessing, implementing, and managing healthcare sales teams; evaluating financial operations, providing governance and insight on volunteer Boards, and directing university student health clinics. Leah has earned a following of peers and colleagues as a resource and leader in tackling challenging situations. Leah held high level Director positions in Student Health Services at three IHEs: North Carolina State, Louisiana State University and The University of Texas at Austin. She also served as an Executive with Cigna Emerging Markets [Higher Education], has held numerous Chief Nursing Officer positions in Clinical environments and Behavioral Health Substance Abuse programs. As a lifelong learner with a quest for new knowledge, Leah’s diverse education, fresh approach and practical experience are appreciated by clients seeking solutions to healthcare and business-related challenges.

Carolyn Pearce, MEd

Advisor/Consultant. Carolyn has over 28 years of experience in service to colleges and universities. During that time, she served as COO of Pearce and Pearce, Inc., Regional Vice President of Operations for AIG Educational Markets, and North America Vice President of Student Services for AIG Educational Markets. AIG also named her interim Manager of the AIG Educational Markets’ Student Insurance claims and customer service division. During those two years, AIG named the Florence location as one of the four offices globally as the Center of Excellence. Carolyn has continued to consult with colleges and universities and is a leading expert in student health financial models.

Joe Wylie ‘Rocky’ Pearce, Jr.

Advisor/Consultant. Joe W. “Rocky” Pearce, Jr., is retired as Vice President of AIG, Educational Markets, where he was responsible for the supervision of the Educational Markets sales force nationally, as well as the design and sales of Accident and Health insurance coverage for college students, intercollegiate athletes’ coverage and other related lines of insurance. He has over 44 years of experience in the student insurance industry. His career began in his family agency, Pearce & Pearce, Inc., the business established by his parents in 1948. When AIG acquired the agency in 2010, it was the oldest Agency in the country providing Student Insurance and Rocky was President and CEO.

Rocky served two terms as Mayor of Florence from 1983-1991. During his eight years as Mayor, Florence experienced unprecedented economic growth with many new industries locating in Florence County. New construction permit dollar totals in the City of Florence tripled during his terms. After serving as Mayor, he was appointed Chairman of the Florence County Economic Development Partnership. In 2002, the Governor of South Carolina awarded him the Order of the Palmetto – the highest civilian honor awarded by the state. The same year, he was named the South Carolina Ambassador for Economic Development. He has served as Chairman of the Florence County Recreation Committee and was instrumental in bringing Habitat for Humanity to Florence County. Rocky served as Junior and Senior Warden of his church and has been the leader of his men’s weekly Bible study group for the last 25 years. He was the President of Pearce & Pearce Coldwell Banker Real Estate Company and President of the Florence Board of Realtors, and served on the South Carolina State Board for Technical and Comprehensive Education.

He has served as Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors for the South Carolina Public Employee Benefit Authority (PEBA) and Chairman of the Insurance Committee. He is currently serving as Chairman of the PEBA Board for South Carolina. The Authority is charged by the state of South Carolina with managing the pension fund and insurance plan for over 475,000 Employees and Retirees of the state and other public entities. Rocky was appointed to the Florence County Economic Development Partnership Board in 2013 for the second time. He currently serves as Chairman of the Board.

Mr. Pearce is married to the former Carolyn Gibbons Coker. They have four sons, four daughters-in-law, four granddaughters and two grandsons.

Jeff Cargile

Jeff Cargile has over 30 years of experience in human resources in both the private and public sectors, and has consulted domestically and internationally on a variety of HR and governmental issues. He currently serves as the Director of Human Resources for the Burnette School of Medicine at TCU in Ft. Worth Texas. Previously he worked with the US District Court for the District of South Carolina, the University of South Carolina (UofSC) and the SC Department of Mental Health.

He has management responsibility for all major functional areas in HR, including Compensation, Employment, Total Rewards, Employee Relations, and Professional Development. He currently advises senior leadership, university departments and employees on the full scope of sensitive human resource issues. Jeff has provided training in positive discipline, onboarding best practices, labor relations, grievance procedures, higher education administration and other related topics. During his tenure at the UofSC, he led the team to implement their first online applicant tracking system. His broad array of experience and understanding of the human resources field has prepared him to provide advice on complex HR issues, including:

– Recruitment and Selection and Onboarding
– Professional Development and Training
– Organizational Analysis and Development
– Performance Excellence
– Dispute Resolution
– Workplace Accommodations

His leadership and communication with faculty and staff is grounded in honest, direct and respectful communication. This ability has served the organizations well when difficult or controversial matters need to be addressed. Jeff’s progressive leadership experience, ability to organize and empower individuals and quest for excellence through fostering effective relationships. Jeff earned a BS degree in Psychology from the University of South Carolina. He is a private pilot and enjoys boating, sailing in particular.