Leadership in Health Care

As chief executive officer, Patricia Dennis provides strategic leadership and establishes long-ranging goals, strategies, and policies. Working in concert with the Board and Leadership Team, she guides Fulcrum in delivering high-quality, evidence-based physical medicine services.

Prior to joining Fulcrum, Ms. Dennis served as Senior Vice President for Health and Care Engagement at HealthPartners. In this role, she was responsible for the vision, strategic direction, and operational leadership to improve health and care for patients and members by delivering an integrated and personalized experience.  Her areas of responsibility included behavioral health; case and disease management; health and well-being; quality improvement; utilization management; regulatory compliance; accreditation; worksite health; employer clinics; business development and integration; and health engagement solutions. In addition to her work at HealthPartners, Ms. Dennis has also served in leadership roles at Healthways/Tivity and Medica, and has held management positions in banking, commercial construction, and government service industries.

Ms. Dennis graduated Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration from Minot State University, with additional specialized executive education from St. Thomas University, the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, and the Harvard School of Business. Ms. Dennis is a recent graduate of the Leadership Program in Integrative Healthcare at Duke University.

In 2009, Minneapolis St. Paul Business Journal honored Ms. Dennis as one of its “Women to Watch.”

Tanya Rylee is the Chief Operations Officer for Fulcrum Health.  In her role, Ms. Rylee oversees claims management, project management, business analysis, process improvement, vendor management, information technology, analytics, the enterprise data warehouse, marketing & communications, HR, and privacy/security.  She enjoys working cross functionally to fully develop and implement the organization’s long-term strategic plan while cultivating and strengthening the company culture.

Ms. Rylee most recently served as the Chief Administrative Officer for OneOme, a biotech company co-founded by the Mayo Clinic.  During her tenure at OneOme, she was responsible for Client Services, Contract and Compliance Management, Delivery Management, Finance, Human Resources, Quality Management, and Revenue Cycle Management functions.  She has held executive positions focused on strategic planning, operational excellence, and transformational strategic initiatives at UnitedHealth Group and Elevance Health (formerly Anthem, Inc.)

Ms. Rylee received her Bachelor of Science degree in Dietetics and a minor in Psychology at the University of North Dakota, and Master of Business Administration degree through Webster University.  Recently, she completed a Forensic Genetic Genealogy graduate certificate program through the University of New Haven, which allowed her to learn more about her personal interest in utilizing genetic information to identify suspects or victims in criminal cases.  In 2016, she was honored as one of the 51 Women in Business Award winners by the Minneapolis St. Paul Business Journal.  She is active in local and national organizations dedicated to mentoring, developing, and supporting women leaders. 

Stephen De Wees serves as the Chief Financial & Administrative Officer for Fulcrum where he oversees the daily financial and technology operations of the company.  Having held numerous leadership positions within Fortune 50 and high-growth, private equity-backed companies, Mr. De Wees brings over 20 years of finance and corporate development experience to Fulcrum. 

Mr. De Wees most recently served as principle at Briar Mill Associates, where he advised clients on a variety of strategic and operational matters.  Prior to this, Mr. De Wees held leadership finance positions at Spring Mobile Solutions, DBSD North America, FTI Consulting and Sprint Nextel, where he focused on corporate strategy, capital raising and completed multiple merger and acquisition transactions. 

Mr. De Wees holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota, and Masters degrees in Business Administration and Management from the University of Maryland.

Vivi-Ann Fischer, D.C., is the chief clinical officer of Fulcrum. In her role, Dr. Fischer leverages her experience as a chiropractic practice owner to develop the best programs and resources for Fulcrum providers and support quality care delivery for their patients. She also oversees network credentialing, utilization services, and provider services for the ChiroCare network.  To recognize outstanding best practices approaches, the ChiroCare Centers of Excellence program (CCoE), was launched.  These clinics use standardized clinical protocols and an integrated, collaborative approach in achieving positive outcomes and improved quality of life for patients.  Dr. Fischer has been with Fulcrum since 2012 and has more than 37 years combined clinical and managed health care experience.

Dr. Fischer is currently a Board of Trustees member at her alma mater, Northwestern Health Sciences University (NWHSU), and formally served as a member on the Board of Directors for the Minnesota Chiropractic Association (MCA). She is active in several professional organizations, including the American Chiropractic Association, Minnesota Chiropractic Association, NWHSU, Minnesota Chamber of Commerce, and the Women’s Health Leadership TRUST.

In 1998 Dr. Fischer founded Plymouth Grove Chiropractic, P.A., where she practiced for over 24 years. In addition to her Doctor of Chiropractic degree from NWHSU, Dr. Fischer holds a bachelor’s degree in Biology from the University of Minnesota.

Jeff Finzen is the Chief Growth Officer for Fulcrum Health. He oversees business development, growth and customer relationships.

Mr. Finzen has over 25 years of experience selling and marketing a variety of health care solutions to Fortune 1000 companies, private and public sector employers, health care providers and health and welfare consultants.

He has held leadership positions at national and regional health plans, at a national consulting firm and within the HR team at a Fortune 500 company. He is passionate about working with clients and organizations to develop long-term strategies to reduce costs and increase employee satisfaction. 

Mr. Finzen received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Augsburg University in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He is active in numerous industry organizations.

Melinda Maher is the General Counsel for Fulcrum Health.  In her role, Ms. Maher oversees the legal and compliance areas for Fulcrum.  

Ms. Maher spent most of her over 25 year career prior to Fulcrum with the law firm of Dorsey & Whitney, most recently served as the Firm’s General Counsel. In her role as a Partner in Dorsey’s Benefits and Compensation area, Ms. Maher worked with organizations from Fortune 100 companies, to start ups, in navigating health care payor legal compliance. She has also held executive legal positions with a Minnesota based third party administrator/insurer.   Ms. Maher has served as a Policy Fellow with the University of Minnesota Humphrey School of Public Affairs, and guest lectures at the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota.

Ms. Maher received her Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Wisconsin -Madison, and her Juris Doctor from the University of Minnesota.