Board of Trustees

Chair of the Board

Tanya Custer, M.S., R.T.(R)(T)

Tanya is associate professor and distance education director in the College of Allied Health Professions for the University of Nebraska Medical Center. Tanya has a bachelor of science in radiation science technology (radiography and radiation therapy) and a master of science in leadership education with a specialization in distance education from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. Tanya is a member of the UNMC Interprofessional Academy of Educators and is active in the Nebraska Society of Radiologic Technologist, the Association of Educators in Imaging & Radiologic Sciences and the American Society of Radiologic Technologists. Her research interests include topics related to the education of medical imaging students, such as mindfulness, student-centered learning and the flipped classroom approach.

Vice Chair/Secretary

Robert Thomas

Robert Thomas

Robert “Bob” Thomas is Elekta’s senior vice president of Health Policy and Government Affairs. In this role, Bob creates, builds and leads a formal public policy team in Washington, D.C. He also is responsible for representing Elekta’s interests on important health care policy issues regarding cancer treatment. Bob also serves on the Elekta North American corporate senior leadership team. Before joining Elekta, Bob held positions of increasing responsibility at IBM, MEDRAD and Bayer Healthcare. His roles included sales management, talent acquisition and retention, and public policy. His areas of expertise include legislative affairs, business development, customer engagement, coalition management and corporate affairs. Bob has also served in multiple corporate leadership roles in the areas of diversity outreach, customer relationship management, college recruiting and major event planning.

Treasurer

Nahdia Pirzada, M.S.

Nahdia is Vice President of Imaging Clinical Applications at GE Healthcare, where she drives strategy, processes and key performance metrics that enable customer excellence, team motivation and business growth in the U.S. Nahdia has held various roles across multiple businesses within GE Healthcare. In her previous role as director of service, she was responsible for leading and developing the clinical engineering and diagnostic imaging field service teams, and leading service delivery and customer success management for key accounts in the Boston area. She is passionate about creating a world-class employee and client experience and has a proven track record of solving complex problems, building a culture of teamwork and achieving business results. Nahdia is a champion for diversity, equity and inclusion, and co-leads the Global GE Healthcare Women’s Network. She holds a master’s degree in engineering management and business administration from the University of Texas at Austin, and a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

Trustees

Patty Ayala

Patty Ayala, R.T.(R)(M)

Patty is the senior manager for clinical services at Hologic. She brings 17 years of experience to the breast and skeletal health division, where she serves with purpose, a common passion and a lifelong promise of focus on women’s health around the globe. As a leader in clinical services, her expertise concentrates on training and innovation, including internal training programs. She creates quality training for customers for products throughout Hologic’s continuum of care. She was selected to participate in the high performance leadership program and helped develop a new strategy for learning that is used today for customer training. Patty’s understanding of program management aligns with her leadership and strengths to direct large projects, including being a member of Hologic’s Radiological Society of North America steering committee for the past 12 years. Patty is a licensed radiographer and mammographer. Before joining Hologic in 2007, Patty brought extensive experience to the clinical environment as a radiologic technologist, primarily as a mammographer. Patty remains passionate about women’s health and mammography, upholding the ASRT Foundation mission of supporting and empowering medical imaging and radiation therapy students and professionals to positively impact patients.

Mac Clements

Mac Clements

Mac is the head of software solutions success at Elekta, where he leads clinical and technical teams covering all aspects of implementation, training, upgrades and support for Elekta’s suite of oncology software.

Mac serves in leadership positions within the radiological industry, focusing particularly on new technologies for enhancing efficiencies, workflows, knowledge, and training of clinical and technical professionals. He holds a bachelor’s in applied physics from the University of Alberta and a master’s in medical physics from the University of British Columbia. Mac is an active member of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine and serves on various committees and task groups, promoting quality, safety, and development of best practices for the radiological industry. He is a strong promoter of the development of radiologic technologists’ roles in advancing the efficiency and effectiveness of emerging technologies.

Michelle Gruber

Michelle Gruber, M.H.A., R.T.(R)(MR)

Michelle is a product marketing specialist at Siemens Healthineers. She has a passion for bridging the gap between health care and technology. Leveraging a strong foundation in radiologic sciences from Thomas Jefferson University and a master's in health administration from Louisiana State University, she has a deep understanding of the industry's challenges and opportunities. With more than a decade of clinical experience in magnetic resonance imaging, including research and advanced procedures, Michelle brings a unique perspective to her role. Her diverse background at Siemens, encompassing MR applications, education services and customer success, equips her with a comprehensive view of the health care landscape. Michelle is dedicated to driving innovation and expanding access to care through digital solutions.

Jeff Legg

Jeffrey “Jeff” S. Legg, Ph.D., R.T.(R)(CT)(QM), FASRT

Jeff is professor and chair of the Department of Radiation Sciences at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond. In this role, he teaches in and provides leadership to programs in diagnostic medical sonography, nuclear medicine technology, radiation therapy and radiography. He also teaches in the College of Health Professions’ doctoral program. Jeff holds associate and baccalaureate degrees in radiologic technology and radiation sciences from VCU, a master’s degree from the University of Richmond and a Ph.D. in health-related sciences from VCU. He is active in ASRT and in the Association of Educators in Imaging & Radiologic Sciences and has served on their journal editorial review boards. Jeff also has served as a member, vice chair and chair of the ASRT Foundation Research Grants Advisory Panel and has been awarded several grants in support of his research on workforce issues, healthcare utilization and student outcomes.

Brandon Smith

Brandon Smith, M.B.A., R.T.(R)(VI), CIIP

Brandon is a team lead in the clinical services radiology division of GE Healthcare in Houston, Texas.

Vickie Weisgerber

Vickie Weisgerber, B.S.R.S., R.T.(R)(CT)

Vickie is the clinical services director of diagnostic imaging and image-guided therapy at Philips Healthcare where she leads development and delivery of the customer education strategy, focused on delivering quality programs through diverse methods and mediums. Vickie graduated from DePaul Hospital in Norfolk, Virginia and started her career as a registered radiologic technologist. Prior to joining Philips, she worked clinically in computed tomography and magnetic resonance for 10 years. During her time at Philips, she’s held roles as a CT applications specialist, CT applications manager, presales operations leader, and MR clinical services leader and has been recognized with awards for leadership and customer satisfaction initiatives. Vickie also spent five years at Toshiba America Medical Systems, now Canon Medical Systems, leading the North American clinical applications team and providing oversight to the Institute of Advanced Training in Irvine, California.

Vickie previously served on the board of directors for Kam Cares Foundation whose mission was to equip children from underserved communities in Hampton Roads and Seattle areas with educational, health and wellness tools and resources. Vickie is also a frequent attendee of the ASRT Foundation’s Corporate Roundtable and recently celebrated her 25th year as an ASRT member.

Tara Whittington

Tara Whittington, B.S., R.T.(R)(T)

Tara is the senior director of the AMS clinical applications team at Varian, a Siemens Healthineers company. She has been with Varian for more than 18 years and leads a remarkable team of more than 125 clinical applications specialists. Tara takes immense pride in the culture that her team has built together, with her priority being development of people and preparing them for growth in and outside the organization. Her leadership emphasizes upskilling and reskilling, creating, and delivering new services to our customers, alongside a strong commitment to expanding digital platforms. These initiatives aim to increase operational efficiency, enhance customer satisfaction, and foster the adoption of new technologies, thereby driving business growth.

Before her tenure at Varian, Tara began her career in medical imaging as a radiologic technologist, later transitioning to work in the cardiac catheterization lab and then as a radiation therapist. She holds a bachelor’s in health care administration from the University of St. Francis in Joliet, Illinois, and brings more than 26 years of industry experience to her role. Tara is deeply passionate about the imaging and radiation therapy community, recognizing the profound impact that professionals in this field have on patient care and well-being.