Our Leadership

Jeff Shaner
Chief Executive Officer
Jeff Shaner was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of Aveanna Healthcare in January of 2023. He also serves on the Board of Directors. Mr. Shaner is responsible for overseeing the company’s three operating divisions: private duty services, medical solutions, and home health and hospice. Mr. Shaner has been integral to the formation of Aveanna Healthcare and its strategy to become a leading national provider of homecare.
Mr. Shaner brings broad experience to post-acute healthcare, with more than 20 years of service in key leadership positions. He began his career in the healthcare business in 2000, leading the operations at Total Care, Inc. He joined The Healthfield Group following its acquisition of Total Care and was later tapped to lead its home health division. He led the integration of eight acquired companies into Healthfield, doubling the size of the company until its eventual sale to Gentiva Health Services, Inc. in 2006.

Matt Buckhalter
Interim Chief Financial Officer and Principal Financial Officer
Matt Buckhalter has more than a decade of financial leadership experience in the healthcare industry. He joined Aveanna in 2016 and is responsible for corporate and operational finance, business intelligence, financial planning and analysis (FP&A), and investor relations.
Prior to his current role with Aveanna, Mr. Buckhalter served as Senior Vice President of Finance and led the company’s Investor Relations Group. Before joining Aveanna, he was Vice President of Finance for RT Capital, and he has served as a senior financial analyst for Gentiva Health Services in addition to other accounting and financial roles.

Debbie Stewart
Principal Accounting Officer
Debbie Stewart brings more than 15 years of accounting and financial experience to Aveanna. She joined the Aveanna management team in September 2021 and is responsible for accounting, tax, treasury, audit, and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) reporting.
Prior to joining Aveanna, Ms. Stewart spent 14 years with Ernst and Young LLP, first as an assurance professional and most recently as a senior manager. She served a diverse range of clients, including SEC registrants that included Fortune 500 companies, private equity held companies, decentralized organizations, and multinational corporations. Ms. Stewart has extensive experience working with international clients across multiple locations, coordinating with component teams in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, and South America.

Beth Rubio
Chief Clinical Officer
Beth Rubio serves as Chief Clinical Officer of Aveanna Healthcare, overseeing all aspects of the company’s clinical services and patient care efforts. She has more than 40 years’ experience in pediatric care, with more than 25 of those years in leadership positions. Her experience includes clinical oversight, strategic planning, and team building.
Ms. Rubio began her career in the neonatal intensive care unit of Tampa General Hospital before moving into the homecare services environment as Director of Nursing and later as a Branch Director with Interim Healthcare.

Patrick Cunningham
Chief Compliance Officer
Patrick Cunningham brings more than 40 years’ experience in patient care and healthcare management to his position as Chief Compliance Officer for Aveanna. For the past 10 years, he has focused his efforts in the area of healthcare compliance.
Prior to joining Aveanna Healthcare, Mr. Cunningham served as vice president of the Hospice Division of Gentiva Health Services where he led the hospice care team and oversaw key aspects of the company’s hospice care efforts. Before that, he led a behavioral health homecare program in Connecticut that provided therapeutic and preventive healthcare services.

Ed Reisz
Chief Administrative Officer
Ed Reisz has enjoyed a successful career in and around the Home Care industry for over 30 years. He currently serves as the Chief Administrative Officer of Aveanna Healthcare.
Prior to the formation of Aveanna Healthcare, Mr. Reisz held the position of Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resource Officer for PSA Healthcare. Before joining PSA, Mr. Reisz was Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resource Officer for Gentiva Health Services, the largest publicly traded Home Health and Hospice company in America. Along with members of the senior leadership team, Mr. Reisz led the $500 million integration of Harden Healthcare into Gentiva, allowing the company to reach the $2 billion mark prior to its merger with Kindred Healthcare.

Shannon Drake
Chief Legal Officer
As Chief Legal Officer for Aveanna Healthcare, Shannon Drake oversees all aspects of the company’s legal dealings. His activities include general litigation, mergers and acquisitions, and regulatory compliance, among others.
Prior to joining Aveanna, he served as Senior Vice President and Chief Counsel at Kindred At Home, a $2.5 billion home health, hospice, and community care provider, and Assistant General Counsel at Pruitt Healthcare, a Southeast regional operator of nursing facilities and home health and hospice locations.

Kristy Rohwedder
President of Private Duty Nursing
Kristy has over 25 years of health care experience and has dedicated her career to serving children and families. She has had a successful leadership tenure in multiple site models, and has expertise in ABA therapy, OT, PT, ST, Private Duty Nursing, Prescribed Pediatric Extended Care (PPEC), and Physician Practice Management. Kristy has direct clinical experience working in pediatric critical care, neonatal intensive care, pediatrics, and labor and delivery.
Prior to joining Aveanna Healthcare, Kristy was the Chief Executive Officer of Florida Autism Center/Fusion Autism Center, where she led rapid expansion efforts, and later served in the role of Chief Operating Officer at BlueSprig Pediatrics after the company was acquired.

Korey Hinz
President of Medical Solutions
Korey Hinz serves as the president of Aveanna’s Medical Solutions division. She has over 30 years of operational expertise and has been in the healthcare industry for more than 20 years.
Ms. Hinz began her healthcare career with Cigna Healthcare as the vice president of the Member Service and Claim Centers in Phoenix, Arizona. Her experience over two decades includes strategic planning, organizational and team development, technology innovation, quality improvement, customer satisfaction, and growth within dynamic organizations.