Leading Homecare Services | Aveanna Healthcare

Our Leadership

Rod Windley

Executive Chairman

Rod Windley has enjoyed a long and distinguished career in the healthcare industry. His story is one of building companies and fighting to bring care to some of the most vulnerable and medically fragile patients in the world.

Mr. Windley currently serves as the Executive Chairman of Aveanna Healthcare, which was formed through the merger of PSA Healthcare and Epic Health Services. Prior to the formation of Aveanna in 2017, Mr. Windley served as Executive Chairman of PSA Healthcare.

Mr. Windley's career started with Ernst & Young, working in their healthcare group, until moving to BlueCross of Florida. From there, he went on to create R.D. Windley and Associates, a healthcare consulting firm working with hospitals and homecare programs throughout the United States. In the 1980s, he was co-founder of Central Health Services, where he served as President until it was eventually sold to Columbia HCA. At the time, Central Health Services was one of the largest home health providers in the United States, with 29 locations in Georgia, Florida, Alabama, and Tennessee.

In 1989, Mr. Windley founded The Healthfield Group, where he served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. Healthfield grew its revenues to become a dominant, southeastern company until it eventually merged with Gentiva Health Services (GTIV) in 2009, creating the largest homecare company in America. Mr. Windley served as Vice Chairman and later Executive Chairman of Gentiva. Under his leadership, the combined companies grew to more than $2 billion in annual revenue. In early 2015, he helped guide Gentiva through its merger with Kindred Healthcare in what would become the largest sale of homecare assets in the nation's history.

Mr. Windley is a founding member of the National Association for Home Care and Hospice (NAHC), serving on the board for two terms and then rejoining the board in 2017 for an additional term. During this time, he also served on the Finance, Executive, and Strategic Planning Committees and chaired the association's PAC Committee. With NAHC, he pushed for the acquisition of the former home of the great civil rights leader Frederick Douglass in order to create the Caring Hall of Fame and the Caring Institute, where he continues to serve on the board today.

Mr. Windley has supported numerous charities, including NAHC's Foundation for Hospice and Homecare, the March of Dimes, the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America, and the T.J. Martell Foundation. He also created the Foundation for Medically Fragile Children, which today is called FOCUS + Fragile Kids.

Mr. Windley has been recognized with many awards, and in 2012 he was inducted into the Home Care and Hospice Hall of Fame alongside such notables as Mother Teresa, President Bill Clinton, Congressman Claude Pepper, and Senators Frank E. Moss, Susan Collins, and Ted Kennedy. He is a graduate of the University of West Florida with degrees in finance and accounting.

Tony Strange

Chief Executive Officer

Tony Strange has enjoyed a long career in the homecare industry spanning more than 30 years. Mr. Strange currently serves as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Aveanna Healthcare, where he also serves on its Board of Directors.

Mr. Strange most recently held the position President and Chief Executive Officer of PSA Healthcare and also served on its Board of Directors before PSA and Epic Health Services merged to form Aveanna Healthcare.

In addition to Pediatrics, Mr. Strange has spent a significant amount of time in the Adult Home Care business. He spent 16 years at The Healthfield Group where he served as Chief Operating Officer and a Board Member before merging The Healthfield Group and Gentiva Health Services to form the largest Home Health and Hospice company in America. Mr. Strange stayed on with Gentiva Health Services where he served as a member of the Board of Directors as well as President and Chief Executive Officer until the sale of Gentiva to Kindred Healthcare in 2015.

Mr. Strange has served in a leadership capacity for several industry organizations such as The Partnership for Quality Home Healthcare, The Home Care Coalition, and the National Association for Home Care and Hospice. In addition to his role on the Board of Directors with these organizations, he has served in several roles of committee chairs involving finance and audit as well as Chairman of the Board.

Mr. Strange has also been active in several philanthropic organizations that focus on assisting individuals who have devoted their lives to providing healthcare to patients and their homes.

Mr. Strange holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of South Carolina.

Dave Afshar

Chief Financial Officer

Dave Afshar brings more than 20 years of public accounting, regulatory, and healthcare industry experience to Aveanna. Mr. Afshar joined the Aveanna management team in February 2018 and is responsible for finance, accounting, tax, treasury, and billing office operations.

Prior to Aveanna, Mr. Afshar served for eight years as Chief Financial Officer of ApolloMD, a large multispecialty physician practice. He has also served as an Inspections Leader with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, where he led inspections of “Big Four” audit firms. In addition, he has served as Chief Accounting Officer and Interim CFO with Regency Hospital Company, a long-term acute care provider.

Mr. Afshar received his undergraduate degree in Accounting from the University of Maryland and started his career with Ernst & Young, where he spent the majority of his time in the Health Sciences practice and served as Senior Manager.

Jeff Shaner

Chief Operating Officer

Jeff Shaner has served as the Chief Operating Officer of Aveanna since its formation in March 2017. Mr. Shaner is responsible for overseeing the day-to-day operations of the company’s three operating divisions: private duty services, medical solutions, and home health and hospice. Mr. Shaner was 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 healthcare business career 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.

In the years following Healthfield’s merger with Gentiva Health Services, Mr. Shaner served as Gentiva’s Regional Vice President of the Southeast, Eastern Division President of the Home Health division, President of the Hospice division, and Senior Vice President of Operations for the entire company. In this period, Mr. Shaner led the billion-dollar integration of Odyssey Hospice Inc. and the creation of Gentiva’s Hospice Business unit.

After the sale of Gentiva to Kindred Healthcare in February 2015, Mr. Shaner began providing consulting services to Linden Capital Partners and Blue Wolf Capital concerning multiple post-acute investment opportunities.

Mr. Shaner joined PSA Healthcare in 2015 as Chief Operating Officer and was instrumental in the formation of Aveanna Healthcare in 2017.

He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in business finance and economics from the University of Pittsburgh.

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.

She joined PSA Healthcare in 1993 where she was responsible for launching new locations, acquisitions, marketing, contracting, and outcomes development. She was later named Vice President of Quality Improvement and Regulatory Services to oversee the company’s service quality improvement efforts and to implement advanced standards of care, and then Vice President over private duty nursing operations and pediatric day treatment centers for medically fragile children, where she supervised all operations and financial activities for the two divisions. In 2009, she was promoted to Vice President of Clinical Services and Chief Clinical Officer to lead the clinical services and patient care teams.

Ms. Rubio has held certifications as Registered Nurse, Certified; Certified Registered Nurse of Infusion; and PALS (Pediatric Advanced Life Support) and ALS (Advanced Life Support) instructor. She has been recognized as Florida Nurse of the Year, PSA Teammate of the Year, Who’s Who in Executives and Professionals, and Who’s Who in National Nursing Profession, and is a member of several associations, including the Georgia Home Care Association, American Nurses Association, National Association of Pediatric Nurses, and Georgia Pediatric Nurses Association.

Ms. Rubio has served on the Advisory Board for Chamberlain College of Nursing and is currently on the board for United Healthcare Children’s Foundation.

She received her bachelor’s degree in nursing from the University of Tampa.

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.

His early career included time as a practicing nurse, nurse administrator, and nurse educator.

He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in health administration from the Institute of Public Administration in Dublin, Ireland, and a Master of Science in Nursing degree from Yale University.

He is a member of the Healthcare Association of America.

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.

Mr. Reisz began his career in the financial services industry and is founder of Bridgewater Consulting, a regional firm focusing on the design and implementation of employee benefit plans, succession planning, and human resource consulting, with its primary focus on the home care industry. He has held brokerage licenses in insurance and securities.

Mr. Reisz has received many industry awards, and has served as a speaker at numerous events for the National Association of Home Care and other state Home Care Associations. He has served on many boards over the course of his career and is a past president of the Healthfield Hospice Foundation, as well as supporting numerous charitable organizations.

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.

Before becoming in-house counsel, Mr. Drake was associated with Arnall Golden Gregory, LLP, an Atlanta-based law firm with a national practice representing long-term care and post-acute care providers. He spent his early years in the legal profession as a Judge Advocate in the United States Marine Corps.

He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in economics and political science and his Juris Doctor’s degree from The University of Georgia. He is a member of the Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina Bar associations. He is also a member of the American Health Lawyers Association and is a frequent speaker at national health law and compliance programs.

He serves on the Board of Directors of Mt. Bethel Christian Academy and is an active Life Group leader for middle school students. Previously, he served as Secretary of the Kindred-Gentiva Hospice Foundation and was an active den leader with the Boy Scouts of America.

Derik Reynecke

Senior Vice President of Corporate Development and Integration

Derik Reynecke brings more than 20 years of consulting and investment banking experience and operational experience with high-growth, middle-market, and publicly traded companies to Aveanna Healthcare. Mr. Reynecke joined the Aveanna management team in January 2017 and is responsible for acquisition evaluation, due diligence, and integration activities. Since 2012, he has led over $2 billion of merger, acquisition, and integration activities in the home health and hospice, private duty nursing, and medical solutions industries.

Prior to joining Aveanna, Mr. Reynecke served as the Chief Financial Officer of CentricsIT, a multi-national, end-to-end IT lifecycle management services company. He also served as the M&A integrations leader at Gentiva Health Services and as Senior Vice President of Corporate Finance and division CFO for a publicly traded enterprise software and IT services company. From 2006 to 2010, Mr. Reynecke was a co-owner of Walker Capital Partners, a FINRA- registered boutique investment bank focused on consulting for lower middle-market buy- and sell-side engagements, private placements, restructuring, and growth strategy.

Mr. Reynecke received his Bachelor's degree in finance and accounting from the University of Johannesburg, South Africa and his Master's in business administration from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University.

Jason Owen

President of Private Duty Services

Jason Owen brings a unique combination of financial and operating experience to post-acute healthcare and has more than 22 years of service in key leadership positions. He has served as the president of Aveanna’s largest and most significant business line since its formation in March 2017. He is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the company’s national private duty nursing and pediatric therapy businesses.

Mr. Owen began his healthcare business career in 1998 with Hanger Orthopedic Group. During his nine years with Hanger Orthopedic, Mr. Owen served in a variety of significant financial and operational roles.

Mr. Owen joined Gentiva Health Services in 2012 as the CFO of the Hospice Division and helped lead one of the largest hospice organizations in the country. Mr. Owen served in various national operational roles with Gentiva until its sale to Kindred Healthcare in 2015. As part of the Kindred acquisition, he was charged with combining one of the nation’s largest home health and hospice portfolios within Kindred’s newly created Kindred at Home division.

Mr. Owen received a Bachelor of Arts degree in finance from Georgia Southern University and a Master’s of Business Administration from Georgia State University.

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.

Ms. Hinz joined Aveanna Healthcare in 2017 to lead Aveanna’s Medical Solutions division, which provides enteral nutrition, tube feeding, medical supplies, and respiratory therapy to both pediatric and adult patients. Her leadership has resulted in significant improvements in the division.

Rob Radics

President of Home Health and Hospice

Rob Radics has worked in home health for over two decades and currently serves as the president of Aveanna’s Home Health and Hospice division.

Mr. Radics began his career in the home health industry in 1996 and later served as the executive director of a multi-location home health company. He spent nine years with Healthfield, Inc., a regional home health and hospice company. Healthfield was acquired by Gentiva Health Services during his tenure, and while with Gentiva, Mr. Radics had responsibility for their operations in the Southeast.

In 2011, Mr. Radics founded Five Points Healthcare and served as its Chief Executive Officer and a member of the board. Under his leadership, Five Points grew into a multi-regional provider with home health and hospice operations in seven states. Five Points was acquired by Aveanna Healthcare in 2020.

Mr. Radics obtained a Bachelor of Science in business administration from Appalachian State University, and holds a Master’s in health services administration from the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University.