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.

In the years following Healthfield’s merger with Gentiva, Mr. Shaner served as Gentiva’s Regional Vice President of the Southeast, the Eastern Division President of the Home Health division, the 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.

Matt Buckhalter

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.

Mr. Buckhalter holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from Florida State University.

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.

Ms. Stewart holds a master’s and a bachelor’s degree, both in accounting, from North Carolina State University.

Jerry Perchik

Chief Legal Officer and Secretary

Jerry Perchik serves as Aveanna’s Chief Legal Officer and Secretary. In his role, he acts as the primary legal advisor to the Chief Executive Officer, the organization’s senior management team, and the Board of Directors.

Prior to joining Aveanna, Mr. Perchik has held positions in corporate law and the healthcare industry for over fifteen years. He most recently served as Chief Legal Officer for MedQuest Associates and has previously served in various corporate leadership roles and in a legal capacity for both publicly traded and private equity sponsored healthcare companies. His experience includes serving as SVP General Counsel of Almost Family and as SVP Deputy General Counsel of Gentiva Health Services prior to its acquisition by Kindred Healthcare. He also enjoyed a successful career in private practice, including his time as a Partner at Greenebaum Doll & McDonald (now Dentons Bingham Greenebaum).

Jerry Perchik holds a Bachelor in Accounting from the University of Kentucky and a Juris Doctor from the Louis D. Brandeis School of Law at the University of Louisville. Mr.Perchik is a member of the Indiana, Kentucky, and Georgia state bars.

Rachel Witt

Chief Clinical Officer

At Aveanna, Ms. Witt has most recently served as Vice President, Clinical Services for the Home Health and Hospice Division. She has been instrumental in the implementation of Aveanna’s EMR system and standards of clinical care oversight. Her efforts led to improvement in home health and hospice clinical outcomes and customer satisfaction scores.

Rachel Witt, RN, BSN, serves as Chief Clinical Officer of Aveanna Healthcare, overseeing all aspects of the company’s clinical strategy, clinical services, and patient care efforts. She has more than 30 years of experience in healthcare, with over 20 years in leadership roles. Her experience includes clinical oversight, clinical systems support, innovation efforts, and national leadership functions.

Prior to joining Aveanna, Ms. Witt worked with Simione Healthcare Consultants, where she offered consulting services to support mergers, acquisitions, and organizational integrations, with a particular expertise in operations, financial management, clinical care, and training and program development in home care, home health, and hospice.

Ms. Witt also spent more than a decade with Almost Family, Inc. where she led the clinical and compliance team for 250 home health agencies in fifteen states. At Almost Family, she served as the regulatory liaison and led accreditation and training initiatives, and she directed and was responsible for the oversight of clinical education and regulatory, operational, and payor training initiatives.

Ms. Witt is a member of the National Association for Home Care and Hospice and a past member of the Kentucky Home Care Association and the Indiana Association of Home and Hospice Care.

Ms. Witt earned a BSN degree from Spalding University, Louisville, KY.

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.

Kristy Rohwedder

Chief Operating Officer

Kristy has over 25 years of healthcare experience and has dedicated her career to serving children and families. She has had a successful leadership tenure in multisite models and has expertise in Therapy, Private Duty Nursing, Prescribed Pediatric Extended Care (PPEC), and Physician Practice Management. Kristy has direct clinical experience as a Registered Nurse 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.

Kristy brings extensive experience from her time at PSA Healthcare, where she spent fourteen years in a variety of roles. At Aveanna, she has held key leadership positions, including President of Private Duty Nursing, and now serves as Chief Operating Officer, overseeing both the Private Duty Services Division and the Medical Solutions Division.

She earned her bachelor’s degree in nursing from the University of Central Florida and her Executive MBA, along with a distinctive Certificate in the Business of Healthcare, from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.

Shane Brinkerhoff

President of Home Health and Hospice

Shane brings more than 30 years of caring and experience to Aveanna Healthcare and the Home Health and Hospice Division. He began his career providing direct patient care as a registered respiratory therapist and he has been involved in the home care industry for over 25 years.

Mr. Brinkerhoff has served in a number of leadership positions, including his previous role as Vice President of Strategic Initiatives for Aveanna’s Home Health and Hospice Division. Prior to that, he served as Chief Strategy Officer and President of Operations for Five Points Healthcare, which was acquired by Aveanna in October of 2020. He also previously served as Vice President of Operations for Gentiva Health Services.

Shane has leadership experience in a broad spectrum of post-acute settings related to home care, including respiratory, DME, home infusion, home health, and hospice. He has specialized in serving the geriatric population and in developing and refining home-related services that bring value to patients receiving care in the home.

Shane is a graduate of the California College of Health Sciences and holds both CRT and RRT credentials from the National Board for Respiratory Care.

Becky Hobson

President of Medical Solutions

Becky Hobson serves as the president of Aveanna’s Medical Solutions division. She has over 30 years of expertise in the healthcare industry and almost 20 years of leadership experience. She also has significant experience as a clinician herself, working on the front lines of patient care, clinical quality, and customer experience.

Prior to joining Aveanna, Ms. Hobson spent 26 years with American Medical Response (AMR) serving in various roles, including Vice President of Patient Business Services. She then moved to Professional Pediatric Homecare and Reach Therapy (PPHC) where she was Vice President of Operations and Chief Operating Officer. Since PPHC was acquired by Aveanna in 2016, she has served as Vice President of Field Integrations with Aveana. Ms. Hobson has taken on a variety of roles in operations within Aveanna, including her leadership of the Integration Management Office, taking the helm of multi-state and multi-site integrations and other critical projects.

Becky Hobson holds a Bachelor of Science in Business from the University of Phoenix, Phoenix, AZ.

Matt Haglund

Senior Vice President of Business Development / Payor Relations

Matt Haglund is a proven sales, business development, and payor executive with over fifteen years of experience leading some of the nation’s preeminent home care companies. He joined Aveanna in 2021. Mr. Haglund has spent his career leading, motivating, and building teams and partnerships. These partnerships have delivered innovative solutions for post-acute healthcare systems, which have helped to solve problems for payors, providers, and others operating in these systems.

Prior to joining Aveanna, Mr. Haglund was a Vice President of sales for home health and hospice with Kindred at Home. Most recently, he has been focused on forging relationships that create value-based opportunities to deliver better care with measurable, efficient, and effective outcomes for children, adults, and geriatric patients.

He earned a Bachelor of Science from The University of North Florida.

Jim Melançon

Senior Vice President of Government Affairs

Jim Melançon currently serves as Senior Vice President of Government Affairs for Aveanna Healthcare. In this role, he leads the Company’s federal and state legislative and regulatory advocacy initiatives. Previously, Jim served as Aveanna’s Vice President of Payor and Government Relations, and prior to Aveanna, he led managed care efforts for other national home health-based services providers working directly with national, regional, and local insurers. He also served as Associate General Counsel for a national infusion therapy provider overseeing federal and state regulatory matters.

Currently, Jim serves as Treasurer for the Partnership for Medicaid Home-Based Care (PMHC) and also is active with the National Alliance for Care at Home serving on multiple committees and advisory councils.

Jim holds a Bachelor of Science in Marketing from Nicholls State University and a Juris Doctor from the Paul M. Hebert Law Center at Louisiana State University.