Trisha Montague, Executive Vice President, Interim Chief Operating Officer

Trisha Montague, MSN, RN, NEA-BC, serves as the executive vice president and interim chief operating officer for Arkansas Children's. Montague has more than 30 years of experience in executive leadership in patient care delivery and pediatric nursing practice. Her career has been dedicated to the care of sick children and families and she has been privileged to work with a variety of children’s hospitals across the United States. Her previous experience includes building new spaces and programs for children’s hospitals in New Jersey and Texas.

Montague earned a Bachelor of Science degree in nursing from Loretto Heights College in Denver where she started her career at Colorado Children's Hospital. She continued her formal nursing education with a Master of Science degree in nursing administration from the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center.

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Dr. Frederick (Rick) E. Barr, Executive Vice President, Chief Clinical and Academic Officer

Dr. Frederick (Rick) E. Barr serves as executive vice president and chief clinical and academic officer for Arkansas Children's. He also holds the Jonathan R. Bates, MD Endowed Chair for Improving Child Health.

In his role, he elevates physician leadership and bridge operational, clinical and academic pursuits across the organization.

From October 2017 through November 2020, Dr. Barr served as chair of the Department of Pediatrics and associate dean for child health in the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) College of Medicine, as well as pediatrician in chief for Arkansas Children’s and interim president of the Arkansas Children’s Research Institute.

Dr. Barr also co-directed the formation of the child health practice collaborative to oversee and guide activity at and between Arkansas Children’s and UAMS including physician operations, clinic operations, research, education and finance subcommittees.

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Fred Scarborough, Executive Vice President, Chief Communications and Development Officer

Fred Scarborough, CFRE, serves as executive vice president/chief communications and development officer for Arkansas Children's. Scarborough oversees Public Relations, Marketing, Communications and Volunteer Engagement and serves as president of Arkansas Children's Foundation (ACF). A member of the fundraising profession since 1995, he has achieved an uncommon level of success among his fundraising peers and has helped to secure more than $400 million for the organizations he has served.

Previously, Scarborough served as senior vice president for Major Gifts - ACHF, director of development for the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra and director of development for Meals on Wheels (CareLink). Scarborough has served as dean of Major Gifts for the AHP Regional Conference, presented at the National AHP Conference, and served as the keynote speaker at the National Performing Arts Conference by invitation of the American Symphony Orchestra League's Volunteer Council.

He holds a Bachelor of Arts in communications from the College of the Ozarks, Point Lookout, Missouri, and a Master of Arts from the Fulbright College of Fine Arts at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville.

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Brent Thompson, Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer

Brent Thompson, J.D., serves as Arkansas Children’s executive vice president/chief legal officer. Prior to joining Arkansas Children’s, he served as chief legal officer for Cape Fear Valley Health System in Fayetteville, North Carolina, a system with more than 900 licensed beds and 6,000 employees. Thompson’s experience also includes his role as an assistant general counsel for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Oklahoma.

Thompson earned his law degree at the University of Tulsa College of Law and is an alum of the University of Oklahoma in Norman. He has extensive experience in litigation, hospital policies and procedures and hospital compliance with federal laws.

 

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Gena Wingfield, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Gena Wingfield, has been the chief financial officer for Arkansas Children's Hospital since 1998 and is currently executive vice president of finance for Arkansas Children's. Since joining the hospital in 1985, Wingfield's roles have included controller and interim chief information officer.

Winfield graduated from the University of Central Arkansas in 1983 with a Bachelor’s of Business Administration in accounting and worked in public accounting for Arthur Young & Co. (now Ernst & Young) until joining ACH.

Wingfield has served as a member of the Child Health Association (CHA) Audit/Compliance Committee and the CHA Financial Services Committee. She serves on the Finance Committee for the Children's Hospitals' Solutions for Patient Safety, and has served on the Finance Committee of the Women's Foundation of Arkansas. Wingfield is also a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Arkansas Society of Certified Public Accountants and the Healthcare Financial Management Association.

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Crystal Kohanke, Senior Vice President and Chief People Officer

Crystal Kohanke, MS, PHR, SHRM-CP, ACC, serves as senior vice president and chief people officer for Arkansas Children’s.

Kohanke has a wealth of strategic experience in diverse organizations and industries ranging from healthcare to education, marketing services and the financial sector. She most recently served as group vice president of Human Resources for CHRISTUS Health South Texas, where her responsibilities have included the Children's Hospital of San Antonio.

Kohanke earned a BBA in Accounting from St. Mary's University and her Master of Science degree in Human Resource Management Systems from Chapman University. She is a SHRM-certified professional, a certified stakeholder centered coach, an associate certified coach and holds the Professional in Human Resources certification.

She has been recognized with the DiversityFIRST Award from the Texas Diversity Council and the National Diversity Council and received the Women Leadership Award in the corporate executive category from the San Antonio Business Journal.

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Dr. Peter Mourani, Senior Vice President, Chief Research Officer for Arkansas Children’s and President of Arkansas Children’s Research Institute (ACRI)

Dr. Pete Mourani serves as the senior vice president and chief research officer for Arkansas Children’s and president of Arkansas Children’s Research Institute (ACRI). He is the fifth president of ACRI. Additionally, he holds the Ross and Mary Whipple Family Distinguished Research Scientist Endowed Chair.

Dr. Mourani also serves as the site Principal Investigator and Steering Committee member for the prestigious eight-site National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) supported Collaborative Pediatric Critical Care Research Network (CPCCRN), which performs impactful clinical research in the field of pediatric critical illness and injury.

He previously worked at the University of Colorado and Children's Colorado Hospital as professor of pediatrics in the section of Critical Care Medicine. Dr. Mourani has served as the Medical Director of the Children's Hospital Clinical Research Organization (CCRO) and most recently the Medical Director of the Children's Hospital Colorado Research Institute.

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Ashlie Hilbun, Senior Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer

Ashlie Hilbun, Ed.D., CFRE, serves as senior vice president and chief strategy officer for Arkansas Children's. She leads planning efforts, advances business strategy and oversees strategic marketing for the state's only pediatric health system.

Previously, Hilbun served in the Arkansas Children's Foundation as vice president of philanthropy, co-leading the system's fundraising strategy and crafting external messaging. She has also served as a senior development officer and executive director of philanthropy for Arkansas Children's Foundation.

Before joining the Arkansas Children's team, she led development and external relations for the University of Arkansas J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, where she worked as a thought leader, coordinating strategic program development with leadership, philanthropy and advocacy. She also worked in disaster recovery in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina.

Hilbun earned a doctorate of education from the University of Arkansas, holds a master’s degree in social work from Tulane University and is a graduate of Centenary College of Louisiana in Shreveport.

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Enid Olvey, Senior Vice President

Enid Olvey, CFRE, serves as senior vice president and chief operating officer for Arkansas Children’s Foundation, where she leads fundraising strategy and operations.

A member of the Arkansas Children’s team since 2003, Olvey has held many roles in the Foundation, gaining experience in advancement services, campaign planning and strategy, case development, corporate giving, direct marketing, donor relations, major and principal gifts and prospect research.

Olvey holds a Bachelor of Arts in psychology from Lyon College. She is a Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE).