Two alumni inducted into the first class of the UIS Management Information Systems Hall of Fame

The Management Information Systems (MIS) Department at the University of Illinois Springfield inducted two alumni into its inaugural Hall of Fame class on Friday, May 19, 2017. The event also celebrated the 30th anniversary of the founding of the MIS program at UIS.

The Hall of Fame honors alumni who have made significant contributions to their fields, their communities and society as a whole. The Hall of Fame recognizes MIS alumni who serve as an inspiration for the next generation of students.

The two Hall of Fame inductees were Natasha Conley, a 1994 MIS graduate, and Eugenio “Gene” Fernández, a 2007 MIS graduate.

Conley serves as the Vice President of Professional Services & Resources, Inc. (PSRI), a family owned business which was incorporated in 1987. Conley also serves as President of PSRI Technologies, LLC (PSRI Tech), which she founded in 2001. PSRI Tech’s headquarters are located in Jefferson City, Missouri and has a branch office in Metropolitan St. Louis.

Her company is a United States Small Business Administration (SBA) 8(a) graduate and holds a number of state minority and women owned business certifications. Her company’s core services include staff augmentation (information technology/administrative and clerical), help-desk operations and project management.

Over the years, her company has worked with a number of high profile firms which include, IBM, JP Morgan Chase, Xerox, NTT Data, TATA Consultancy Group, CGI, Deloitte, Motorola and Unisys to name a few. She has a number of state clients including the governments of Missouri, New York, Maryland and Rhode Island. Conley’s company has worked with the United States Army and currently works with the U.S. General Service Administration.

One of her most notable projects was with the American Management Systems (now CGI). They implemented the first state-wide Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system for the State of Missouri. It was one of the largest IT projects ever outsourced by the State of Missouri and its contract value was approximately $100 million. Her company managed a team of 50 developers which provided systems integration support, business analysis and post implementation training.

Conley is currently a Ph.D. student at Case Western Reserve University. In addition to her UIS master’s degree, she earned a bachelor’s degree in computer information systems from Central Missouri State University. She is also a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) by the Project Management Institute (PMI).

Fernández is chief technology officer (CTO) at Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare (MLH) in Memphis, Tennessee. As CTO, he is responsible for developing the information technology infrastructure strategy; operational areas of responsibility include: wired/wireless infrastructure, enterprise architecture, network management, telecommunications and data center technical services, desktop support, the project management office and information security.

He is also responsible for providing leadership in the development, implementation and governance of MLH’s information systems and technology infrastructure domains.

Fernández has more than 30 years of experience as a healthcare information management bilingual executive. Prior to joining MLH, he served as chief information officer at L.A. Care Health Plan in Los Angeles where he was responsible for providing leadership in the development, implementation and governance of the organization’s information systems and technology infrastructure. His career includes information technology leadership positions with the Department of Defense, as an active duty commissioned officer in the Navy Medical Services Corps. He served as CIO at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland and the Naval Medical Center in Portsmouth, Virginia. He has also worked for Sparrow Health System, Accident Fund Insurance Company of American and for PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP Healthcare Consulting Practice.

He earned a bachelor’s degree from Southern Illinois University and a second master’s degree from Purdue University, in addition to his UIS master’s degree. He is board certified in healthcare management as a fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives and holds a Certified Healthcare CIO (CHCIO) designation by the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME).

The UIS Management Information Systems program has more than 1,000 alumni worldwide. In fall 2016, the program enrolled more than 450 graduate students in the on-campus and online degree programs.