With a diverse background in public health, law and business, Elizabeth brings a unique set of skills and experience to Medical Tourism Training.

Ms. Ziemba has worked as a consultant to various medical tourism businesses, nonprofit organizations and governmental agencies, focusing on developing and implementing marketing and market research as well as customer-service solutions.

As a skilled writer, she has published extensively on various business topics including medical tourism and uses her writing abilities to oversee course content development for the company. Her focus on practical solutions based on years of business experience provide tangible benefits to the company's clients. Her articles comprise our complimentary, downloadable e-book, "Expectations Beyond Borders: Tools to Build an Exceptional Medical Tourism Business".

Elizabeth was awarded a Juris Doctorate from Suffolk University School of Law and a Masters degree in International Public Health from Boston University.

Ruth, who goes by the nickname of Cookie, has worked in the field of Training and Development for 20 years.

She is an experienced training professional with expertise in the design and development of creative and effective training programs, especially using Accelerative Learning and Adult Learning theory and techniques. Projects have included both domestic and international training programs for corporate clients.

Cookie's extensive experience in the design and development of training courses and materials includes a variety of diverse subjects: Internet security, data warehouse applications, customer service, quality awareness, face-to-face communications, creative thinking and, most recently, Medical Tourism.

Cookie earned a Master's Degree in Education, specializing in Integrated Studies, from Cambridge College, Cambridge, MA. She has also attended numerous training programs, such as Adult Learning Theory, Myers-Briggs Qualification Workshop and a variety of InfoMapping courses.

As Director of Training, David Kirwan comes to the Medical Tourism Training team with a solid and distinguished professional customer service and training background.

While working for a top Fortune 100 company, David delivered high-energy, professional seminars in customer service, sales and managerial skills in the US, Gibraltar and Thailand. Mr. Kirwan generated over $1,000,000 in annual revenue through the sale of training courses and other training initiatives to local, national and international companies. He developed and implemented an innovative approach to new-hire training, interspersing on-job developmental experience with modularized training events and alternative delivery methodology to accelerate employee productivity and proficiency.

With excellent communication skills and versatility, David has implemented several international initiatives, which included personally conducting Training Needs Analyses in London and Bangkok, designing a technical training center in Bangkok, and negotiating training events for telecommunications companies in Singapore and the Philippines.

In the field of corporate training and development, David developed a training account plan to address the developmental needs of over 2000 employees and 20 diverse job titles. He also initiated and chaired inter-disciplinary steering and working committees to oversee and implement training and development solutions.

David attended Fullerton State College in California, and Lyndon State College in Vermont. He received a Certificate in Managing across Functions from Northeastern University, College of Business Administration, in Boston. Mr. Kirwan also has received AMA Certificates in Market Plan Development and Performance Consulting, in addition to Instructor Certification in Customer Contact and Managerial training. He has attended over 3,000 hours of training in areas of professional and personal development.

Utilizing over thirty five years of experience in the health care sector, Irving Stackpole is President of Stackpole & Associates , a team of consultants who design and deliver market research, customer service and sales training, and marketing services to healthcare, senior living and human service organizations throughout the United States and internationally.

His clients include an extensive list of medical tourism organizations including professional associations, government organizations, health care providers, developers, facilitators, and more. Irving has delivered presentations at numerous medical tourism conferences including both World Medical Tourism and Global Health Conferences. He is the editor of Medical Tourism Marketing , the first of its kind book designed to improve the quality and effectiveness of medical tourism marketing.

Irving is the market research and marketing advisor to Medical Tourism Training, Inc. and works collaboratively with the company to provide complimentary training and consulting services to ensure that the needs of our clients are being met.

As a leader in the field of international patient services, Pamela Frank has been Director of International Health Services at Children’s Hospital and Tufts Medical Center, both located in Boston, Massachusetts.

While in those positions, she was responsible for the international strategic alliances with governments, healthcare institutions, and insurers while overseeing multi-million dollar budgets. Her knowledge and experience of developing and managing international patient departments is based on her successes at these leading medical instititions.

Currently, Ms. Frank is Executive Director of the Worldwide Egyptian-American Cancer Network, leading their efforts to establish their U.S. non-profit foundation through Board development, fundraising, and hospital partnerships.

Pam is one of the experts who developed the “Welcoming the World” course for our company utilizing her knowledge and experience in establishing and improving international patient services. Her training and consulting expertise are available now through Medical Tourism Training, Inc.

Fluent in both Spanish and Portuguese, Ms. Frank earned an M.B.A. from Thunderbird, School of Global Management in the US. She continues to be a leader in the international health sector.

Kari Heistad, founder and CEO of Culture Coach International, is an expert in training and consulting in the field of cultural diversity issues with a particular focus on health care related challenges. Kari and her team work with health care providers including medical tourism organizations to help them to understand and manage all aspects of the provider – patient dynamic to create culturally competent work places. She understands that providers can realize costs savings when culturally competent care is provided.


Ms. Heistad’s clients include leading US hospitals including Massachusetts General Hospital, Spaulding Medical Center, and Tufts Medical Center in addition to private, nonprofit, government, healthcare, and educational organizations around the world.

Kari has provided custom-designed training programs for the American Embassy, the European Conference on Culture and the Media, as well as the Irish Management Institute.
Based on her extensive knowledge and understanding of health care, cultural diversity, and training, Kari is developing an on-line and on-site course for Medical Tourism Training’s clients. Her consulting services are available to meet the individual needs of individuals and organizations in the medical tourism sector.

Kari was awarded a Bachelor of Science degree from Bates College in Maine as well as a Master’s degree in International Administration from the School for International Training in Vermont. She speaks Norwegian fluently and is a beginner in Spanish, French, and Greek.

As the former Director of Best Doctors, Inc. and an experienced international consultant, Ms. Vian Saleh extensive experience in program planning and implementation, client relationship management, operations, and business development and marketing for global health organizations.

With years of experience working throughout the Middle East, Ms. Saleh has developed and implemented an operational structure to manage international client referrals integrating patient intake, screening, financial authorization, appointment scheduling, concierge services, and billing and collection.

Using her knowledge and experience in establishing and improving international patient services in the US and globally, Vian is one of the experts who developed the “Welcoming the World” course for our company. Her expertise is available to our clients via her training and consulting services.

Ms. Saleh is fluent in English and Arabic, skills she brings to her consulting practice and the services she provides to Medical Tourism Training.