3 Omaha Leaders Join Board of Nebraska Methodist College

Nebraska Methodist College has welcomed three new members to its Board of Directors. Ronald Banse, Dr. Ann Polich and Leon Thomas will join 12 other board members in leading the college. 

“Our new Board members bring expertise in technology with Leon Thomas, in finance and planning with Ron Banse and in health care quality and population health with Dr. Polich,” NMC President and CEO Dr. Deb Carlson said. “With their addition to our Board, we are well positioned to embrace innovative teaching, programing and community partnerships with an eye to long-term growth and excellence in health care education. I am honored to work alongside these new inspiring leaders and current Board members who have become valuable members of our NMC family.” 

Banse, CIA, CISA, spent 42 years working at Union Pacific (UP) as an auditor. He was responsible for conducting financial and operational audits of the corporation. He is a Certified Internal Auditor (CIA), a Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA) and a distinguished faculty member for the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA).  

He served as Board Chairman for the UP Streamliner Federal Credit Union. He also sits on the Dean’s Advisory Council for the business college at Iowa State University. Banse earned his Master of Business Administration from Creighton University. 

Dr. Polich, MD, MPH, MBA, has served as the vice president for quality, safety and population health for the Nebraska Methodist Health System since 2016. In this capacity, she has been responsible for clinical quality, infection control, regulatory standards, population health and post-acute care, among other duties. 

Dr. Polich graduated from the University of Kansas (KU) School of Medicine and completed her internal medicine residency training at Creighton University. She subsequently attained a Master of Public Health from KU, as well as a Master of Business Administration in Healthcare from Nebraska Methodist College. 

Thomas is the President and CEO of Jelecos and has over 20 years of experience leading strategic IT initiatives. He has served in numerous advisory roles focused on maximizing business outcomes using technology. He was named to Omaha’s 40 under 40, is a graduate of Gap International's Breakthrough Leadership program and was a participant in MIT Sloan's Business Dynamics program. 

He earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and a clinical doctorate from Creighton University.