Our Team

Mel has over 21 years of experience in entrepreneurship, leadership, management, consulting, technology, telecommunication and process re-engineering. Prior to SYNERGEN Health, he was the founder and CEO of a Healthcare Revenue Cycle Management company for 6 years, which he led to Inc. 500 for three years and Dallas 100 list as one of the fastest growing private companies in the USA before being bought out in 2010.

Mel has also held senior management positions in Fortune 500 companies including Verizon, American Airlines and JC Penney Corp, where he gained his experience in leadership and innovation. He was also a Director of international sales at Vonova Communications, a tech start up providing global network services through VoIP. A thought leader in healthcare revenue cycle solutions and merging best practices and tools of other industries into healthcare, he has presented in expert panels as well as a guest speaker at many national healthcare and private equity conferences. Mel is also an investor and advisor to healthcare technology companies, and other technology startups and member of Dallas Round Table. He earned a Sloan Executive MBA from London Business School and a BSc in Electrical Engineering, Specializing in ,Telecommunications from Southern Methodist University.

Duminda is the co-founder and co-Managing Partner of SYNERGEN Health LLC, a Healthcare Financial Solutions company based in Dallas, Texas since 2011. He has led the growth from a start up to be listed in the Inc. 5000 in 2015 and 2016 and Dallas 100 as one of the fastest growing private companies. Prior to SYNERGEN Health, he spent 12 years as Director Consulting Services at JDA Software Group, formerly i2 Technologies, Inc. At JDA/i2, he led large global supply chain transformational programs for Fortune 500 clients (Lenovo, Dell, etc.) to uncover over $300M in annualized value and managed large global teams. He also spent 3 years in Tokyo, Japan leading i2’s Japan Solutions Development Center. Previously, he was a management consultant at Scient Corporation, a boutique e-business consulting firm and a Project Manager at FedEx Corporations IT Division.

Duminda is also a co-founder, investor and advisor to healthcare technology and other technology startups including SYNERGEN Technology Labs, an Internet-of-Things product company. He earned his MS in Software Engineering and BS in Mechanical Engineering from Southern Methodist University. He has completed the Entrepreneurial Masters Program (class of 2016), formally known as “Birthing of Giants” by MIT Enterprise Forum and Entrepreneur Organization. He has completed executive education in Finance at Wharton School of Business and in Entrepreneurship at the London Business School. He lives in Dallas with his wife, son and daughter.

Surinda has over 25 years of leadership experience in management, sales, marketing, operation and human resource management, and is the Managing Director of SYNERGEN Health’s Global Delivery Center in Sri Lanka. Prior to SYNERGEN Health, he was the General Manager of SC International (PVT) Ltd and Uni Walkers Packaging, two of the leading printing and packaging companies in Sri Lanka. At both companies, he was responsible for managing and increasing sales of over $10M in revenues per year and working with clients to develop new products. He was also responsible for implementing some of the newest technology in the industry and overseeing the production team to ensure that the operations run efficiently so that margins were maintained with growth.

Surinda is also a partner and investor in an international trading company in Singapore. Surinda earned his MBA from Edith Coven University, Australia, Chartered Management Accountant Qualification, Australia and has a Higher Diploma in Printing Technology and Management from Sri Lanka.

Sunil has over 16 years of product management and client services experience in Patient engagement, Mobility, Accountable Care Organizations (ACO), Population health, Revenue cycle, Interoperability/Integration, Analytics, Data management and Supply Chain. Prior to SYNERGEN Health, he spent 5 years as Sr. Director at NantHealth formerly Net.Orange, in Client Services and Product Management roles. At NantHealth, he led development and implementation of mobile patient engagement solutions at various large health systems, analytics solutions for US Oncology (now McKesson). Prior to Net.Orange, he worked at i2 Technologies (now JDA) working on innovative supply chain solutions for various fortune 500 companies. Sunil is also an investor in healthcare technology and other technology startups. He received his Bachelor's degree from IIT Kharagpur and his Master's degree from University of California, Berkeley.

With over 21 years of experience, Shehan is responsible for cultivating client relationships and leading teams to deliver SYNERGEN Health’s value to clients. As the direct link between our clients and our delivery teams, Shehan is an essential driver of revenue, retention and growth, exhibiting a strong advocacy on behalf of the clients. Prior to joining SYNERGEN Health, Shehan was the principal of his own information technology company, which provided solutions to the healthcare industry.

He has previously held positions as the General Manager of Client Services for American Document Solutions, Inc., a $20M subsidiary of the publicly held company ARC, leading a team of 150 and servicing Fortune 100 clients like Boeing. He was also a Healthcare Support Coordinator for the Western Region at ARAMARK Healthcare Services and in other areas of the service industry. He was accountable for developing and maintaining vital relationships with clients that positioned all organizations for success. Shehan has brought a strong focus on customer service to SYNERGEN Health from multiple industries outside the healthcare setting by working with our team to deliver superior customer service to our clients through communication and commitment. Shehan attended Indiana University- Purdue University Ft. Wayne where he specialized in Marketing and Management.

Teri Gatchel-Schmidt, MBA, CPC, brings over 28 years of experience in the health care industry as a practice administrator, operational leader and revenue cycle optimization consultant to large health systems and physician organizations. Ms. Schmidt has worked during the past 18 years consulting extensively with health care systems to enhance their financial performance in academic and physician ambulatory based settings.

As Vice President of Consulting, she is responsible for helping organizations reach their strategic, operational performance, and financial goals through technology led revenue cycle transformation. Her extensive hands-on knowledge of end to end revenue cycle processes gives her the ability to identify workflow redesign and overall performance improvement opportunities with an eye towards financial improvement and increased efficiency. Her past experiences include executive leadership roles at Change Healthcare, Optum, and MedSynergies. Prior to this, she spent 10 years at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, where Ms. Schmidt held the position of Director of Operations for the departments of Otolaryngology and Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. She holds an undergraduate degree in business/finance from Texas Wesleyan University and a Master of Business/Health Care Administration from the University of Dallas.

Casey Peters brings over 16 years of experience in the health care industry as an operational leader, project manager, and financial transformation consultant. From start-ups to complex health systems, Casey leads teams that solve complex challenges with technology, thoughtful organization and innovative business strategy. As the Senior Director of Consulting and Transformation, he is responsible for positioning organizations to reach their strategic, operational, and financial goals through transformational revenue cycle management initiatives.

As one of the youngest recipients of the Business Journal Top 40 Under 40 award, Casey has also established himself as a connector and builder in his communities. He has launched non-profit organizations that improve opportunities for young professionals. Casey is happiest with his wife Jordan raising their daughter and training for half-marathons.

With over 15 years of experience in the health care industry, Juan was responsible for managing over $55 million dollars in medical assets during his military service. During his tenure in the military he not only served as a medical asset manager he also completed combat time as a Flight Medic. His ability to remained focused during high levels of intense stress allows him to assist clients during critical times of need. After concluding his service, he was responsible for being the strategic Executive leader that grew a specialty healthcare service company from generating less than $1 million to over $100 million in annual revenue. His innate leadership abilities also allowed him to serve as the President of a successful, high complexity CLIA approve laboratory. As Vice President of Strategic Accounts, Juan Velez uses his operational strength and knowledge of the inter-workings of a laboratory to help drive successful and meaningful change for our clients looking to solve complex operational issues that impact revenue. His leadership experience and passion for the success of our clients allows him to assist our clients in outside the box ideas that utilize cutting edge software, automation, and customized approaches to increase revenue collections.