Nomination for Judges
QTF currently has two openings for the Panel of Judges at the current time due to resignations and tenure expirations.
If you are interested in being considered as a member of the Panel of Judges, please fill out the Panel of Judges Nomination Form.
Judges should have been a Team Leader at a minimum and have extensive knowledge of how Quality Texas operates regarding the applicant process. It would be helpful if the nominees had served as a process coach but that is not required.
Submit all questions and nominations to Keith Simpson, Chair of the Panel of Judges at keithsimpson207@yahoo.com
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Dr. Mac McGuire
Current Panel of Judges
Keith Simpson – Chair of the Panel of Judges
Keith Simpson is the current Chair of the Panel of Judges. He is now retired after serving as the Chief Strategist for Austin – Travis County Emergency Medical Services. Keith has been in the EMS industry for over 18 years and has been employed by the City of Austin for 23 years.
Keith has been involved in developing strategic partnerships and participation efforts with the newly formed Dell Medical School in Austin in the areas of Population Health. Keith has served QTF since 2007 as an examiner, team leader, process coach, scorebook editor, and faculty in examiner training. Keith is a certified Improvement Coach from the Institute of Healthcare Improvement (IHI).
Kristi Boyett – Judge
Kristi Boyett is a Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt and an excellence consultant for Oncor Electric Delivery, headquartered in Dallas. She works with team members and senior executives to improve processes and reach performance excellence.
Since 2011, she has been involved with the Quality Texas Foundation in the roles of examiner, senior examiner, team leader, process coach, and trainer. She was appointed as the first junior QTF board member in 2016 and in June 2018, she was presented with the Quality Texas Star Award, recognition for “loyal and dedicated support to the Quality Texas Foundation.”
Kristi has a decade of experience in organizational development and is a Government Division member leader of ASQ, and a Distinguished Toastmaster. She holds a master’s degree in human resource development from The University of Texas at Tyler, a bachelor’s degree in journalism from The University of North Texas, and an associate’s degree in applied sciences.
Lauri Crockett – Judge
Lauri Crockett is a finance professional with over 25 years of experience working with corporate and non-profit teams to innovate, improve, and achieve superior results.
Lauri’s involvement with the Quality Texas Foundation began in 2001 and includes the roles of examiner, team leader, process coach, and judge. She is pleased to return in her second appointment to the Panel of Judges. Lauri is an alumna of Oklahoma City University.
Dr. Ryan Lozano – Judge
Dr. Ryan Lozano is a strategic consulting manager for Eventus Solutions Group, a boutique contact center consulting firm of Tech Mahindra; he also works as an adjunct professor for the Alamo Colleges.
Dr. Lozano’s most recent dissertation (Creighton University, 2019) examined Baldrige senior leadership and workforce engagement category items from a phenomenological perspective. He is a Lean Six Sigma black belt, and specializes in workforce and continuous process improvement consulting.
Santos Marino – Judge
Santos Marino has worked for the City of Austin for 10yrs as the Building Manager for City Hall. He directs and is responsible for maintenance, security, and custodial personnel accountable for performing all services at City Hall. He provides customer service to the Citizens of Austin, The Mayor, City Council, and City Manager.
He has conducted several LSS projects for the City of Austin to improve efficiencies and reduce costs to tax-paying citizens. He continually supports and assists The City of Austin’s Performance Excellence journey in deploying a sound management system toward more maturity in building and implementing effective, systematic approaches that lead to positive results and trends essential to the city’s long-term success.
Mr. Marino has served in several roles over a 10-year span with QTF and Baldridge Performance Excellence Program as an Examiner, Senior Examiner, Feedback Writer, Team Lead, and Process Coach. He is a Certified Lean Six Sigma Greenbelt, Senior Baldridge Examiner, CIC from the University of Texas, El Paso, and completed his business and energy management studies through North Carolina State University.
He is devoted to assisting organizations in their continuous improvement efforts, helping them to build sustainability in their operations, and providing them with beneficial feedback utilizing the Malcolm Baldridge Framework for Performance Excellence.
Dr. Jim Meeks – Judge
Dr. Jim Meeks brings over 20 years experience in all phases of progressive management and strategic leadership, having worked with E.I. DuPont, Bosch Corporation, The Home Depot, and currently with Charleston Water System. The exciting focus of his work has been in Strategic Leadership, Change Management, Organizational Development and Performance Management Systems, but always with an element of FUN!
As a Certified Government Auditing Professional, a Senior Human Resource Professional and Project Management Professional, he currently serves as the Director for Compliance and Auditing, as well as the Ethics Officer for Charleston Water System. Dr. Meeks was an Adjunct Professor in the Business Administration Department at Claflin University from 2015 to 2020. He also continues his contributions to the profession as a celebrated mentor, consultant, author, and speaker. He continues as a regularly featured, contributing editor to the SCAWWA Journal since 2019, providing insights on strategic planning, performance improvement, and leadership.
Dr. Meeks’ educational highlights include: DBA: Leadership, Liberty University, Lynchburg, VA; MBA, Webster University, Charleston, SC; MA, Human Resources Development, Webster University, Charleston, SC; and BS, Business Administration, College of Charleston, Charleston, SC.
Dr. Meeks served as the Vice President of Operations for the South Carolina Quality Forum from 2007-2017. During this time, he also served as a Judge for the Forum’s Quality Awards Selection Process. He is previously certified as a Sr. Auditor within the SC Forum and as a National Malcolm Baldrige Auditor. Dr. Meeks has developed and delivered numerous consulting modules for businesses across South Carolina and held regular training modules for new auditors and others interested in improving their approaches to performance excellence.
He resides in Summerville, SC with his wife, Teresa, and Carson, the family Labrador retriever.
Dr. Lee Van Dusen – Judge
Dr. Lee Van Dusen is the Vice President of Strategic Performance & Continuous Improvement at Logan University in Saint Louis. In this role, Dr. Van Dusen supports Baldrige-related activities and continuous improvement, planning, external reporting, accreditation, and institutional assessment.
He has worked with numerous organizations helping them implement Baldrige-related programs as well as writing and reviewing state and national applications. In addition to the Quality Texas Foundation, Dr. Van Dusen has had the pleasure of working with state quality programs in New York, Arizona, and Missouri. He is a senior Baldrige Examiner.
Dr. Van Dusen has been working with the Baldrige Framework for more than two decades and loves helping people and organizations on their quality journey.
Dr. Lynn Walker – Judge
Dr. Lynn Walker has practiced for over 40 years, working exclusively with organizations and their senior leaders. He has a proven experience with board governance, organizational design, management development, and executive selection.
His clients have ranged from small family-owned entities to large multinational corporate and service organizations.