Tamra Swindoll
President & Founder

Tamra Swindoll has been actively involved in the healthcare industry since 1988, during which time she has developed successful relationships with physicians, ancillary groups and payor organizations.  Her experience includes executive positions with Bristol-Myers USPNG, Epic Healthcare, Baxter Healthcare/Caremark International and Fresenius Medical Care/NMC Homecare, where she was responsible for new medical market development, physician recruiting, sales, strategic planning, and contract negotiations.

Because of her diverse healthcare background, Tamra identified an industry need for physician and ancillary groups to have specialized representation as they engage in initial start-ups or practice relocations and in pursuing market development. In 1998, she founded Catalyst Consulting to facilitate this need, as well as to address management issues that must be resolved to ensure profitability in a changing environment. Tamra’s strong networking and negotiating skills combined with an extraordinary understanding of the logic, mechanics, and political environment of the healthcare industry provide Catalyst’s clients a unique advantage. The success and rapid growth of Catalyst Consulting can be attributed to her personal vision and commitment. With Tamra’s leadership, the Catalyst team is empowered to meet customers’ needs and foster long-term relationships.

Active involvement in community volunteer efforts and local service organizations is extremely important to Tamra. She has held past board positions with The American Cancer Society and AIDS Services of Austin. She was a founding member of the Healthcare Performance Improvement Coalition of Central Texas. She also served on a community advisory panel through Texas State University’s Marketing and Public Relations Department, mentoring and advising TSU graduates and undergraduates. Catalyst Consulting is currently a partner in the TSU Healthcare Administration internship program. Catalyst is a member of the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce.

With combined efforts of past and current clients, Tamra hopes to soon realize a long-time dream of forming a not-for-profit organization to serve medical needs of underserved communities in Central and South America.

Brian Agnew
Vice President, Operations

Brian Agnew has been actively involved in the healthcare industry since 1996, working in different business environments such as commercial managed care, hospitals, clinics, and managed behavioral healthcare, and consulting.  Brian holds a BS in Healthcare Administration and a Master’s of Business Administration (MBA) with a specialization in Healthcare Administration. 

Brian has been with Catalyst for 6 years, serving in several different roles.  As Vice President, Brian oversees the day to day operations of the company from a process and departmental oversight.  Additionally, his key duties and responsibilities include managed care strategy and negotiations, developing medical practice pro formas, strategic planning for practice startups, designing and implementing business development and marketing strategies for company growth, just to name a few.

Brian has worked with physicians of all specialty types, ASCs (Ambulatory Surgery Centers), radiology facilities, and other ancillary providers, respectively.  Brian also has experience working with IPAs, PHOs, and MSOs of all types and sizes.

Prior to joining Catalyst Consulting, Brian worked in both regional marketing and provider relations for the Regional Health Services Unit at Baptist/ St. Anthony’s Health System in Amarillo before moving to Austin.

While in Austin, Brian worked in managed care contracting and network development for the Austin Regional Independent Associates (ARIA) network for MediView, a TPA and Medical Management Company owned by Covenant Management System, a partnership between Austin Regional Clinic (ARC) and Seton Health System in Austin.  He also served as Director of National Network Development for MHNet.

Brian is currently a member of TMGMA and serves on the legislative insurance subcommittee which is designed to preserve physician leverage in the legislative arena.  He has testified on several bills which were passed in the 80th Legislative session.

Bill James
Project Management Consultant

Bill James has been actively involved in the healthcare industry since 1992, specifically in healthcare management since 1998, working in various environments including private practice, hospitals, multi-specialty clinics and academic medicine.  Bill holds a Bachelor’s of Arts in Chemistry and a Master's of Health Administration (MHA), both from the University of Kentucky. 

Bill joined Catalyst in 2008 after ten years of medical management experience.  As Catalyst's Project Manager, Bill is charged with new practice start-ups and development along with providing on-going direction and oversight for these practices to ensure operational effectiveness, efficient resource utilization and continued growth and development.

Before joining Catalyst, Bill was an administrator with a Family Practice in the Austin area that was recognized by Medical Group Management Association as a Better Performer in Patient Satisfaction, Profitability and Cost Management.  This was one of 24 practices in Texas and 500 practices in America to receive this distinction.

Bill's experiences in practice management include office design and construction, satellite office development, ancillary services addition, electronic medical record implementation, physician recruitment, contract negotiations and accounts receivable management.

Marcena Sorrels
Practice Management Consultant

Marcena is a recent addition to the Catalyst team and is charged with providing practice management services to new and existing practices.

Having held top leadership roles in a number healthcare settings, her expertise is utilized to work with clients on strategic and organizational issues as well as daily operational concerns.  She brings to Catalyst a comprehensive understanding of big picture, critical issues facing healthcare providers in today’s dynamic environment.

Marcena is both a Certified Public Accountant and a Certified Medical Practice Executive.  Her strong financial background, combined with more than 25 years experience, makes her an ideal candidate to help physicians and other healthcare providers engineer their practices to improved fiscal health.  Marcena has led organizations through the development and attainment of long term goals including practice mergers, facility expansion, growth of ancillary services, and the addition of surgery centers.  Her highly developed analytical skills and ability to provide creative solutions to business challenges, has formed a track record of delivering consistent, positive results.

After completing her Bachelor of Science degree, Marcena moved to Austin where she has resided for 26 years.  She started in public accounting, primarily serving physicians and other professionals, before moving into practice management, which is where her love of healthcare flourished.  As administrator for large group practices, she has been responsible for personnel management, asset management, financial administration, contract administration and oversight of billing and collections. 

The companies she has worked with range from Fortune 50 companies, such as her first position at Johnson & Johnson, Inc., to start-up companies where she directed sales and marketing efforts. Kevan has been responsible for the implementation of new products and processes into healthcare facilities ranging from large hospitals to correctional facilities, working with all levels of healthcare providers, from surgeons to medical assistants.

Kevan boasts a decade of experience in clinical chemistry and the laboratory environment, in hospital and physician markets. Her expertise with Point-of-Care Testing (POCT) and the Physician’s Office Laboratory (POL) have been invaluable in sales and consulting roles.