 Julie A. Catellier
Medical Center Director
Julie A. Catellier was appointed Director of Southeast Louisiana Veterans Health Care System in March of 2007 after serving as Acting Director since August 2006. Ms. Catellier joined Southeast Louisiana Veterans Health Care System two weeks after Hurricane Katrina to lead the disaster recovery effort. Under her leadership, five new Community Based Outpatient Clinics were activated and primary care and mental health services were restored system-wide. She is especially suited for this role as a result of her extensive experience in disaster recovery. She participated in or led recovery teams for Hurricane Hugo in 1989, Hurricane Andrew in 1992, Hurricane Georges in 1998, Hurricane Ivan in 2004, Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and Hurricanes Gustav and Ike in 2008. As Director, Ms. Catellier is responsible for the design and construction of the replacement medical center.
Prior to her assignment in New Orleans Ms. Catellier worked in VA Central Office on special detail to serve on the VA transition team for Secretary James Nicholson and Under Secretary for Health, Jonathan Perlin.
From April 1998 to September 2005, Ms. Catellier served as the Director of the VA Gulf Coast Veterans Health Care System, Biloxi, Mississippi. As Director, Ms. Catellier led a five-division health care system that spanned three states and over 300 linear miles. Responding to health care needs of Veterans in Alabama and Florida, she fostered sharing with the Department of Defense. In FY 2004, the health care system began the design phase of a $45M Joint Ambulatory Clinic located at the Pensacola Naval Station. Ms. Catellier was recognized as a Meritorious Executive and earned the Presidential Rank Award in 2004.
Ms. Catellier joined the Department of Veterans Affairs in 1983 at the James A. Haley VA in Tampa, Florida, where she practiced professional nursing. In 1986, she assumed the position of Staff Assistant to the Chief of Staff and became the first Clinical Applications Coordinator in the VA system.
In 1991, Ms. Catellier completed a one-year executive training program in Bay Pines, Florida, at the Bay Pines VAMC, and in 1992 was appointed as the Associate Director at the Kerrville VAMC in Kerrville, Texas. In 1995, Ms. Catellier was selected as the Associate Director at the Central Texas Veterans Healthcare System where she worked until her promotion to Medical Center Director at Biloxi. During her time in Texas, Ms. Catellier provided leadership to two of the first seven hospital mergers in the VA system and led a $155M major construction project for a clinical addition.
Ms. Catellier served on the City of New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu’s Transition Team and also participated in recent Domestic Policy Council meetings held between local, state and federal partners, including Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the White House. She has recently been honored as a Patriotic Employer by Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) and was named a “2010 Health Care Hero” by New Orleans City Business for her work in restoring and improving health care access in post-Katrina New Orleans.
Ms. Catellier has a BS in Nursing from George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, and a Master of Public Administration (Health Services Administration) from Golden Gate University in San Francisco, California.
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 Kartik Thaker, MD, MPH
Acting Chief of Staff
Dr. Kartik Thaker received his medical degree from the University of Bombay, India and did his residency training in Internal Medicine at the Methodist Hospital in Brooklyn, New York. He began his employment with the VA in 1991 as a staff physician at the Biloxi VA. He transferred to the New Orleans VA and joined the faculty of Tulane University’s School of Medicine in 1993.
In 2008, Dr. Thaker was appointed Deputy Chief of Staff for SLVHCS while concurrently serving as the Associate Chief of Staff for Education. He has been Acting Chief of Staff since March 2012.
Dr. Thaker received a Master of Public Health from Tulane University in 1997. He is a member of the American College of Physicians. He’s served in various clinical, teaching and administrative roles at SLVHCS and has chaired or served on numerous committees and work-groups. His interests outside of work include music and the outdoors.
 Jimmy Murphy
Associate Director
Jimmy A. Murphy was appointed Associate Director of the Southeast Louisiana Veterans Health Care System in March of 2008 after serving as Chief Financial Officer since September of 2006. Mr. Murphy joined the Southeast Louisiana Veterans Health Care System in June of 1990 as an Administrative Resident and since that time has served in increasingly complex leadership roles.
As Associate Director, Mr. Murphy is responsible for Health Care System Operations and has direct responsibility for Police & Security Service, Facilities Management Service, Safety Management Service, Business Office, Financial Operations, Human Resources, and Logistic Service. Prior to joining the Southeast Louisiana Veterans Health Care Center, Mr. Murphy earned his MSHA (Master of Science in Health Administration) and MBA (Master of Business Administration) from the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
 Stephanie Repasky
Assistant Director
Dr. Stephanie Repasky was appointed Assistant Director at the Southeast Louisiana Veterans Health Care System in September 2009, where she will be primarily responsible for the full activation of an approximately 1.7M square feet, 200-bed replacement medical center. Dr. Repasky began her career at the New Orleans VA in 1999 as a pre-doctoral psychology intern, followed by a postdoctoral residency specializing in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. In 2001, she was hired by the New Orleans VAMC as a clinical psychologist. Since Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Dr. Repasky has assisted in the recovery of the health care system in several positions including Customer Service Coordinator, OEF/OIF Program Manager, and Administrative Assistant to the Director.
She is a member of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, American College of Healthcare Executives, and serves on the New Orleans Mayor’s Military Advisory Committee. Dr. Repasky recently graduated from the VA Executive Career Field (ECF) Development Program.
Dr. Repasky earned her bachelor degree in psychology from the University of Scranton in 1995. She received her doctoral degree in clinical psychology in 2000 from Central Michigan University.
 Brinda Williams-Morgan
Associate Director for Patient/ Nursing Care Services
Brinda Williams-Morgan was appointed as Associated Director Patient/Nursing Care Services of the Southeast Louisiana Health Care System effective February 2007.
Ms Williams-Morgan joined the Department of Veterans Affairs in 1979 as a Staff Nurse at the New Orleans, VA. In 1983, she assumed the role of Nursing Instructor in the Office of the Associate Chief, Nursing Service, Education. In 1990, she was mobilized to active duty (Desert Shield-Desert Storm) and served as a staff Nurse at Bayne-Jones Army Community Hospital in the Intensive Care Unit.
In 1991, Ms Williams-Morgan assumed the role of Head Nurse, MICU at the VA New Orleans and in 1998 was appointed Coordinator, Specialty Care, Medicine Service Line. In 2001, she was appointed Associated Director, Clinical Affairs, Medicine Service Line. She served in this position until she was mobilized to Active Military Duty in August 2004.
Ms Williams-Morgan is commissioned as a Colonel in the Army Nurse Corp and served as Chief, Case Management at Fort Polk, Louisiana for the past 2 1/2 years. Upon her release from mobilization, she returned to the Veteran Health Care System in February 2007. Colonel Williams-Morgan currently serves as Chief Nurse of the 4010th USA Reserve Hospital in Hammond, Louisiana.
She served as Chair of the VA New Orleans Nurse Professional Board from 1998 – 2004, Chi Eta Phi Nursing Sorority (1976), and New Orleans Nurse Executive Group (2004). She is a member of Sigma Theta Tau Nursing Honor Sorority, American Association of Critical Care Nursing and continues to serve as a member of the 4010th United States Army Reserve Hospital.
Ms Williams-Morgan has a BS in Nursing from Dillard University in New Orleans, Louisiana, a Masters in Nursing from Louisiana State University Medical Center in New Orleans, and a Certificate in Gerontology from the University of New Orleans in New Orleans, Louisiana. She has successfully completed the US Army Command General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas in 2003.
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