VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System

Terry Gerigk Wolf, FACHE | 412-360-6391

Director and Chief Executive Officer

Terry Gerigk Wolf has served at the helm of VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System—one of the largest VA medical facilities in the country—since April 2007. Prior to this appointment, she held leadership positions throughout Pennsylvania, including turns as director of the VA Lebanon Medical Center, acting director of VA Butler Healthcare and associate director of VA Pittsburgh.

Mrs. Wolf's career path also includes a stop in Washington, D.C., at the Office of the Under Secretary for Health, as well as work launching the Pittsburgh-based VA Healthcare-VISN 4, which consists of 10 VA medical facilities and 43 community-based outpatient clinics.

Mrs. Wolf is board-certified by the American College of Healthcare Executives, where she maintains fellow status. She also chairs the board of directors for the Veterans Research Foundation of Pittsburgh and serves on the board of directors for the Keystone Alliance for Performance Excellence as well as on the advisory board for the Center for Organ Recovery and Education.

In 2009, Mrs. Wolf received the Veterans Health Administration's Communications Visionary Award, which recognizes a director who excels at achieving organizational goals through innovative communications programs. In 2010, she received the prestigious Secretary's Award for Excellence in Nursing and the Advancement of Nursing, which honors her strong commitment to supporting nurses in pursuit of exceptional patient care. In 2011, VA Secretary Eric Shinseki again honored Mrs. Wolf—this time with his national Diversity and Inclusion Excellence Award—for championing workplace kindness and respect.

Ali Sonel, M.D. | 412-360-6102

Chief of Staff
(Behavioral Health, Clinical Support, Critical Care, Education, Medical Specialty, Research & Development, Surgical Specialty, GRECC, MIRECC, Imaging Services, Geriatrics/Community Living Center)

Dr. Ali Sonel oversees the clinical management of VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System, one of the largest VA medical facilities in the country. VAPHS's 583 inpatient beds are distributed among medicine, surgery, primary care, psychiatry, intermediate care, nursing home care and domiciliary care. Prior to his appointment in March 2011, Dr. Sonel served as VA Pittsburgh's associate chief of staff for research and development for the preceding five years and director of the VAPHS cardiac catheterization laboratories for the preceding seven years. He is also a faculty member at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and teaches advanced cardiac life support at VA Pittsburgh. Dr. Sonel continues to perform cardiac catheterizations and participate in research studies as the chief of staff.

Dr. Sonel received his medical degree from Hacettepe University in Ankara, Turkey. His graduate medical training included a residency in internal medicine and a fellowship in cardiology at Indiana University in Indianapolis, including training in a VA medical center. Dr. Sonel is a fellow of the American College of Physicians and the American College of Cardiology, and has co-written more than 30 research publications. He currently serves as the principal investigator for several major research studies and a co-investigator for a number of others additional studies. He is also a reviewer for multiple peer-reviewed medical journals.

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David Cord | 412-360-6101

Deputy Director
(Quality & Patient Safety, Public Affairs, Equal Employment Opportunity, Compliance, Information Security, Veterans Engineering Resource Center, Safety, Community Based Care, Police Service)

David Cord began his service as VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System's deputy director in June 2012. Prior to this appointment, he was the associate director for finance at the VA Maryland Health Care System for nearly two years. In this role he oversaw an annual operating budget of more than $500 million and also served as the site manager for Perry Point, the largest inpatient facility in the VA Maryland Health Care System. Cord began his VA career at VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System, where he held several positions, including supervisor of employee and labor relations as well as assistant human resources officer. Cord spent more than five years on active duty in the U.S. Air Force, including serving as a Judge Advocate General's Officer, responsible for prosecuting court-martials. He earned bachelor's degrees in English literature and psychology from the University of Pittsburgh and a Juris Doctorate from Duquesne University.

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Lovetta Ford, LCSW | 412-954-4818

Associate Director
(Financial Management, Biomedical Engineering, Facilities Management, Human Resources, Logistics, Health Administration Services, Environmental Management)

Lovetta Ford has served as associate director of VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System since April 2011. Prior to this appointment, Ford was the behavioral health manager and homeless program coordinator for VA Healthcare-VISN 4 for six years. She began her career at what was then known as Highland Drive VA Medical Center as a clinical social worker, and has held numerous clinical and supervisory positions at VAPHS including social work director. Ford holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree in social work from West Virginia University. She also earned a post-master’s certification in marital and family therapy from the University of Pittsburgh.    

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Ira Richmond, DNP, RN, MS, NEA-BC | 412-360-6103

Associate Director, Patient Care Services
(Nursing, Primary Care, Recreation, Voluntary, Sterile Processing & Distribution, Chaplain Service, Nutrition & Food Service)

Ira Richmond has served as associate director for patient care services at VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System since March 2002. She began her VA career as a staff nurse at the Memphis VA Medical Center in 1975 and was the associate director for patient care services at the VA Illiana Healthcare System in Danville, Ill., before coming to VA Pittsburgh. Ms. Richmond earned a bachelor’s and master’s in nursing from the University of Tennessee, as well as an associate of arts degree in nursing from Memphis State University. She is certified by the American Nurses Credentialing Center in Nursing Administration-Advanced and as a clinical nurse specialist in adult psychiatric and mental health. In 2000, Ms. Richmond completed the University of Pennsylvania’s Johnson & Johnson-Wharton Fellows Program in Management for Nurse Executives.

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