Our Board of Directors

Jeffrey P. KAssing

Chairman

Jeff Kassing has been an attorney and businessman for over 35 years. He has practiced law both in private practice (including with the law firm now known as Squire Patton Boggs LLP) and in-house as general counsel for 2 commercial finance companies. Jeff was also President of a commercial finance company and part owner, board member, and senior executive at Marquis Software, Inc. until the company was sold in 2016. He has been on the board of various nonprofit organizations.  Jeff and his wife Diane have 3 grown children and 3 grandchildren.

Don Nelson, MD

Vice Chair

Dr. Don Nelson is a Family Physician who lives in Cedar Rapids, Iowa with his wife Dr. Mary Anne Nelson. Don received his MD degree from the University of Iowa, his residency training at the Cedar Rapids Family Medicine Residency, and his Master‘s Degree in Health Informatics from the University of Missouri – Columbia. After practicing in Cedar Rapids, Don became a faculty physician in Family Medicine, teaching resident physicians for three and a half decades. Currently, Don serves as Medical Director of Bridgehaven Pregnancy Support Center in Cedar Rapids.

Joe S. McIlhaney, MD

CEO & Founder

Joe S. McIlhaney, Jr., MD, is a board-certified obstetrician/gynecologist who resides in Plano, Texas. During his years as a practicing physician, he focused his attention on reproductive technologies. He introduced laparoscopy, gynecologic laser surgery, and microsurgery to the central Texas medical community. In 1984, along with three other physicians, Dr. McIlhaney was instrumental in founding one of the first successful non-university IVF programs in the country. He also initiated one of the first women’s health centers in Texas at St. David’s Hospital. McIlhaney’s research focused his attention on the problems rampant in the USA and around the world, including STI’s, condom and contraceptive failure, and HIV/AIDs.

Joneen Mackenzie, RN, BSN

Secretary of the Board

Joneen Mackenzie graduated from the University of Texas and is a former 1st Lieutenant in the USAF Nurse Corp. Currently she is president/founder of The Center for Relationship Education which houses the Colorado Healthy Marriage Project. Joneen works in the public policy arena with poverty prevention grants and is a national consultant for teen pregnancy prevention and positive youth development. Mrs. Mackenzie is married and has 4 grown children and 4 grandchildren.

Jack W. Lesch, MD

Jack Lesch is a board-certified physician who has practiced Family Medicine for 42 years, and Hospice and Palliative Medicine for 10 years. He retired from practice in The Woodlands, Texas, in 2020 and moved to Dallas, Texas. He has been married to Peggy for 50 years and they have two married daughters, and seven grandchildren. While in The Woodlands, Jack regularly presented the MI message on a voluntary basis to students in health classes of Conroe ISD for 20 years.

Harvey L. Fishero

Harvey is retired from a successful career as a hospital executive, most recently serving as President/CEO of Medical City-Plano, a 593-bed tertiary care medical complex. He also served for 35 years in senior hospital executive positions with Hospital Corporation of America. Harvey has served on numerous Boards, including Chairman of the Dallas-Fort Worth Hospital Council and its Education and Research Foundation; Chairman of the Plano Independent School District Education Foundation; and Chairman of Plano Chamber of Commerce and its Executive Committee. Harvey and his wife, Karen, have 3 children and 9 grandchildren.

Boone Powell, Jr., MPH

Boone Powell, Jr. was President & CEO of Baylor Health Care System and served as their Chairman of the Board of Directors. He was a past President & CEO of Hendrick Medical Center in Abilene, TX. He received a BBA from Baylor University and an MPH from the University of California. He completed a Management Residency at Baptist Memorial Hospital in Memphis, TN. Boone has served on numerous corporate boards, as well as on many non-profit boards. Boone has been married to Peggy Hogan for over 50 years; they have 3 children and many grandchildren.

In Memoriam
FREDA BUSH, MD
(1947-2023)

Freda McKissic Bush, MD, was a Fellow in the ACOG and a retired OB-GYN. Dr. Bush was invested in women’s health for 50 years. She co-authored 2 books with Founder Joe S. McIlhaney, MD, including HOOKED and Girls UNCOVERED. Dr. Bush was a Clinical Instructor in the Departments of OB-GYN and Family Medicine at the University of Mississippi Medical Center and served on the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS from 2006-2009. Dr. Bush served as Medical Institute’s CEO from 2012-2018. She and her husband, Lee Bush, had 4 adult children and 8 grandchildren.