Sala Institute Leadership Team

Rachel Ramsey, MHA
Director, Sala Institute

Rachel Ramsey leads Sala Institute and is responsible for ensuring integration of programs and services for children and their families within Hassenfeld Children’s Hospital. In collaboration with the children’s services leadership team, she oversees, develops, and implements key priorities in the areas of child and family experience, child and family support programs, and patient safety and quality.

Rachel has been with NYU Langone since 2013, beginning her career as an administrative fellow in the office of the chief of hospital operations.
She received her master of health administration and bachelor of science in policy analysis and management from Cornell University.

Ryan Calhoun, MHA, MBA
Vice President, Hassenfeld Children’s Hospital

Ryan Calhoun leads Hassenfeld Children’s Hospital and is responsible for
the oversight of hospital operations as well as inpatient and ambulatory care. In collaboration with the children’s services leadership team and numerous NYU Langone Health system leaders, he oversees the day-to-day operations and the hospital’s quality, safety, patient experience, efficiency, and financial performance. Additionally, he partners with clinical and administrative leaders to advance strategic growth and expansion plans for children’s services at NYU Langone.

Ryan joined NYU Langone in September 2024 after serving as chief strategy officer at Connecticut Children’s and working previously at Children’s Hospital Colorado.

He received his master of health administration and master of business administration degrees from University of North Florida. He received his bachelor of arts in journalism and mass communication from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University.

Erin Collins, MSW, LCSW
Assistant Director, Social Work Department

As a pediatric medical social worker at various New York City hospitals, Erin Collins, MSW, LCSW, has devoted her practice to helping children, adolescents, and families cope with and adjust to chronic and life-threatening illnesses. She is currently the assistant director in the social work department for Sala Institute and oversees pediatric and perinatal bereavement programs. Erin has a special interest in the psychological, emotional, and social effects of childhood illness, grief and bereavement, and family-centered care.

Erin received her master of social work degree from Columbia University School of Social Work in 2006 with a specific focus on health, mental health, and disability services.

Jami Egorow, MS, CCLS
Clinical Manager, Therapeutic Recreation, Child Life and Creative Arts Therapies

Jami Egorow, MS, CCLS, is a certified child life specialist and the clinical manager of therapeutic recreation, child life and creative arts therapies for Sala Institute. She is responsible for managing the therapeutic recreational and creative arts programs and services provided to children in pediatric inpatient units and outpatient locations across Hassenfeld Children’s Hospital. In her new role, Jami is looking forward to helping grow and support the department and the exciting work at Sala Institute and Hassenfeld
Children’s Hospital.

In August 2014, she joined the department as an inpatient child life specialist helping children to express themselves and better understand their illness or treatment. In this role, she aims to facilitate children’s positive experiences, build confidence, and ease anxiety. Previously, she worked for one year as a child life fellow at Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital at Westchester Medical Center in New York.

Jami graduated from the University of Michigan in 2011 with an undergraduate degree in psychology. In 2013, she graduated from Bank Street College with a master’s degree in child life and passed the certification exam to become a certified child life specialist.

Becky Lois, PhD
Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
Co-Director, KiDS of NYU Foundation Integrated Behavioral Health

As the co-director of the KiDS of NYU Foundation Integrated Behavioral Health Program, Rebecca Lois, PhD, supports patients who have chronic health conditions, including cystic fibrosis, diabetes, asthma, heart disease, and gastrointestinal conditions. She works closely with the medical teams at several ambulatory locations where she oversees the psychosocial support programs to ensure that patients and families receive care that addresses their emotional needs.

Dr. Lois earned a PhD from Fairleigh Dickinson University in 2011 and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania. She is a member of the Society of Pediatric Psychology and serves on several special interest groups within that society, including solid organ transplant, adolescent and young adult health, adherence, and caregiver well-being.

Katherine Ort, MD
Assistant Professor, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Pediatrics
Co-Director, KiDS of NYU Foundation Integrated Behavioral Health

Katherine Ort, MD, is an assistant professor of child and adolescent psychiatry and pediatrics and co-director of the KiDS of NYU Foundation Integrated Behavioral Health Program.

As a triple-boarded pediatrician and child and adolescent psychiatrist, her passion is in supporting medically ill children and their families. She is an attending physician on the consultation-liaison service at Hassenfeld Children’s Hospital and chief of service, child and adolescent psychiatry, at Hassenfeld Children’s Hospital. She also provides collaborative mental health care within the Robert I. Grossman, MD, and Elisabeth J. Cohen, MD, Pediatric Diabetes Center and in the Stephen D. Hassenfeld Children’s Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders.

Dr. Ort earned her medical degree from NYU Grossman School of Medicine in 2013. She completed a pediatric residency and an adult psychiatric residency at UC San Francisco, followed by a fellowship in child and adolescent psychiatry at Stanford University Medical Center.

Alon Shertzer, MD
Clinical Assistant Professor, Department of Anesthesiology,
Perioperative Care, and Pain Medicine
Medical Director, Pediatric Acute Pain Management

Alon Shertzer, MD, is a clinical assistant professor of anesthesiology, perioperative care, and pain medicine at Hassenfeld Children’s Hospital and medical director of pain management for Sala Institute.

He is focused on pediatric acute pain and pediatric regional anesthesia, developing and instituting new protocols for surgical and medical pain management. Additionally, he works with the pediatric anesthesiology team, residents, and fellows to teach peripheral and neuraxial nerve block techniques as part of the mission of helping pediatric patients with pain management after surgery.

Dr. Shertzer earned his medical degree from Northwestern University in 2016. He completed a residency in anesthesiology and a fellowship in pediatric anesthesiology from Columbia University Medical Center. He is a member of numerous professional organizations, including the American Society of Anesthesiology, the Society for Pediatric Anesthesiology, the Society for Pediatric Pain Medicine, and the New York State Society of Anesthesiologists.

Deborah Tagliareni, MS, RD, CDN, CLC
Clinical Nutrition Manager

Deborah Tagliareni oversees pediatric nutrition for Sala Institute. She supports pediatric nutrition education through activities and events for patients, families, and the professional community.

Deborah previously worked as an inpatient dietitian at NYU Langone. She graduated from Northwestern University and completed her master of science in clinical nutrition at New York University.

Christine A. Zawistowski, MD
Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Pediatrics
Medical Director, Pediatric Palliative Care

Dr. Zawistowski is a board certified and practicing pediatric intensivist and palliative care physician. Since joining NYU Langone in 2012, she has been an active member of the pediatric palliative care team for Sala Institute. She credits her passion for improving quality of life for children with serious illness to her previous experiences at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Kravis Children’s Hospital at Mount Sinai, and the Bristol Meyers Squibb Children’s Hospital at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, where she served as the medical director of its pediatric palliative care team.

In 2019, she completed a fellowship in integrative medicine at the Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine and was the physician lead for the Pediatric Integrative Medicine Program at Hassenfeld Children’s Hospital. She is a graduate of the Annual Pediatric Master Pain Class at Children’s Hospital of Minnesota and is an EPEC-Pediatrics trainer. She is currently the medical director of the Pediatric Advanced Care Team.