Leadership

Sarah E. Scher, JD, RN is the chief executive officer of the Cooperative of American Physicians, Inc. (CAP) and the Mutual Protection Trust (MPT). In this role, she draws on her extensive leadership background in healthcare, law, patient safety, risk management, captive insurance, and medical professional liability to direct CAP’s core businesses – MPT and the CAPAssurance Risk Purchasing Group, which provide access to superior medical professional liability protection, patient safety education, and risk management services.

Prior to joining CAP, Ms. Scher was corporate vice president of risk management and insurance, president of the Advocate Physician Partners Risk Purchasing Group, and chair of Advocate Insurance SPC for Chicago-based Advocate Health Care, Illinois’ largest health system.

During her tenure at Advocate Health Care, Ms. Scher was responsible for developing, implementing, and directing the system-wide insurance, risk financing, risk management, and claims management programs to ensure a consistent and optimal approach to minimizing liability and risk exposure. Under her leadership and through her vigilant governance of litigation, utilization of risk financing alternatives, and fostering of strategic insurance partner relationships, the organization built a multi-million dollar reserve and significantly reduced expenses.

Early in her career, Ms. Scher worked as a trauma nurse at a level I emergency department and as a prosecutor in the criminal division of the McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office.

She was also an adjunct associate professor at Valparaiso University in Indiana, an expert speaker on clinical-legal issues to physicians and nurses, and lobbyist on behalf of the insurance and healthcare industries before the U.S. Congress.

A Nursing graduate of Purdue University School Calumet, Ms. Scher earned her Juris Doctor degree (Summa Cum Laude) from DePaul University College of Law with a Certificate in Health Law. Ms. Scher currently serves on the board of the California Hospital Medical Center Foundation, the U.S. Bank Advisory Board, the Los Angeles County Bar Association Healthcare Law Executive Committee, and the National Insurance Industry Council.

Aline Babaian is the Senior Vice President of Operations for Schmid & Voiles, a law firm dedicated to the defense of CAP members.

Mrs. Babaian is charged with ensuring that the law firm meets its strategic and financial goals, including the development of formal policy in areas of personnel and general administration. She also oversees the recruitment of attorneys, legal paraprofessionals, and non-legal support staff. 

A graduate of California State University, Los Angeles, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature, Mrs. Babaian is also an MCLE Provider and reports to the California State Bar all continuing legal education programs that she has produced to improve attorney skills/knowledge. She provides speakers and topics through the collaboration of Schmid & Voiles’ highly qualified attorney staff. 

Alyson Lewis is CAP's Senior Vice President and Chief Underwriting Officer. She oversees the underwriting functions of the entire CAP enterprise and has executive responsibility for all CAPAssurance business development. She is President and Chief Operating Officer of the Cooperative of American Physicians Insurance Company, Inc. (CAPIC), a Hawaii-domiciled subsidiary of CAP.

Ms. Lewis joined CAP in 2016. She has 30 years of industry experience and has held leadership and senior underwriting positions in the healthcare practices of large global insurance companies. Ms. Lewis earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Southern California and her Juris Doctor degree from Concord Law School.

Jeffrey Stoner is senior vice president of Claims for the Cooperative of American Physicians, Inc. (CAP).

With a professional background that includes almost a decade as a trial attorney, Mr. Stoner joined CAP in 1995. As senior vice president of Claims, Mr. Stoner oversees all claims provided to CAP’s Mutual Protection Trust, as well as all third-party administrative activities. In this capacity, he advises claims review committees in their decisions of which cases should go to trial and which are settled out of court. He was also instrumental in the development and oversight of the CAP Cares program, which provides resources and emotional support for member physicians in crisis who are facing adverse outcomes with their patients.

Mr. Stoner is also a committee member for the Medical Professional Liability Association (MPLA), a leading trade association representing domestic and international medical professional liability companies owned and/or operated by physicians, hospitals, dentists, and other health care providers.

A native of Pennsylvania, Mr. Stoner earned a law degree from the University of Georgia and a bachelor’s degree in World Literature from Pennsylvania State University. As a trial lawyer, he practiced in both Georgia and Pennsylvania.

Stewart L. Shanfield, MD is a board-certified orthopedic surgeon and currently practices with St. Jude Heritage Medical Group at St. Jude Medical Center in Fullerton. A graduate of the University of Texas Health Science Center, he completed his internship and orthopedic residency in Los Angeles at USC. Dr. Shanfield has served in several appointed and elected positions at St. Jude Medical Center including chief of staff, chief of surgery, chair of Board of Trustees, chair of Physician Well Being Committee, and chair of Allied Health Professions. He served as the physician facilitator of CREW Resources Management; a patient safety program implemented at St. Jude Medical Center. The Orange County Medical Association has selected him as an orthopedic physician of excellence from 2004 to 2021. He was the Arthritis Foundation honoree in 2015. Active in his local community, he was the volunteer medical director of the North Orange County SWAT Team for nearly 10 years. He was a board member of Fullerton Community Bank and served on the bank's Audit and Finance Committee. Currently, he serves as the chair of the CAP and MPT Finance Committee and the CAP Physicians Insurance Agency, Inc. A CAP member since 1998, he served on the CAP Board of Directors 2009-2017 and was elected to the MPT Board of Trustees in 2018.

Othella T. Owens, MD, FACS is board-certified in Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery. She has maintained a private practice in Los Angeles since 2000. She completed her medical degree at the Medical College of Virginia in Richmond and her residency at UCLA in the Division of Head and Neck Surgery. She has been a fellow of the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery since 1983 and a fellow of the American College of Surgeons since 1989. She has served on the Board of Directors of the Jenesse Center, a domestic violence intervention program, since 2005 and has been its audit chair since 2016. She has served on the board of the Physicians Aid Association since 2012 and has been its treasurer since 2018. She served on the Board of Trustees of the University of West Los Angeles School of Law from 1994 to 1999. She has been a member of the Women Business Leaders, WBL in Healthcare, since 2016. She is an assistant clinical professor in the Department of Head and Neck Surgery at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. She was awarded the National Certificate of Honor from the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery in 1993. She has been on the MPT Board of Trustees since 2010 and serves on multiple MPT committees.

Wayne Kleinman, MD, is currently completing his term as president and chair of the CAP Board of Directors. He is a past chief of staff at Providence Cedars-Sinai Tarzana Medical Center and a past chief of the Division of Anesthesiology. Currently, Dr. Kleinman is the president and chief financial officer of Tarzana Anesthesia Medical Group, Inc. A board-certified anesthesiologist and internist, he earned his medical degree from Virginia Commonwealth University's Medical College of Virginia and performed postgraduate training at both UCLA and the VA West Los Angeles Medical Center. Dr. Kleinman is currently an assistant clinical professor volunteer, Department of Anesthesiology, for UCLA's School of Medicine and is a member of more than half-a-dozen professional societies and associations on national, state, and local levels. He has also held key positions in numerous community and charity organizations and events, including the Guardian Hoops Club and AYSO's youth soccer program, in addition to coaching youth baseball and being involved with AIDS Ride Los Angeles and Physicians Caring Holiday Food Drives. Dr. Kleinman has been a CAP member since 1992. He was selected as a CAP Fellow by the Board of Directors in 2014, was elected to the CAP Board of Directors in 2015, and elected chair in 2017. He has served on the MPT Los Angeles Claims Review Committee since 2000.

Lisa Thomsen, MD, FAAFP, is a Glendora-based board-certified family practitioner in solo private practice since 1990. In 1987, Dr. Thomsen graduated from the University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine, and completed her residency training at the University of Southern California-PIH Family Medicine Residency Program. She is a fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians and serves on the California Academy of Family Physicians Medical Practice Affairs Committee. As an independent physician representative, Dr. Thomsen worked on the Los Angeles Regional Accountable Care Organization Board of Directors in 2012. She was recognized as Physician of the Year in 2010 by the Citrus Valley Health Partners (CVHP). Before starting her solo practice, she was CEO of Foothill Family Practice Medical Group. A former chief of staff at Foothill Presbyterian Hospital, Dr. Thomsen also served on the CVHP Board of Directors and currently is an active member of Emanate Health's (formerly CVHP) Governance Committee. Dr. Thomsen has been a CAP member since 2003 and actively participates on the CAP Member Engagement and Education Committee, the MPT Risk Assessment Peer Review Committee, the MPT Nominating and Governance Committee, and the CAP and MPT Litigation Advisory Committee. Dr. Thomsen was elected to the CAP Board of Directors in 2011 and has served on the CAP Board of Trustees since 2019.