Joe Thear

Thear is an active alum, having previously completed two consecutive three-year terms on the College of Health and Human Development’s Alumni Society Board from 2007-2013 and served again from 2015-2017 as President of the HPA Alumni Group.  Most recently Thear served as At Large member and currently on his second term on the Executive Committee.  Additionally, Thear is also currently serving on the PSU MHA Board of Visitors and is chairman of the Professional Development Committee. He has been a mentor in both the college’s HPA and MHA mentoring program since their inception and has been very active in Professionals in the Classroom events and MHA Professional Development programs over the decades.  

Thear is currently employed as a Principal Healthcare Consultant at MITRE Corporation’s Center for Transforming Health, a federally funded research and development center where he currently assists the Department of Health and Human Services, with focused work with CMS, FDA, NIH, and CDC. His 40-year health-care career spans health care information technology, healthcare software development, and spent the first half of his career working for health systems in the Mid-Atlantic region focused on revenue cycle operations and finance, reimbursement, and information technology.  

Thear also holds a M.B.A. in health finance and administration from Marywood University and is a nationally recognized speaker on the subject of health care revenue cycle management and information technology.