Management team
Joseph Casper
Chief Executive Officer
Joseph Casper joined Sandlot in 2011 and serves as Chief Executive Officer. Casper has over 30 years of experience in health information technology (IT), including creating start-ups and co-inventing healthcare IT products and services.
Prior to Sandlot, Casper served as vice president for MedPlus, a Quest Diagnostics company, focusing on enterprise healthcare IT software services. At MedPlus, he oversaw all commercial sales and had full profits and loss responsibility.
Casper has successfully secured health information exchange (HIE) contracts for state and regional HIE organizations, served as strategic advisor for the state of California's HIE, and has testified before governmental entities on healthcare IT-related issues.
Telly Shackelford
President and Chief Technology Officer
Telly Shackleford joined the Sandlot, LLC staff in 2006 as Director of Information Technology and became Chief Executive Officer in 2008.
Prior to that, Telly was a Senior Application Project Manager at Concentra Health Services in Addison, TX, following a stint as Manager, Consulting Services at BDO Seidman, LLP in Dallas. He also worked as a Programmer Analyst for Agribank in St. Paul, MN.
Telly graduated with a BS in Physics from the University of Minnesota.
Thomas M. Deas, Jr., MD
Chief Medical Officer
Dr. Tom Deas currently serves as the Chief Medical Officer for Sandlot, LLC and is an active Board Member for North Texas Specialty Physicians, where he served as President from 2003 until 2007. He is also a practicing gastroenterologist.
He is a Fellow of the American College of Gastroenterology and American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE). Dr. Deas is board certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine in both Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology.
His education includes a BS in Chemistry from Baylor University, graduating cum laude, followed by an MS in Chemistry from Baylor. While serving in the US Air Force, he received his MD from Louisiana State University School of Medicine in Shreveport, graduating with honors.
Board of Directors
Julian Armstrong, MD, President
Practicing Physician
Dr. Julian Armstrong is board certified in gastroenterology and internal medicine. He is a fellow of the American College of Gastroenterology and is a member of the American Gastroenterological Association, The American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, the Texas Society for Gastroenterology and Endoscopy, the Texas Medical Society, and the Tarrant County Medical Society.
He is fluent in English and Spanish and currently serves as the Division Chief for the Gastroenterology Division for North Texas Specialty Physicians. Dr. Armstrong received his BA in chemistry from Bowdoin College in Brunswick, ME, and earned his MD at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City. He did his residency in Internal Medicine at Madigan Army Medical Center in Tacoma, WA.
After two years as an Internist at Darnall Army Community Hospital in Fort Hood, TX, Dr. Armstrong completed a fellowship in gastroenterology at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, TX. He was Chief of the Gastroenterology Service at Landstuhl Army Regional Medical Center in Landstuhl, Germany from 1987 through 1990 and served as the consultant in gastroenterology for the commanding general for the 7th Medical Command. Dr. Armstrong was honored with the Meritorious Service Medal at the conclusion of his stay. After three years in Europe, he ended his military career at Eisenhower Army Medical Center in Augusta, GA where he was an assistant clinical professor at the Medical College of Georgia. In 1991, Dr. Armstrong came to Fort Worth with Kaiser Permanente and remained with that organization until its departure from the Texas market. He joined GANT in October 2000.
Stuart Pickell, MD, M.Div, FAAP, Vice President
Practicing Physician
Dr. Stuart Pickell is board certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine and the American Board of Pediatrics. He currently practices both in Fort Worth, TX. He is also an ordained Presbyterian minister.
Dr. Pickell is a fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics and a member of the American College of Physicians. Committee involvements include serving on the board of directors of the Tarrant County Medical Society and on the Ethics Committee at the Cook Fort Worth Children’s Hospital in Fort Worth, among others.
Dr. Pickell received his BA with high honors in history from The College of William and Mary in Virginia. He went on to receive an M.Div. from Princeton Theological Seminary. Dr. Pickell received his MD from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas, TX.
Antonio A. Castaneda, MD
Practicing Surgeon
Dr. Antonio A. Castaneda currently practices general surgery in Fort Worth, TX and is a member of the North Texas Specialty Physicians Board of Directors. Dr. Castaneda has been an Adjunct Clinical Assistant Professor in the School of Nursing at University of Texas at Arlington since 2003. He is board certified by the American Board of Surgery (2003).
He received his BS in Biology from the University of Houston, graduating magna cum laude. He went on to receive his MD from University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas.
Fowad Choudhry
CEO, Care N’ Care Insurance Company
Fowad Choudhry, MHA, MBA is the Chief Executive Officer for Care N’ Care Insurance Company, Inc, a Medicare Advantage health plan based in Fort Worth, Texas. Mr. Choudhry also serves as the Associate Executive Director for North Texas Specialty Physicians, a 600-physician IPA located in Fort Worth, TX.
Prior to joining NTSP, Mr. Choudhry was responsible for contracting and network management for over 100,000 beneficiaries in Tarrant County for both commercial and Medicare Advantage HMO programs for PacifiCare of Texas.
He also spent five years as a medical service officer in the United States Air Force, where he managed the TRICARE contract at Hill AFB, Utah.
Theodore S. Takata, MD
Cardiologist
Dr. Theodore Takata practices cardiac electrophysiologist in Fort Worth, TX. He is board certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine (1998) and American Board of Cardiovascular Disease Certified (2002).
He received his BS in English Literature and Zoology from the University of Maryland at College Park, graduating with honors. He went on to receive his MD from University of Maryland at Baltimore.
Karen Van Wagner, Ph.D.
Executive Director, North Texas Specialty Physicians
Since 1997, Dr. Karen Van Wagner has successfully directed and managed NTSP from a start-up IPA to a major organization of more than 600 physicians and managed care contracts with all major payers, including 23,000 risk lives – both commercial HMO and Medicare. Dr. Van Wagner sits on the Board of NTSP’s two subsidiaries, Care N’ Care Insurance Company, Inc. and Sandlot, LLC. Karen Van Wagner is also a member of the Tarrant County Hospital District Board of Managers.
Prior to her tenure at NTSP, Dr. Van Wagner spent 16 years at Harris Methodist Health Systems in Texas, culminating in a senior vice president position. She also was senior vice president of network operations for Harris Health Plan. Prior to coming to Harris, Dr. Van Wagner was the Director of Planning and Marketing for Los Angeles Children’s Hospital in Los Angeles, CA.
Dr. Van Wagner has received a BS, MA, and PhD from Western Michigan University.
Kenneth Barr
Board Member
Kenneth Barr served as Mayor of Fort Worth from 1996 until 2003. Since leaving office he has remained actively involved in civic and business affairs in North Texas. He currently is a member of the Board of Directors of the North Texas Tollway Authority which is building more than $2.5 billion of new road projects in the region, including the Southwest Parkway in Fort Worth. He is the immediate past chairman of the North Texas Commission. He also serves as a director of the Botanical Research Institute of Texas (BRIT), Plaza Medical Center, Greater Fort Worth Real Estate Council, Scenic Texas, Inc. and the North Texas Super Bowl XLV.
John Gavras
Board Member
John Gavras served as the Chief Executive Officer of the Dallas-Fort Worth Hospital Council (DFWHC) for 32 years, from 1976 until his retirement in 2008. His career also included executive positions with the Oklahoma Hospital Association and the Chicago-based Hospital Financial Management Association.
As CEO of the DFWHC, Mr. Gavras led one of the nation’s top regional trade associations, representing nearly 90 hospitals and the law firms, accounting firms and others entities involved in the delivery of services to hospitals.
Under his leadership, twenty- eight north Texas hospitals came together to create the first electronic paging system in the Metroplex. This success was followed by approval from the Federal Communication Commission for four 4 Instructional Television Fixed Service (ITFS) communication channels. These valuable assets are held by the DFWHC.
