Kestrel Principal Tom Kunes was recently invited to join the Board of Directors for NIATx. NIATx developed a process improvement model specifically for the substance abuse treatment field. At NIATx, process improvement is defined as a series of actions taken by a change team to identify, analyze and improve existing processes within an organization to meet new goals and objectives.

Tom brings over 40 years of experience consulting industrial clients in operational and business risk management, process improvement, and compliance assurance to his NIATx Board position. He has expertise in helping organizations improve existing systems and optimize them to reduce costs and risks and improve performance. His ability to link business processes, management systems, and daily practices has allowed many companies to more effectively manage business risks and liabilities and improve effectiveness.

NIATx was founded in 2003 and began by providing technical assistance to 39 organizations. As of 2010, the organization works with more than 2000 organizations across multiple initiatives in all 50 states. NIATx is part of the Center for Health Enhancement Systems Studies based at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The director of NIATx is Dr. David H. Gustafson, professor of industrial and systems engineering.