Kela has more than 30 years of experience advising healthcare organizations and healthcare technology companies on regulatory, information technology, and business matters, with a growing focus on AI regulations and governance.
Kela’s nearly 20 years of in-house legal experience spans three industries. She devoted more than 12 years to the role of corporate counsel at a leading healthcare software developer, supporting the organization through exponential growth from a smaller niche developer with fewer than 200 employees to a global leader with nearly 10,000 employees. She also served as corporate counsel for one of the nation’s largest privately held IT solutions and data center providers and for a publicly traded Fortune 500 company. These roles gave her a deep understanding of the healthcare and IT industries as well as the goals and expectations of clients who work within them.
At Husch Blackwell, Kela works with healthcare clients to support their software and IT contracting and general business agreement needs. She negotiates complex healthcare-focused information technology licenses, including software license, systems and data hosting agreements, and business process outsourcing agreements, as well as agreements with medical device manufacturers, service and content providers, and strategic partners. Kela also advises healthcare organizations and regional healthcare information exchanges on information security, data privacy, and AI regulations and governance, and has experience with international markets and global supply chain. Her goal is to achieve a win for both sides and to ensure that all aspects of a contract and relationship serve the client’s broader business objectives.
Kela chose corporate and healthcare law because she’s passionate about partnering with companies that make a difference in our communities. Her goal is to add value beyond a single contract or project, and she is always seeking additional ways to help clients mitigate risk and grow their business. Clients see Kela as a trusted team member who builds lasting business partnerships.