CARL SODERSTROM
Mr. Soderstrom is a founding partner of Green Park & Golf Ventures, an early-stage venture capital investment company.
In the 1990’s, Mr. Soderstrom served as Chief Operating Officer of the Emergency Services Division of Coastal Healthcare Group for 7 years. Subsequently, he was CEO of Dallas based Metroplex Emergency Physicians Associates, PA and led its sale to EmCare (Now Envision. NYSE: EVHC). Following that sale in 1998, Mr. Soderstrom served as Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of PhyServe Physician Services for 14 years. PhyServe provided management services to Medical Edge Healthcare Group, PA and numerous other physician groups around Texas and the United States. In 2010, PhyServe and Medical Edge Healthcare Group, PA were both sold to the $9B North Texas health system Texas Health Resources (THR).
Mr. Soderstrom was a co-founder and board member of Physician Support Resources (PSR), an emergency medicine management services company contracting or employing over 1000 emergency medicine and primary care physicians across the United States. PSR was sold to Intermedix (NASDAQ: RCM) in 2012.
Mr. Soderstrom is a founder and serves on the board of directors of Caddis Partners (www.caddis.com), a healthcare real estate development and management company. Caddis has a nationwide footprint having developed or acquired over $1 billion in healthcare real estate assets including active and supported senior living under the Heartis trademark (www.heartis.com).
As a founding member of Green Park and Golf Ventures, Mr. Soderstrom has participated in the evaluation of and investment in just under 100 healthcare and technology companies. He is a co-founder of Dallas based Health Wildcatters (www.healthwildcatters.com), a healthcare focused business accelerator that has graduated 8 classes of accelerated companies who have collectively raised over $200 million in capital investments in the last eight years.
Mr. Soderstrom served on the board of directors of MedPro Advantage, a Peoria, IL physician practice management organization in the dermatology space, for over 20 years. Mr. Soderstrom led a successful recapitalization of that business in 2019 with HIG Capital and Goldman Sachs.
Mr. Soderstrom serves on the Boards of Green Park & Golf, Caddis, Health Wildcatters, PerioSciences, and 29 Acres.
He is married to Jennifer Soderstrom, a Vice President at Texas Health Resources. They have 3 children, Samantha, Matthew and Drew. His philanthropic interests are devoted to the building of 29 Acres, a community for adults with autism (www.29acres.org).
Clay Heighten, MD.
Dr. Heighten is a founding partner of Green Park and Golf Ventures. After completion of residency training at the Southwestern Medical School affiliated Parkland Hospital program in Dallas, Texas he practiced Emergency Medicine for 13 years. In the early 1990’s, Dr. Heighten was a founding partner of Metroplex Emergency Physicians Associates, P.A. which employed and managed emergency medicine physicians at 23 hospitals when it was sold in 1998 to EMCARE (now Envision. NYSE: EVHC).
In 1994, Dr. Heighten founded Medical Edge Healthcare Group, P.A. (MEHG). MEHG, which employed over 400 doctors and mid-level providers, owned facilities providing a comprehensive range of ancillary and laboratory services that in aggregate accounted for over 1.5 million patient encounters per year. Dr. Heighten was also a founder and board member of PhyServe Physician Services. PhyServe and MEHG were acquired by the $9 billion North Texas health system Texas Health Resources (THR) in 2010.
Dr. Heighten was a founder and served on the board of directors of Physician Support Resources (PSR), an emergency medicine management services company contracting or employing over 1000 emergency medicine and primary care physicians across the United States. PSR was sold to Intermedix (NASDAQ: RCM) in 2012.
Dr. Heighten is a founder and serves on the board of directors of Caddis Partners (www.caddis.com), a healthcare real estate development and management company. Caddis has a nationwide footprint having developed or acquired over $1 billion in healthcare real estate assets including active and supported senior living under the Heartis trademark (www.heartis.com).
As a founding member of Green Park and Golf Ventures Dr. Heighten has participated in the evaluation of and investment in just under 100 healthcare and technology companies. He is a co-founder of Dallas based Health Wildcatters (www.healthwildcatters.com), a healthcare focused business accelerator that has graduated 8 classes of accelerated companies who have collectively raised over $200 million in capital investments in the last eight years.
Along the way, Dr. Heighten has served on the boards of hospitals, insurance entities, and technology companies.
He is married to Dr. Debra Caudy, a medical oncologist, and has four children. His philanthropic interests are devoted to the understanding, prevention, treatment of autistic spectrum disorders. Clay and Debra have participated in helping establish the Jon Brigham Heighten Endowed Scholar program and the Center for Adults with Developmental Disorders at The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. Clay and Debra are founders of the 29 Acres organization. 29 Acres’ mission is to empower adults with autism to live a life of purpose and joy (www.29acres.org).
JR Garcia
Mr. Garcia joined Green Park & Golf Ventures at its inception and has been instrumental in the evolution of the firm since the first investment. He leads GPG’s financing and portfolio strategy efforts as well as overseeing fund management. Further, Mr. Garcia is active in the Dallas startup community, serving as a mentor for SMU MBA students and on the mentoring and selection committees for multiple incubator and accelerator efforts in Dallas.
As a Partner at Green Park and Golf Ventures, Mr. Garcia has participated in the evaluation of and investment in just under 100 healthcare and technology companies. He is a co-founder of Dallas based Health Wildcatters (www.healthwildcatters.com), a healthcare focused business accelerator that has graduated 8 classes of accelerated companies who have collectively raised over $200 million in capital investments in the last eight years. Mr. Garcia has prior operational, financial, and investment management experience at FedEx, Bold Ventures, and Lone Star Investment Advisors.
Mr. Garcia received his MBA from the Cox School of Business at Southern Methodist University in Dallas with concentrations in both Finance and Strategy & Entrepreneurship, as well as a specialization in Alternative Asset Management. He graduated from the University of Notre Dame with a bachelor’s degree in Finance and a second major in Sociology.
Lauren Tyra, Ph.D.
Dr. Tyra joined Green Park & Golf in 2017 and serves as Chief Scientific Officer. Prior to joining Green Park & Golf, she completed graduate studies in the Neuroscience program at UT Southwestern Medical Center. During her doctoral studies, she was awarded the prestigious Graduate Research Fellowship from the National Science Foundation to support her research and broader impact activities on the UTSW campus and in the local community. Through her research, she developed an expertise in the mechanisms organisms use for recycling and growth, as well as a deep understanding of the fields of neuroscience and developmental biology. Dr. Tyra is a published scientific author, with publications in Developmental Cell, eLife, Development, and the Journal of Cell Biology.
At GPG, Dr. Tyra leads diligence efforts and has participated in more than 60 of the firm’s healthcare and technology investments. She serves as an active board observer for Genomenon, Prima Temp, and Gregor Diagnostics.
In 2021, Dr. Tyra was elected to Place 1 of the Plano Independent School District Board of Trustees. She is excited to serve students in PISD, where she and her husband both received their K-12 education and their children are receiving their primary education. She is married to Jason Tyra, an attorney and certified public accountant in private practice in the Dallas area.
Dr. Tyra earned a B.A in German and B.S. in Biological Sciences from the University of North Texas prior to her PhD studies at UT Southwestern Medical Center. Her advocacy and philanthropic work are focused on public education and improving resources for families of deaf children. She and her husband are also active supporters of 29 Acres.
