Our Executive Leadership
At Shriners Children's Texas, our distinguished leadership team works collaboratively to ensure that children have access to the highest quality of pediatric medical and surgical care and rehabilitation.
Mary Glendening is the hospital administrator for Shriners Children's Texas in Galveston. In this position, she is responsible for the executive administration of hospital operations. She received her Bachelor of Arts in psychology from Central College in Pella, Iowa, and her MSN from the University of Texas at Austin School of Nursing. Glendening has worked in cardiac, surgical, burn and pediatric intensive care units. She taught nursing courses and worked as a clinical instructor before moving to Texas. Since 1999 she has been with Shriners Children's in a variety of positions including case manager, director of nursing education and director of patient care service.
Glendening has published and lectured nationally and internationally on nursing care, burn care and leadership skills. She has been instrumental in burn care education and building burn centers in Mexico. Glendening is a fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE), the nation’s leading professional society for healthcare leaders.
Jong Lee, M.D., received his medical degree from Temple University School of Medicine in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He went on to complete general surgery residency at Conemaugh Memorial Medical Center/Temple University School of Medicine in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. He then completed fellowships in burn surgery and surgical critical care at the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) in Galveston, Texas. After finishing his fellowship, he joined the UTMB faculty in the department of surgery in 2002 and has a robust practice in burn surgery at UTMB and Shriners Children’s Texas.
He is currently a holder of the Annie Laurie Howard Chair in burn surgery and is an associate director of burn services. He is also a medical director of the burn intensive care unit at Shriners Children’s Texas.
Dr. Lee is active in teaching medical students, general surgery residents and fellows, and serves as a program director for the Surgical Critical Care Fellowship and the Burn Fellowship. He has trained 31 critical care fellows and burn fellows. He received six teaching awards from the department of surgery. He was chosen as faculty scholar in the John P. McGovern Academy of Oslerian Medicine in 2018 and elected to the Academy of Master Teachers at UTMB in 2021. He received the Above and Beyond Award from UTMB John Sealy School of Medicine Class of 2024.
Dr. Lee is involved in clinical research in burn injury and collaborates with other scientists. His areas of research interests are burn resuscitation, nutrition, hypermetabolism and infection. He has published 43 articles in peer-reviewed journals and 27 book chapters. He is a journal reviewer for Burns Journal and Journal of Burn Care & Research.
Dr. Lee is a member of several professional organizations, including the American College of Surgeons and the International Society for Burn Injuries. He is actively involved in the American Burn Association and has served on its Education Committee, National Burn Repository Advisory Committee, and Organization & Delivery of Burn Care Committee. He is also actively involved in the Society of Critical Care Medicine and served on its Surgical Section Patient Safety Committee, Program Committee, Post Graduate and Fellowship Committee, and Current Concepts in Critical Care Pediatric Course Committee. He also serves on several committees at UTMB and Shriners Children's Texas. He has spoken locally, nationally and internationally on burn care.
Dr. Lee has been selected to the Texas Super Doctors List since 2019.
He is currently a Lieutenant Colonel in the 147th Medical Group of Texas Air National Guard and serves as a Critical Care Air Transport team member.
William Phillips, M.D., was born in Buffalo, New York, and grew up in the Midwest. His undergraduate degree is from the University of Notre Dame. He received his medical degree and completed his orthopedic surgery residency at the University of Chicago, followed by a fellowship in spinal deformity surgery at Rush Presbyterian St. Luke's Medical Center in Chicago. After serving briefly on the faculty at University of Chicago, he began his career in pediatric orthopedics at Mott Children's Hospital at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. He moved to Texas in 1988 and has been on the faculty at UTMB and Baylor College of Medicine.
Dr. Phillips now serves as chief of orthopedics at Shriners Children's Texas, and has a long history with pediatric health care facilites. While an orthopedic surgery resident in Chicago, he spent six months at the Shriners Hospital in Chicago, learning from Dr. Edward Millar. Shortly after coming to Houston in 1988, he joined the volunteer staff at Shriners Hospitals for Children — Houston where he served for 27 years.
He is active in committee work for multiple national orthopaedic societies including the Pediatric Orthopaedic Society of North America (POSNA) and the Scoliosis Research Society (SRS). He has been an instructor at Practical Pediatric courses for the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) for over 20 years. He is a peer reviewer for several journals.
As a teacher of medical students, he reminds learners to treat the child, not the X-ray. He reminds others that he is always learning, and that he regards his patients' families as partners in caring for their child.
Dr. Phillips has been married to his medical school classmate, Dr. Linda Phillips, for 45 years. She is a plastic surgeon who continues to be a leader in her field. She was the first woman chair of the American Board of Plastic Surgery and currently serves on the Board of Regents of the American College of Surgeons. They have four children and two grandchildren.
Dr. Phillips ran track through college and is now an avid road cyclist, despite a few crashes. He enjoys reading both fiction and non-fiction, and still prefers a real book over a Kindle.
Jeannie Keith is the director of patient care services at Shriners Children's Texas. In her role, she is responsible for the oversight and administration of patient care services hospital-wide. During her career, Keith has held various executive nursing leadership positions and has clinical expertise in oncology, palliative care, medical surgical, pediatric orthopedics and inpatient rehabilitation. Her overall leadership experiences include program development, change management, professional development and the development of professional practice programs in a variety of healthcare settings. She has presented nationally on change management, clinical practice initiatives and team development.
Keith received her BSN from the University of Washington and her MSN from the University of Phoenix. She holds a national certification as a Nurse Executive Advanced-Board Certified.
