Trevor J. Dale
Strategy. Readiness. Responsible AI Execution.
Trevor J. Dale founded Cogent Consulting Group to help growth-oriented organizations move past AI hype and into governed, measurable execution. Twenty years of operations and enterprise program leadership — from hospice operations, to Cerner in 2013, to five years leading delivery on the VA Federal EHR Modernization at Oracle Health — sit behind every recommendation. A practitioner, not a career consultant.
- Founder, Cogent Consulting Group
- Director & Principal Engagement Executive, Oracle Health
- Member, American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE)
- Lean Six Sigma Black Belt · MBA
- Active Federal PIV Clearance
- U.S. Navy Veteran · Author · Speaker
The same operating discipline that runs federal healthcare programs — now applied to AI execution.
Trevor's career began at the bedside side of operations — as a Hospice Director of Operations — where he learned that every business, ultimately, is about people. That grounding still shapes how he approaches AI, governance, and operational change two decades later.
In 2013 he joined Cerner Corporation, leading enterprise telehealth analytics and reporting for the Department of Veterans Affairs and architecting the Strategic Telehealth Engagement Portfolio (STEP). That work opened the door to five years leading delivery on the VA Federal EHR Modernization (EHRM) program — one of the largest federal EHR modernizations in history — where he built the governance and communication models that keep complex, multi-stakeholder healthcare programs on track.
Today at Oracle Health, Trevor is a Director and Principal Engagement Executive leading program management for operational and technical resources supporting Federal Population Health and Health Data Intelligence. He built The PULSE — the collaboration and communication method used across Federal HDI delivery — and created the only KPI framework used in that portfolio to drive measurable workflow improvement. That same operating discipline — clear governance, human-in-the-loop review, and measurable outcomes — is what he brings to every Cogent AI engagement.
Responsible AI Execution
Practical deployment of AI agents — revenue response, scheduling & intake, operations & knowledge — configured against your approved workflows, with human review where it matters.
AI Readiness & Governance
Structured readiness assessments and governance models that make AI adoption defensible to leadership, auditable to the business, and safe for your customers.
Operating Discipline That Delivers
Lean Six Sigma Black Belt, MBA, and two decades of program leadership. Measurable pilots, clear KPIs, and change management — the pieces AI initiatives usually skip.
The human element of healthcare.
Healthcare is a people business first. Trevor builds high-performing teams through mentorship, succession planning, and honest accountability — the same way he built a career from Search and Rescue Swimmer in the U.S. Navy to directing federal healthcare delivery.
Trevor doesn't just deploy tools or hand off decks; he builds the operational and governance infrastructure healthcare organizations need to actually deliver better care, more efficiently, with less burnout — for the long run.
"I've worn many hats in my life — veteran, healthcare executive, consultant, campaign strategist, and most importantly, husband and father. Across every role, one truth has guided me: the choices we make dictate the lives we lead."
The single operating principle Trevor leads with — across boardrooms, battlefields, and family life.
A meditation on agency, intention, and the daily decisions that compound into a life of meaning.
Read the BookThe Joy Project.
A parallel life's work
The Joy Project is not just about personal happiness — it's about reclaiming balance in a world that often pushes us to extremes. Bridging science and spirituality, reason and wonder, progress and tradition. It's about finding the courage to choose compassion, discovery, and meaning every day.
I believe joy is not a luxury; it's a necessity. It's what carries us through hardship, fuels resilience, and gives our lives depth and purpose. Here, I share insights, stories, and practices that help us reconnect with joy — not as a fleeting feeling, but as a way of being.