Ace’s Kansas roots date back to his grandparents, farmers and teachers from Pleasanton and Blue Mound. Growing up in California, he felt he was moving home when he arrived in Kansas to begin medical school at the University of Kansas.

Ace served on KU’s oncology faculty for 10 years, staffing rural clinics throughout the state. With the goal of improved medical care for rural Kansans, he and his team pioneered the use of telemedicine for long-distance medical care. As a result of this work, in 1992 KU inaugurated America’s first telemedicine cancer clinic, between Kansas City and Hays, 270 miles to the west. While at KU, Ace started a small, in-house newsletter which grew to become Telemedicine Today, the international trade magazine for the burgeoning field. In 2000, his Overland Park company built the health search engine, VitalSeek. As company founder and CEO, he was directly responsible for meeting payrolls and the many challenges of a small business.

In 2003, Ace joined the oncology staff at the Kansas City and Topeka VA hospitals, proudly working with great veterans and colleagues. If not for the excellent service the VA provides, many of these veterans would have received little or no health care.

South Johnson County has been home to Ace, his wife, Donna Oberstein, and their two children since 1994. Donna and Ace serve on numerous boards and in many different civic roles. Ace is a Past Board Chair of the Jewish Community Center of Greater Kansas City. He loves woodworking (shout out to the Kansas City Woodworkers’ Guild), studying languages, photography, and exploring the Midwest.

And yes, Ace is his real name. He is named for his uncle, Isadore “Ace” Allen, who died in Korea, in service to the United States.