Our Leadership Team

Jim brings over 40 years of successful entrepreneurial experience in the fitness, wellness, physical therapy, and sports medicine industries. He began his entrepreneurial career at 25 when he founded the Track & Racquet Club (Fitness Forum Health & Wellness Club) in Syracuse, NY, which he owned and operated for 33 years. Simultaneously, he oversaw the foundation and development of 38 physical therapy clinics in New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maryland, Delaware, and Florida. The company provided outpatient physical therapy services for over 30 years. In addition, Jim has provided strategic operating advice for developing orthopedic practices and other healthcare investments. Jim oversees the operations of Sport Center at Court Street (including Pine Grove) and Ultimate Goal Family Sports Center, indoor multi-sport complexes in the greater Syracuse area. Also, he has engaged in numerous investments with other entrepreneurs, including commercial real estate investments. Jim has extensive experience in business development, operations, finance, marketing, and start-up consulting and brings a broad knowledge of the healthcare, fitness and wellness, and sports and tournaments markets. His entrepreneurial mindset and experiences allow him to bring a forward-thinking vision to his clients and partners.  

I. Michael Vella, MD, is a board-certified orthopedic surgeon licensed in NYS. He brings 30 years of clinical experience and a vast array of corporate relationships. Dr. Vella is a co-founder of Syracuse Orthopedic Specialists (SOS), where he held the positions of managing partner, president, and CEO. During his tenure as such, he successfully merged one office with five orthopedic surgeons into 11 offices, 31 surgeons, and 36 mid-level staff, employing more than 600 people to make this all work. The organization's services include an MSO, multimodal X-ray, nuclear medicine, MRI, and two surgical centers providing outpatient services, including outpatient total joint replacements. In addition, SOS supports three area hospitals with physicians and surgical staffing devoted to high-quality and superior surgical outcomes. Dr. Vella studied at Siena College, SUNY UMC, Brown University, and Harvard University, where he received his fellowship training in Adult Reconstructive Surgery. Dr. Vella sits as a trustee of a local health insurance group and has successfully sat as President of Midstate IPA for 19 years. Business-wise, he is proudest of his group's growth and adoption of early technologies, incorporating these technologies for the betterment of his partners and patients. The group remains an independent practice to this date.

Michael Rourke, MSPT, is a healthcare consultant and a licensed physical therapist, and he holds PT licensure in New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Florida, and Rhode Island. He has been a physical therapist and clinical operations manager for 26+ years. Mike was the Sr. Vice President of Operations for Fitness Forum Physical Therapy for 20 years, overseeing a staff of 150 at 30 rehabilitation sites and three regional billing offices. At Fitness Forum, he ran the day-to-day clinical operations for all rehabilitation facilities. He developed and implemented pre-operational activities for new start-up sites and newly acquired locations, including identifying the local physician base, market and competitive analysis, and analysis of the local licensure and certification requirements. Since 2017, Mike has worked as a healthcare consultant for several hospitals, orthopedic practices, and rehabilitation facilities in New York, Massachusetts, and Florida. In this role, he has assisted in improving his client’s operations, generating additional revenue streams, analyzing areas for improvement, and implementing operational and revenue-producing solutions. Mike has a management degree from Bentley University and a Master’s in Physical Therapy from the University of Massachusetts Lowell.