Veronica Adamson
Maternal Health Equity Innovation Advocate, Author and Technology Builder
Saeed Aminzadeh
Regina Berman, RN, MA
Ana Brown-Cohen,MPH
Sharon Colaizzi, RN BSN/BS, MPPM, CPHM
Jessica Diaz
Amy Dobbins
Lance Donkerbrook
Kacey Dugan
Chris Esguerra, MD
David Granger, MD, MPH, MBA
Amie Hoffman
Nikki Hungate, MS, MHA
Angela Lynn, RN, MSN, BSN,CCM
Dr. Jung Kim
Traci A. Massie, PMP, MBA, CCHW
Jim Milanowski
Arby Nahapetian, MD
Wivine Ngongo, MPH
Francisco Oaxaca, BS, MBA
Steven R. Peskin, MD, MBA, MACP
Mike Rhoades, MBA
Alan Rice, LCSW
Alycia Sepe,BSN, RN
Banafsheh Siadat, ScD
Mandira Singh
Lisa Truitt
Karl Ulfers
Gabriel Uribe
Peter Winston
Jamie Zajac, DC
Veronica Adamson
Maternal Health Equity Innovation Advocate, Author and Technology Builder
Veronica Adamson heads Gainwell’s Human Services & Public Health business, which includes Whole-Person-Services. She is a passionate transformer of equitable outcomes, through holistic, data-based and community driven technology innovations. During Covid she worked hand-in-hand with state and federal government leaders, as well as leading non-profits, to put in place cutting-edge, recipient-centered digital platform to improve maternal and infant health outcomes at unprecedented speed. Prior to her time at Gainwell, she was a global business leader at Philips Healthcare, strategy consultant at Deloitte, and co-founded an ethnographic insights venture.
Kacey Dugan
Kacey Dugan is an experienced health policy analyst with deep knowledge of CMS rules and insurance programs. As a director at Faegre Drinker Consulting, she works primarily with health plans, providers, and vendors to provide strategic advice and help navigate regulatory and compliance issues regarding the Medicare, Medicaid, and ACA markets. Prior to joining Faegre Drinker, Kacey served as a senior analyst at the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission — Congress's advisory agency on Medicaid and CHIP issues — where she led numerous qualitative research projects and policy discussions on a wide range of issues affecting access to care for Medicaid and Medicare-Medicaid dually eligible beneficiaries.
Saeed Aminzadeh
Saeed founded Decision Point with the mission of improving health plan clinical, financial and operational performance through informed, data-driven predictions on strategic decisions. He has more than 25 years of health information technology experience, with a track record of developing innovative approaches to solve complex business problems. He has held key senior management positions at Eliza Corporation, Ingenix (currently Optum), IHCIS and ProVentive, where led high- performing teams focused creative uses of technology for practical problem-solving. Saeed is a graduate of The Johns Hopkins University with a BA in Economics.
Chris Esguerra, MD
An experienced healthcare leader, Chris Esguerra, MD, MBA, FAPA, CHCQM has led
systems transformation, program evolution, and public/private partnerships leading to
outcomes meeting the quadruple aim of improving health, cost effectiveness, enhancing
patient experience, and supporting provider well-being. He serves as Chief Medical Officer
for Health Plan of San Mateo, a local community plan serving Medicaid and dually eligible
Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries. He also advises nonprofits partnering in healthcare
delivery, healthcare startups, and provider groups.
His experience encompasses health care provider and systems leadership, managed care
operations, novel payment models, public-private partnerships, and health care
transformation. He has led significant efforts around integration of care and services for a
variety of populations, holistically addressing social determinants of health in healthcare
delivery, and helping people remain and age in the community with appropriate long-term
services and supports. He most recently served on a National Academy of Science,
Engineering, and Medicine committee that published Integrating Social Needs Care into
the Delivery of Health Care to Improve the Nation's Health.
Dr. Esguerra is board certified in both Psychiatry and Health Care and Quality Management
and is a Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association and the American Board of Quality
Assurance and Utilization Review Physicians. He received his BS in Chemistry and Medical
Degree from the University of Southern California. He completed his residency training in
Psychiatry at San Mateo County Behavioral Health and Recovery Services Psychiatry
Residency Training Program. He also received his MBA in business management from the
Isenberg School of Management at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
Steven R. Peskin, MD, MBA, MACP
Steven R. Peskin, MD, MBA, MACP is the Executive Medical Director, Population Health at Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey. His expertise encompasses physician leadership, population health management, clinical and operational performance improvement in health care, medical education and scientific communications. He has been one of the driving forces for the creation of and successful maturation of value based models in New Jersey. Dr. Peskin is an Associate Clinical Professor in the Department of Medicine at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. He is a clinical preceptor at The Eric B. Chandler Clinic for interns and residents in Internal Medicine. Dr. Peskin assists with the Population Health and business of medicine training for the Rutgers RWJ Internal Medicine physicians in training. Dr. Peskin was advanced to Master of the American College of Physicians in 2020. Dr. Peskin received his bachelor’s degree from The University of North Carolina Chapel Hill and medical degree from Emory University School of Medicine. He completed residency at Saint Elizabeth’s Medical Center in Boston and holds an MBA from the Sloan School of Management at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Mike Rhoades, MBA
Mike is a leader in strategic planning and execution of high performance, clinically- integrated health networks. He has served in a variety of executive and advisory roles, including 10 years as COO of a $300M, multi-state BHSU and Primary Care IDN, CEO of an ambulatory integrated care network, and senior executive for a 2M life ACO where he designed and commercialized cross-platform care management, analytics, and health information exchange tools for 23K physicians and 120 hospitals. He had led 15+ M&A transactions, organized clinically integrated networks, and assisted organizations with turnaround planning and performance improvement. Mike regularly applies his experience in public policy development, rate setting, and investigative support in matters relative to OIG, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), and blends operational, technology, and finance experience to create practical, affordable, and high-value solutions. Mike has his BA from Augustana University and MBA from University of NC – Wilmington. Affiliations and accomplishments include:
- Member of HIMSS, HFMA, ACAP and NAACOs
- Managing Director of the Wilmington Angel Capital Network
- Advisory/Governance for several healthtech startups
- Design/Build several successful BHSU and PAC ACOs which reduced avoidable inpatient days by 50-70%
- Developed/Deployed ONEcare, a scalable integrated care (PCP/BHSU) leveraging ”virtual networks of care” to divert BHSU ED utilization by 40%
- Design/Commercialization of novel risk stratification tool leveraging accessible national lab/claims data where no CIN exists for ACO planning and Care Management
- Negotiated vertical payer/ACO contracts shifting Care Mgmt closer to patient care
Traci A. Massie, PMP, MBA, CCHW
Mrs. Massie is a Project Management Professional (PMP) and Certified Community Health
Worker (CCHW). She earned these certifications because she is an accomplished leader
with a 25-year track record of successful strategic and tactical leadership within the
healthcare industry.
She specializes in project management, business process optimization and reengineering,
and regulatory compliance. She has developed management policies and procedures
designed to maintain a transparent and strong operating environment regardless of the
size of the organization. Additionally, she has created social determinants of health
programming to address health equity and barriers faced by the underserved and worked
to foster an environment rooted in diversity, equity, inclusion, and authenticity. She has
extensive experience in operations management, corporate culture change, policy and
procedure development, and major project management in her positions of Director of
Government Programs, Director of Project Management, Product Development Manager,
and Contract Manager at Optima Health Plan and Sentara Healthcare. Earlier in her
career, Mrs. Massie was Assistant Finance Director for the Museum of the Confederate
(Now known as the American Civil War Museum) in Richmond, VA.
With an unwavering commitment to excellence, she promotes thought leadership and
innovation in her approach to tasks. She has expertise in leading and implementing
enterprise-wide initiatives, demonstrated the ability to instill a common goal and develop a
balanced team based on trust and mutual respect. Mrs. Massie has a collaborative
leadership style with highly effective planning, organizational, and communication skills,
which drive solutions and results.
Mrs. Massie has a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Virginia and a Master of
Business Administration from Old Dominion University. She is currently pursuing a
doctorate degree in Business Administration.
Believing in creating strong communities and being a conduit of opportunities, she serves
on the Board of Directors of the Virginia Certification Board and the University of
Richmond Customer Experience Program Advisory Board. She is the Co-Chair of the
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Council for Optima Health. She is a member of Alpha Kappa
Alpha, Sorority Inc. (Past Chair of the Audit Committee & Past Financial Secretary), a
member of The Links, Inc. (Past Editor of the Newsletter), and an active member in her
church (Pre-K thru 1st grade Sunday school teacher and ministry leader of the Culinary Arts
Ministry). She has also served as the Past Co-Chair for the United Way Fundraising
Campaign for Optima Health Plan, Norfolk, VA, and Past Co-Chair for the Major Gift Donor
Fundraising Committee for the Capital Campaign for Grove Baptist Church in Portsmouth,
VA.
Mrs. Massie is married to Michael Massie and has been for twenty-seven years. Mr. and
Mrs. Massie have four children, Michael a law student at Howard University, Taylor a
law/business student at Golden Gate University, Kennedy a student at Spelman College
studying biology and Caroline, a student at Morgan State University studying business.
In her free time, she enjoys meditating, doing hot yoga, eating good food, and spending
time with family and friends. She loves to cook, travel, read, and enjoys all types of music.
Additionally, Mrs. Massie enjoys mentoring and coaching aspiring leaders and believes in
community service.
Francisco Oaxaca, BS, MBA
Francisco joined L.A. Care Health Plan, the largest publicly operated health plan in the country with 2.5 million members, in 2014 as Director of Communications. In 2016, he was promoted to Senior Director of Communications and Community Relations and in 2020 was promoted to Chief, Communications and Community Relations. In this role he reports to the CEO and the Chief of Staff, is a member of the CEO’s Executive Leadership Team and serves on the organization’s Equity Council Steering Committee. He oversees a staff of over 100 responsible for the organization's internal and external communications, provider communications, community relations and sponsorships programs, community outreach and engagement including oversight of 13 consumer advisory committees, a 16- member volunteer Health Promoters Program, and a network of 10 community resource centers. He also oversees all health plan public facing websites and social media channels, media relations, video production and photography services and crisis communications. He is currently leading an effort to add 4 more family resource centers across Los Angeles County by the middle of 2023 leading to a network of 14 in a first of its kind 5-year, $146 million partnership between L.A. Care and Blue Shield of California Promise Health Plan. Prior to joining L.A. Care, he served as Director of Public Affairs at First 5 L.A., an independent Los Angeles County commission that is the leading funder of programs for families with young children in California. Francisco earned his Bachelor’s degree from the University of Southern California and his Master’s in Business Administration from the University of Redlands.
Peter Winston
Peter Winston is an accomplished Senior Healthcare Executive and Consultant with more
than 38 years of success across the healthcare, hospital, and public health industries.
Leveraging extensive experience leading growth and administration of managed care
programs for large medical groups and other risk-bearing entities, he is a valuable asset for
clients working on negotiations of health plans, healthcare strategic planning, performance
analytics, or on communications issues. His broad areas of expertise include performance
improvement, strategic planning, market analysis, go-to-market strategy, quality
improvement, business development, and network development. Peter has worked in
most areas of managed care, including physician offices, medical groups, IPAs, hospitals
and health plans. He most recently spent the last 12 years with SynerMed as Executive
Vice President, helping it grow to more than 1.2M members, and 24 years with EHS
Medical Group, which he helped grow (EHS) from 5,000 managed Medi-Cal lives into more
than 650,000 in 9 California counties at the end of 2017. Peter is currently VP Community
& Provider Development for Clever Care Health Plan, a venture capital-backed Medicare
Advantage startup based in Southern California.
Peter has served on the boards of several professional organizations, including Health Care
Executives of Southern California (HCE), California Medical Group Management Association
(CMGMA), California Association of Physician Groups (CAPG, now renamed America’s
Physician Groups (APG)), and is past president of the Los Angeles Medical Group
Management Association (LA-MGMA). Peter is the founding chair for the CAPG State
Sponsored Programs Committee from 2000-2004 and served as chair again in 2008-2010.
He earned his bachelor’s degree in biology from the State University of New York at Stony
Brook and a master’s degree in health administration from Duke University.
Nikki Hungate, MS, MHA
Nikki Hungate, a long-time resident of the Western New York region, currently serves as
the Senior Leader of Medicare & Government Programs Product Strategy at MVP Health
Care. Utilizing the 17 years of experience in the health plan industry she is accountable for
leading a team of product innovators that create and deliver a suite of high-quality
government products that address the needs of the community in a customer-centric
fashion, placing emphasis on those populations that are most vulnerable and underserved.
Nikki holds a Bachelor and Master of Science in Health Administration from Roberts
Wesleyan College. She is currently a doctoral candidate at the University of Charleston in
the Executive Leadership program. Nikki has a passion for sharing knowledge, and also
serves as an adjunct professor in the health sciences degree programs at Monroe
Community College and Roberts Wesleyan College. In her free time, she volunteers as
fundraising coordinator for the local Vietnam Veterans of America chapter in Rochester,
NY.
Angela Lynn, RN, MSN, BSN,CCM
Angela Lynn serves as Director of Care Management for Blue Cross NC where she oversees
the development and execution of the medical management programs. Angela’s team of
clinical staff include Certified Case Managers, Social Workers, Dietitians, Registered Nurses,
and Episodic Care Managers who provide targeted support and focused intervention for
members. Angela has been with Blue Cross NC for 14 years serving in a number of roles.
Angela also has a diversified clinical background. Her nursing experience includes acute
care settings, community health, home health and behavioral health. Angela is a Certified
Case Manager and is a strong advocate for increasing awareness and improving access so
that people with behavioral health conditions receive appropriate care.
Angela received her Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing at University North Carolina Chapel Hill
and Master’s Degree in Nursing with a focus on Leadership & Management at Western
Governor’s University.
Dr. Jung Kim
Dr. Jung Kim leads Gainwell Technologies’ Whole Person Service and analytics product development. He is passionate about emerging technologies, and health and human services. Much of his work for the past several years involved applying the former to advance the latter.
David Granger, MD, MPH, MBA
Dr. David Granger is a Pediatrician and Medical Director at CareFirst BCBS Community
Health Plan DC (CHPDC) with a focus on population health and quality in healthcare.
Dr. Granger obtained his medical degree from Wayne State University in Detroit, a Master
of Public Health from The University of Michigan in Health Policy, and an MBA from The
Fuqua School of Business at Duke University. He completed his pediatric residency at
Georgetown University Hospital where he also was Chief Resident.
Dr. Granger has practiced pediatrics for over 15 years in multiple environments; including
FQHC look alike clinic for the underserved, as a partner in a suburban group practice in the
Montgomery County Maryland and a Resident Clinic affiliated with the University of
California, Irvine. His leadership experiences include being Chairman of Dept of Pediatric at
a Community Hospital, a Medical Director for Utilization Management and Quality
Improvement at Children’s Hospital of Orange County (CHOC) and Medical Director for a
Pediatric Managed Care Organization with 150,000 covered Pediatric Lives. His recent
publications include “Targeted Clinical Interventions for Reducing Pediatric Readmissions”
in Hospital Pediatrics, and he has presented on pediatric utilization at national
conferences. In his current role at CHPDC he is focused on partnering with providers to
enhance quality of care in a value-based environment for Medicaid enrollees in the District
of Columbia.
Amie Hoffman
Amie Hoffman is currently Director of Behavioral Health for Geisinger Health Plan and is a
goal-driven, accountable, and empathetic healthcare professional with over 18 years of
experience in both acute and outpatient settings, with the last nine in the managed care
industry. In her Director role, Amie provides leadership for the transition from
outsourcing Geisinger Health Plan's behavioral health benefit to in-house operations,
including Care Expansion and Design, Provider Networking, Claims processing, Policy
Development, and Quality and Utilization Management
An experienced leader with a demonstrated history of working in the hospital and health
care industry, she has a proven track record of successfully managing staff, impacting
managed care outcomes and improvement of patient engagement strategies. Amie
obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, Master’s in Social Work and more recently
obtained her Master’s in Health Administration. She is currently licensed as a Clinical Social
Worker in Pennsylvania.
Banafsheh Siadat, ScD
Banafsheh Siadat is the Regional Director, Medi-Cal Strategy and Operations, at Kaiser
Permanente in Northern California. Banafsheh leads implementation of key regional
initiatives including the California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal (CalAIM) Population
Health Management strategy and the Health Homes Program.
Banafsheh began her career at KP in 2014 as a Manager within Strategic Market Planning &
Execution (SMP&E) where she worked on developing Medi-Cal market and Duals market
strategies. She later joined the NCAL Medi-Cal team as a Service Director for the
Sacramento GMC area, where her work has expanded to include the Health Homes
programs in Sacramento, San Francisco, and Santa Clara as well as the upcoming Medi-Cal
reform (CalAIM).
Banafsheh holds a Doctorate of Science (ScD) in Public Health from Harvard University,
where she studied the impact of universal health coverage in Ghana. Banafsheh’s work
prior to joining KP included consulting positions in the U.S. health care industry and later
with international development organizations including the World Bank, WHO, etc.
Mandira Singh
With more than a decade of experience building, scaling, and leading companies in
healthcare technology, Mandira is driven by her passion for advancing technology for the
most underserved populations.
In her current capacity, Singh oversees the acute and payer business unit, driving growth
and success for health system and health plan clients and scaling the PointClickCare
network. Previously, as Chief Operating Officer, Singh led product and sales enablement in
addition to the client-facing teams at Collective Medical.
Prior to joining Collective, Mandira served as Executive Director of Product, Platform at
athenahealth, where she built athenahealth’s API-driven platform and created an industry-
leading developer experience. Mandira earned the moniker Disruptor in Chief from HIMSS
Media and was named a top 10 healthcare leader to watch on LinkedIn’s Next Wave list of
young professionals.
She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Vassar College and a Master of Business
Administration from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
Gabriel Uribe
Dr. Gabriel Uribe serves as the Director of Community Health at the Inland Empire Health
Plan (IEHP) and as a Professor of Social Work Policy at La Sierra University. IEHP is a not-
for-profit public entity, rapidly growing Medi-Cal and Medicare health plan in California.
With a network of more than 6,000 Providers and 2,400 employees, IEHP serves over 1.3
million residents of California’s Riverside and San Bernardino counties who are enrolled in
Medi-Cal, and Cal MediConnect (Medicare-Medicaid Plan). Dr. Uribe oversees operations
of IEHP’s Community Resource Centers, Community Health Worker program and diversity
services.
In addition to his formal occupations, Dr. Uribe serves as the President of the Inland
Empire Disabilities Collaborative (IEDC). The IEDC provides networking and educational
resources to over 2,500 disability service professionals employed at over 400 regional
organizations that serve nearly half a million seniors and persons with disabilities in
Southern California. Dr. Uribe earned a Doctor of Social Work at the University of Southern
California and holds a Masters of Public Administration from Cal Poly Pomona. He is an
experienced social service professional committed to the delivery of accessible health care
for low income and underrepresented communities.
Sharon Colaizzi, RN BSN/BS, MPPM, CPHM
Sharon is the Senior Leader Clinical Strategy and Integration. In this role, she is responsible
for oversight of the development and execution of strategies for clinical and operational
teams for the organization.
Sharon is an accomplished population health management executive with comprehensive
healthcare experience across acute, ambulatory and community settings addressing
physical, mental and social health and well-being. Her impact has been in leading
interdisciplinary teams strategically and tactically in clinical operations focused on patient
engagement, provider engagement and cost of care. She’s held previous leadership roles
at United Health Care, Molina and UPMC
Jessica Diaz
Jessica joined the Health Care Authority in 2016 to work on integration efforts, combining
behavioral health and physical health benefits within a managed care framework. Prior to
her experience with the Health Care Authority, she worked in the Division of Behavioral
Health and Recovery, at the Department of Social and Health Services for over 9 years. She
held a number of roles related to compliance and children’s behavioral health. Beginning in
2019, Jessica became responsible for the oversight of Managed Care Programs. She is now
responsible for leading system design efforts for the Medicaid population, particularly in
areas related to ongoing behavioral health integration efforts. This includes
implementation of system design changes, obtaining appropriate federal authority,
oversight of network adequacy and the crisis delivery system. Jessica received her Bachelor
of Arts degree from Washington State University with a focus on Human Development and
Sociology.
For nearly 20 years, Jessica has dedicated herself to state service, working in the realm of
special education, behavioral health, and healthcare policy. She is particularly devoted to
serving and improving the lives of our youth and families in Washington State, in a holistic
manner. She has dedicated her career in state service and looks forward to continuing her
pursuit of better care for all Washingtonians by way of system design and policy reform.
Amy Dobbins
Amy joined the Health Care Authority in November 2013, just prior to the operational
implementation of the Affordable Care Act. Prior to her experience with the Health Care
Authority, she was a Program Manager for the partner agency, Department of Social and
Health Services (DSHS) administering cash and medical assistance programs for aged
individuals and individuals with disabilities. Currently, she is managing a team of 16
Medicaid eligibility policy experts. Amy received her Bachelor of Arts degree from The
Evergreen State College at both Olympia and Tacoma campuses. Her degree awarded her a
focus in public policy and the creative arts.
Why she works for HCA
My experience serving Washingtonians since 2006, inspires me to support the
development of programs to serve the state’s most vulnerable citizens. In particular, I am
dedicated to using creative methods to bridge coverage gaps and bring comprehensive
coverage to those with low income and in need of access to health coverage and care. I am
extremely lucky to work with a caring and very knowledgeable team who have a shared
passion to improve health care accessibility in Washington.
Jim Milanowski
Jim Milanowski has over 22 years experience in the management of mental health, substance abuse, behavioral health managed care and medical care coverage programs. Mr. Milanowski currently serves as the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Genesee Health Plan (GHP), administering a community based indigent health care plan. The health plan has covered over 70,000 Genesee County residents since 2001. Since the start of enrollment into Affordable Care Act in 2013, GHP has conducted outreach and enrollment sessions with over 15,000 Genesee County residents. The health plan received the 2015 Pinnacle Award from the Michigan Association of Health Plans for this effort. As a strong advocate, his expertise includes working to reduce racial disparities, uncompensated care, and the impact of chronic disease. During his leadership, Genesee Health Plan has received the national quality award from URAC for Best Practices in Patient Empowerment and Protection, the Greater Flint Labor Council's Community Partnership Award and the Robert M. Pestronk Excellence in Public Health Award. He is a founding member of the Health Net Collaborative, and a member of the Greater Flint Health Coalition Access, Dental and Medical Group Visit Committees. He is the Treasurer of the Michigan Association of County Health Plans and is on the Board of Directors for the Genesee Community Health Center. Mr. Milanowski received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from Spring Arbor University and his Master's of Science degree in Clinical Psychology from Eastern Michigan University. He is a limited-licensed psychologist in the state of Michigan, and has extensive counseling experience with adult, child, and adolescent populations.
Ana Brown-Cohen,MPH
Ana I’I Brown-Cohen, MPH is the Senior Manager of Health Programs at Colorado Access, a non- profit health plan specializing in the integrated management of populations enrolled in public insurance. Ms. Brown-Cohen leads the operationalization of Colorado Access’ health strategy through the design and implementation of population-level interventions for Medicaid and CHP+ members. This work is instrumental in ensuring delivery of whole person care and specifically, that the right intervention is delivered to the right population, at the right time. Ms. Brown-Cohen received her Master’s degree from the University of Colorado’s School of Public Health. Prior to coming to Colorado Access, Ms. Brown-Cohen previously worked at Centura Health, one of Colorado’s largest healthcare systems, where she led a Medicare eligibility and enrollment team that served the Denver Metro Area. She also has experience working in state corrections, mental health, and recovery from substance use.
Jamie Zajac,DC
Jamie Zajac, DC is a Manager of Care Management at Colorado Access, a non-profit health plan specializing in the integrated management of populations enrolled in Medicaid and CHP+. In her role, Jamie supports the care management department in a variety of ways including, but not limited to developing and implementing clinical care management interventions/programs to ensure that contract deliverables and company strategic goals are met, supporting care management staff, and working closely with both internal and external partners to identify and mitigate system barriers to ensure members have access to quality and equitable services. Jamie received her Bachelor of Science degree from Colorado State University in Health and Exercise Science, and her Doctor of Chiropractic from Logan University in Missouri. Jamie has over 17 years of experience in healthcare and has worked in a variety of settings including: corporate fitness/health promotion, hospital- based education, and outreach programs at the St. Louis Children’s Hospital, and disease management programs in the private health insurance sector. Jamie enjoys reviewing clinical data of large populations and creating programs to look at the whole person, to ensure the right intervention is provided to our members at the right time.
Alan Rice, LCSW
Alan Rice graduated Kean College of NJ in 1977 with a BSW degree and went to work for
the NYC Depart of Education as a Drug Counselor in a School Base Drug Prevention
Program. In 1980 he went to work at Beth Israel Medical Center at the Bernstein Institute
as a social work assistant on a male drug detox unit. During this time Alan entered the first
PEP program in the country at WSSW to be able to obtain his MSW which he did in June
of1983. In July of 1983 he accepted a transfer to the Medical/Surgical Division of the Beth
Israel Department of Social Work. In August of 1983, he was asked to become one of the
first dedicated hospital AIDS social workers which he accepted. Alan has been involved
with the HIV/AIDS since, providing social work services as well as having a progressive
career as a supervisor, manager and Director of AIDS social workers in both a hospital and
nursing home setting. Alan is presently the Population Health Specialist for VNSHealth,
Select Health, a HIV Medicaid Manage Care Special Needs Plan, one of only three in NYS.
Alan is an adjunct professor at WSSW teaching an Addiction course, as well as teaching at
Touro College School of Physician Assistant.
He has served on a variety of NYC and NYS committees around making services better to
the HIV and AIDS population as well as the Substance Abuse population.
He was the first President on the board of Professional Association of Social Workers in HIV
and AIDS and remains an active member.
Alycia Sepe,BSN, RN
Alycia Sepe is a leader for government and commercial health plan markets at Bamboo Health. Sepe is a registered nurse, experienced in health plan clinical operations, product, and strategy and client relationship management. Including Bamboo Health, she has served in senior level executive roles for client management, clinical operations and technology healthcare consulting and business development. Sepe has nationwide experience in care management operations and designs and securing profitable revenue streams.
Lisa Truitt
Lisa Truitt is the Director of the Health Care Delivery Management Administration at the District of Columbia Department of Health Care Finance (DHCF). Lisa is responsible for oversight and management of Medicaid service delivery and quality performance in the over $1billion managed care and non-waiver fee-for-service (FFS) programs. She leads efforts to formulate and implement business plans and strategies for oversight and monitoring, development of initiatives/interventions to address gaps in care, health disparities and social factors that impact health outcomes of the eligible populations. She supervises staff and delivery of Medicaid services through managed care, children’s health services, pharmacy and acute provider services, quality management, primary care health homes and behavioral health services. Collaboration and partnerships with colleagues and sister-agencies are essential for advancing the mission of the District’s Medicaid program.
Karl Ulfers
Karl is passionate about empowering older adults to have more freedom as they age because of his own experience helping his loved ones navigate their challenges of aging and struggling to find resources they needed to age independently. He is leveraging his experiences as an early leader in Digital Health starting in 2006 at OptumHealth, part of UnitedHealth Group, and his more recent experience as the Chief Product Officer and then CEO of Rally Health to help DUOS establish a system of aging that makes it easy for Older Adults and Caregivers to get access to the support the need. Read more about Karl’s story here.
Regina Berman, RN, MA
Regina Berman, RN, MA, Integrative Care Management and ACO Executive for the
Adventist Health system is responsible for the development and execution of longitudinal
care coordination services across the care continuum using a Progression of Care Model.
She is also a responsible for the clinical components of a successful revenue cycle and
Value Based Care initiatives. Previously, Principal Strategic Advantage for Health, providing
guidance to organizations on effective design and execution for emerging value-based
payment models and performance excellence. Skilled in designing whole system change,
program integration and analytic platforms for clinical and claims-based data integration.
Previously served as the VP Population Health and Accountable Care, COO MemorialCare
Regional ACO, LLC for MemorialCare Health System. She oversaw all aspects of
MemorialCare's population health management, bringing more than 20 years of leadership
experience in health care performance improvement, quality, safety and knowledge
management and in clinical, operational and service excellence. Prior to joining
MemorialCare, Ms. Berman was the VP for Quality and Resource Stewardship for Kaiser
Permanente. Population Health, Advanced Senior Care, Transitions of Care and Case
Management and Medical Cost Trending, Quality & Regulatory affairs were among her
areas of responsibility. She managed a $1.7 billion medical cost budget and achieved a zero
% expense trend during her tenure.
While working with Hackensack University Medical Center as an Executive Director of
performance improvement and innovation, she led several national projects including the
$22 million, 3-year RWJ/IHI Pursuing Perfection grant and the subsequent CMS P4P
demonstration project. She is certified in a variety of quality and coaching models and is a
certified lean leader and patient safety officer. Previous positions include; Senior Vice
President at JPS Health Network in Texas, and Executive Director of Corporate Quality &
Medical Management at Mt. Sinai Health System in New York.
Regina has a demonstrated track record for achieving national best practice triple aim
outcomes in a variety of healthcare and related business environments; public, private,
academic and start up.
Ms. Berman provided faculty support for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation
(CMMI) Improvement Advisors Program and has served as an examiner for the
Department of Commerce Malcolm Baldrige Performance Excellence Program and was the
Chair of Quality NJ, the state Performance Excellence Program. Ms. Berman is a trained
Life Coach/mentor by the Bark Institute (Wisdom of the Whole) and the Institute of
HeartMath.
A registered nurse Regina holds an M.A. from New York University, completed Harvard
University’s Executive Leadership Program and has spent much of her career developing
and refining clinical and operational programs and developing partners that span the care
continuum. She has served as Chair of New Jersey's State Quality Program, on the Malcolm
Baldridge National Performance Excellence Program Board of Examiners, is a Diplomat of
the American Board of Quality Assurance and Utilization Review Physicians and a Certified
Professional in Healthcare Quality of the National Association for Healthcare Quality.
Berman served on the National Quality Forum Executive Institute Advisory Board and
Performance Measurement Task Force. She speaks nationally on population health and
performance measurement improvement strategies, information management and other
topics.
Arby Nahapetian, MD
Dr. Arby Nahapetian serves as the Chief Clinical Officer for Adventist Health. Dr.
Nahapetian has served the organization in different physician leadership roles over the
past nine years, including as the Chief Medical Officer at Adventist Health Glendale
Medical Center, Chief Medical Officer for Southern California Region and most recently as
the Care Division Chief Medical Officer over the 23 hospitals. Dr. Nahapetian is a board-
certified cardiologist with an additional certification in nuclear cardiology.
Dr. Nahapetian graduated from UCLA with a degree in economics, received his Master of
Public Health from Yale School of Public Health and completed medical school at the UC
Davis School of Medicine. He completed residency and fellowships in Internal Medicine
and Cardiology at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, and fellowship in Electrophysiology at
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.
Dr. Nahapetian serves as Adventist Heath's Clinical Care Delivery leader with oversight
over the Medical Group, Medical Affairs, Population Health, Quality, Safety, Care
Management, Clinical Informatics, and Pharmacy. He is a national speaker on Accountable
Care Organizations, Direct to Employer Networks, and Clinical Integrated Care Delivery. His
passions include his family, travel and participating in medical missions.
Wivine Ngongo, MPH
Wivine Ngongo, MPH, earned her Master of Public Health degree from the Colorado School of Public Health in 2017, concentrating in Community and Behavioral Health and in Global Health. She currently serves as the Population Health Program Manager for Colorado Access within the Health Programs Department. However, she works with teams and leaders across company departments to ultimately help tell the stories of their efforts as they relate to health programs processes and outcomes, and their Health First Colorado (Medicaid) and CHP+ members. Wivine has a strong background in medical and public health research, planning, implementing, and evaluating health programs, community engagement, and diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. Her passions and experiences have also centered around addressing health disparities for Black/Indigenous/People of Color (BIPOC) populations. These include her work with the Colorado Sickle Cell Treatment and Research Center, as well as Denver’s Center for African American Health. She has authored and co-authored publications centering health equity in medical education from her time with Northwestern’s Feinberg School of Medicine and has current interest in pursuing a PhD tract in psychology. Her proudest achievement is leveraging her gained knowledge and privileges around sickle cell healthcare to help get her adult sister cured from the invasive disease in 2020.
Lance Donkerbrook
Mr. Donkerbrook has over twenty five years of healthcare experience ranging from
consulting, business planning, financial management and contracting within national
health insurers, hospital delivery networks, physician practices and healthcare technology
companies. Outside of his more recent ACO leadership, Lance has implemented many
innovative projects related to strategic planning, system selections, business case, process
reengineering, productivity, and contracting associated with health plan operations and
their IT systems implementations.
For the last nine years, Lance been with Commonwealth Primary Care Accountable Care
Organization in Phoenix AZ, and has served as the organization’s CEO for the last two
years. He has a BS in Economics from Arizona State University and an MBA from Texas
Christian University. Lance serves as an advisor for three technology companies, recently
elected to the Board of the Arizona Diabetes Coalition and volunteers on the the Men’s
Arts Council with the Phoenix Art Museum.