Leadership

Dorothy Teeter is the principal/owner of Teeter Health Strategies consultancy, specializing in value-based payment reform and related health system transformation. She has over 30 years of public and private health system leadership and executive experience.

Before establishing her consulting firm, Ms. Teeter was the director of the Washington State Health Care Authority (HCA). In her role as agency director, she oversaw policy, programs and operations for HCA and administered an annual health care services budget of over $10 billion for both the Medicaid and the public employee programs. Ms. Teeter led the HCA’s nationally recognized approaches to value-based purchasing and population health reform, including the integration of physical and behavioral health services purchasing and care delivery and the design/startup funding for Washington state’s Accountable Communities of Health. As a member of the governor’s cabinet, she also served on the board of the Washington Health Benefits Exchange, led the Healthier Washington plan for statewide health system transformation and directed the successful implementation of the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid’s expansion for Washington state.

Before the HCA, Ms. Teeter was senior advisor for policy and programs at the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI); director and chief of health operations for Public Health — Seattle & King County, a major metropolitan public health department; a senior executive at Group Health Cooperative, where she designed and led its population-based quality of care improvement and care management strategies; and an administrator at Seattle Children’s Hospital.

Ms. Teeter earned a master’s degree in health services administration from the University of Washington and is a member of the clinical faculty at the School of Public Health at the University of Washington.

Andrew Croshaw is CEO of Families First Pediatrics, an industry-leading children’s health care provider based in Salt Lake City, Utah. Families First practices a unique value-based, integrated and ultra-convenient care model that includes medical, oral and mental health care services for patients ranging in development from infants to young adults.

Previously, Andrew served as CEO of Leavitt Partners, a health care strategy/policy consulting and investing organization. Andrew joined Leavitt Partners at its inception in 2009 and was appointed CEO in April 2017, positioning Leavitt Partners as one of the nation’s leading health care intelligence firms.

Prior to joining Leavitt Partners, Andrew was a senior executive advisor to Secretary Mike Leavitt at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, where he managed the overall implementation of a signature department initiative to improve the connectivity, transparency and value in America’s health care system. Before joining public service, Andrew worked at Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation and Eli Lilly and Company, where he provided leadership for the corporate Medicare and Medicaid business segments.

Andrew earned a bachelor’s degree in business from Utah State University and a master’s degree in business administration from Harvard University, where he pursued interests in health care innovation and leadership.

Katryna McCoy is an educator, a cross-disciplinary researcher and a nationally certified family nurse practitioner. She has worked in health care for over 20 years, and she is currently an assistant professor in the School of Nursing and Health Studies at the University of Washington Bothell.

Dr. McCoy’s primary research interests are focused around gerontology, medication adherence and infectious diseases. Her research activities utilize evidence-based strategies to reduce the negative impact of psychosocial and structural factors on the health-seeking behaviors of community-dwelling older adults living with infectious diseases.

In her role as a family nurse practitioner, Dr. McCoy has provided health care services for the treatment of chronic health conditions as well as acute injuries. The majority of Dr. McCoy’s time in clinical practice has been spent providing population-based health care services in geographically isolated communities throughout rural Alaska.

Chris Bosse is the vice president of government relations for Renown Health. She provides strategic input and direction for developing and leading government relations and associated community relations for Renown. Ms. Bosse is responsible for educating federal and state legislators, and government and community leaders about health care and the issues that put Renown's safety net services at risk.

Prior to her government relations position, her roles were mainly finance focused, and included serving as vice president of finance for Renown Regional Medical Center (at that time, a 538-bed Level II trauma center) and vice president of financial operations for Renown's Integrated Health Network.

Ms. Bosse is a certified public accountant and, before joining Renown, she worked for Ernst and Young.

Rod Betit worked as a chief health advisor under four governors in Alaska and Utah, where his duties included directing the Children's Health Insurance Programs and Medicaid, as well as overseeing other specialized health care programs for women and children. He has more than 30 years’ experience as a leader in health administration and in health care policy.

Before retiring in 2013, Mr. Betit was the president and CEO of the Utah Hospital Association. He also served as the president and CEO of the Alaska Hospital and Nursing Home Association for seven years.

From 1992 to 2003, he served as the executive director of the Utah Department of Health, where his duties included control of infectious diseases, managing health facility inspections and licensure and protecting vital records. From 1996 to 1999, Mr. Betit simultaneously led the Utah Department of Human Services. In his capacity at the UDHS, he revamped and improved the state’s child welfare program. While living in Alaska, Mr. Betit served as the director of the Division of Medical Assistance and the director of Public Assistance of the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services.

Steven C. Hansen is the president and chief executive officer of Presbyterian Medical Services (PMS), a New Mexico-based nonprofit corporation whose mission is to design and deliver quality, accessible, integrated health, education and human services in response to identified community needs of the multicultural people of the Southwest.

Through his leadership, PMS has grown to a budget of $140 million, employs 1,400 people, operates 110 individual sites and is Joint Commission-accredited. PMS programs and services include primary care, behavioral health care, dentistry, 340B pharmacy, health care for people experiencing homelessness, supportive living, transportation, Native and Traditional healing, and early childhood education.

Before joining PMS, Mr. Hansen was the CEO of Nevada Health Centers, a Federally Qualified Health Center. He was responsible for all aspects of the organization, including managing and directing the operations of 22 primary care clinic sites.

Over the past 30 years, Mr. Hansen has served as a board member and chair of many health care organizations both nationwide and throughout New Mexico.

Mr. Hansen received a Bachelor of Science in communication and business management from the University of Utah and a Master of Public Administration from the University of Nevada, Reno.

Jesús Hernández has served as the chief executive officer of Family Health Centers since 2016. In his role, he leads the strategic and operational direction of a system of medical, dental, behavioral and WIC services with 12 medical and dental clinics and supportive wellness programs across a rural county.

Before joining Family Health Centers, Mr. Hernández was employed with Community Choice Healthcare Network (now Action Health Partners) for 15 years, where he was promoted to executive director and CEO in 2006. During his tenure with Community Choice, the organization expanded programs and services while improving financial health and growing into a nonprofit with strong reserves. Among the initiatives at Community Choice, Mr. Hernández led the development and introduction of one of the first patient-centric health record banks in the nation, oversaw a program that helped more than 200 providers achieve meaningful use of electronic health records, and developed and expanded a Spanish radio network that covered various health care topics.

Mr. Hernández serves as a board member for Community Health Network of Washington, Community Health Plan of Washington and Washington Association for Community Health and was a member and past chair of College Spark Washington. He served as a member of the Wenatchee School Board for 20 years, and was a member of the Washington Higher Education Coordinating Board under Gov. Gary Locke and Gov. Christine Gregoire.

He has a Master of Public Administration from the University of Washington, and a Bachelor of Arts in business administration from Washington State University.

Rebecca Kavoussi has worked in health plans, delivery systems and consulting, all with one common theme: Helping payers and providers work more collaboratively to improve health care access and cost, particularly for the most vulnerable people and populations.

Ms. Kavoussi has a background in public policy, strategy, communication and operations and is the co-founder and chief operating officer for Nest Health, an early-stage startup delivering value-based primary care and holistic wraparound services to families with young children, as a unit, in their homes.

Prior to Nest Health, Rebecca oversaw Western U.S. operations and health equity strategy development at Landmark Health, a 24/7 home-based at-risk medical group serving multichronic patient populations across the nation. She was also the head of global clinical operations for Babylon Health, an international digital-first, value-based care company, and held leadership positions at Community Health Plan of Washington, Group Health Cooperative (now Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Washington) and xG Health, an arm of Geisinger.

Ms. Kavoussi holds a Master of Public Policy from the University of California, Berkeley, and a Bachelor of Arts in political science from the University of Washington. She is based in Seattle.

Pam Mariea-Nason began practicing clinically after earning a bachelor’s degree in nursing from Oregon Health & Science University. Her work in clinical settings prompted her to look “upstream” for systems solutions to improvement in individuals’ health.

After working in clinical settings, Ms. Mariea-Nason joined SAIF Corporation, where she helped usher managed care into Oregon’s workers’ compensation system. Then she spent nine years at the intersection of clinical and health plan development as COO for Tuality Health Alliance, a physician-hospital-community organization. While in that role, she completed her health care-focused MBA degree at the University of California, Irvine. She became the director of health policy and community engagement for CareOregon, at that time Oregon’s largest Medicaid health plan, then consulted with Kaiser Permanente on the company’s Medicaid transformation work in Oregon.

In addition, she was the executive for the community health division with Providence Health & Services, Oregon. Completing that role, she now serves on the Comagine Health board at the corporate level, and as an ex-officio member of Comagine Health’s Oregon board. She also continues on the board of Project Access NOW, an organization focused on connecting the most at-risk members of our communities to services.

Scott Rasgon, an associate professor at the Bernard J. Tyson Kaiser Permanente School of Medicine, has been caring for patients with chronic kidney disease, hypertension, diabetes, obesity and high cholesterol for almost 40 years. Throughout his long medical career, Dr. Rasgon has served in multiple leadership positions and is a staff nephrologist at Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Center, where he was chief of nephrology from 2006 to 2019 and assistant chief of internal medicine from 2012 to 2019.

He served as the chair for the End Stage Renal Disease Network 18 medical review board from 2011 to 2018 and served as president of the ESRD Network 18 board of directors from 2010-2016 and 2018-2021.

Dr. Rasgon has made presentations locally, nationally and internationally on chronic disease care and has been the keynote speaker and chairman of multiple medical symposiums on chronic disease care. He has also been honored for programs he has initiated on patient education, evaluation and quality of care of patients with chronic illness.

He completed his undergraduate education at the University of California, Los Angeles and received his medical degree from the University of Southern California. He is board certified in internal medicine and nephrology.

Jim Wigfall is the chief executive officer of Sound Generations, a nonprofit organization providing food security, transportation, health and wellness, and assistance services to older adults and adults with disabilities throughout King County, Washington.

Before joining Sound Generations, Mr. Wigfall spent more than 31 years with The Boeing Company. When he retired from Boeing, he was vice president of the Shared Services Group (SSG) business partner, Boeing Commercial Airplanes. In this role, he was responsible for all of the facilities, construction and asset management for all Commercial Airplanes sites in the Puget Sound, Washington, area and in Charleston, South Carolina. In addition, her was responsible for strategic alignment and SSG service delivery in support of Commercial Airplanes’ daily operations.

Mr. Wigfall held several leadership roles at Boeing. As vice president of SSG Supplier Management, he was responsible for procurement of all nonproduction goods and services for the entire company. As leader of the Supply Chain Services organization, he was responsible for investment recovery and distribution, business and technical information management, creative services, library and learning centers, and printing services and engineering information management. He also led the Y2K program for Commercial Airplanes.

Making a difference in the community is one of Mr. Wigfall’s passions. Currently, he is a president of the King County Library System Foundation board of directors as well as a member of The Citadel’s Baker School of Business advisory board and The Citadel Foundation board of directors.

Mr. Wigfall served four years in the Army and was honorably discharged as a captain in the Signal Corps. He earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics/computer science from The Citadel and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Tennessee. He recently published his first novel, “Standing Tall.”

Craig Wright is a consultant and an executive coach for health care transformation. His focus is on governance, clinical integration, consumerism and clinical leadership development. He is a co-founder and faculty member of the Physician Leadership Project as well as executive in residence at The Academy, a community of health system and industry partner executives devoted to improving health for all.

Dr. Wright has worked as a physician executive for more than 30 years. At The Portland Clinic, a physician-owned multispecialty group, he served as chief medical officer. He held multiple leadership roles at Providence Health & Services (now Providence), a multistate nonprofit health system, including senior vice president of physician services, Oregon region chief executive of physician and clinical services, Oregon region chief executive of ambulatory clinical services, Oregon region physician division chief executive and chief executive of Providence Medical Group in Portland, Oregon. He is currently Waterfall Community Health Center’s chief medical officer.

He serves as vice chair on the board of directors of Georgia’s Piedmont Healthcare and is a member of the advisory boards of Scribe-X, a medical scribe services company, and Synergia, a telebehavioral health service provider.

Dr. Wright earned a Bachelor of Science from Pacific Lutheran University and a medical degree from the University of Washington. He is a board-certified family physician.

Nancy Colobong Smith has worked in kidney care for more than 27 years and is a certified nephrology nurse.

She serves as a clinical nurse specialist and nurse practitioner for renal, dialysis and transplant at the University of Washington (UW) Medical Center. Her responsibilities include staff training in kidney replacement therapies, evidence-based care, continuing education and quality improvement. Ms. Colobong Smith is an affiliate instructor at the UW School of Nursing, volunteers at nurse camp for high school students and teaches community kidney education programs. She was the lead nurse for the first U.S. Food and Drug Administration trial of a wearable dialysis device.

Over the past decade, Ms. Colobong Smith has served on kidney care medical review boards, journal editorial boards and boards of directors. She is chair of the ESRD Network 16 board of directors and has been elected to serve as the 2024-2025 president of the American Nephrology Nurses Association.

Roger Gravgaard has served on the board of directors of ESRD Network 16 since 2014. Prior to that, he served on the initial patient advocacy committee, as well as the medical review board.

Mr. Gravgaard has worked in the insurance industry for 30 years and currently is with the Jerry Goff division of USHEALTH Advisors.

Active in his community, Mr. Gravgaard serves on his local city/county planning board and is a member of the Billings Chamber of Commerce, where he sits on the ambassador and agriculture committees. Mr. Gravgaard is governor-elect for Optimist International District 13, which includes Alberta, Montana, Saskatchewan and Northern Wyoming, and assumes the office of governor on Oct. 1, 2023.

Christine Logar is the chief clinical officer for Evergreen Nephrology, which partners with nephrologists to transform the delivery of kidney care, improving outcomes and quality of life for people living with kidney disease. She is responsible for the clinical care model in the West and Midwest regions as well as collaborating with the clinical strategy, learning and development, patient engagement, informatics and risk prediction teams.

Dr. Logar started her career as an assistant professor of nephrology at the University of Washington. As a clinical educator, she focused on mentoring learners and improving the patient care experience by developing integrated care teams. After four years with The Everett Clinic, she joined Providence St. Joseph Health, based at Swedish Hospital, where she led clinical teams focused on acute kidney injury reduction, dialysis operations and renal informatics.

Since 2019, Dr. Logar has served on the ESRD Network 16 board of directors and medical review board as well as represented Network 16 on the National Forum of ESRD Networks board of directors.

Jessie Pavlinac is a clinical instructor at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) in Portland, Oregon, where she was a renal and kidney transplant dietitian for over 40 years.

She serves on the ESRD Network 16 medical review board as the vice chair and on the Network 16 board of directors.

Katrina Russell is co-owner of Dialysis Consulting Group Inc., a dialysis consulting and management services organization.

Ms. Russell has been a registered nurse since 1981 and has practiced nephrology nursing since 1984. She served four terms on the National Renal Administrators Association board of directors, including as president, and is chair emeritus of the ESRD Network 16 board of directors. She previously served on the Network 16 medical review board and contracted with Network 16 and the Southeastern Kidney Council (ESRD Network 6) as a quality management consultant. Ms. Russell served on the HealthInsight corporate board as well as the Comagine Health board of directors.

Ms. Russell has served in many roles within various dialysis settings, from staff nurse to head nurse to administrative director and CEO, in both hospital-based and freestanding facilities. Though recently retired, Ms. Russell remains actively engaged in the kidney community. She assisted the Renal Healthcare Association in developing an online staff training program for didactic materials to help address the pandemic-induced health care shortage in the dialysis field.

She continues to stay busy with volunteer work with various nonprofit organizations. Currently, she is president of the Pilchuck Glass School board of trustees and leads the grant review team for Impact 100 Seattle, a women’s giving collective.

John Stivelman is professor emeritus of medicine in the division of nephrology at the University of Washington School of Medicine and chief medical officer emeritus of the Northwest Kidney Centers.

He has served on the medical review boards of ESRD Network 6 (seven years; two as chair) and Network 16 (11 years as chair), where he has sought to optimize quality in the provision of dialysis care. His academic career centered on research into the nature and treatment of the anemia of kidney failure, training of nephrology fellows and provision of care to patients with kidney disease.

Dr. Stivelman earned a Bachelor of Arts from Stanford University and a Medical Degree from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. He completed internal medicine training at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center and a nephrology fellowship at Brigham and Women’s Hospital at Harvard.

Faye Wong is a nurse leader with over 30 years of progressive nursing leadership experience. Today, she is the director of peritoneal and home hemodialysis (PD/PHD) for Davita Kidney Care, leading clinical and operations of PD/PHD programs in Idaho, Oregon, Utah and Washington.

Prior to joining Davita, Ms. Wong was assistant regional vice president at DSI Renal, where she was responsible for general management and oversight of operations in five states, ensuring safe, efficient, therapeutic and ethical patient care. She has also held clinical and/or operational management roles at DSI Renal, Fresenius Medical Care and Oregon Kidney Center.

Ms. Wong completed nursing school at the Good Samaritan School of Nursing and is a Certified Nephrology Nurse.

Stephanie Hutchinson is the executive director of ESRD Network 16 and Idaho state director at Comagine Health.

Ms. Hutchinson is a senior management professional with extensive experience and proven leadership at three national health agencies. She is skilled in strategic planning, business development, administrative operations and quality improvement. A creative problem solver, she is adept at troubleshooting to quickly overcome obstacles.

As the executive director of ESRD Network 16, Ms. Hutchinson leads all aspects of this CMS-funded contract serving end stage renal disease patients and providers in Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington. As the state director of Idaho, she works with Comagine Health’s Idaho community board coordinating initiatives within the state to address gaps in service.

Previously, Ms. Hutchinson was chief executive officer of the National Kidney Foundation of Florida, responsible for directing the organization’s operations and programs. During her tenure, she created new collaborative partnerships, increased organizational efficiencies, grew and diversified income, and led the foundation’s advocacy efforts. She has also served as executive director of the American Lung Association of Florida and regional director of the American Lung Association of Southwest/Gulf Coast Florida.

Ms. Hutchinson earned a bachelor of arts in health education from the University of South Florida and a Master of Business Administration from Rollins College.

Kelly McGrath serves as Comagine Health’s medical director in Idaho, where he drives population health improvement projects across the care continuum in the state.

Dr. McGrath’s career spans more than three decades at Clearwater Valley Hospital, and he serves as the chief medical officer of the multi-state accountable care organization Clearwater Valley Hospital is a part of and actively teaches and mentors residents.

He serves as co-chair of the Idaho Payer Provider Workgroup, which supports the transition to value-based health care in Idaho. He also serves as co-director of the Kooetenai Health Rural Health Fellowship.

In 2019, he was honored by the Idaho Academy of Family Physicians as the Family Physician of the Year. Dr. McGrath was commended for his generous contributions to his profession, his ongoing dedication to his patients and his commitment to his community.

Dr. McGrath earned a Master of Science in chemical engineering from the University of Washington, where he also attended medical school.

Joan Agee is an assistant professor at Lewis-Clark State College in the School of Nursing and Health Science. She has more than 30 years of experience in health care leadership.

Before her role in academia, Dr. Agee served in health care executive roles as a chief medical officer and chief nursing officer in the St. Luke’s Health System in Nampa, Idaho, and as the vice president of patient care services and chief nursing officer at St. Joseph Regional Medical Center in Lewiston, Idaho.

She is nationally certified as a fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) and a board member of ACHE of Idaho, where she is chair of the education committee. She serves on the board of directors and is the past board president of Nurse Leaders of Idaho. She is also a member of the boards of directors of the Lewis-Clark Valley Healthcare Foundation and the Willow Center for Grieving Children.

Dr. Agee holds a master’s degree in nursing administration from Idaho State University and a Doctor of Nursing Practice in healthcare leadership from Gonzaga University.

Megan Dunay is a board-certified geriatrician and certified medical director. She is the managing member of Keystone Center for Geriatrics and serves as medical director of Keystone Health and associate medical director of Keystone Hospice. She is also medical director of the Idaho State Veterans Homes in Boise and Post Falls.

Before joining Keystone, Dr. Dunay worked at the Boise Veterans Administration Medical Center as an academic geriatrician, medical director of the Community Living Center and acting chief of medicine. She was ultimately promoted to regional director of rehabilitation and geriatrics for Veterans Integrated Service Area 20 (Pacific Northwest).

Dr. Dunay has served on the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare’s Long-Term Care Strike Team, Idaho Crisis Standards of Care Advisory Committee and State of Idaho Disaster Medical Advisory Committee. She has spearheaded the ECHO Idaho COVID-19 educational programs, including one focused on COVID-19 treatment in nursing homes. Most recently, she helped establish ECHO educational programs on Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias as well as geriatric care.

She maintains an academic appointment with the University of Washington, allowing her to teach medical students, residents and geriatric medicine fellows.

David Garrett’s career consists of 26 years of progressive leadership positions, many of them focused on working in and transforming the primary care delivery system.

Mr. Garrett has worked for national and local health insurance plans Humana, Inc., and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City and consulted on the patient-centered medical home with the American Academy of Family Physicians. He spent many years as the director of operations and finance and interim CEO of KC CARES Health Center, a community health center in Kansas City. Now a resident of Boise, Idaho, Mr. Garrett is the CEO of the Idaho Community Health Center Association.

He has a bachelor’s degree in biology/pre-physical therapy and master’s degree in healthcare administration from Ohio University.

Nicole Hernandez is the director of quality at the Idaho Hospital Association, a statewide organization that provides leadership in health policy and advocacy and comprehensive member services that strengthen Idaho hospitals’ capacity to best serve their communities.

Mrs. Hernandez manages hospital collaboration in local and national quality improvement initiatives as well as the spread of evidence-based practice to bridge the gap between patient safety, public health, health care quality, health care compliance, risk management and emergency management. In addition, she operates a multistate peer review network that supports hospitals’ and clinics’ efforts to achieve higher levels of health care quality.

Mrs. Hernandez is a nurse with over 18 years of experience in the health care industry in areas that include clinical care delivery, quality and process improvement, informatics, workflow design, population management, case management and strategic planning.

She currently serves as a member of the Idaho Healthcare Quality Committee.

John Holmes is a board-certified pharmacotherapy specialist and associate professor at the Idaho State University (ISU) College of Pharmacy in Pocatello, Idaho.

He has over 15 years of experience collaborating on numerous quality improvement initiatives and clinical research studies at the ISU Family Medicine Residency program. Additionally, he teaches quality improvement principles to several health disciplines at ISU, including medical and pharmacy residents.

Dr. Holmes earned his Doctor of Pharmacy and Master of Public Health degrees from ISU and completed two years of residency training in family medicine and ambulatory care.

Stephanie Sayegh joined the Idaho Bureau of Rural Health & Primary Care in 2011. She is currently a health program manager, the Idaho Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility coordinator and the Idaho Small Rural Hospital Improvement Program coordinator. She provides technical assistance and grant opportunities to Idaho critical access hospitals.

Ms. Sayegh is a native Idahoan but spent many years working abroad. She was a Peace Corps health volunteer in Honduras and worked on a variety of education and health projects for nongovernmental organizations in Sierra Leone and Mozambique.

Ms. Sayegh received her Bachelor of Arts in anthropology and Spanish from Boise State University and her Master of Arts in international affairs/socioeconomic development from The New School University in New York.

Robert Vande Merwe is the executive director of the Idaho Health Care Association (IHCA). Since he assumed the role of executive director in January 2001, IHCA has successfully merged with the assisted living association, added home health, hospice and home care, and purchased their own office. In addition, IHCA has more than tripled in size and increased education revenue four-fold.

Prior to working at IHCA, Mr. Vande Merwe managed a nursing facility in Rexburg, Idaho, then an assisted living/retirement community in Boise, Idaho.

Mr. Vande Merwe holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Utah. He is active in the community and serves on various boards and committees.

Prudence Vincent is a multistate registered nurse with more than 18 years’ experience. Her clinical background is in pediatric mental health, adult mental health and neonatal intensive care, and her administrative work has been centered in health care operations. She has developed and led a multitude of quality improvement and utilization management initiatives that have improved health care outcomes and driven performance improvement. 

Ms. Vincent currently serves as the director of customer operations and engagement with the Idaho Health Data Exchange and leads a statewide collective to align efforts to improve access and use of the resources available to support social determinants of health in Idaho. In addition, she is a member of the Idaho Suicide Prevention Action Collective (ISPAC) as well as the ISPAC data subcommittee.

She is a graduate of Boise State University and holds a certificate in Lean for Healthcare from UCLA.

Matt Wimmer is a principal consultant with Health Management Associates and former director of Idaho Medicaid.

As Idaho’s Medicaid director from 2016 to 2021, Mr. Wimmer led the implementation of Healthy Connections Value Care, Idaho Medicaid’s accountable care program as well as major hospital and nursing facility payment reforms. In addition, he led a significant expansion of managed care for people eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid in Idaho, changes to Idaho’s primary care program to support patient-centered medical homes, coronavirus response efforts, children’s mental health reform, and intellectual and developmental disabilities services reform. 

Prior to joining the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, Mr. Wimmer worked with the American Academy of Pediatrics San Diego chapter and the National Initiative for Children’s Healthcare Quality.

Mr. Wimmer served on the board of the National Association of Medicaid Directors as a Western region representative from 2019 through 2021. He participated as a Medicaid Leadership Institute fellow through the Center for Healthcare Strategies in 2019.

He received his Master of Business Administration from San Diego State University and earned a master’s degree in anthropology from the University of Washington.

Liz Woodruff has more than 10 years’ experience as an educator, facilitator, advocate, health policy expert and nonprofit manager. Ms. Woodruff joined the Idaho Academy of Family Physicians as executive director in April 2020. She also helped lead the effort to expand Medicaid in Idaho. Ms. Woodruff has a bachelor's degree from Whitman College and a Master of Arts from Rutgers University.

Stephanie Hutchinson is the executive director of ESRD Network 16 and Idaho state director at Comagine Health.

Ms. Hutchinson is a senior management professional with extensive experience and proven leadership at three national health agencies. She is skilled in strategic planning, business development, administrative operations and quality improvement. A creative problem solver, she is adept at troubleshooting to quickly overcome obstacles.

As the executive director of ESRD Network 16, Ms. Hutchinson leads all aspects of this CMS-funded contract serving end stage renal disease patients and providers in Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington. As the state director of Idaho, she works with Comagine Health’s Idaho community board coordinating initiatives within the state to address gaps in service.

Previously, Ms. Hutchinson was chief executive officer of the National Kidney Foundation of Florida, responsible for directing the organization’s operations and programs. During her tenure, she created new collaborative partnerships, increased organizational efficiencies, grew and diversified income, and led the foundation’s advocacy efforts. She has also served as executive director of the American Lung Association of Florida and regional director of the American Lung Association of Southwest/Gulf Coast Florida.

Ms. Hutchinson earned a bachelor of arts in health education from the University of South Florida and a Master of Business Administration from Rollins College.

Based in the firm's Las Vegas office, Adam Segal is a shareholder in Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck's Employee Benefits Group. He represents numerous trust funds and plans with respect to all aspects of benefit plan representation.

Mr. Segal has significant experience in employee benefits plan design, drafting and qualification; IRS determination letter applications; fiduciary duties; trustee meetings and advice; IRS and Department of Labor audit defense; regulatory compliance under ERISA, HIPAA, WHCRA, PHSA and other applicable laws; litigation, including ERISA collections and claim defense, withdrawal liability and Ninth Circuit appeals; and preparing various benefit plan operation documents.

Now serving as the chief executive officer of Nevada Business Group on Health/Nevada Health Partners, Chris Syverson leads a group of public and private employers in direct contracting for health care services as well as employee and community health. She serves on the Executive Committee of the Board for the National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions as the secretary/treasurer, and co-chairs the Value-Based Contracting Affinity Group. Ms. Syverson also serves on the Nevada Advisory Council on the State Program for Wellness and the Prevention of Chronic Disease (CWCD).

Chris Bosse is the vice president of government relations for Renown Health. She provides strategic input and direction for developing and leading government relations and related community relations for Renown. She is responsible for educating federal and state legislators, government and community leaders about health care and what issues put Renown's safety net services at risk.

Prior to her role in government relations, her roles focused primarily in finance and ranged in scope from financial projects to vice president of finance for Renown Regional Medical Center, at that time, a 538-bed level II trauma center, and vice president of financial operations for Renown's Integrated Health Network.

Ms. Bosse is a certified public accountant and prior to joining Renown, she worked for Ernst and Young.

Debra Gulley-Collins has dedicated more than 30 years to the health care field, including quality, workforce development, patient education and public health.

She serves as director at Nevada Nursing and Healthcare Workforce Center and provides oversight of Department of Labor training and employment funds, which train and place qualified underserved and dislocated adult workers into health care occupations. In Southern Nevada, Ms. Gulley-Collins offers opportunities for students ages 16-18 to shadow professionals in hospitals and learn about health care careers. She is also vice chair of the Nevada Action Coalition, a driving force of the Future of Nursing: Campaign for Action, an initiative of AARP Foundation, AARP and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The coalition effects long-term sustainable change at the local, state and regional levels by providing opportunities to transform health care through nursing.

She has also served as the chair of Nevada Alliance for Nursing Excellence, which is composed of health care leaders from around the state and provides a premier system of nursing education and practice to ensure a healthy Nevada.

Ms. Gulley-Collins earned her bachelor’s degree from Seattle University.

Allyson Hoover, MSN, RN, has been a health care professional in both Northern and Southern Nevada for more than 25 years. She began her career as a registered nurse and certified diabetes educator and, after obtaining her master's degree in nursing, she moved into leadership roles within the managed care industry. Her expertise includes Medicaid, Medicare Advantage, Taft-Hartley Funds and acute care.

Since February 2022, Ms. Hoover has served as director of network development and maintenance for SilverSummit Healthplan. She has also worked for and with WellCare Services, Fundamental Clinical and Operational Services (FCOS), Anthem BCBS, The Valley Health System and the Nevada Public Employees’ Benefits Program.

Alisa Howard, CHWI, is the founder and principal of Minority Health Consultants, a public health firm with the mission to serve as the conduit between stakeholders and minority communities in order to improve health outcomes in those communities. She is also an instructor for the Community Health Worker Training Program at the College of Southern Nevada. Ms. Howard previously worked in the Nevada Department of Health and Human Service’s Tuberculosis Prevention, Control and Elimination Program, the Southern Nevada Health District’s HIV & STD Surveillance Department, and the Las Vegas Urban League, where she implemented the Minority Health Services Program as well as directed and ran a Ryan White Part B HIV prevention program and an early intervention program.

She serves on several boards and committees, including the advisory board for the Southern Nevada Health District Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program, the health and equity advisory committee for the Nevada Office of Minority Health, the board of directors for the Nevada Certification Board and the policy committee for the National Association of Community Health Workers.

Ms. Howard is a regular speaker at community and professional events as well as the host of the monthly radio show “Public Health: Just the Facts.” She has received numerous awards, including the NAACP Las Vegas Legacy Builder Award, the Go Urban Las Vegas Success in the City Community Service Award, the Black Caucus of Health Workers Community Service Award, the Nevada Public Health Association Public Health Advocate of the Year award and the Health Advocate Pioneer Award from Community Partners for Better Health.

Ms. Howard holds a Bachelor of Arts in psychology from Nevada State College and is a certified Community Health Worker Instructor.

Patrick Kelly serves as the president and chief executive officer of the Nevada Hospital Association, the largest trade group of hospitals in the state.

Prior to accepting that position in 2021, Mr. Kelly oversaw matters of finance, employment, human resources, retirement, insurance, foundation operation and property management as part of his duties as chief financial officer and vice president of shared services for the West Virginia Hospital Association. He also served as the chief executive officer and general counsel for the West Virginia Health Care Association, the largest trade association of nursing homes and assisted living communities in the state. From 1997 to 1999, Mr. Kelly was general counsel for West Virginia Gov. Cecil H. Underwood. In addition to providing advice and legal counsel to the governor, he was the point person for health and human resource issues, including the Children’s Health Insurance Program.

Mr. Kelly has served as a board member for a variety of organizations, including the Mid-Atlantic Renal Coalition, the West Virginia Health Information Network, the West Virginia Telehealth Alliance and the Thomas Health System.

He earned both his bachelor’s degree and Juris Doctorate from West Virginia University.

Don Kowitz is a senior health care consultant with more than 30 years of executive experience in the health care and health insurance industries.

Mr. Kowitz retired as the chief executive officer of Saint Mary’s Health Plans (SMHP) in May of 2014. SMHP (now Prominence Health Plan) served more than 65,000 Nevadans with a full range of health insurance, administrative and health enhancement services. Prior to joining Saint Mary’s, Mr. Kowitz worked for almost 15 years as a senior executive in various insurance, financial and operations positions, including senior area vice president of John Alden Financial Corporation.

An active member of the Reno community, Mr. Kowitz currently serves on the boards of PBS Reno, Access to Healthcare Network and the Community Health Alliance Foundation, and is a member of the Truckee Meadows Water Authority Standing Advisory Committee.

John N. Onyema is a board-certified senior physician executive who has worked in health care in Southern Nevada for more than 30 years.

He has served as the medical director of UMC Care Centers since 2006, overseeing nearly 50 physicians at eight primary care clinics, eight urgent care clinics and one industrial clinic. During his tenure, Dr. Onyema has implemented numerous programs and processes that have improved patient safety, satisfaction and outcomes; staff recruitment, retention and satisfaction; physician productivity; and revenue. Previously at UMC, he held other medical director roles and was a hospitalist and staff physician.

Currently, Dr. Onyema is a member of the governing board of the Silver State Accountable Care Organization.

Dr. Onyema earned an MBBS degree from the University of Nigeria School of Medicine and a Master of Medical Management from Tulane University. He is a Certified Physician Executive.

Andrew Pasternak is the founder and provider behind Silver Sage Center for Family Medicine and Silver Sage Sports and Fitness Lab. He’s also a clinical professor at the University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine and research director for the Sports Medicine Fellowship. Since 2009, Dr. Pasternak has been the medical director for the Tahoe Rim Trail Endurance Races and has been very active with the Foundation for Medicine and Science in Ultra-Endurance Sports. He is also a senior aviation medical examiner for the FAA and is the chairman for Community Clinical Advisory Group for the North American Primary Research Group. He works closely with several health care organizations, including Access to Health Care, Immunize Nevada, Washoe County Medical Society, Nevada State Medical Association and the Northern Nevada Physician Wellness Coalition.

Dr. Pasternak graduated from the University of Michigan Inteflex program (combined BS/MD) in 1993. He completed his family medicine residency at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. After residency, he completed a two-year primary care research fellowship at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and received his master’s degree in chronic disease epidemiology.

Trevor Rice is the Chief Operating Officer of Access to Healthcare Network, a statewide nonprofit community health organization dedicated to helping individuals and organizations manage their health care needs effectively and efficiently through innovative programs related to health care delivery, care coordination, care management and socioeconomic determinants of health.

Mr. Rice has more than 10 years of experience in the health care industry in areas that include operations, quality management, business development, provider relations and systems of care. He specializes in the development of care coordination and care management programs designed to improve patient outcomes, reduce health expenditures and improve health care quality measures.

Mr. Rice currently serves as a member of the Nevada Division of Insurance Network Adequacy Advisory Council and is board chair of Urban Roots Garden Classrooms.

Brett Salmon is the president and chief executive officer of the Nevada Health Care Association (NVHCA). He oversees day-to-day management of the NVHCA, works with the board to set the association’s strategic vision and helps represent long-term care communities throughout Nevada.

Prior to joining the NVHCA, Mr. Salmon worked as the policy development associate director for the Oregon Medical Association, policy and legislation director for the Oregon Health Care Association, and policy and regulatory affairs director for Sunwest Management. His most recent experience came while working for the Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services, where he worked as a policy analyst, senior policy analyst, and manager of policy and technical services. Mr. Salmon has worked in government affairs in Utah, Oregon and now Nevada.

He has a bachelor’s degree from Brigham Young University (political science/Asian studies) and a juris doctor degree from Willamette University College of Law.

Since 2016, Stacie Sasso has served as the executive director of the Health Services Coalition (HSC), which represents more than 275,000 lives in Southern Nevada, including firefighters, police officers, construction workers and hotel staff. Under her leadership, the coalition focuses on achieving affordable hospital rates and introducing accountability for the quality of care into the process.

In addition to her work with the HSC, Ms. Sasso also serves as executive director of the Laborers Health Fund. In this role, she has created innovative pharmacy savings programs, overseen the creation and implementation of an EPO network, and assisted in the creation of the Laborers Health and Wellness Center, a full-service primary care facility for participants.

Eileen Colen currently serves a dual role as the state director of Nevada and an administrative director for Business Development at Comagine Health. She is responsible for state governance, including the Nevada community board, stakeholder engagement and local business development, and for administration functions of the Business Development Department, including planning, facilitating, coordinating, monitoring and reporting of all functions needed to fulfill the needs of the Growth Division.

Ms. Colen has held several other positions at Comagine Health, including engagement manager, senior improvement advisor, community engagement director, outreach director and health information technology manager. Throughout her time with the organization, she has managed some aspect of client engagement, including patient and family engagement, workforce pipeline efforts through AHEC, account management and health information exchange (HIE) sales, recruitment, training and education.

Ms. Colen has led statewide teams to develop successful tools and outcomes that benefit the organization and positively influence the medical community within Nevada. She had also directed the online training program from strategy to deploying an online learning system, creating training content and monitoring course completion for HealtHIE Nevada.

Prior to joining Comagine Health, Ms. Colen was a market research analyst for the Nevada Commission on Tourism where she coordinated research surveys, databases, projects and reports, including visitor profiles and state travel spending economic research focused in rural Nevada. She graduated from California State University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics and obtained her Master of Business Administration from the University of Phoenix.

Meggin Lorino is the executive director of the New Mexico Association for Home & Hospice Care. She has more than a decade of experience in nonprofit program management, specifically working to promote health and well-being for special populations. She previously worked for BakerRipley, whose mission is to bring resources, education and connection to emerging neighborhoods. Ms. Lorino is passionate about supporting individuals' ability to age in community. She has extensive experience in compliance management, strategic planning and evaluation, grant writing and community development. She holds a master’s degree in social work from the University of Texas at Austin and a bachelor’s degree from the University of New Mexico.

Margaret (Maggie) McCowen has devoted her professional career to working in a variety of social and behavioral health settings in Texas, Arizona and, for the past 30 years, New Mexico. She has worked in child protective services, residential and inpatient behavioral health care, juvenile justice and has taught in social work education. Ms. McCowen has focused professionally on administration and management, and has served as director, chief executive officer and executive director in several organizations. She currently serves as the executive director of the New Mexico Behavioral Health Providers Association, where she has practiced in policy and advocacy.

She serves on several boards and councils, including the New Mexico Telehealth Alliance board of directors, the New Mexico Health Information Collaborative board of directors, the NMSU College of Health and Social Services advisory council, the New Mexico Primary Care Council, and the Bridges to Wellness advisory committee.

Ms. McCowen holds a Bachelor of Arts in social welfare from New Mexico State University, a Master of Science in Social Work from the University of Texas at Arlington and a Master of Business Administration from the University of New Mexico.

Dale Alverson is professor emeritus and regents’ professor at the University of New Mexico (UNM) School of Medicine. He served as medical director of the Center for Telehealth at UNM from 1995 to 2018, and now serves as their strategic telehealth consultant. He’s been involved in the planning, implementation, research and evaluation of telemedicine systems for New Mexico, primarily serving its rural communities, using information technologies, videoconferencing and the internet to provide access to clinical services and health education.

He is also chief medical informatics officer of LCF Research, assisting in their efforts to address the development and meaningful use of health information exchange, adoption of electronic health records, and integration with telemedicine.

 

Dr. Alverson is a graduate of the University of Michigan Medical School. He completed his pediatric residency at the University of Colorado, and neonatology fellowship at UNM, where he’s been on faculty since 1982, and served as neonatology division chief from 1988 to 1997.

 

Nick Autio is general counsel to the New Mexico Medical Society. In his role as general counsel, Nick works closely with physicians and their practices to address a wide variety of legal issues that arise on a daily basis. Additionally, Nick assists the Medical Society in identifying and pursuing legislative initiatives aimed at improving the practice of medicine in New Mexico.

Prior to joining the Medical Society, Nick’s practice was focused on insurance defense work with an emphasis on defending governmental entities and government employees in civil rights cases.

Troy Clark has more than 20 years of experience in health care, serving in both operational and financial roles. His experience includes physician practice management, ambulatory surgical centers, specialty hospitals, rural and critical access hospitals, and large hospital systems. He has opened four new hospitals and has worked in for-profit, nonprofit and academic environments.

Mr. Clark is the president and chief executive officer of the New Mexico Hospital Association. Before joining NMHA, he served as the vice president of regional operations for Presbyterian Healthcare Services, where he oversaw operations of both hospitals and clinics in Socorro, Ruidoso, Clovis, Tucumcari, Santa Fe and Espanola.

He obtained both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in accounting from Brigham Young University.  He earned his CPA designation and worked in public accounting for two years before venturing into health care.  Throughout his career, he has moved in and out of operational and financial roles.  He has served as the financial officer for Presbyterian’s Medical Group and for the regional facilities for Presbyterian.

Steven Hansen is the CEO for Presbyterian Medical Services in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Mr. Hansen is a seasoned executive working to promote the vision of Presbyterian Medical Services of improving the health and lives of all people of the Southwest. Presbyterian Medical Services has 1,380 employees, 100 sites and is Joint Commission-accredited. Operations include behavioral health services, native and traditional healing services, children's services, hospice, primary care, Health Care for the Homeless programs, statewide organization of nursing facilities, facilities for developmentally disabled and assisted living providers, supportive living, dental and a 340B pharmacy program.

Mr. Hanson is a member of the Laguna HealthCare Corporation board of directors, the New Mexico Primary Care Association board of directors, the National Federally Qualified Health Center Advisory Group for UnitedHealthcare, and a University of New Mexico advisory group to develop a health administration and policy graduate program. He was named a Healthcare Hero in 2007 by Nevada Business Magazine.

He holds a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Nevada, Reno, and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Utah.

Richard Kozoll blends his community health center practice with his role as chair of the New Mexico Clinical Prevention Initiative, a combined effort of the New Mexico Medical Society and the New Mexico Department of Health.

Dr. Kozoll is a past CEO and medical director for NMMRA (1986-1992) and he has continued to consult with Comagine Health’s New Mexico office in support of its programs for many years.

He is board-certified in family practice, general preventive medicine, and quality assurance and utilization review.

Joseph P. Sánchez is state director for AARP New Mexico and has spent his career as an advocate for K-12 education, older adults and nursing education.

Before joining AARP, Dr. Sánchez spent nine years leading government and public relations for the University of New Mexico College of Nursing. His previous leadership roles include serving as executive director of the New Mexico Center for Nursing Excellence, where he worked with various organizations, including AARP’s Center to Champion Nursing and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. He also served as program director at the New Mexico Public Education Department for nearly 13 years.

Dr. Sánchez is a veteran and served as a commander in the U.S. Navy. He earned his Master of Business Administration and Bachelor of Business Administration from New Mexico Highlands University, and received a PhD in human development and family studies from the University of New Mexico. He also holds a certificate in Naval Integrated Logistics from the Navy Supply Corps School in Athens, Georgia, and Advanced Change Management certification.

He is a native of New Mexico with strong ties to both the Hispanic/Latino and Native American communities.

Vicente Vargas is the executive director of the New Mexico Health Care Association/New Mexico Center for Assisted Living (NMHCA/NMCAL). He is a New Mexico-licensed attorney with a background in government relations and insurance administration.

Before joining NMHCA/NMCAL, Mr. Vargas served as general counsel for the New Mexico Office of Superintendent of Insurance (OSI), where he provided direct legal counsel to the superintendent of insurance on all issues related to OSI’s regulatory oversight. Mr. Vargas has also worked for New Mexico State University (NMSU) as director of state government relations and legal counsel for NMSU’s constitutionally attached New Mexico Department of Agriculture. In this role, he particularly enjoyed collaborating with NMSU faculty and staff to develop legislative priorities for consideration and approval by the NMSU governing board.

Mr. Vargas has a Bachelor of Arts and a Juris Doctor from the University of New Mexico. He is a native New Mexican from Las Cruces and currently lives in Albuquerque.

Susan Wilson serves as executive director of the New Mexico Coalition for Healthcare Value. She joined the organization in 2019 after working nearly 20 years in health care, insurance, oil and gas and nonprofit industries in the Southwest. Before her role at the NM Coalition, she served as vice president of business development at New Mexico Mutual and head of marketing, public and provider relations and governmental affairs for Lovelace Health System. An expert in strategic planning, nonprofit development, marketing and branding, Ms. Wilson serves as marketing chair on the executive board for United Way of Central New Mexico and is a member of the state’s Economic Forum. She was recognized in 2011 as a Woman of Influence by Albuquerque Business First and continues her work as president of Susan J. Wilson consulting, a strategic planning and marketing firm.

Richard H. Draper is the New Mexico state director for Comagine Health and is a public affairs strategist and a versatile communications, corporate and managerial professional. A former Intel corporate public affairs director, New Mexico media manager and broadcast journalist, he is the consulting project manager for the Sandoval County Health Economic and Workforce Development Initiative. Mr. Draper received his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Santa Clara School of Law in Santa Clara, California, and his bachelor’s degree in political science and internal relations from Claremont McKenna College in Claremont, California.

Betsy Boyd-Flynn is the executive director of the Oregon chapter of the American Academy of Family Physicians (OAFP) and the OAFP Foundation.

Before  joining OAFP in May 2018, she worked for a health IT consulting company focused on Medicaid agencies in states seeking to expand their health IT infrastructure. From 2014 to 2016, she worked at Oregon Health Care Quality Corp. as a program director working on contracts with the Oregon Health Authority related to clinical quality measurement and utilization.

Ms. Boyd-Flynn worked for the Oregon Medical Association from 2007 until 2014. As the deputy executive vice president, she focused on strategic planning and member services, public relations and coalition work with health care stakeholders.

Craig Wright is an independent consultant and executive coach that works with healthcare organizations and leaders from across the country. He has been a physician executive for over 30 years and has run large medical groups in the Seattle and Portland markets. He also served as the senior physician leader in the Providence Oregon Region as well as the Providence Health System cooperate office in Renton, Washington. Recently he was the chief medical officer for The Portland Clinic and board chair for the Portland Coordinated Care Association. He has also served on the Oregon Health Leadership Council Board and currently serves on the Piedmont Health System board in Atlanta, Georgia. He has a passion to improve the health and well-being of Oregonians through affordable, quality and patient experience outcomes. He is a board-certified Family Physician who did his training in Seattle at the University of Washington.

Tom Ewing is a practicing physician, laboratory director and pharmacy director for Planned Parenthood of Southwestern Oregon. A graduate of Washington University Medical School, he completed his residency in family medicine at the University of South Carolina Medical Center in Charleston. For several years, Dr. Ewing practiced family medicine and was the perinatal medical director at the Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) in Charleston before moving to Eugene to join the Eugene Clinic. Prior to joining the Planned Parenthood team, he practiced family medicine and has been the CMO at both PeaceHealth Medical Group — a Lane County multispecialty group of approximately 150 providers — and PacificSource Health Plans — an insurance provider serving Medicare, Medicaid and commercial members across Oregon, Idaho and Montana. Dr. Ewing’s leadership interests focus on creating highly reliable systems within an organizational culture of safety to achieve the highest quality of service for all patients. Clinically, he’s been focusing on men’s sexual health, including vasectomy.

Omar Al Rais is the vice president of operations at Project Access NOW (PANOW). Before joining PANOW, Mr. Al Rais served as the director of affiliate quality and compliance at Planned Parenthood of Southwestern Oregon, where he led the affiliate risk, quality, compliance and patient experience efforts. He has a deep and varied background in medical care, policy and quality improvement, including earning a Master of Business Administration in Healthcare Management from Oregon Health & Science University/Portland State University in 2019.

Previously, he practiced as a medical doctor in Iraq and Jordan as a resident in otolaryngology. Subsequently, he earned a degree in molecular pharmacology, where his research focused on the correlation between alterations in DNA damage and repair genes and patient responses to chemotherapy.

Demonstrating his commitment to mission-driven community service, his experience includes performance improvement with Planned Parenthood, equity outreach at Cascade AIDS Project and board of directors president-elect of HIV Alliance (Eugene, Ore.).

Mr. Al Rais is committed to eliminating health disparities. He is utilizing his past medical experience to help underserved and at-risk populations to overcome barriers in accessing equitable health care.

Bryan Boehringer has served as the CEO of the Oregon Medical Association (OMA) since January 2016. Prior to this role, Mr. Boehringer served as the interim CEO and as the senior vice president of government relations and health policy, where he led the organization’s advocacy efforts. As the CEO, he leads the strategic planning efforts focused on advocating for a system to help OMA members provide the best patient care possible; transparency in maintaining the financial health of the organization, including producing the OMA’s annual report; and increasing the scope and the size of OMA’s annual conference. During his tenure as the association’s lead lobbyist, Mr. Boehringer worked on several issues, from reauthorizing and funding the Rural Medical Reinsurance Fund to improving the practice environment by passing administrative simplification bills relating to overpayment recovery, centralized credentialing and simplified prior authorization. Prior to joining the OMA, Mr. Boehringer served as the director of government and community relations at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU). During his 11 years at OHSU, he worked on a variety of issues, including the expansion of OHSU's biomedical efforts, the merger of OHSU and the Oregon Graduate Institute, OHSU’s workforce initiatives, and the expansion of OHSU's health and research facilities into the South Waterfront. Mr. Boehringer has also served as committee staff for the Oregon Legislature and worked in the Washington, D.C., office of U.S. Sen. Mark O. Hatfield. He graduated from Willamette University and was born and raised in Crow, Oregon, in rural Lane County.

Mylia Christensen is a retired health care executive. She served as senior vice president and chief operating officer during the first three formative years at Comagine Health. Throughout her career, Ms. Christensen has worked in almost all facets of health care, from clinical settings to hospital and health care system management, strategic planning and administration. She served as national director for the Medicaid Evidence-based Decisions Project at Oregon Health & Science University’s Center for Evidence-based Policy, administrator of Oregon’s Public Employees’ Benefit Board, director of program development and physician services for Legacy Portland Hospital System, and administrator of women’s health services at Good Samaritan Hospital.

Katie Dobler is the vice president of Salem Health’s Medical Group after a recent transition from serving as chief operations officer at The Portland Clinic. She also served as executive director for the Portland Coordinated Care Association (PCCA) and had been involved with the PCCA since it was established in 2012. She served on the Quality Corp Board. Ms. Dobler has also been instrumental in collaborating with the member groups, who now share several value-based contracts. She partnered with her colleagues at The Portland Clinic and in the community to create a workplace that supports a value-based model of care. Ms. Dobler has 12 years of experience at The Portland Clinic that includes human resources director and chief of support services. Prior to joining The Portland Clinic, she was human resources manager at Nordstrom.

Felisa Hagins is the political director for the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 49. SEIU is the largest union nationally, with more than 2 million members, and the largest union in Oregon, with more than 60,000 members. SEIU Local 49 represents over 10,000 janitors and health care workers who work in the private sector throughout the state of Oregon. Prior to her experience with SEIU, Ms. Hagins has been a legislative aide, fundraiser and campaign manager. She also served as a member of the Eligibility and Enrollment Committee of the Oregon Health Fund Board. Currently, Ms. Hagins serves on the Oregon Health Policy Board and the Coalition for a Livable Future Board.

 

Carly Hood-Ronick is the chief executive officer at Project Access NOW (PANOW), a nonprofit in the Portland, Oregon, area working to provide culturally responsive health care and social service support for members of the community.

Before she joined PANOW, Ms. Hood-Ronick was a director at the Oregon Primary Care Association, where she oversaw health equity and Medicaid strategy efforts with community health centers around the state, identifying ways to align payment and delivery system reform.

Ms. Hood-Ronick has worked with communities in multiple states and countries to develop upstream programs and has published work on best practices in financing social care efforts. With more than 15 years of experience in domestic and international work, she is regularly called on to lead systems-level equity efforts. She has served as a co-chair of the Oregon Health Policy Board’s Health Equity Committee and has advised on community and social health data, sharing efforts as chair of the Oregon Health Information Technology Oversight Council’s Community Information Exchange workgroup. She is deeply committed to health equity and views her work through a lens that sees access to health care as a fundamental right.

Ms. Hood-Ronick received her Master of Public Affairs in social policy and her Master of Public Health from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Mark Kantor, RPh, is the director of pharmacy at AllCare Health, a coordinated care organization (CCO) in Southern Oregon. With a background in community pharmacy, Mr. Kantor has worked on strategies to alleviate the opiate crisis as a member of Oregon Pain Guidance, as part of a statewide opioid tapering taskforce, and with a community-focused nonprofit that distributes free naloxone and overdose education. Mr. Kantor holds a degree in pharmacy from Oregon State University. A lifelong resident of Southern Oregon, he enjoys hiking and camping with his wife and three sons. Mr. Kantor is currently restoring a vintage speedboat and should be out on the lake soon.

David Lima has an extensive background in managed care that spans Medicaid and Medicare Advantage programs, product design and bid development.

Before joining Comagine Health’s Oregon community board, Mr. Lima led product development and management at Cambia Health Solutions and previously worked as director of a Medicare Advantage special needs plan at CareOregon.

He has successfully launched several first-to-market products and innovations. He has been a panelist and speaker at numerous industry associations and conferences and served as a plan representative to industry associations, advocating for and shaping health care policy on Medicare Advantage and the advancement of integration for dually eligible individuals (people who receive both Medicare and Medicaid).

Mr. Lima has a passion for equity, diversity and representation, most recently serving as chair of a Latinx employee resource group focused on professional development, belonging and representation in managed care.

He earned a bachelor’s degree in health care management and administration from the Florida Institute of Technology.

Alison Little, M.D., M.P.H., is the medical director for Medicaid programs at PacificSource Community Solutions. Dr. Little is responsible for oversight, clinical safety, quality and member experience for PacificSource’s Medicaid line of business. Prior to joining PacificSource, Dr. Little served as the senior medical director for the Center for Evidence-based Policy at Oregon Health and Science University, where she worked with Medicaid programs across the country providing evidence synthesis and policy advice. She has also served as the medical director of the Oregon Health Services Commission, and prior to that, the medical director of Clear Choice Health Plans. Dr. Little received her Bachelor of Science degree from Pacific University in Forest Grove, Ore., her Master of Public Health degree from the University of Washington, and her M.D. from the Medical College of Wisconsin. Dr. Little is a board-certified Family Physician, and until recently, served on the Oregon Educator’s Benefits Board. In her free time, Dr. Little enjoys hiking, skiing and cooking.

Melinda Muller is a primary care physician and interim chief medical officer at Legacy Health. She collaborates with others to lead Legacy's COVID-19 response, engage community partners, advance clinical safety and quality efforts, and ensure alignment and partnership across Legacy Health Partners, Legacy's medical staffs and Legacy Medical Group. Previously she served as the clinical vice president of population health and had several institutional responsibilities, including development and implementation of value-based care and contracts for the broader clinically integrated network and representing Legacy in regional population health work. Prior to that role, she led the primary care group at Legacy for 10 years, leading the system through medical home transformation with all clinics receiving PCPCH Tier 4 and NCQA Tier 3 certification. Dr. Muller is a lifelong Oregonian who received her medical degree from Oregon Health & Sciences University in 1996 and completed her residency in internal medicine at Legacy Health in 1999.

Allison Schmidt is the director of analytics and business intelligence at Kaiser Permanente. Ms. Schmidt leads advancement of sustainable data and analytics programs supporting Kaiser regions and the Maui Health System community hospitals. She also oversees the reporting capabilities for the social health and Thrive Local programs. Prior to joining Kaiser, Ms. Schmidt held leadership positions in a variety of industries, including higher education, manufacturing and health insurance. She also taught graduate-level courses for the Biomedical Informatics program at Oregon Health & Science University.

Meredith Roberts is the executive director of governance and community engagement and Oregon state director for Comagine Health. Previously, she was a senior program director working with total cost of care and payment reform programs, and an administrative fellow and manager of clinical planning at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. Earlier in her career, Ms. Roberts worked as a benefits manager for a large self-insured employer and as a consultant. She holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Wesleyan University and a master’s degree in health policy and management from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Ms. Roberts volunteers with Kaiser Permanente’s hospice program, serves on various alumni committees and is learning Spanish.

R. Chet Loftis is the director of the Public Employees Health Program (PEHP) where he is responsible for all strategic and operational functions. He has a broad background in health care, public policy and law. He has worked for all three branches of state government as a law clerk to Utah Supreme Court Justice I. Daniel Stewart, the assistant to the Utah attorney general, and associate general counsel to the Utah Legislature. He has also served as the vice president of government relations and general counsel for the Utah Medical Association, director of public policy for Regence Blue Cross and Blue Shield, and a shareholder with the law firm of Kirton McConkie.

Jill Vicory is the vice president of member and community affairs for the Utah Hospital Association (UHA). She has served in various capacities for the association since 1998 and oversees UHA’s communications and education functions, its efforts in workforce and some internal operations responsibilities.

She represents the hospital sector on several policy and community boards, including the Utah Newborn Hearing Screening Advisory Committee and Utah Newborn Genetic Screening Advisory Committee. Ms. Vicory is a past member of the CHIP Advisory Council and Utah Poison Control Center Community Board. Prior to joining UHA, she worked for five years in community relations at St. Francis Hospital Center in Indianapolis.

Ms. Vicory earned associate and bachelor’s degrees in journalism from Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana.

Scott Baxter is a business leader in benefits management and supportive of health care quality improvement. He has more than 25 years of experience in benefits management and 17 years of executive-level benefits management experience in Fortune 500 companies at the corporate and regional levels, covering both U.S. and non-U.S. populations. Mr. Baxter has actively worked with health care providers in plan designs, epidemiological studies, claims analysis, intervention programs development and disease case management resulting in significant quality-of-life improvements.

Alysia Ducuara is the executive director of the nonprofit Get Healthy Utah, whose mission is to foster a culture of health through engaging multisector stakeholders, building partnerships, providing resources and connecting efforts that support healthy eating, active living and mental wellbeing. She serves on the board of the Utah Chapter of the Society of Public Health Education, and was president of the board in 2021.

She worked at Salt Lake County Health Department for 10 years, where she coordinated chronic disease management and prevention efforts and was a certified wellness coach for the BeWise program.

Ms. Ducuara has a passion for improving the way public health can collaborate with other sectors to improve the quality of life in our communities.

She received her bachelor’s in public health from Brigham Young University and her master’s in health education and promotion from the University of Utah.

Jan Lambert has been a member of Comagine Health’s Patient and Family Advisory Council (PFAC) since 2014. Her interest in public policy and issues that directly affect “real people” is rooted in early experiences working for Sen. Henry Jackson in his Washington, D.C., office after completing a degree in political science. Her interest in health care issues and policies is a result of years of caregiving and managing her own and her family’s health care issues.

As a member of the PFAC, Ms. Lambert works with Comagine Health staff to provide the patient perspective on a variety of projects that directly affect Medicare and all health care recipients in Utah. Her contributions include participating as a panelist in the 2018 Health Services Research Conference at the University of Utah, attending the Utah Summit on Healthcare Affordability, serving as a member of the Open Notes National Information Technology PFAC, participating in a series of ECHO sessions for Utah clinics addressing the Annual Wellness Visit and working on a Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute grant in conjunction with the University of Utah to develop a guide for researchers who wish to partner with PFACs. More recently, she has been a part of the Comagine Health HUB, a council of patient advisors from Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah and Washington.

Ms. Lambert is a member of the PFCC partners advisory board and an active participant in that organization, attending educational seminars and participating on panels at their yearly conferences.

Professionally, Ms. Lambert worked for 30 years in the hospitality industry in Utah, starting her own company providing tours and event planning for guests to the state in 2006.

Michelle McOmber is the executive vice president and CEO of the Utah Medical Association (UMA). As head of the UMA, she directs a 3,500-member organization that provides educational assistance to doctors and nurses and supports various public health projects.

Alan Ormsby is the Utah state director of the AARP. He has a strong background in leadership and advocacy for Utah's older adults and people with disabilities. His training is in law, with a focus on health care law, long-term care, home- and community-based services, HIPAA, Medicare and Medicaid. Immediately prior to joining AARP in 2011, Mr. Ormsby served as the director of the Division of Services for People with Disabilities (DSPD), leading Utah’s efforts to provide the best possible services for people with disabilities. Before serving as the DSPD director, Mr. Ormsby was the director of Aging and Adult Services, and in this role was responsible for statewide home- and community-based services for Utahns 60 and over. In addition, he worked with the local Area Agencies on Aging, and was instrumental in drafting legislation to initiate Utah's Commission on Aging. Mr. Ormsby has served as a member on the board of Utah Developmental Disabilities Council, Sen. Orrin Hatch’s Advisory Committee on People with Disabilities, and several long-term care policy groups. He also supervised Adult Protective Services, which investigates claims of abuse, neglect and exploitation involving persons who are disabled or elderly. Mr. Ormsby received his undergraduate degree from the University of Utah and law degree from Quinnipiac University.

Alan Pruhs is the executive director of the Association for Utah Community Health (AUCH), which is the federally recognized Primary Care Association (PCA) for the state of Utah. The association supports and represents Utah’s 13 Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) and other allied not-for-profit health care providers. Mr. Pruhs has more than 20 years of experience in the health care industry. He spent 10 years working as a recreation therapist with adults and children with physical, developmental and emotional disabilities; four years in pharmaceutical research as vice president of Bio-Kinetics; and 14 years in community health as the associate and executive director of AUCH. Mr. Pruhs has received numerous awards for his service to the community and medically underserved. His most recent awards were the 2018 Partnership Award from the Department of Workforce Services; the 2017 Outstanding Advocate for the Underserved from the Community Health Association of the Mountain and Plains States (CHAMPS); the 2016 Joint Commission commendation for support in ambulatory care and PCMH recognition; the 2013 Utah Community Foundation Enlightened 50; and the 2009 Betsey K. Cooke Grassroots MVP Award from the National Association of Community Health Centers.

Susan (Sue) Robel is the region president for Intermountain Health’s Canyons region, spanning Idaho and Utah. As president, Ms. Robel drives a unified vision for growth, business development, clinical operations, caregiver engagement and culture within the region. There are 30,000+ caregivers in the Canyons Region dedicated to providing high quality patient care. Ms. Robel and her region executive team support these caregivers within 21 hospitals, 130 clinics and an array of other clinical operations like homecare and hospice, hospital-at-home, telehealth and air ambulance.

Before stepping into her current role, Ms. Robel was the chief nurse executive for Intermountain Health, ensuring nursing caregivers were aligned in providing evidenced-based care for patients and focused on clinical operations throughout the Intermountain Health system. Prior to joining Intermountain Health in 2019, she served as the executive vice president, chief nursing and patient experience officer for Geisinger Health, where she led efforts to standardize nursing practices and developed the Geisinger Nursing Institute. She has extensive experience as a clinical executive and has been a leading voice for clinicians, patients and the community.

Ms. Robel completed her studies in nursing at Penn State University and holds a bachelor’s degree in nursing and a Master of Healthcare Administration from Wilkes University. She completed her doctoral studies in business administration at Walden University.

Allison Spangler has been with the Utah Health Care Association since 2015, becoming president and chief executive officer in 2021. She began her career in long-term care working as a certified nursing assistant while in high school and continued working in direct care for four years. After earning a bachelor’s degree in international business management and a Master of Business Administration in health care management, she became an administrator at a skilled nursing facility in Utah. She began at UHCA as director of membership services, where she helped provide better care and services to residents. Ms. Spangler also organized educational events and ensured members had needed tools and resources before becoming president and CEO.

Bev Uipi is center manager for the Active Aging Program at the Millcreek Community Center, where a marriage of a senior center, library, recreation center and café are housed in one facility. She led the center to national accreditation under the National Council on Aging in early 2015. Ms. Uipi served as the deputy director of administrative services for the state of Utah and was previously the community relations specialist for Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon. She is a dynamic leader of innovative strategies for intergenerational programming and community partnerships and has more than 15 years of experience in leadership in the public and private sectors of local government and regional management. Mrs. Uipi started with State Farm, where she became a Mountain West regional manager and trainer on business practices, then moved on to start her own agency with American Family Insurance. She received her bachelor’s degrees in consumer economics and housing from the University of Georgia, and her Master of Public Administration from the University of Utah. Ms. Uipi has served as an advisor, commissioner and board member to many organizations as a community leader for the Pacific Islander community in Utah, including the Utah State Governor's Office, since 2000.

Chad Westover is the CEO of University of Utah Health Plans. He previously served as president of Molina Healthcare of Utah, where he was responsible for the health plan operations in Utah and the implementation and execution of various strategic initiatives. He has served as vice president of state-sponsored business at Anthem/WellPoint, and was Utah's first director of the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), where he was responsible for health insurance access initiatives for the Utah Department of Health. He was the founder and chair of the National Alliance for State CHIP Directors. Mr. Westover received his bachelor’s degree and Master of Public Administration from Brigham Young University.

Dave Cook is Comagine Health’s Utah state director. He oversees the Utah Community Board, the Utah Partnership for Value, the Utah office team and most Utah-based contracts. He also directs a six-state team in value reporting (QPP — Quality Payment Program), presents regularly and continues quality and health information technology consulting activities. He directs the Opioid Misuse, Million Hearts and other work with the Utah Department of Health and chairs the Utah Diabetes Coalition. He has been managing complex quality improvement projects and collaboratives with demonstrated impact since 2005. He holds a Bachelor of Science in chemistry, a Master of Business Administration in health care management and certifications in health care quality, health information technology and laboratory science.