Ramsey Abdallah is the assistant vice president of performance improvement and quality management for the Northwell Health ACO. His career has focused on quality improvement and population health management in large health systems. Currently, Ramsey leads the ACO data aggregation initiative seeking to meet CMS quality reporting requirements. He also serves as the project leader of the Ambulatory Quality Improvement Collaborative, a change management improvement framework transforming practices to achieve quality metric success. Ramsey holds an MBA in healthcare administration, is a fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives, and holds certifications in quality, project management, and patient safety.
Eric Becker is the vice president of ACO REACH and Medicare Innovation Model Strategies at agilon health. In his role, Eric is responsible for operations and strategy for eight REACH ACOs and serves as a subject matter expert on this and other Medicare Innovation Center models. Eric joined agilon health in 2017 as senior direct, provider engagement strategy, where he helped develop several of our early processes related to provider engagement, market growth, and provider satisfaction assessment and reporting. Prior to joining agilon health, Eric served as director of clinical integration with Providence St. Joseph Health, where he led the formation of a 600-physician Clinically Integrated Network in Southern California. Eric previously worked with the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Kaiser Division of Research, focusing on health policy and health services research. Eric earned a masters in public policy from the University of Southern California and a B.A. in political science from the University of California, Berkeley.
Dr. Henish Bhansali is a leader in value-based care (VBC), serving as the chief medical officer of Medical Home Network (MHN), where he leads VBC transformation for 350,000+ Medicaid and Medicare patients at FQHCs across eight states. Previously as VP and senior medical director of care navigation at Oak Street Health, he developed specialty and diagnostic care strategies including network sculpting and integrating e-consults for 100,000+ Medicare Advantage (MA) patients, across 22 states. In 2021, he joined Duly as senior VP of MA, managing a $840M budget for 90,000 full-risk MA and REACH patients, focusing on total cost of care, HEDIS/STARS performance, care model design and delivery, population health, and payor relationships. Dr. Bhansali has formal training in VBC from HBS, serves on the NAACOS Education Committee, is a fellow of the American College of Physicians, is a Presidential Leadership Scholar, and holds board certification in internal and obesity medicine. He is also an adjunct professor at the University of Illinois, teaching population health in their MHA program.
Dr. Vipul Bhatia is the associate chief medical officer for post-acute and continuing care services at WellSpan Health in York, PA. In this role, he leads a large team, driving the system strategy for post-acute and continuing care services, including all home-based care programs and remote patient monitoring. He also led the development and growth of a highly successful hospital-at-home program. Additionally, Dr. Bhatia oversees WellSpan’s physician advisor team, which plays a crucial role in achieving significant financial improvements through effective utilization management. He also leads WellSpan Medical Equipment, ensuring strong revenue generation and operational efficiency. Dr. Bhatia is responsible for the strategic direction, growth, and performance of a post-acute preferred provider network. Dr. Bhatia obtained his medical degree from M. University of Health Sciences in India and pursued further training in internal medicine, geriatrics, and palliative care at the National Health Service in the UK. He completed his residency in internal medicine at WellSpan York Hospital. In addition to his medical training, Dr. Bhatia holds a master of business administration from Johns Hopkins University.
David Casarett, MD, MA, is a palliative care physician and health services researcher whose work focuses on improving systems of care for people with serious, life-threatening illnesses. He a professor of medicine at Duke University and the chief of palliative care in Duke Health. Dr. Casarett is the author of more than 100 articles in journals including JAMA and The New England Journal of Medicine, and his writing has appeared in print and online in Salon, Esquire, Discover, Newsweek, The New York Times, and Wired. He is editor-in-chief of The Journal of Pain & Symptom Management, the leading medical journal in the field of palliative care and he is a recipient of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, the highest honor given by the US government to researchers in the early stages of their careers. Dr. Casarett is also the author of two novels and three non-fiction books, the most recent of which was Stoned: A Doctor’s Case for Medical Marijuana, published by Penguin Random House.
Kelli Chovanec, DNP, RN, serves as the vice president for clinical services in population health at Bon Secours Mercy Health. With nearly two decades in nursing and progressive leadership roles across acute inpatient, ambulatory, and payer settings, Kelli has a deep passion for clinical transformation and value-based care. Kelli earned a doctorate in nursing practice, completing a practicum with a focus on advance care planning in primary care. She is dedicated to leading innovative strategies that drive superior patient outcomes and advance the principles of value-based healthcare.
Ana Tuya Fulton, MD, MBA, FACP, AGSF, is the president/COO of Integra Community Care Network, LLC, the chief population health officer for Care New England, and a geriatrician. A major focus of her work been the expansion of acute, hospital level care at home for adults with chronic illness including building a CMS Acute Hospital at Home program for Kent Hospital in Warwick RI and creating acute care at home for the ACO population, via Integra at Home. Dr. Fulton has served as expert faculty for multiple organizations include the Center to Advance Palliative Care, done multiple national presentations and has published over 30 peer reviewed articles.
Mark Greg, PharmD, RPh, serves as system VP of population health medical management with the Endeavor Health Physician Partners Clinically Integrated Network which includes approximately 440,000 lives and 3,200 participating physicians. Previously, he worked in population health/ambulatory care with Northwestern Medicine and Advocate Aurora. He has held various leadership roles in acute care hospitals, CVS Caremark corporate, and a privately-held business. Mark received his doctor of pharmacy from the U. of IL. at Chicago, College of Pharmacy and completed a general clinical pharmacy residency focusing on ambulatory care through the Jesse Brown VA/U of IL. Hospital in Chicago.
Kathy Harris is the ACO executive director for Commonwealth Primary Care ACO, as well as the president of Harris Health Care Consulting. In 2012, she joined Banner Health, Arizona’s largest healthcare system, as the ACO’s first compliance officer. As the division grew, Ms. Harris became the senior director of APM relations where her role included the Pioneer model, which evolved to three MSSP ACOs in 3 different markets, several system-level CMMI specialty APMs, and a portfolio of value-based contracts. In 2023, she worked for Equality Health leading its REACH model before moving to Commonwealth leading its REACH model as part of its senior leadership.
Kaitlyn Huttman has been the senior practice transformation coordinator for Keystone ACO since 2018. With over a decade of experience in the healthcare arena, Kaitlyn brings together team operations, best practice workflows, and delivers actionable data to partners. She also works with numerous teams within Keystone that develop individualized approaches to avoidable ED visits, provider engagement, and the implementation of support positions. Prior to joining Keystone ACO, Kaitlyn worked as director of admissions and marketing for SNFs. She earned a bachelor of science in business administration and a minor in marketing from Misericordia University.
Heather Jacobson is the managing director of network and performance for Evolent Care Partners, responsible for network success and performance for the MSSP ACO and value-based care contracts. Her team engages with providers and practice staff to drive population health initiatives. Previously, Heather worked at the Duke Population Health Management Office, leading post-acute care strategy, including developing a preferred post-acute network. Additionally, she led key initiatives to address variations in clinical care and medical expenses, through use of analytics and specialty provider engagement. Heather maintains her licensure as a speech language pathologist, with over 17 years of interdisciplinary care experience.
Tiffany Jenkins serves in a dual role with Trinity Health as population health pharmacy director for the Michigan ministry and CIN system director of ambulatory pharmacy clinical services nationally. Tiffany is responsible for strategic development of Trinity Health’s approach to ambulatory clinical pharmacy to positively impact alternative payment model contract performance with an emphasis on development of programming to improve cost, quality, and safety through the appropriate use of medications. Tiffany received her doctor of pharmacy from Ferris State University, completed an ambulatory focused pharmacy practice residency, and is board certified in ambulatory care pharmacy.
Kimberly Kauffman is vice president of clinical performance at Aledade, Inc. In this role, she supports value-based care (VBC) contracts with CMS/CMMI, Medicare Advantage, commercial health plans and Medicaid managed care by working with teams that specialize in clinical documentation integrity, quality reporting, pharmacy, clinical outcomes improvement, patient outreach and post-acute coordination. Prior to joining Aledade, Ms. Kauffman was the chief VBC officer for MaxHealth, a primary care group based in Florida with over 120 providers, and, before that, was chief VBC officer for Summit Medical Group, a primary care group with over 300 providers based in Tennessee. Her background includes a leadership role in a large independent physicians’ association (IPA) in Florida and in a multi-hospital physician hospital organization (PHO). Ms. Kauffman received her masters degree from the college of public health at the University of Florida.
Tara Kinard brings over two decades of expertise to her role as associate chief nursing officer at Duke Health’s PHMO, where she leads a team that develops and delivers population health initiatives through DukeWELL™ and Duke Connected Care. Throughout her extensive career, from clinical nursing to executive leadership, Tara has concentrated on improving health outcomes and care delivery through care management, transitional care, addressing quality care gaps, quality improvement, and fostering community relationships. Tara holds multiple degrees, including a DNP in executive leadership from Duke University School of Nursing and several certifications relevant to her field.
Bob LoNigro, MD is the SVP of clinical affairs for On Belay Health Solutions where he brings a broad scope of expertise with a visionary perspective. Prior to joining On Belay, he worked as the president and chief physician executive for a large MSO in New York City/Long Island and directed operational delivery with over 1200 providers. Throughout his career, Bob has held various clinical leadership positions where he has improved operational and clinical outcomes, led payment reform and implemented utilization management. Bob is a practicing internal medicine physician who also has an MS in engineering science.
Meredith Marsh serves as the chief of value-based services for Health Choice Network (HCN) in which she provides direct oversight of the Network’s value-based contracting, data analytics, clinical quality and credentialing services used to manage over 160,000 covered patient lives across varying payer arrangements in 10 states. She leads HCN’s two ACOs, Health Choice Care and Health Choice Community Partners (HCCP), both 100% FQHC-led MSSP ACOs. She received her bachelor of science degree in health services administration from the University of Central Florida and is certified in health care quality & management (CHCQM).
Christine Martin is the department manager for post-acute care at Cleveland Clinic. She is a healthcare leader with over twenty years of experience in the post-acute care sector. She has held Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) operational leadership roles at both the facility and corporate levels and maintains an active PMP certification from the Project Management Institute. Christine joined Cleveland Clinic in 2022 to help develop and lead the post acute care (PAC) program within value based operations. Under her leadership, the PAC team has supported over 3,000 patients through their transitions from hospital to SNF and back home, achieving a reduction in skilled length of stay and optimized outcomes. Christine’s team collaborates with many other Cleveland Clinic teams to ensure patients receive the right care at the right time.
Robert Mechanic, MBA, is executive director of the Institute for Accountable Care, where he is responsible for leading its research agenda, data analytics and health care learning and improvement activities. Mr. Mechanic is a senior fellow at the Heller School of Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University, where he serves as executive director of the Health Industry Forum. His research focuses on health care payment systems and the adaptation of organizations to new payment models. He has helped hospitals, physician groups and integrated delivery systems evaluate financial, strategic and policy considerations under risk-based payment models. He was previously senior vice president with the Massachusetts Hospital Association and vice president with the Lewin Group, a Washington D.C.-based health care consulting firm. His work has been published in The New England Journal of Medicine, JAMA, and Health Affairs. He is a trustee of Atrius Health, and he is a senior fellow of the Estes Park Institute. Mr. Mechanic earned an MBA in finance from The Wharton School and a BS in economics with distinction from the University of Wisconsin.
Jessica Moschella joined the University of Vermont Health Network in January 2023 as senior vice president for high value care. She leads efforts to improve patient outcomes in Vermont and northern New York and advance value in care delivery. Jessica has extensive experience in value-based care and population health, having held leadership roles across the Mass General Brigham system. She also has a strong background in public health, both domestically and internationally. Jessica holds a master’s degree in public health from Tulane University and completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Pennsylvania.
Jacquline Mullakary is the director of pharmacy for population health, as well as the director of the PGY2 Ambulatory Care Pharmacy Residency Program at Mount Sinai Health System. During her time at Mount Sinai, she’s provided leadership for the development of population health pharmacy services supporting Medication Adherence, as well as providing medication management and collaborative drug therapy management (CDTM) services for a variety of chronic conditions including diabetes, hypertension, asthma, COPD, heart failure, and obesity/overweight management. The ambulatory care pharmacy and condition management team at Mount Sinai currently provides longitudinal care to 2000 patients across 60 practices.
Alyssa Neumann MPH, is senior analyst of regulatory affairs at NAACOS, where she works on a variety of regulatory issues related to ACOs and value-based care. Prior to NAACOS, Alyssa served as program coordinator at the Primary Care Collaborative, writing and managing grant projects related to primary care transformation and providing support for policy work and communications. She is an active volunteer in the community, working as a mentor with the Big Brother Big Sister program and a teaching fellow with Girls Health Ed, providing vital health information to vulnerable youth. Other prior experiences include work as a graduate teaching assistant in Biostatistics at the George Washington University, a Federal Affairs internship with the National Association of Community Health Centers, and university research focused on topics such as behavioral health, health literacy, and the social drivers of health. Alyssa earned her Master’s in Public Health in Health Policy and Management at the GWU Milken Institute School of Public Health, and she holds Bachelor of Arts degrees in Political Sociology and Cultural Anthropology from the University of South Florida.
Stephen Nuckolls is the chief executive officer of Coastal Carolina Health Care, PA, and its ACO, Coastal Carolina Quality Care, Inc. His responsibilities include the direct management of the 60 provider multi-specialty physician-owned medical practice and its ACO. They currently participate in the MSSP’s Enhanced Track and have value-based contracts with Medicare advantage as well as commercial plans. Mr. Nuckolls facilitated the formation of the group in 1997 and has served in his current role since that time. Prior to the formation of this organization, Mr. Nuckolls helped guide physicians and integrated hospital organizations in the formation of larger systems. Mr. Nuckolls earned his BA in economics from Davidson College and his MAC from UNC’s Kenan-Flagler Business School. He is a founding member of the National Association of ACOs and served in a number of roles on the executive committee including board chair from 2016-2017. In addition to these responsibilities, he serves on the board of Community Care of NC as well as several advisory boards and committees for the North Carolina Medical Society and is a frequent speaker on ACOs and related topics.
Beth Patak joined On Belay Health Solutions as the executive director, government programs & ACO operations where she leads compliance and operations for On Belay’s REACH and MSSP ACOs. Before joining On Belay, she built and operationalized Equality Health’s ACO that participated in CMS’ Global and Professional Direct Contracting. In addition to standing up the ACO, Beth also supported the compliance program redesign and managed growth strategies to expand the ACO beyond the Arizona footprint. Prior to joining Equality, Beth had accumulated over 23 years of healthcare leadership with a broad scope of unique experiences supporting both large hospital systems and independent primary care practices.
John Pilotte MHPM, is the director of the Performance-based Payment Policy group (P3) within the Center for Medicare at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Mr. Pilotte manages policy development and operations teams for the Medicare Shared Savings Program, Medicare’s national ACO program with over 500 ACOs accountable for over 10.9 million Medicare beneficiaries. He also managed the development and implementation of Medicare’s Physician Value Modifier, the predecessor to the current Merit-based Incentive Program (MIPS), as well as resource use measures for physicians, hospitals and post-acute settings. Prior to joining P3, Mr. Pilotte served as the director of the division of payment policy demonstrations in the predecessor of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation where he managed the development and implementation of the physician group practice demonstrations and care coordination demonstrations. Prior to joining CMS, he was a senior healthcare consultant for PricewaterhouseCoopers and part of the government relations team at the National Association of Children’s Hospitals. Mr. Pilotte has a master’s in health policy and management from Johns Hopkins University and a BS from Indiana University’s School of Public and Environmental Affairs.
Aisha Pittman, MHP, is the senior vice president of government affairs. In her role, Ms. Pittman leads NAACOS’ work to promote legislative and regulatory policies that will advance ACOs. She has 19 years of experience in healthcare payment, alternative payment models, healthcare quality measurement and health information technology. Ms. Pittman was previously vice president of policy with Premier, Inc., a group purchasing organization of more than 4,400 hospitals and 225,000 other provider organizations, since September 2019. During her eight years with Premier, she was responsible for working with policymakers, providers and other healthcare stakeholders to reduce costs and improve the quality of health care. Prior to Premier, Ms. Pittman held senior management roles with the National Quality Forum, the Maryland Health Care Commission and CenterLight Healthcare, in addition to experience at the National Committee for Quality Assurance. She holds a BS in biology, a BA in psychology, and a master’s in public health from The George Washington University. Ms. Pittman received GWU’s School of Public Health and Health Services Excellence in Health Policy Award.
David Pittman is senior policy advisor at the National Association of ACOs, where he works on various regulatory policy and legislative topics involving ACOs and CMS Innovation Center models. He also works on communications matters for NAACOS. He joined NAACOS in August 2018 as health policy and communications advisor. Before that, he worked as a healthcare journalist for nearly a dozen years, including at POLITICO where he helped launch the website’s eHealth coverage in 2014. He was a fellow of the Association of Health Care Journalists in 2014, researching how states were adopting payment and delivery system reforms as budgets struggled to recover from the recession of the late 2000s. David holds bachelor’s degrees in journalism and chemistry from the University of Georgia, where he graduated in 2006.
Dr. Vernicka Porter-Sales is chief of population health & performance services at Legacy Community Health and a distinguished executive medical officer with over two decades of clinical experience and 12 years in managed care. Her career is marked by a deep commitment to improving healthcare outcomes, particularly for vulnerable populations. As a board-certified pediatrician, Dr. Porter-Sales has served in significant leadership roles, including chief medical officer at Community Health Choice and regional Medicaid Medicare director at Aetna. Her extensive experience at United Health Care as senior medical director further underscores her expertise in healthcare management. Currently, Dr. Porter-Sales is responsible for the strategic direction and coordination of all clinical services, population health initiatives, care coordination management, value-based care, and outcome improvement. Her role includes negotiating and implementing value-based and fee-for-service contracts with Medicaid, Medicare, and commercial payors, and overseeing pharmacy strategy and operations.
Dr. Sidney “Beau” Raymond is a board-certified internist now serving as the chief medical officer of Ochsner Health Network and medical director and executive director of Ochsner Accountable Care Network. Prior to joining Ochsner, Dr. Raymond was vice president, physician practice administrator and chief medical information officer at East Jefferson General Hospital. His experience included serving on the steering committee and later as a board member for Gulf South Quality Network. Beyond the administrative roles at EJGH, Dr. Raymond was involved with medical staff committees, including serving as chief of staff. He is also a past president of the Jefferson Parish Medical Society. Dr. Raymond earned a bachelor of science in biology from Loyola University, earned a medical degree from the Louisiana State University School of Medicine, and completed his residency in internal medicine at LSU-New Orleans. He has also earned a master of medical management from Tulane University.
Megan Reyna is responsible for the value performance for enterprise population health, Advocate Health. Under her leadership, Ms. Reyna’s team leads the value-based care practice transformation support, government programs, ambulatory quality improvement, and condition management and documentation (clinical risk adjustment) teams to assist the organization in achieving national quality and value-based care outcomes across the Enterprise. In her role, she oversees the performance of 2.3 million patients in value-based contracts inclusive of six MSSP ACOs, two REACH ACOs, and four CINs. She has been a featured speaker and panelist on the topic of ACOs and value-based care at numerous national conferences and is the past chair of the NAACOS Quality Committee. A registered nurse by background, Ms. Reyna received her MSN from the University of Illinois Chicago.
Stephanie Savicki, MBA, serves as the system director of value-based programs in population health for Bon Secours Mercy Health. With over a decade of experience in value-based program implementation for a large, integrated health system, Stephanie has operationalized numerous models including the Medicare Shared Savings Program, Comprehensive Joint Replacement, and the Bundled Payment for Care Improvement Advanced programs. In addition, she leads the development and maintenance of the ACO and CIN networks across the ministry’s ten markets that support all value-based contracts, across lines of business. Prior to her value-based career, she was a healthcare marketing, public relations, and communications professional for over 20 years.
Eloy Sena is the AVP of value-based contracts and operations at Ardent Health, where he oversees value-based contracting and operational performance for the enterprise portfolio of VBC contracts. Prior to this role, he served as the director of quality and later as the division director of managed care at Lovelace Health System. Eloy has a diverse background with nearly 20 years of experience in healthcare, including quality management and improvement, population health, network management, managed care contracting, provider engagement, pharmacy, value-based programs, alternative payment models, and medical management initiatives. Before joining Ardent Health, he led statewide provider engagement initiatives for Molina Healthcare of NM. Eloy holds a bachelor’s degree in health and wellness promotion from New Mexico Highlands University and an MBA with a concentration in health services from Keller Graduate School of Management.
Brent D. Staton, MD, is chief executive officer and chief financial officer of Cumberland Center for Healthcare Innovation (CCHI), a physician owned and operated ACO. He graduated from Flinders University of South Australia School of Medicine. He also has a bachelor of science in business administration from Tennessee Technological University. He practices family and addiction medicine in Cookeville, TN. Serving as CEO of an ACO, Dr. Staton is able to utilize his skill sets in business development, population health management, data analytics, as well as administrative and healthcare management to support partner physicians to practice evidence-based medicine and provide quality care at an affordable cost. He engages in community relations, consults on local and national healthcare issues and trends, and participates in conferences, panels, and public events relevant to the improvement of healthcare in underserved communities.
Stephanie Turner, RN, MSN, is the vice president of population management at UNC Health Alliance. She transitioned from a 16-year career as a family nurse practitioner into healthcare leadership. Ms. Turner has successfully led the expansion and transformation of care management teams at UNC Health Alliance, focusing on reducing patient utilization through complex case management, transitional care, and comprehensive care coordination services. Her leadership has improved patient outcomes and operational efficiency. Stephanie holds both a bachelor and master of nursing from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and begins pursuit of her doctorate in nursing practice in August of 2024 at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
Eleanor Wertman, MPH, is the care integration director for North Carolina Integrated Care for Kids (NC InCK), where she leads implementation of the NC InCK alternative payment model and co-leads NC InCK’s care management model. She holds a master of public health from UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health and has a background in health care quality improvement and value-based care. Prior to joining NC InCK, Eleanor worked for UNC Population Health. There, she built and led programs to assess and address UNC patients’ nonclinical barriers to health, including a Medicare transportation service and a payer-agnostic community health worker program.
Annette Wilson BAS, LPN joined the Keystone ACO as a clinical practice transformation coordinator in 2022. With over 25 years of practice management experience, she aids in building successful teams, improving operations and interpreting data. In 2022, she graduated from the Geisinger Nurses Emerging as Leaders for LPNs program. She participates in the Geisinger Systemwide Nursing Services QPI Council and is leading initiative work on improving the annual wellness visit status at Geisinger. Annette organizes the Keystone ACO beneficiary newsletter and co-leads the Clinical Initiatives Committee. She graduated from Siena Heights University with a bachelor of applied science in health studies and a minor in healthcare management.
Kristen Wilson PharmD., MBA, BCPS, serves as the team coordinator for population health pharmacy at Sentara Healthcare. In this capacity she oversees the strategy and implementation of key initiatives that further enhance the role of pharmacy within the value-based care landscape as it aligns with the overall strategy for population health to maximize positive health outcomes for members and improve quality performance. Kristen is a driven and passionate leader with over a decade of clinical and leadership experience. With a focus on patient engagement, quality performance, pharmacoequity and provider collaboration she has expertise in a variety of pharmacy practice settings including: academia, ambulatory, home infusion, inpatient and specialty pharmacy.
Alec Aramanda joined Williams and Jensen from the House Energy and Commerce Majority staff, where he oversaw the Committee’s Medicare policy portfolio and served as the lead policy staffer for the full committee and health subcommittee offices on topics ranging from coverage, coding, and payment to drug pricing reforms and other Medicare policies. Prior to joining the Committee in 2021, Alec served in the executive branch as the director of legislation and director of stakeholder engagement at the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services from 2018 to 2021, and the deputy assistant secretary for health policy at the Department of Health and Human Services from 2017 through 2018. His background also includes serving as the domestic policy advisor and deputy legislative director for Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX), a legislative assistant for former Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC), and in a number of government relations and strategic operations roles at the Heritage Foundation.
Dr. James Barr presently serves as VP physician value-based programs at Atlantic Health System. His role includes chief medical officer of the Atlantic Health System and Optimus Healthcare Partners ACOs. Expertise includes data aggregation, data mastering, advanced/AI analytics, delivery of actionable patient insights at the point of care, precision patient care plans, performance improvement, and member retention/growth. He has a long track record of success in managing physician engagement, clinical integration, patient-facing technologies, collaborative care models, and overall performance for 3,500 providers and 525,000 patients in value-based risk and non-risk arrangements. Dr. Barr is a family physician with 32 years of practice experience at Pleasant Run Family Physicians in Neshanic Station, NJ. He obtained his medical degree from Hahnemann University.
Dr. Nancy Beran is the vice president and chief quality officer for ambulatory at Northwell Health where she oversees regulatory requirements for the outpatient network, standardization of workflows, and population health initiatives systemwide implemented at the site level. Dr. Beran is the quality director for Northwell Health’s MSSP and part of the leadership team of Northwell Health Physician Partners. Dr. Beran is a practicing internist who focuses on women’s health. Most recently, she created the Ambulatory Quality Improvement Collaborative, leading Northwell’s focus on key population health areas. Dr. Beran completed her undergraduate work at Washington University in St. Louis, graduating Phi Beta Kappa. She attended medical school at the Sidney Kimmel Medical College (formerly Jefferson Medical College) as a McClellan scholar and performed her residency at the University of Texas Southwestern internal medicine program. Most recently, she completed her masters of healthcare delivery science at Dartmouth College.
Linda Bezjian is the director of government channels at Mount Sinai Health Partners where she oversees operational activities for government programs, including Mount Sinai’s role as an ACO in the Medicare Shared Savings Program and ACO REACH. With expertise in managing complex federal and state regulatory requirements, Linda ensures seamless programmatic execution, performance evaluation, and fosters strong client relationships to drive success in ACO partnerships. Linda is committed to advancing healthcare initiatives in population health and the movement to value-based care.
Gabriel Drapos is chief operating officer at Pearl Health. Before joining Pearl, Gabriel was a leader on the Product team at Centivo, where he built the company’s first value-based networks across the country, in partnership with 14 regional health systems. Prior to Centivo, Gabriel was an early employee at Oscar Health Insurance, where he served in a number of roles, including director of product operations, head of marketing and chief of staff to the CEO. Gabriel received his A.B. in philosophy, magna cum laude, from Harvard University with a focus on medical ethics.
Brent M. Egan, MD is vice-president, cardiovascular health in the improving health outcomes group of the American Medical Association. He also serves as professor of medicine at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine, adjunct professor of medicine at the Medical University of South Carolina, adjunct professor of public health sciences at Clemson University, and previously on the board of directors and president of the International Society of Hypertension in Blacks. He received his medical degree and training in medicine and hypertension at the University of Michigan. For the past 30 years, Dr. Egan has worked and continues to work with colleagues across the healthcare spectrum on translating the evidence-base into better cardiovascular health promotion and disease prevention, especially for medically underserved populations.
Peter Fise joined the firm in 2023 after a career in Congress that included a wealth of health policy experience in both the United States Senate and House of Representatives. Most recently, he served as health counsel at the Senate Committee on Finance for Chairman Ron Wyden (D-OR), leading the Committee’s work on Medicare Fee-for-Service coverage and payment issues. Peter played a central role in the development, negotiation, and passage of dozens of Medicare provisions as a part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023. He also played an integral role in crafting final changes to Medicare prescription drug pricing provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act. Peter previously served as health counsel to Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH). In policy development, Peter also draws on experience gained through his work on the Biden-Harris campaign’s policy committee, as well as his experience serving as the associate director for health policy at the Bipartisan Policy Center. Peter began his career on the Democratic staff of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
Dr. Erin Hurlburt, M.D., serves Bon Secours Mercy Health as the chief medical officer, population and community health. She has accountability for the clinical operations of the organization’s value-based care infrastructure and supports BSMH’s health equity and community health strategy. Dr. Hurlburt partners with providers, payers, and patients to implement the care delivery and reimbursement model innovations required for success in a value-based environment. A family physician, Dr. Hurlburt has served in progressive leadership positions for Bon Secours Mercy Health, most recently as group chief clinical officer with cross-continuum oversight for the clinical operations of four BSMH markets.
Rick Goddard, MS-HSM, is the vice president, head of commercialization and strategy for Lumeris. In this role, Mr. Goddard serves in a subject matter expert and utility role across many facets of the business. His current role includes leading partnership strategic alliances, business model expansion, and go-to-market commercialization. Prior to joining Lumeris, Mr. Goddard served as an executive leader at Advocate Physician Partners. He led the clinical innovation department with responsibility for population health analytics, ACO program administration (largest ACO in the U.S.), value-based payment and innovation strategy deployment. In addition, Mr. Goddard has several years of consulting leadership experience from his time at GE Healthcare Camden Group. He has also worked in a variety of health care provider settings − from physician groups to some of the largest health systems in the country. Mr. Goddard serves as a national thought leader in value-based healthcare strategy and frequently presents to higher education and association organizations.
Jessica Joy is a product leader on Oracle’s health data intelligence platform where she has a passion for working on content and tools that positively impact managing population health and value based care programs. She and her team strive to enable workflows that bring insights and opportunities to health system and clinicians while they focus on providing meaningful impact for individuals, populations, and the overall business. Jessica has been a registered nurse for 15 years, prior to joining the world of healthcare technology, she worked in a hospital in Kansas City, KS as a bedside nurse and nurse leader.
Ann M. Kunkel, RN- BSN, VP of home care/community health joined York Hospital/ WellSpan Health in 1989. Ann held various nursing leadership roles. In 1999 as senior director of case management, she developed care coordination team model which integrates primary & acute care case management. In 2017, Ann initiated 3 strategies to address long length of stay. This led to the 2018 DecisionHealth Platinum Award for Outstanding Achievement in Care Transitions. In 2019, this work won the Hospital Association of PA, Living the Vision Award. In 2020, Ann shifted her focus to lead WellSpan’s work in community health; Ann co leads the health equity work. In July 2023, Ann expanded responsibilities to include home care. Ann received a BSN from York College.
Rita Lewis is director of value-based care at the National Association of Community Health Centers. Rita leads development of NACHC’s national level initiatives focused on value-based care programs. Previously at NACHC, she was deputy director of clinical quality improvement and led hypertension focused quality improvement and implementation projects. She has over 7 years of experience in the development of clinical quality measures and standards in primary care settings. Rita started her career in community health centers and is committed to combatting health equity challenges for underserved populations. Rita earned a master of public health in health policy from George Washington University and a bachelor of arts in sociology from the University of Michigan.
Sheila Magoon, MD is a family physician who is the executive director of South Texas Physician Alliance (IPA) and Buena Vida y Salud, LLC (ACO). In addition, she serves as the president of a regional health information exchange, Connected Care Exchange. She has over 25 years of managed care and value-based care experience.
Ilana Merlis-Stephens is a senior manager for Medicare strategy at Providence, where she has been at the helm of financial evaluation, strategic analysis, and board management for Health Connect Partners, Providence’s MSSP ACO, since 2022. With nearly 15 years of experience in healthcare and public policy, Ilana has held roles at UnitedHealth Group, the U.S. Senate, and in the digital health sector. Ilana earned her master’s in business administration from the Haas School of Business at U.C. Berkeley and is currently based in Seattle, Washington.
Nathan Moore is a general internist with BJC Medical Group and the medical director for the BJC Accountable Care Organization. He is a graduate of Washington University School of Medicine and the author of the best-selling book The Health Care Handbook: A Clear and Concise Guide to the US Health Care System.
Dr. Robert Pearl was the CEO of The Permanente Medical Group (Kaiser Permanente) from 1999-2017. In this role he led 12,000 physicians, 42,000 staff and was responsible for the nationally recognized medical care of over 5 million Kaiser Permanente members on the west and east coasts. His newest book, “ChatGPT, MD: How AI-Empowered Patients & Doctors Can Take Back Control of American Medicine” debuted as #1 on Amazon’s “New Best Seller” list. All profits from the book go to Doctors Without Borders. He is also the author of “Mistreated: Why We think We’re Getting Good Healthcare—And Why We’re Usually Wrong,” a Washington Post bestseller and “Uncaring: How the Culture of Medicine Kills Doctors and Patients,” published May 2021. Pearl, named one of Modern Healthcare’s 50 most influential physician leaders, serves as a clinical professor of plastic surgery at Stanford University School of Medicine and is on the faculty of the Stanford Graduate School of Business. He hosts the popular podcasts Fixing Healthcare and Medicine: The Truth, publishes a newsletter called Monthly Musings on American Healthcare, and is a regular contributor to Forbes. Dr. Pearl received his medical degree from the Yale University School of Medicine and completed his residency at Stanford University.
Bob Rauner, MD, MPH, FAAFP works as president of Partnership for a Healthy Nebraska which focuses on health policy and reducing health disparities in Nebraska. Over the last 12 years he also worked to start two primary care led ACOs, the Southeast Rural Physicians Alliance ACO in 2012 and then OneHealth Nebraska ACO in 2016, where he served as chief medical officer until February 2024. He also currently serves on the board of directors of Lincoln Public Schools and the advisory board of the ABFM’s Center for Professionalism and Value in Healthcare. Bob received his undergraduate degree in philosophy at Creighton University, his medical degree at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, and his master of public health degree at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health. He started his medical career as a family physician serving rural and underserved communities for 15 years, and then transitioned into health leadership and policy roles after finishing his MPH in 2010.
Jamie Reedy, MD, MPH is the chief population health officer and SVP, health solutions at Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey. Dr. Reedy is accountable for network management, operations and strategy; clinical transformation and provider engagement; clinical and predictive analytics; medical management (UM, CM, DM); quality management and health equity. Prior to joining Horizon BCBSNJ Dr. Reedy was the chief of population health for Summit Health. Dr. Reedy was responsible for building a comprehensive value-based care model that is considered one of the most successful and innovative of its kind. She previously served as senior vice president and medical director of population health and quality at Summit Medical Group and Summit Health Management and was also formerly chief of hospital medicine and post-acute care. Prior to joining Summit in 2011, Dr. Reedy was medical director, compliance officer and a practicing physician with Paramount Medical Group/Westfield Family Practice. Dr. Reedy has a bachelor’s degree from New York University and a master’s degree in health policy and management from the Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health. She earned her medical degree at the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School (now known as Rutgers Medical School). She also completed her internship and a residency in family medicine at Robert Wood Johnson. She is board-certified by the American Board of Family Medicine and a diplomate of the National Board of Medical Examiners. She has held board positions with America’s Physician Groups, the National Association of ACOs (NAACOS), Paramount Medical Group and the NJ Academy of Family Physicians. She is also a former chair of the Academy’s Government Affairs Committee and a former policy fellow and advisor for the NJ State Senate. Dr. Reedy is a recognized thought leader who has been a featured speaker at many national conferences.
As market president for Aledade in Louisiana and Arkansas, Nadine Robin provides support and technical guidance to independent healthcare providers in achieving quality-focused, value-based and patient-centric care for their patients. In addition, Nadine promotes the goals and objectives of the ACO model to drive provider engagement and plays a key role in the development of relationships with healthcare professional organizations and policy-makers to advance the organization’s role in the local healthcare market. Nadine is also the vice president of practice engagement at Aledade. In this role she supports the design and roll-out of programs and services throughout the Aledade network.
Pranjal Shah serves as VP and senior medical director of population health with Advocate Health. Pranjal is an internal medicine physician with over eleven years of experience in population health leadership. As the vice president and senior medical director of population health at Advocate Health, he oversees a team of medical directors dedicated to enhancing clinical leadership in population health programs focused on quality improvement, clinical documentation, and utilization management. In addition, Dr. Shah provides both clinical and operational leadership in advancing value-based performance strategies.
June Simmons, an esteemed health care executive, stands at the forefront of patient-centered care integration. As the founding president and CEO of Partners in Care Foundation, she has pioneered evidence-based interventions, transformative medication management, chronic condition support, and seamless care transitions. Partners collaborates with organizations to shape a visionary health care landscape, emphasizing community-based services and forging robust partnerships. June’s contributions have garnered national acclaim, including her pivotal role as co-chair of the Partnership to Align Social Care—a beacon of transformative impact.
Bryan Smith currently serves as the executive director of Lebanon County Christian Ministries, a community benefit organization located in the city of Lebanon, PA. Bryan has led the work of LCCM for just over five years and under his leadership he has worked to remove barriers to food access growing the households serve by 1500%, established a new 4,600 square foot family homeless shelter facility, and launched two new programs upLIFT and upLIFT lite. Bryan received his bachelor’s degree in business administration from Capella University.
Elizabeth Todd, PT, DPT, is the director of clinical operations at the Delaware Valley ACO and oversees their quality improvement, care coordination, and care continuum/post-acute departments. Elizabeth provides critical clinical insights to DVACO’s operation and analytic teams to drive success in their value-based contracts. Her role includes developing and executing strategies to enhance patient health outcomes, spearheading initiatives like the DVACO BATT phone and Successful Aging Therapy Program. Elizabeth joined the DVACO in 2020 with over 13 years of healthcare experience where she has led clinical quality improvement initiatives and developed clinical education programs across various healthcare settings.
Katie Wilt has worked for WellSpan Health for 11 years, currently as the senior director population health care management. Katie was driven to pursue healthcare administration after beginning her career as a certified nursing assistant. She attended Saint Leo University graduating with a BS and MBA in health care administration. Currently, Katie oversees programs that bridge clinical and socioeconomic gaps to care, address health equity, extend charitable resources to care, collaborate with community partners and resources, and offer care coordination in the ambulatory setting. In 2019, her teams work won the Hospital Association of Pennsylvania’s (HAP) Living the Vision Award.
Edward Yurcisin leads NCQA’s technology strategy and execution, helping advance continued digital innovation. As chief technology officer, he is responsible for providing organization-wide leadership and direction across products and services, enterprise operations, IT infrastructure, and security. Ed is a proven technology leader with significant experience implementing technology and data solutions for health care payer and provider customers. Ed joined NCQA in 2022, after serving in C-level positions across leading health care and technology organizations, including chief technology officer at Embedded Healthcare, chief product officer at Onyx Technologies, chief data officer at CareJourney, and chief information officer at PeraHealth. Ed also led several initiatives to improve diversity, including developing a technical recruiting pipeline in Latin America. Ed holds a BA in economics with a focus on econometrics and quantitative economics from Duke University.