Rise

Keileigh Brown Quality Analyst

Hometown Health

Keileigh is a highly dedicated Quality Analyst at Hometown Health, located in the “biggest little  city” of Reno, NV. With a fervent passion for healthcare consumer education, Keileigh believes in providing healthcare services with utmost dignity, ensuring that every individual receives the care they deserve.

In her current role, Keileigh serves as an internal consultant, extending her expertise to every department within the health system. Her primary responsibilities revolve around conducting comprehensive quantitative and qualitative analyses, enabling the organization to continuously improve its services and ensure top-notch quality care.

At the heart of her work lies a deep commitment to member engagement and education. Keileigh takes pride in coordinating and implementing effective programs to educate and empower members belonging to Commercial Large Group, Small Group, Individual & Family, and Medicare Advantage populations.

Keileigh's journey at Hometown Health has been characterized by diverse experiences across the organization. Before joining the Quality team, she actively contributed to various vital functions, including plan design, performance improvement, and managing the Appeals & Grievance teams. These experiences have endowed her with a comprehensive understanding of the healthcare system.

Ian Cerveny Operations Director

Telephone Town Hall Meeting (TTHM)

Ian Cerveny was born and raised in the Denver area. When Telephone Town Hall Meeting was born in 2009, Ian ran event setup, live productions and post-forum reporting. As TTHM grew, he graduated to Operations Director and primary moderator for our live virtual forums, building a team of Operations Specialists around him to help create custom forums and deliver Peer-to-Peer Text Alert for clients.

Before COVID, Ian flew around the country coordinating Teletownhalls on-site for municipal, transit and advocacy clients, often producing events for a live audience in-person while simultaneously broadcasting to phone, web and alternate language audiences. These days Ian produces most of his events from his office in Lakewood, CO, while offering even more event add-ons and promotion options than before.

As the TTHM Operations Direct, Ian coordinates with clients to plan custom Teletownhall events and Text Alert campaigns based on their outreach goals. His Ops Team works to make sure those goals are met in the live event, and that the client team is prepared to produce a successful forum. Detailed preparation is how we avoid mistakes during these dynamic live events, and nobody has more experience producing Teletownhall forums than Ian Cerveny.

Outside of mass-outreach event production, Ian is a lover of music and the great outdoors. You can find him all over the Mountain West hiking, backpacking, snowshoeing, trail running, rafting, kayaking and attending outdoor concerts from Red Rocks to KettleHouse to The Gorge.

Ryan Dodson Regional Manager, Risk Adjustment 

Choice Medical Group

His background is in management and operational processes for 15 years, and began working in the Risk Adjustment arena 12 years ago. Ryan has proven himself by helping Medical Groups raise their RAF scores to their proper levels. He directed the movement of a 10,000 member group up 43% over a two year period, and an 1800 member group up 53% in the first year. Ryan achieves these results through chart documentation audits, provider and staff documentation training, and provider relationship building. In his most current role Ryan works with multiple groups to optimize their RAF score, while at the same time achieving CMS 5 Star quality. Ryan explains to these groups that getting their RAF score to the correct level will not only drive revenue, but it will also lead to better patient care with improved documentation habits. Ryan is a Certified Risk Adjustment Coder (CRC) credential through the AAPC.

Colleen Dudley Strategic Account Executive, Payors & PBMs

Nuance

Kacey Dugan Director- Policy & Regulatory Affairs

Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP

Kacey Dugan helps clients in the health care industry navigate state and federal policy issues and respond to new legislative and regulatory developments. She is an experienced health policy analyst focused on the major government health programs: Medicare, Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act. She offers deep knowledge of these programs, including how they function and their underlying regulatory structures, how decisions are made and their unique roles in providing health coverage to Americans. She helps clients interpret their complexities and identify strategies to achieve their mission or business goals. Prior to joining Faegre Drinker, she served as a senior analyst at the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission — Congress's advisory agency on Medicaid and CHIP issues – where she worked on numerous issues including those affecting dually eligible beneficiaries. She has also held positions with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and Senator Edward J. Markey.

Katie Ford Vice President of Clinical, Quality and Engagement

 Convey Health Solutions

Katie is the Vice President of Clinical, Quality and Engagement at Convey Health Solutions. In her role, Katie is responsible for the strategic design, execution and support of the Rewards and Incentives program, and in partnership with the business development team, build additional clinical and quality programs for future client needs. She will serve as the organization’s subject matter expert in the area of clinical quality and CMS Medicare Stars program components, including increased focus on member experience and engagement. Katie has over 15 years of experience in the healthcare industry, with the past 12 years focused on Medicare Advantage working in both the health plan, for plans such as Humana, Aetna, and Johns Hopkins Healthcare, and  the value based provider space.  Her expertise has been centered around strategic design and execution of clinical quality initiatives, coding and documentation education, risk adjustment and HEDIS operations, member experience and retention, data integrity, and process improvement.

Rachel Gallagher Senior Consumer Experience Specialist

SCAN Health Plan

Rachel Gallagher, MS has spent nearly a decade uncovering challenges in healthcare, implementing solutions to engage people in their care and supporting new product discovery. Prior to her role at SCAN Health Plan, she supported new product development & innovation at HCSC, led custom program development & implementation at Emmi Solutions and conducted interview-based research with leaders in life science industries. She feels that design researchers have the honor of helping project stakeholders' step into the user’s shoes and takes great pride in perpetuating the voice of the user throughout strategic efforts. She completed her Master of Science in Health Communication at Northwestern University and her Bachelor of Theatre Arts at the University of Michigan.  

Ana Handshuh CHC, Principal

CAT5 Strategies

Ana Handshuh, Principal at CAT5 Strategies, is a government programs executive with expertise in creating and implementing corporate programs for the healthcare industry. Her background includes Quality, Core Measures, Care Management, Benefit Design and Bid Submission, Accreditation, Regulatory Compliance, Revenue Management, Communications, Community-based Care Management Programs and Technology Integration. Ms. Handshuh currently serves on the Board of the Resource Initiative and Society for Education (RISE), the preeminent national professional association dedicated to managed and accountable care financing and delivery. She is a sought after speaker on the national healthcare circuit in the areas of Quality, Star Ratings, Care Management, Member and Provider Engagement, and Revenue Management. Her recent consultancy roles have included assisting organizations create programs to address the unmet care management needs in the highest risk strata of membership, document their processes and procedures, achieve accreditation status, design and submit government program bids, institute corporate-wide programs and create communications strategies and materials. She possesses sophisticated business acumen with the ability to build consensus with cross-functional groups to accomplish corporate goals. Ms. Handshuh served as the Vice President of Managed Care Services at Central Florida Inpatient Medicine (CFIM). In this role, she provided leadership and strategy on CFIM projects and collaborations with physicians, risk entities, hospital health care systems, and health plans. CFIM is the largest Hospitalist group in Central Florida, with 70 providers discharging over 50,000 patients annually from multiple hospitals across two health care delivery systems and 24 skilled nursing facilities. At CFIM Ms. Handshuh previously served as the Vice President of Operations. Prior to those assignments, she worked with Precision Healthcare Systems as their Vice President of Quality Improvement. In that capacity, she led the IPA’s Quality efforts and collaborated with payers on implementing programs to move the needle on Quality and Star Rating initiatives. Ms. Handshuh also served as the Director of Corporate Program Development at Physicians United Plan. In this role, she led the Quality Management and Corporate Communications departments and spearheaded the development of innovative integrated technology solutions to drive business excellence and Star Rating achievement initiatives. For the past fifteen years Ms. Handshuh has taken an active role in redefining and implementing changes that have led to improvements and greater efficiency within Government programs and healthcare delivery. Prior to joining Physicians United Plan Ms. Handshuh was the founder of I-Six Creative. Under Ms. Handshuh’s vision and leadership, I-Six Creative provided expertise in the areas of managed Medicare benefit design, MSO/IPA operations, provider network strategy, new market launches, technology integration, corporate communications and quality improvement.

Kent Holdcroft Chief Growth Officer

Healthmine

Kent Holdcroft is the Chief Growth Officer at HealthMine, bringing over 15 years of operational, consulting, and business development experience with healthcare technology vendors to our team. Prior to HealthMine, Kent was Executive Vice President at AdhereHealth where he installed the teams and processes that led to record growth and innovation in product strategy. Before that, Kent had multiple successes with AIM Healthcare (now a part of Optum, a United Health Group, Inc. company), rising to National Director as it expanded into new markets. Kent received his Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Miami University and Master’s in Counseling from the University of Toledo. In his free time, Kent serves on the Board of Directors at BrightStone, Inc., as well as with the Tennessee Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation. 

Nikki Hungate Director, Medicare & Gov’t Programs Product Strategy

MVP Healthcare

Nikki Hungate, a long-time resident of Western NY region, currently serves as the Director of Medicare & Government Product Strategy at MVP Health Care. Utilizing the 17 years of experience in the health plan industry she us accountable for leading a team of product innovators that create and deliver a suite of high-quality government products that address the needs of the community in a customer-centric fashion, placing emphasis on those populations that are most vulnerable and undeserved. Nikki holds a Bachelors and Master of Science in Health Administration from Roberts Wesleyan College. She is currently an Executive Leadership doctoral candidate at the University of Charleston. Nikki has a passion for sharing knowledge, and also serves as an adjunct professor in the health sciences degree programs at Monroe Community College and Roberts Wesleyan College. In her free time she volunteers as the fundraising coordinator for the local Vietnam Veterans of America chapter in Rochester, NY.

Naomi Irvin Chief of Staff – Government Markets

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina

Leon Lead Manager, Stars/FEP Quality Improvement Programs

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona

Leon Lead is an enthusiastic, lifelong learner who takes great pride in helping others improve their quality of life. Leon is motivated to improve Member Experience with a specific focus on access to care given the two most important people in his life have been impacted by access to care challenges. Leon and his team of incredibly talented employees are responsible for all member facing initiatives for Stars and FEP which includes CAHPS, HOS and HEDIS initiatives.

Leon has a wide-ranging resume which includes years of service in both public and private sectors. Leon has served as a people helper over the last 20 years in the fields of healthcare, behavioral health, juvenile justice, child welfare and education.

Leon is the proud adoptive father of two sons, Jason (30) and Caspian (18) who continue to teach him that past trauma do not predict future accomplishments and inspire him to be the best version of himself every day.

Emily McGrath Director, Product Development + Innovation, Health Equity & Social Impact

Humana

Gary Melis, R. Ph. Clinical Pharmacist

Network Health

Clinical Pharmacist for the past 12 years at Network Health, a local health insurance provider in Northeast and Southeast Wisconsin. I am currently one of three pharmacists involved making MTM calls in-house. My responsibilities also involve NCQA, pharmacy appeals, P&T Committee, Member and Provider relations.

Gary’s also has experience as pharmacy manager for a national long term care company, pharmacy manager for retail pharmacy chain, and Pharmacy Director for a National Health Care provider. He has also been a pharmacy instructor at local medical college family practice clinic.

Elizabeth Montgomery National Vice-President, Learning Strategies and Population Health Programs

National Kidney Foundation

Jessica Muratore Senior Consultant

Rex Wallace Consulting

Jessica Muratore has a master’s degree in public administration and bachelor’s degrees in political science and psychology.  She spent the first half of her career in the legal field focused on civil litigation where she became skilled in the interpretation of federal and state laws before entering managed care. Currently, she is a senior consultant with Rex Wallace Consulting, LLC (RWC) focusing on quality improvement across all lines of business with both health plan and vendor clients.  Before joining RWC, Jessica spent 10 years on the payer side.  Jessica worked for MVP Health Care and Centene Corporation in executive leadership positions.  She was responsible for national market performance and execution, governance, quality improvement organizational structure, NCQA health plan accreditation, delegation oversight, quality compliance and program operations, federal and state audits (Quality, Utilization Management, Appeals, Complaints), quality improvement strategy, and quality Medicaid RFPs and new health plan implementations.  She has extensive experience working with the Medicare, Medicaid, Marketplace, Commercial and the Basic Health Program populations.  In 2014, she also started as an adjunct professor at SUNY Brockport’s Public Administration Master’s Program teaching classes on healthcare focusing on government programs (Medicare, Medicaid), global health care systems and the Patient Protection and the Affordable Care Act.  Jessica enjoys serving her community through board leadership positions and spending time with her husband and daughter, traveling, reading and being outdoors.

LeAnna Pierson Director of Member Engagement & Communications

Blue Cross Minnesota

LeAnna is the Director of Member Engagement at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota. In her role, she is responsible for member engagement and communications across the Medicare & Medicaid business. She also oversees the development of member experience programs needed for the Medicare Stars program.

Prior to Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota, she spent most of her career in retail marketing, leading large national campaigns and developing long-term brand marketing strategies. Her expertise is centered on building best-in-class consumer experiences and insights-driven marketing communications.

LeAnna holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of Minnesota, Carlson School of Management, and a dual Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing and Nutrition from the University of Minnesota.

Laura Sheriff Vice President, Risk Adjustment

Southwestern Health Resources

MSN with 10 years’ experience in Medicare, Medicaid, and Marketplace Managed Care with proven success in Risk Adjustment. Confirmed track record in operations, program management and process improvement. Demonstrates effective leadership, innovative problem solving techniques, and goal oriented focus to execute business objectives and meet performance expectations. Designed and coordinated all team activities including provider education, training, auditing, data mining, and data analysis to steer program success and achieve performance metrics.

Justin Skerbetz Senior Marketing Consultant, Medicare and Medicaid Markets

Spice Up Your Health

Strategic Healthcare Marketing Leader with a passion for leading transformative health solutions that positively change customers’ lives. Drive measurable results through campaign optimization, cutting-edge technology, and effective measurement techniques. Recognized for deep understanding of customer insights and delivering "personalized healthcare," with delivery of customized tools and resources that influence customer trust. Continuous record of producing effective change, growing enrollment, and increasing revenue

Ryan Stalvey Director of Member Engagement Strategies

Prospect Medical Systems

Bonnie Thompson Vice President, Strategic Consulting

Press Ganey

Bonnie is currently serving as a VP on the Press Ganey Payer Consulting team. She works with clients at both Health Plans and Medical Groups to improve experience across the patient’s entire health care journey. A passion for patient safety and performance excellence has been the driving force of Bonnie’s career. As a nurse and nurse practitioner who has worked in family practice clinics, emergency departments and mental health settings, Bonnie understands the importance of having the culture, systems and processes in place that provide for a safe and efficient environment for patients and staff. Bonnie’s lifelong desire to find ways to improve processes (well… everything) has led to roles focused on patient safety and performance excellence in a variety of organizations, from small frontier critical access hospitals to major healthcare systems and payer organizations. Working as a Chief Operations Officer and Chief Nursing Officer and an AVP of Organizational Excellence, she has experienced the challenges of turning strategic initiatives into daily operations. . Bonnie’s experiences over the years leading a wide variety of performance improvement initiatives, at both the facility and system level, have taught her the importance of providing organizations with the skills and tools needed to build communication and teamwork. She also understands the importance of assuring that various initiatives and projects work together to build a solid foundation of reliability and common understanding. Bonnie enjoys working at all levels of the health care system to find creative solutions to address ongoing barriers to an exceptional experience. She believes that we grow and build excellence through working together, creating balanced, seamless systems, and making it easy to do the right thing. Bonnie has a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration from The University of Maine, a Master of Science in Nursing from Seattle University, and a Master of Business Administration from The George Washington University. She holds a Project Management Professional certification. Bonnie and her husband, Scott, live on a working farm in the beautiful town of Astoria, OR.

Jessica Vander Zanden VP Operations

Network Health

Jessica has a proven track record of taking skills that she mastered in one area and applying that mastery to new areas. She holds certifications in Health Care Compliance from the Health Care Compliance Association, Strategic Decision and Risk Management from Stanford University and Gerontology from the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee. She holds a current Wisconsin license as an Advance Practice Social Worker and is also a Six Sigma Green Belt. She has close to two decades of experience in healthcare and business and organizational leadership.

Jessica is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin – Oshkosh and holds a Masters of Social Work from University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee and a Masters in Organizational Business and Business Leadership from Silver Lake College in Manitowoc, WI.

Rex Wallace Principal

Rex Wallace Consulting, LLC

Rex Wallace is the founder and principal of Rex Wallace Consulting, LLC, a firm that specializes in improving Star Ratings for Medicare Advantage health plans. Rex assesses plans and guides them in the development and implementation of-leading strategies to drive material Quality Improvement. Since its inception in 2017, RWC has helped multiple Medicare Advantage contracts achieve significant improvements in Star Ratings, including single-year full-Star improvements. Prior to launching RWC, Rex spent twenty-three years in strategic healthcare roles, with a strong focus on Medicare Advantage. Most recently, he led Stars for a large, multi-state plan that consistently achieved 4 and 4.5 Stars across its multiple contracts.

Rick Whitted CEO

U.S. Hunger

Rick Whitted is the President & Chief Executive Officer at U.S. Hunger, a global nonprofit whose mission is feeding families today and uniting them to a healthier tomorrow. In total, U.S. Hunger (USH) has provided over 150 million meals to families in need. Before his appointment as CEO in March 2020, Rick served on USH’s board of directors. Rick has overseen the launch of several of the organization’s initiatives: expanding home delivery of fresh produce into its supply chain; aligning its Full Cart® program with the Centers for Medicare/Medicaid Services’ (CMS) health equity framework; and, developing a cloud based SaaS solution that uses A.I. and Machine Learning to identify root causes of food insecurity in the U.S. and provide real-time actionable intelligence on social determinants of health (SDOH). Rick is a graduate of Stetson University and Nova Southern University where he received a BA in Political Sciences/American Studies, and an MBA, Business Administration and Management, respectively. Prior to joining USH, he spent 27 multi-faceted years in banking; focusing on small business, government and non-profit banking. He is also an accomplished author and speaker with expertise in leadership, workplace culture and individual and team development.

Lisa Zaval Behavioral Science Advisor

LimeTree

Dr. Lisa Zaval is an applied behavioral scientist who brings 10+ years of experience working across a wide range of business sectors, including healthcare, consumer finance and education. She’s supported well known organizations such as Meta, Eli Lilly, Microsoft, Intuit, and The United Nations, and currently leads the behavioral science practice at Limetree, a full-service marketing agency that unites behavioral and data science to improve marketing reach, impact, and intelligence.

Dr. Zaval’s research has been widely cited and published in leading academic journals, including Psychological Science and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, and has also appeared in the Wall Street Journal, Forbes and the New York Times. In addition to her role at Limetree, she also holds a position as a research affiliate at Columbia University, where she earned a doctorate degree in judgement and decision-making psychology and completed her post-doctoral training at the Center for Decision Science at Columbia business School.