William Alexander, MD, FACP
William Alexander, MD, FACP, is a nationally recognized health care quality leader with a lengthy career as an administrator and in academia. He is currently President of Alexander Healthcare Consulting, LLC., where he provides consulting services on healthcare quality improvement, health equity, population health, and clinical quality strategy to health plans. He was formerly the Plan Performance Medical Director at Amerigroup Community Care of Georgia, an Elevance Health company, where he oversaw the health care of Amerigroup Georgia’s 574,000 members and served as the principal medical manager and policy advisor to the health plan.
A board-certified internal medicine and infectious disease physician, Dr. Alexander has served as a member of the Infant Mortality Task Force of the Georgia Department of Public Health, and the Georgia Maternal Mortality Review Committee. He also serves on the Advisory Board of the Institute of Health Administration at Georgia State University.
Dr. Alexander was a member of the Georgia Medicaid Credentialing Committee, and the Georgia Department of Community Health’s Medical Care Advisory Committee. He is a member of the American College of Physician Executives.
Before joining Amerigroup, Dr. Alexander served as Vice President of Administration and Strategic Management and was the Senior Advisor to the President and Assistant Dean for Health Care Quality at Morehouse School of Medicine. Previously, Dr. Alexander served as National Quality Medical Director for Cigna HealthCare, where he developed the company’s clinical quality strategy.
Thomas J. Betlach
Tom Betlach joined Speire as a partner to advise government and private sector clients on complex health policy and strategic initiatives. He is a nationally-recognized thought leader on Medicaid and health care policy, known for his expertise in serving complex populations, delivery system transformation, value-based purchasing, managed care and cost containment. Prior to joining Speire, Tom spent 27 years serving in a variety of leadership roles for the state of Arizona. He served five different governors in three different cabinet positions.
Most recently, Tom served as director of the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS), Arizona’s state Medicaid agency, where he reported directly to the governor. AHCCCS provided health care coverage to 1.9 million Arizonans at an annual cost of $13 billion.
Mr. Betlach is former President of the National Association of Medicaid Directors. He is also a board member for Circle the City and Mutual Insurance Company of Arizona. Mr. Betlach earned his BA degree in Political Science from the University of Wisconsin and his MPA from the University of Arizona.
Asaf Bitton, MD, MPH
Dr. Bitton is Executive Director of Ariadne Labs at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. His extensive experience in primary care policy includes significant contributions to the design and testing of major primary care initiatives at the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation. He was a core founder and vice chair of the steering committee for the Primary Health Care Performance Initiative, a partnership that includes more than 30 countries, World Bank, World Health Organization, UNICEF, The Global Fund, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and others, all dedicated to improving global primary health care. Dr. Bitton is an elected member of the International Academy of Quality and Safety.
Benjamin K. Chu, MD, MPH, MACP, Chair
Dr. Benjamin Chu has more than four decades of healthcare experience as a clinician, administrator and policy advocate. Dr. Chu passionately believes that the quality of patient care, patient safety and the patient experience are of the highest importance. Throughout his career, he has placed strong emphasis on physician integration, population health and health systems innovation to drive for better outcomes and performance.
Dr. Chu retired in January, 2021. He had been a senior advisor with the health care practice at Manatt, Phelps and Phillips. Prior to this, Dr. Chu served in many senior leadership positions serving as: President and CEO of the Memorial Hermann Health System; Executive Vice President and Group President for the Kaiser Permanente Southern California and Georgia regions; President of the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation; Senior Associate Dean at the Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons; Vice President and Associate Dean at the NYU School of Medicine; and Acting Commissioner of Health for the New York City Department of Health. He was a Robert Wood Johnson Health Policy Fellow in 1990 serving as Legislative Assistant for Health for Senator Bill Bradley of New Jersey.
Since his retirement, Dr. Chu has remained active serving on a number of not-for-profit Boards of Directors. In addition to servings as Chair of the National Committee for Quality Assurance Board, he serves on the Geisinger Health System, Geisinger Health Plan and Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine Boards. His past Board service include Chairing the American Hospital Association Board of Trustees; the Commonwealth Fund Board of Directors; and the American Legacy Foundation Board of Directors. He was a member of the Joint Commission Board and the NYC Board of Health.
Dr. Chu earned his medical degree at New York University. He earned his master’s degree in public health from Columbia University and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Yale University.
Anne B. Docimo, MD, MBA
Dr. Anne Docimo is chief medical officer of UnitedHealthcare, responsible for the clinical, cost and experience outcomes of more than 45 million members in UnitedHealthcare’s Commercial, Medicare and Medicaid health plans. Dr. Docimo collaborates with each line of business to design and direct evidence-based, data-driven strategies that support clinical and business goals, partnering with internal and external stakeholders to develop high-value programs and interventions that help the health care system work better for all.
As CMO, Dr. Docimo leads core enterprise functions including Medical Policy, Medical Management, Care Management, Clinical Program Design and Evaluation, Clinical Operations, Value-Based Care and Accountable Care Organizations, Clinical Appeals & Grievances, and National and Market-Level Chief Medical Officer teams. Dr. Docimo is a member of the UnitedHealthcare Executive Council and chairs UnitedHealth Group’s Clinical Systems Governance Committee, guiding the development of clinical technology platforms, capabilities, applications, and data models.
Dr. Docimo has served as a physician leader and business executive in both provider and payer organizations for more than 20 years, bringing clinical, technology and data expertise to design and implement programs that improve clinical and financial outcomes. Before joining UnitedHealthcare in 2019, Dr. Docimo served as Executive Vice President for Population Health and Chief Clinical Transformation Officer at Jefferson Health, Chief Medical Officer for Thomas Jefferson University Hospitals, President of Jefferson University Physicians, and Professor of Emergency Medicine at Thomas Jefferson University. Prior to her time at Jefferson, Dr. Docimo was Chief Medical Officer for UPMC Health Plan and Senior Medical Director for the UPMC Hospital Division – leading medical management, clinical programs, quality initiatives and the clinical pharmacy service line across both the UPMC payer and provider divisions.
John Glaser, PhD
John is an Executive-in-Residence at the Harvard Medical School Executive Education. Previously he was chief executive officer of Siemens Health Services. Prior to Siemens, John was chief information officer at Partners HealthCare.
John was the founding chair of the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives and the past-president of the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society. He is the former Chair of the Global Agenda Council on Digital Health, World Economic Forum. He is former Senior Advisor to the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology.
He has authored many articles and books on the strategic application of IT in health care. He is on the faculty of the UTHealth School of Biomedical Informatics and the Harvard School of Public Health. Previously he was on the faculty of the Wharton School at the Uivnersity of Pennsylvania.
David Kendrick, MD, MPH, FACP
Dr. David Kendrick chairs the Department of Medical Informatics and serves as the Assistant Provost for Strategic Planning for the OU Health Sciences Center. He is the principal investigator and CEO of MyHealth Access Network, Oklahoma’s non-profit health information network, which ensures that every Oklahoman’s complete health record is securely available where and when they need it for care and health decision-making.
Dr. Kendrick is the immediate past chair of the Board of Directors for the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA), which developed the first comprehensive quality measurement programs with HEDIS, as well as certification programs for Patient Centered Medical Homes and Specialty Care. While Chair, Dr. Kendrick proposed the creation of a Data Aggregator Validation program that recognizes the cost and resources efficiencies brought to the quality measurement process by data aggregators with validated high-quality data. Dr. Kendrick is also a member of the board of the Patient Centered Data Home® program, and previously served on both the boards of the Strategic HIE Collaborative, and the Networks for Regional Health Improvement before their recent merger to become the Civitas Networks for Health. Dr. Kendrick has been elected to the board of the new Civitas organization. Dr. Kendrick served as the Senior Counsel for Interoperability to National Health IT Coordinator, Dr. Karen DeSalvo, and continues to serve as a consultant to various State and Federal Agencies.
Adrienne Mims, MD, MPH
Dr. Mims has more than 30 years of clinical practice experience, including caring for Medicare beneficiaries in the hospital, office, nursing home, hospice and home care. She is board certified in family medicine and geriatrics, with fellowship status in both specialties. As a clinical epidemiologist, she has more than 25 years of administrative experience in using quality performance metrics to guide changes in clinical processes, clinician and patient education and organizational delivery system redesign in small clinical practices, large disease management, Medicare Advantage and managed care organizations.
Dr. Mims has joined Rainmakers Strategic Solutions LLC, as Chief Medical Officer (CMO). As such, she collaborates with members of its various teams of professionals to expand Rainmakers’ excellent health care industry reputation for thought leadership and involvement in the development and execution of key health care quality improvement initiatives and contracts, on diverse topics such as health equity, quality measurement, value-based care, and the True Voice of the Patient.
Dr. Mims has extensive clinical practice experience in value-based care for adults and seniors through her long tenure with Kaiser Permanente. More recently, she shared her expertise with JenCare Senior Medical Center, a healthcare system focusing on personalized quality care for vulnerable residents of Georgia. She worked collaboratively with multiple healthcare team members in order to provide exceptional care for each patient. She is the founding medical director at the Center for Black Women’s Wellness – Safety Net Clinic, where she also worked as a Staff Physician for eight years. Dr. Mims was the founding medical director of the Georgia Medicaid Management Program, overseeing case and disease management services to 500,000 aged, blind, and disabled Medicaid recipients.
Dr. Mims is the chair of the National Advisory Council on Alzheimer’s Research, Care and Services. She was previously vice president and chief medical officer for Alliant Health Solutions, the Quality Innovation Network—Quality Improvement Organization (QIN-QIO). She is a Trustee for the RRF Foundation on Aging, a national endowment that funds projects to improve the quality of care for seniors. She is former president of the American Health Quality Association, the trade association for QIN-QIOs. She was also on the boards of the Georgia Academy of Family Physicians; Georgia Alzheimer’s Association; Georgia POLST Collaborative; the PCPI, a national organization that develops quality measures for all specialties; and the American Geriatric Society, where she chaired the audit committee.
Dr. Mims was appointed by the governor to the Georgia Older Adults Cabinet and the Georgia Council on Aging. She is a former member of the NCQA Geriatric Measurement Advisory Panel and the NCQA Committee for Performance Measures.
Julie V. Murchinson
Julie V. Murchinson is a Partner with Transformation Capital, a growth equity fund focused exclusively on digital health. She built and led Health Evolution, the industry’s premier convening company that connects the health care industry’s most influential leaders to inspire forward-thinking strategies and scalable solutions that drive health. Ms. Murchinson was also Managing Director at Manatt Health Solutions, the policy and strategy advisory division of Manatt, Phelps and Phillips. She holds a BA from Franklin & Marshall College and an MBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
Margaret E. O’Kane, President
Margaret E. O’Kane is the founder and president of the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA).
She is a member of the National Academy of Medicine, and has received the Picker Institute Individual Award for Excellence in the Advancement of Patient-Centered Care, as well as the Gail L. Warden Leadership Excellence Award from the National Center for Healthcare Leadership.
Modern Healthcare magazine has named O’Kane one of the “100 Most Influential People in Healthcare” 12 times, most recently in 2017, and one of the “Top 25 Women in Healthcare” 3 times.
She is a board member of the Milbank Memorial Fund and is Chairman of the Board of Healthwise, a nonprofit organization that helps people make better health decisions.
O’Kane holds a master’s degree in health administration and planning from Johns Hopkins University, where she received the Distinguished Alumnus Award.
Follow on Twitter: @PeggyNCQA
Dr. J. Brent Pawlecki, MD
Dr. Brent Pawlecki joined Wells Fargo in October 2021 as the Chief Health Officer. In this role, he advises on the design of the benefit plans, oversees the on-site / near-site clinic strategy, and promotes employee population health and well-being strategies. Dr. Brent also participates on the Critical Incident team, several public health efforts and provides general medical expertise to company leadership to promote a healthy, engaged, and high-performing workforce.
Prior to joining Wells Fargo, Dr. Brent worked for The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company for 10 years where he designed and implemented a global health strategy, oversaw global clinics to ensure effectiveness, analyzed medical data to develop wellness program to address employee needs. Prior to The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, Dr. Brent served as the Corporate Medical Director at Pitney Bowes for 11 leading numerous professional, business and health initiatives to improve healthcare access and quality of care. Dr. Brent also served as an Attending Physician in the Emergency Department at Bridgeport Hospital and in medical practice on Long Island, New York.
Born in Toledo Ohio, he moved frequently throughout the Midwest with his father’s work. He attended college and medical school at St. Louis University, and received a Masters of Medical Management degree from University of Southern California. He lives and works in New York City.
Jaewon Ryu, MD, JD
Jaewon Ryu, MD, JD, is the President and CEO of Geisinger, an integrated delivery system with a clinical enterprise, health plan, the Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine, and research and innovation institutes. Dr. Ryu came to Geisinger in 2016 from Humana, where he was responsible for the company’s care delivery assets, and previously, he held various leadership roles at the University of Illinois Hospital & Health Sciences System, Kaiser Permanente, and in government at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and at the Department of Veterans Affairs. He started his career as a practicing corporate healthcare attorney.
Outside of Geisinger, Dr. Ryu serves on the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC), a body legislatively tasked with advising Congress on policies governing health plans and providers serving Medicare beneficiaries. He is also a member of the board of Privia, which brings capabilities that help provider practices with management functions and the transition to value-based financing models.
Dr. Ryu earned his B.A. from Yale University and his M.D. and J.D. from the University of Chicago. He completed his residency training in emergency medicine at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center.
Craig Samitt, MD, MBA
Dr. Craig Samitt is the CEO and Founder of ITO Advisors, an advisory and investment firm committed to value transformation of the healthcare industry. In this capacity, Dr. Samitt holds numerous board or advisory roles and serves as a strategic advisor to Federal agencies, public and non-profit health plans, and numerous digital health and care delivery organizations. Previously Dr. Samitt served as EVP, Chief Clinical Officer, and President of Anthem’s Diversified Business Group, President & CEO of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, President & CEO of HealthCare Partners and President & CEO of Dean Health System. From 2012-2018, Dr. Samitt served as a Commissioner on MedPAC. Dr. Samitt received his undergraduate degree from Tufts University, his Doctorate in Medicine from Columbia University, and his MBA from The Wharton School.
William Shrank, MD, MSHS
Dr. Shrank is a Venture Partner at Andreesen Horowitz. He was previously the Chief Medical Officer at Humana, where he lead and implemented the company’s integrated care delivery strategy affecting 16 million Humana plan members. During his tenure, he lead Humana’s senior focused primary care business, clinical operations, population health strategy, health equity and government affairs teams. Previously, Dr. Shrank held leadership positions at UPMC Health Plan, CVS Health, and Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation at CMS. He began as a practicing physician with Brigham Internal Medicine Associates at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston and as an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School, researching medication prescribing and adherence.
Susan Stuard
Ms. Stuard is an independent consultant who advises clients on issues related state health policy and payment. She serves as the New York region’s payer convener for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Primary Care First Initiatives. Ms. Stuard directs state technical assistance at Center for Evidenced-based Policy (Center) at Oregon Health & Science University and, since 2016, has directed the State Medicaid Alternative Reimbursement and Purchasing Test for High-cost Drugs (SMART-D) initiative at the Center. Ms. Stuard serves on the Community Advisory Board for the New York State Health Foundation.
She led THINC, a nonprofit convening organization that established research-based criteria to enhance health care quality and value. She was also Director for Technology Policy Development at the New York-Presbyterian Hospital and Vice President at the Greater New York Hospital Association.
Ms. Stuard holds a BA from Hamilton College and an MBA from the Yale School of Management.
Lynn Todman, PhD
Dr. Todman is Vice President of Health Equity and Community Partnerships for Corewell Health in Michigan, where she leads the alignment of health equity activities across an integrated health care system. She has held teaching and research positions at institutions worldwide, including the University of Milan, the Royal Institute of Technology and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dr. Todman is a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Culture of Health Leader and a member of the Founding Advisory Board of the Global Institute of Health Equity at the Meharry Medical College. She is also a former Mayor Pro Tem and City Commissioner for the city of St. Joseph, Michigan. Dr. Todman earned a BA from Wellesley College, a Master’s in City Planning (MCP), and a PhD in Urban and Regional Planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Thomas Tsang, MD, MPH
Dr. Tsang is founding CEO and current Chief Strategy Officer of Valera Health. An experienced leader in mental health, he is also the former Chief Medical Officer at Healthcare Services and Solutions, a Merck wholly owned subsidiary. Prior to Merck, he was part of the team that crafted the Affordable Care Act through the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation/Institute of Medicine Health Policy Fellowship. As Medical Director at the Office of the National Coordinator for HIT, Dr. Tsang contributed to the development of ACO regulations and a national framework for the use of health information technology and electronic health records to improve coordination and quality.
Sara Vaezy
Sara Vaezy is Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy and Digital Officer for Providence where she is responsible for system strategy and digital innovation for the integrated delivery network (IDN) which includes 52 hospitals and 1,085 clinics and serves over 5 million unique patients.
Sara brings deep experience to the organization in both digital and enterprise strategy development and leads system strategy, the ongoing development and evolution of Providence’s integrated strategic and financial plan and cross-collaboration of the Providence councils as Providence continues to advance toward and design the system of the future. Sara is the architect of the Providence digital innovation model upon with the Digital Innovation Group (DIG) was founded, resulting in company partnerships and incubation of technologies that deliver value for Providence as well as other health systems.
Sara is active in the broader healthcare industry serving as an NCQA Board Director, as a member of inaugural class of the Frist Cressey Ventures Collective, a Harvard Executive Education Faculty Member, a Health Evolution Forum Fellow, World 50 Digital 50 member, a Forbes Business Council Member, and a board observer for DexCare. She has won numerous awards and has been recognized as a Business Insider 30 under 40 Transforming the Future of Healthcare (2019), Catholic Health Association Tomorrow’s Leader (2019), a Becker’s Rising Star in Health IT (2020), and a Becker’s Women to Watch in Health IT (2020 & 2022).
She holds an MHA and an MPH in Health Policy from the University of Washington School of Public Health and BAs in Physics and Philosophy from the University of California, Berkeley.