Partners

HR & Benefits Executives, Government, Non-Profit

*HR & Benefits professional – Must currently be part of the HR/Benefits team of their organization
*Government – Must currently be part of a Government organization
*Non-Profit – Must currently be part of a 501(c)(3) organization

Employers & Purchasers

TITLES INCLUDING:

C-Suite Executives including:
- CEO
- CFO
- CHRO
- Chief Wellness Officer
- Chief Medical Officer
- Chief People Officer
Heads, Vice Presidents and Directors of:
- Benefits
- Human Resources
- Compensation
- Disabilities Management
- Corporate Health & Wellness
- Disease Management,
- Total Rewards and Incentives
- Risk Management
- Health and Welfare
- DE&I
TPAs, Brokers, and Benefits Consultants
Purchaser Coalition Executives

Investors & Startups

Innovation and Venture Leaders from Health Plans, Hospitals, and Health Systems

Managing Directors
Executive Directors

Senior Vice Presidents and Vice Presidents of:

Innovation
Strategy
Business Development
Mergers & Acquisitions
Strategic Investments

From Accelerators and Incubators

Managing Director
Founder
Board Member

From Start-Ups

Founder
Principal
Entrepreneur

From Venture Funds (VCs, PEs, Angels)

COO
Principal
Founder or Co-Founder
Managing Partner
Partner

*Investor Registration Criteria:

Qualified investors include:

Investment staff involved directly in an early stage healthcare venture capital or private equity fund.
Investment staff at health system and health plan organizations involved in corporate venturing.
Active angels or executive staff at angel organizations that invest in early stage digital health, diagnostics, therapeutics/devices, and other health care companies.
Investment staff and executives at nonprofit organizations, venture philanthropy/impact investment firms or patient groups that provide funding to startup companies.

*An investor who receives complimentary registration is expected to attend two of four Pitch Stage Sessions held in the Exhibit Hall.

**Limit of 2 registrations per investment organization.

Pharmaceutical/Biotech & Medical Device

TITLES INCLUDING:

C-Suite Executives including:
- CEOs, Chief Medical Officers, Strategy, Innovation and Marketing Officers
EVP/SVP/VP/Directors of:
- Evidence-Based Medicine, Branding, Licensing, Business Development, Medication Safety and Product Managers

Government

TITLES INCLUDING:

HHS, ARQH, HRSA, NIH, CMS, FDA VHA and CDC Administrators and Program Directors
Directors and Program Managers for Regional Health Information Organizations
National State and Public Administrators
Chief Information Officers and Directors of Medicaid Information Management Systems
Health Policy Analysts and Economists

Health Plans & Payers

TITLES INCLUDING:

C-Suite Executives including:
- CEO
- CIO
- CFO
- CMO
- CCO
- CSO
- CMIO
EVP/SVP/VP/Directors:
- Strategy
- Member Retention
- Disease Management
- Provider Relations
- Medical Directors
- Consumer Engagement
- Public Relations
- Sales, Marketing
- Digital Strategy
- Behavioral Health,
- Medicare Marketing
- Population Health
- Data Analytics
- Technology
- Policy
- Managed Care
- SDoH
- DE&I
- Wellness

Hospitals, Health Systems, & Provider Groups

TITLES INCLUDING:

C-Suite Executives including:
- CEO
- CIO
- CFO
- CMO
- CCO
- CSO
- CMIO
- CNO
- CHRO
- Chief Quality Officer
- Chief Patient Engagement Officer
- Chief Population Health Officer
- Chief Wellness Officer
- Chief Accountable Care Officer
- Chief Supply Chain Officer
EVP/SVP/VP/Directors:
- Patient Safety
- Quality
- Compliance
- Innovation
- IT
- Medical Director
- Wellness
- Patient Engagement
- Communications
- Marketing
- Digital Strategy
- Population Health
- ACO
- Network Contracting
- Supply Chain
- Care Coordination
- Care Transformation
- Business Development
- Network Management
- Employer Relations
- Health Equity
- Virtual Care
- DE&I
Clinical Department Heads:
- Oncology
- Behavioral
- Maternity
- Radiology
- Obstetrics
- Gynecology
- Surgery
- Urology
- Emergency Dept
- Pharmacy

Jeff Spafford

Jeff Spafford has served as AssistRx President and CEO since co-founding the firm with Edward Hensley in 2009. Spafford has more than 20 years of experience in leadership roles within the specialty pharmaceutical industry.

In 1998, Spafford established OncoScripts, one of the first specialty pharmacies. OncoScripts developed a chemotherapy drug management model and contracted directly with large, national payers. OncoScripts was soon acquired by CuraScript, a Florida-based specialty pharmacy with a mission to oversee specialty drugs on behalf of managed care payers. In 2001, he relocated to Central Florida and transitioned into his new role as executive vice president for CuraScript, in which he was responsible for sales and marketing.

In 2005, Spafford co-founded and served as president and CEO of Advanced Care Scripts. After three successful years, he sold the company and shifted management of the business to Omnicare. In 2009, he co-founded AssistRx with the mission to deliver leading technology and people solutions that connect every stakeholder in the specialty therapy journey. AssistRx solutions accelerate patient access to therapy and improve outcomes.

Spafford earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from St. Lawrence University and a Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School.

Jan Nielsen

Jan Nielsen directs strategy and operations for the AssistRx Patient Solutions portfolio, including the access and patient support services and the non-commercial pharmacy, as well as the quality and corporate training departments. In her role, she leads with more than 30 years of experience as a clinical and operational subject matter expert with a strong background in critical care, hospital management and specialty pharmaceutical commercialization services. Her proven track record driving innovation within the specialty pharmaceutical industry supports AssistRx’s unique approach to combining technology and talent to improve patient access and treatment outcomes.

Prior to joining AssistRx, Nielsen served as a senior principal at Blue Fin Group, a management and technology consulting firm with a focus on the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and healthcare industries. Prior to Blue Fin Group, Nielsen was the division president of access and patient support for Sonexus, a Cardinal Health company, where she founded and launched the patient support services business unit. Her industry leadership also includes leading the development and launch of the clinical support division of AmerisourceBergen that now resides with Lash Group.

Nielsen earned a master’s degree in public administration and a bachelor’s degree in human services from Notre Dame de Namur University. She received her nursing degree from the U.S. Army School of Nursing

Debbie Welle-Powell

Debbie Welle-Powell is the Chief Population Health Officer. She leads Essentia’s $3Billion dollar transition from a primarily fee-for-service model of care to one that focused on value and risk-based population health. Welle-Powell’s team is responsible for aligning the Health System’s clinical and economic transformations in support of Essenita’s vision to be the leading health system in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and North Dakota. This includes fostering care management and clinical redesign to ensure that high-value care is delivered across the Health System and working with payers and employers to establish the new economic models that support value-based care such as telemedicine, chronic care, remote patient monitoring and Hospital-at-Home programs. She works with market leaders, payer partners and community stakeholders to develop community-based, risk sharing models focused on wellness, disease prevention and social determinants of health for better health outcomes. She leads the P&L for $900 million of total medical and pharmacy spend (cost, utilization, and outflow) for 180,000 lives in 13 Medicare, Medicaid, and Commercial risk contracts.

Prior to her new appointment, she served as the Senior Vice-President of Accountable Care for Essentia Health. Essentia Health is a 17 hospital, 1500 provider health system spanning the states of Minnesota, North Dakota, and Wisconsin. Essentia is certified at the highest ACO Level III by NCQA. Additionally, she leads the Accountable Care Division with strategic and operational responsibilities for population care management, payer strategy and community health and wellness.

Prior to Essentia, Debbie was the Vice President of Accountable Care and Payer Strategy for SCL Health System, a $2.5B health care system with operations in the states of Colorado, Kansas, and Montana. As a seasoned executive, she led the strategic and market activities for payer negotiations and care management while developing innovative products, services, and technologies.

Welle-Powell has more than twenty years-experience in executive healthcare positions within multi-state regions and integrated provider delivery system. She has extensive experience in leading payer negotiations, practice management, while developing innovative care models and reimbursement and network development strategies supporting a full range of payment models.

Debbie is extremely active in the community and serves on many boards; NAACOS (Chair-Elect), NCQA, Synchrony CareCredit, Duluth Chamber Board (Executive Committee), Destination Duluth and University of MN-Duluth, United Way, Arcadia Pharmaceutical and banking. She taught health policy and macro health care models for Denver University and Regis. Her community service earned her recognitions including Women of Distinction, Colorado’s Most Powerful and Influential Women Award, Outstanding Businesswoman Award, the Frances Wisebart Jacobs Award for Philanthropy from Mile High United Way, Health Care Champion award from Colorado Coalition for the Medically Underserved, and Inspiring Leadership award from CampExperience.

Lori Tishler

Lori Tishler is the Senior Vice President of Medical Services at Commonwealth Care Alliance. Commonwealth Care Alliance is an integrated payor/provider system that cares for over 37,000 dually eligible people in Massachusetts fulfilling their mission of improving the health and well-being of people with significant needs by innovating, coordinating and providing the highest quality, individualized care. At CCA, Dr. Tishler is directly responsible for primary, psychiatric, and specialty care and works collaboratively with the care coordination, quality, and utilization management programs. She leads CCA’s Covid Task Force. A caring and connected physician leader, Dr. Tishler joined CCA to follow her passion for providing care for patients with significant needs and making positive change in our complicated health care system.

Michelle Stansbury

Michelle Stansbury has been with Houston Methodist since July 1993. Her current position is Vice President of Corporate Business / Revenue Cycle Systems and Innovations in the Information Technology Division. During her 28 years at Methodist, she has had many accomplishments. In 2016, Houston Methodist deployed Epic to its main academic medical center and all of its physician practices.

Houston Methodist received the highest adoption score of Epic functionality of any new Epic client and the hospital saw higher operating activity and greater revenue after the deployment of Epic. Her strength is in developing strategy and leading teams to drive those strategic initiatives.

Before joining Houston Methodist, Michelle held leadership roles at Compaq Computer Corporation and Amoco Oil. Her most recent passion is in Digital Health Innovation and has been part of the team leading innovation initiatives at Houston Methodist. Michelle was instrumental in the establishment of the Center for Innovation and works closely with the Chief Innovation Officer and the Chief Information Officer. Within her innovation role, Michelle has responsibilities for day-to-day management of the Innovation Department and has strategic responsibilities for Intelligent Automation and digital transformation. Notable innovation accomplishments in the past two years have been the launch of the Center for Innovation Technology Hub, Intelligent Automation, Call Center and Telephony Automation, and most recently the development of Clinical Voice Technologies.

Michelle speaks regularly on innovation, digital transformation and building innovative cultures in conferences and panels. She was named as one of the 50 Most Powerful Women in Healthcare IT for 2019 – CIO and IT Executives by Health Data Management Magazine. She was also named as one of the 2020 Women to Watch in Health IT by Becker’s, and most recently named as one of the finalists for the 2021 HIMSS Changemaker in Health Awards.

Michelle earned her Bachelor degree in Business Administration from Phoenix University. She is a member of the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives, Healthcare Financial Management Association and the Healthcare Information Management and Systems Society.

Outside the office, Michelle enjoys motorsports and track racing.

Theresa Soriano

Dr. Soriano is the President of the American Academy of Home Care Medicine (AAHCM). She is a board-certified general internist and palliative medicine physician and a Clinical Professor at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. She recently joined Prospero Health as Associate Chief Clinical Officer. Prospero is a home-based palliative care company founded in 2019, providing team-based, in-home and virtual supportive care to patients and caregivers in over 20 states.

Dr. Soriano is nationally recognized in the field of home-based primary and palliative care clinical practice, quality, and leadership. She was named AAHCM’s House Call Physician of the Year and honored with the Hastings Center-Cunniff Dixon Physician Award for Excellence in Palliative Medicine. These honors, among others, stem from her longstanding philosophy that addressing the social and medical needs of vulnerable populations requires the care of an interdisciplinary team rooted in the community. She has held direct provider, clinical and executive leadership roles in home-based primary and palliative care, hospital operations, care management, and population health at academic systems like the Mount Sinai Health System as well as start-ups like Cityblock Health. In addition, she has advised, developed and implemented clinical initiatives at several other start-up and non-profit organizations.

A lifelong New Yorker, Dr. Soriano grew up in Queens and Long Island, attended Cornell University and Mount Sinai School of Medicine, and trained at the University of Miami-Jackson Memorial Hospital, one of the nation’s largest public hospitals. She currently lives in Manhattan with her family, raising two school-aged sons and active in their local school and community.

Jesse Schafer

Jesse Schafer is an industry thought leader in supply chain resiliency.

Jesse is the Executive Director of HIRC, the Healthcare Industry Resilience Collaborative. HIRC is a non-profit trade association of healthcare leaders committed to solving supply chain resiliency.

Jesse is employed by Mayo Clinic as a Performance Consulting Manager focused on supply chain business continuity. Jesse built the Mayo Clinic program starting in 2018.

He holds a master’s in business administration with a background in supply chain risk management.

Jesse is the originator of the HIRC concept and design. The vision of HIRC is a transparent and resilient supply chain achieved through cooperative efforts of providers and suppliers.

Business continuity is a bourgeoning area of interest in healthcare. Jesse’s role at Mayo Clinic provides opportunity to be part of pioneering developments in this field.

He is considered a subject matter expert in the areas of supply chain business continuity and medical device explant compliance. He has been involved in several technology launches due to his passion for innovation, strategy, customer experience, and problem solving.

Previous speaking engagements include Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), Health Care Compliance Association (HCCA), Healthcare Industry Distributors Association (HIDA), Gartner, Strategic Marketplace Initiative (SMI), and thINc360.

Jesse is born and raised in Minnesota and married with three young children. His hobbies include home remodeling/improvement, camping, and time with family.

He thrives when faced with complex situations, enjoys collective problem solving, and values strong personal and professional relationships.

Jason Mitchell

Jason W. Mitchell, MD, is the Chief Medical and Clinical Transformation Officer for Presbyterian Healthcare Services, a not-for-profit health care system, integrating New Mexico’s largest health care provider and health plan. Dr. Mitchell leads a team of 1,000 employed providers spanning 50 ambulatory clinics and eight hospital campuses in addition to medical staff operations and provider clinical quality in a mixed medical staff model. Dr. Mitchell oversees $600 million in fully capitated delivery system risk arrangements, delivery system care and case management, clinical informatics and enterprise Population Health Services.

Dr. Mitchell focuses on re-designing clinical practice at the system level and is transforming the role of the physician executive to better serve clinicians and patients during a time of rapid healthcare change. He is a key leader in developing enterprise strategy across care delivery, the health plan and Presbyterian’s Fluent Health – a leader in partnering with delivery systems to start or strengthen their own provider-led health plans.

Under Dr. Mitchell’s leadership, Presbyterian has deployed new care models, processes and technology to help connect the care continuum, payers, providers and patients in a way never before possible and enabled intense evidence-based care design, process improvement, value-based care, health plan integration and standardization. Ultimately, the changes have yielded significant gains in disease management and overall management of population health.

Dr. Mitchell is passionate about the quadruple aim and continues to see patients as a family practice physician. He earned his medical degree from the University of New Mexico, where he also completed his residency in family medicine. Dr. Mitchell is board-certified in both family medicine and clinical informatics. He has been with Presbyterian since 2006.

Charles Miceli

Chief Supply Chain Officer, Network Vice President University of Vermont Health Network

Miceli has set the vision and mission for the University of Vermont Medical Center Supply Chain operation, ranked #1 and #2 by the University Health System Consortium/Vizient in 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016, 2017 and 3rd 2018. The effectiveness of the supply chain has supported the clinical mission and operations of the University of Vermont Medical Center, OneCare Vermont, and the University of Vermont Health Network

Miceli has also served as the Vice President of Information Systems for the University of Vermont Medical Center as well as the CIO for the OneCare Vermont Accountable Care Organization

Key accomplishments include sponsoring the successful integration of biomedical devices with the EPIC EHR, as well as championing interoperability of key clinical applications with EPIC (McKesson PACS).

Prior to joining Fletcher Allen/University of Vermont Medical Center in 2008, Miceli held leadership positions in supply chain, biomedical engineering, and support services at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Loyola University Medical Center, The University of Chicago Hospital and Health Systems, and Partners Healthcare System in Boston. He has also served as an expert consultant in change management/turn around, cost management, and information systems.

An avid guitarist, Miceli and colleague McKenna Lee founded the musical group McKenna Lee and the Microfixers in 2010. Over the past 7 years the group has helped raise over $20k for charitable causes. He has two adult children with wife Mari, an RN and fellow patient safety advocate who designed and developed the PatientAider app that the Miceli’s donated to the Patient Safety Movement Foundation.

Bernadette Melnyk

Bernadette Mazurek Melnyk is Vice President for Health Promotion, University Chief Wellness Officer, Dean and Helene Fuld Health Trust Professor of Evidence-based Practice, the College of Nursing, Professor of Pediatrics and Psychiatry at the College of Medicine and Executive Director of the Helene Fuld Health Trust National Institute for Evidence-based Practice at The Ohio State University. She also serves as editor of the journal Worldviews on Evidence-based Nursing.

Dr. Melnyk is recognized nationally and globally for her clinical knowledge, expertise in evidence-based practice, mental health, and intervention research as well as her innovative approaches to health and wellness. She is sought after as a keynote speaker at national and international conferences and has presented hundreds of workshops on wellness and evidence-based practice for healthcare systems and corporations throughout the globe.

Dr. Melnyk was the first Chief Wellness Officer appointed at a University in the U.S. She founded and is the current president of the National Consortium for Building Healthy Academic Communities. Dr. Melnyk is an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine, the American Academy of Nursing, the National Academies of Practice, and the American Association of Nurse Practitioners. She is a member of the board of directors for the National Forum for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention and the NASEM Promoting Emotional Well-Being and Resilience Expert Panel. Dr. Melnyk has over $33 million dollars of sponsored funding from federal agencies and foundations as a PI, is an editor of seven books, and has authored over 470 publications. As a member of the National Academy of Medicine’s Action Collaborative on Clinician Well-being and Resilience, she is currently working to address the national crisis of healthcare provider burnout.

Daniel Ludwig

With deep roots in managing Safety programs, Dan Ludwig, Director of Benefits & Safety, brings over 20 years of experience in loss reduction. Under Dan’s watch, Brakebush Brothers, Inc. has seen a 75% decrease in occupational incident rates. Dan’s interest in connecting occupational and non-occupational losses evolved as he took on Benefits and the Wellness program in 2014 and shifted his focus to reducing health insurance losses. Brakebush has since opened an onsite clinic offering primary and acute care as well as a robust musculoskeletal injury prevention program, a centers of excellence program, and strategies to reduce prescription costs. Brakebush member premiums have not increased for four of the last five years and per member costs were lower in 2018 than in 2014.

As a result of Dan’s direction, Brakebush was awarded The Alliance (Wisconsin) Healthcare Transformation Award in 2018, and the 2019 Employer/Purchaser Excellence Award by the National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions.

Emmilyn Lawson

As AmeriHealth Caritas Delaware’s Market President, Emmilyn Lawson is responsible for the Medicaid health plan’s strategic direction, growth, and leadership. She oversees AmeriHealth Caritas Delaware’s operations and is its primary point of contact with the state of Delaware.

Lawson is a longtime health care executive with more than 20 years of experience in Medicaid managed care in Delaware and Pennsylvania. She most recently served as vice president of Delaware Medicaid markets and chief operations officer for Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield Delaware Health Options Inc. At Highmark, Lawson led all core operations for the insurer’s Medicaid, Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), and long-term services and supports (LTSS) products.

Lawson holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in mathematics from the University of Delaware and a Master of Business Administration in finance from Goldey-Beacom College. She participated in the AHIP Foundation’s Minority Management Development Program, now part of AHIP’s Executive Leadership Program.

Mary Grealy

Mary Grealy is president of the Healthcare Leadership Council, a coalition of chief executives of the nation’s leading healthcare companies and organizations. The HLC advocates consumer-centered health care reform, emphasizing the value of private sector innovation. It is the only health policy advocacy group that represents all sectors of the healthcare industry. She was appointed to the position in August 1999. She previously served as Washington Counsel for the American Hospital Association and was Chief Operating Officer and Executive Counsel for the Federation of American Hospitals.

Ms. Grealy has an extensive background in healthcare policy. She has led important initiatives on the uninsured, improving patient safety and quality, protecting the privacy of patient medical information and reforming the medical liability laws. She testifies frequently before Congress and federal regulatory agencies.

Ms. Grealy has a bachelor degree from Michigan State University and a law degree from Duquesne University. She served on the Board of Directors of TEAMHealth, one of the largest providers of outsourced physician staffing solutions for hospitals in the United States, and the Board of Directors of Duquesne University. She is Chair of the David A. Winston Health Policy Fellowship and serves on the board of the Women Business Leaders, the March of Dimes Public Policy Council and the Susan G. Komen Public Policy Advisory Board. She is also a member of the American Health Lawyers Association. She is a frequent public speaker on health issues and has been ranked many times by Modern Healthcare as one of the 100 Most Powerful People in Healthcare and has been named to Modern Healthcare’s list of the Top 25 Women in Healthcare.

Karen Dale

Karen M. Dale is the Market President for AmeriHealth Caritas’ Medicaid managed care organization (MCO) in Washington, D.C. She is responsible for leading key initiatives to strategically position the MCO as a market leader offering innovative solutions for the critical challenges faced by its members.

In addition to her role as Market President, Dale was appointed to AmeriHealth Caritas’ newly created position of Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer (CDEIO). As CDEIO, Dale leads the planning and implementation of diversity and inclusion strategies across the organization to link workforce, workplace, health equity, and supplier diversity with measurable business and cultural outcomes.

Having held multiple positions of leadership during the past two decades, Dale has worked with a broad group of stakeholders to address policies and other key factors impacting the delivery of health care services. In addressing the range of needs experienced by the nation’s vulnerable populations, Dale has cultivated a focus that has helped AmeriHealth Caritas concurrently innovate, while meeting the highest levels of quality and service. These efforts include the use of digital tools to aid in the management of chronic diseases, peer to peer outreach using community health workers and peer specialist, and the use of a human-centered design member engagement approach. Dale’s vision is notably reflected in key programs addressing Black maternal health, racism, housing, transportation, violence interruption, and food insecurity. In addition, her philosophy that healthcare must evolve into a health ecosystem that promotes, wellness, without barriers, starting where people are, has led to several collaborative relationships with providers, community partners, philanthropists and businesses to implement sustainable, scalable solutions with high impact.

Dale holds a Master of Science degree in psychiatric mental health nursing from The Catholic University, Washington, D.C., and a Bachelor of Science degree in nursing from George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia. She was a member of the Leadership Greater Washington Class of 2003. She serves as a board member for both Volunteers of America National Services and the Volunteers of America National Board, and the Access to Justice Commission.

Karen Conway

A healthcare delivery scientist, Karen Conway advocates for the role of supply chain as a critical enabler of a value-based healthcare system that optimizes the cost and quality of care, while improving both equity and sustainability in the delivery of care. She applies extensive knowledge of supply chain operations and systems thinking to align processes and data to generate evidence on what improves health of people and populations as well as the performance of organizations upon which an effective healthcare system depends. Conway is an internationally recognized expert on unique device identification (UDI) regulation, advising both government and commercial leaders about the systems and process changes required to achieve the intended value of the regulation. She was a founder of the AHRMM Learning UDI Community, which serves as a model for collaborative community development by global regulators seeking to enact UDI regulation.

Conway is a former national chair of AHRMM, the supply chain association for the American Hospital Association and co-chairs a CFO Advisory Council with the Healthcare Financial Management Association. She serves as board secretary for Strategic Marketplace Initiative (SMI), and as a member of the GS1 Global Healthcare Leadership Team and the healthcare advisory board for CAPS Research. In 2020, Conway delivered closing remarks on sustainability in the health sector at a G20 Summit pre-event and led the supply chain curriculum at the 2021 national summit on health equity. Conway co-wrote a best-selling book on global leadership, Leading from the Edge, published by ATD in 2013 and was a contributing author to the Springer publication eBusiness in Healthcare. Her monthly column in Healthcare Purchasing News is among the publication’s most well-read. Conway holds a masters in the Science of Healthcare Delivery from Arizona State University and a bachelors degree from The Colorado College.

Wesley Burks, MD

Dr. Wesley Burks is CEO of UNC Health, Dean of the UNC School of Medicine, and Vice Chancellor for Medical Affairs at the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill. He has led the statewide academic health system since January, 2019.

UNC Health’s network spans the state of North Carolina, currently including 15 hospitals, the clinical programs of the UNC School of Medicine, and an expansive provider network. The UNC School of Medicine is consistently rated as one of the nation’s leading public medical schools for both research and clinical training.

During Burks’ tenure as CEO, UNC Health has expanded its network, adding multiple hospitals and establishing new clinical and educational partnerships. Burks has also spearheaded work to better unify and integrate UNC Health’s statewide system and to create a more diverse and inclusive workplace culture. Each of these changes is meant to help UNC Health better meet its mission to “improve the health and well-being of the people of North Carolina.”

Prior to being named Dean and CEO, Burks spent more than 30 years taking care of patients, conducting research, and helping to educate trainees. He joined UNC-Chapel Hill in 2011 as physician-in-chief of the North Carolina Children’s Hospital and was named chair of the department of pediatrics in 2012, as well as the Curnen Distinguished Professor of Pediatrics. In 2015, he was named executive dean of the UNC School of Medicine, during which he oversaw the school’s focus on rural health initiatives, diversity in admissions, and primary care education, which is now ranked first in the country.

An internationally renowned expert on food allergies, specifically peanut allergy, Burks and colleagues lead several immunotherapy clinical studies, and his initial work on peanut allergies is cited as the basis for potential peanut allergy treatment regimens currently under FDA review. Burks is a past chair and member of the NIH Hypersensitivity, Autoimmune, and Immune-mediated Diseases study section and is Past President of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology.

Burks has been a featured speaker for national audiences of healthcare leaders, discussing industry trends and the future of healthcare. He also serves as a member of the Becker’s Healthcare Advisory Board, a national group of health system CEOs who advise the publication on trends in health and healthcare.

Burks graduated from the University of Central Arkansas and then the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. He completed a pediatric residency at the Arkansas Children’s Hospital and a fellowship in allergy and immunology at Duke University Medical Center. He served on the faculty at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and Arkansas Children’s Hospital and Duke University Medical Center before joining the UNC School of Medicine.

Ray Bowman

Ray Lee Bowman, Ph.D., is the CHRO and Senior Vice President for Talent and Team Development at MarineMax, headquartered in Clearwater, Florida. MarineMax is the world’s largest boat and yacht retailer with approximately 70 stores and a dozen marinas from coast-to-coast with approximately 1700 employees, referred to as “team members”. They also have operations internationally. MarineMax is self-insured. In his position at MarineMax, Dr. Bowman created, updates and oversees the company’s innovative health care plan as well as executive development, executive coaching, various other management training functions, strategic planning coordination and facilitation, oversight of HR, review and approval of all management hires and promotions, and multi-level succession planning for the independent Board of Directors. Regarding MarineMax’s revolutionary health care plan, Dr. Bowman has been instrumental in piecing together a diverse and effective set of cost saving strategies of benefit to both team members and the company. He is also the innovative founder and President of MAXHealthPlan Solutions (a division of MarineMax) which shares these very successful, cost saving strategies with other interested companies.

Prior to joining the MarineMax team, Dr. Bowman spent nearly four decades practicing Clinical Psychology with four offices in two counties surrounding Tampa Bay, Florida. His practice also provided cognitive rehabilitation for neurologically impaired patients. He is board certified (with Diplomate status) in Neuropsychology, Psychopharmacology, Forensic Psychology, Pain Management, and Clinical Psychology. He has degrees from Eckerd College (formerly Florida Presbyterian College), the University of Notre Dame, and the University of Georgia. He completed his clinical internship at Shand’s Teaching Hospital at the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida. His two year residency prior to licensure was at the Developmental Center in St. Petersburg, Florida. He retired from clinical practice in 2011 but soon after was recruited to MarineMax.

Dr. Bowman lives in the mountains near Hendersonville, North Carolina with his beautiful wife of 43 years, Debra. They have one son, Robert, who is the founder of Bowman Marketing. Rob also lives in Hendersonville, North Carolina with his wife, Ashley, and Dr. Bowman’s two extraordinarily gifted and adorable granddaughters, Hannah and Grace, ages ten and five respectively.

Jennifer Atkins

Jennifer Atkins is vice president, network solutions for the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association (BCBSA), a national federation of 36 independent, community-based and locally operated Blue Cross and Blue Shield (BCBS) companies. The BCBS System is the nation’s largest health insurer, covering one-in-three of all Americans.

Atkins is responsible for all of BCBSA’s national network solutions, including the Blue Distinction portfolio of high-performance networks.

Most recently Atkins was regional vice president of provider solutions at Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Wisconsin, with accountability for statewide provider contracting, network development and strategy. Prior to that she spent 10 years at Mercy Health, a Catholic healthcare ministry serving Ohio and Kentucky.

Atkins is also committed to working with various charitable organizations; she currently serves on the board as vice president of Hope House, a nonprofit shelter and community center located on the near south side of Milwaukee. Previously, she was on the board of FOCUS / Beach House, a Toledo, Ohio organization dedicated to resolving the root causes of homelessness and on the board of the YWCA of Toledo. She has also been active in the Boy Scouts of America and the National Forensics League.

Atkins earned an M.B.A. with an emphasis in finance from the University of Toledo and a bachelor’s degree in history and English from Bowling Green State University.

Care Coordination and Delivery Integration

Hospitals and health systems are continually challenged to keep patients healthy and provide care outside the four walls of the hospital. The pandemic enhanced the focus on RPM (Remote Patient Monitoring), telehealth, home care, and hospital-at-home programs.

Learn innovative approaches to engage patients, transform care delivery, and take a whole-person care approach to treating patients and keeping them healthy.

Behavioral and Mental Health

Promoting behavioral and mental healthcare options and prevention are more critical than ever. The pandemic is bringing conversations around mental health and substance use disorders into the spotlight. Learn how the collaborative contributions of health plans, academics, clinicians, treatment providers, advocates, and policymakers are moving the needle in creating affordable, accessible services and treatment for mental health-related challenges.

SDoH

Today, payers and providers recognize that social factors are even greater predictors of health and well-being than clinical health. Discover how healthcare stakeholders are maximizing their investment in collaborating with state, regional, and local partners including the public health organizations to build a larger community of care focused on addressing the social needs and eliminating health inequities among individuals and families.

Virtual Care and Digital Health

Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) and the Internet of Medical Things are some of the most promising technologies in healthcare. Uncover the continued utilization of telehealth and other emerging technologies to accelerate the path to care redesign in a way that meets people where they are, empowers their health decision-making, and promotes their health in a more personal, convenient, and cost-effective way.

Medicaid Managed Care and Policy

Meeting the needs of Medicaid beneficiaries has been a big challenge since the pandemic, especially addressing SDoH and improving health equity within the Medicaid population. Gain insight into new policies and reform on the horizon as well as the strategies from managed care plan executives, states, CBOs, and provider organizations who are navigating the critical, top of mind challenges that managed care and state Medicaid executives face today.

Medicare Marketing

In a highly competitive healthcare landscape, health plan executives must adopt innovative marketing and customer-centric strategies to engage Medicare enrollees, improve member satisfaction and STAR ratings, and maintain loyalty. Learn how payers are leveraging data and implementing personalized approaches to enhance engagement and improve care for Medicare beneficiaries.

Supply Chain

Momentum towards a more holistic and end-to-end approach to the healthcare supply chain is not only about improving efficiency and reducing costs to the hospitals and healthcare systems, but about providing better healthcare in the least lead time and at lower costs to the patient. Collaboration and establishment of a consistent process will positively affect clinical quality and outcomes as well as financial/reimbursement and operational assessments. Delve into the strategies and technologies that are inspiring a collective rethinking of the global healthcare supply chain.

Employer Direct Contracting

Private and public sector employers of all sizes are investigating innovative and cost-efficient models for care delivery. Understand the nuances of direct contracting, learn how to effectively launch and implement a CoE program, and explore opportunities in value-based direct contracting arrangements including bundles, accountable care models, and more to drive quality and transparency while meeting employees’ healthcare needs.

Self-Insurance Strategies

It is critical for employers to adopt novel approaches to reduce rising healthcare costs and deliver quality care. While self-funding empowers employers to make meaningful healthcare decisions, eliminate unmercenary spend, employers must learn to modify their benefit design strategies to strengthen transparency, combat rising drug spend, and effectively take care of their employees’ health and well-being. Learn the latest strategies to move to value and contain costs while leveraging partnerships with benefits consultants, TPAs, and brokers.

Employee Health & Well-being

Whether it be premium health plans, unlimited PTO, or remote work flexibility, companies today are reevaluating their benefits and rewards while figuring out how to put their best foot forward to keep employees happy while containing rising healthcare costs. Discover how employers are utilizing new digital offerings and taking a holistic approach to meet the health and well-being needs of their employees in both onsite and remote environments.

Pop Health Analytics

Now more than ever, healthcare stakeholders are collaborating to gather health and non-health data to guide whole-person care. Critical to these efforts are integrating analytics for a 360-degree view of patients, members, and clients. Gain insight into the ongoing development of advanced analytic technologies, including AI, machine learning methods, and intuitive data visualizations and dashboards, that are accelerating efforts to accumulate accurate and comprehensive data to make personalized healthcare decisions and build healthier communities.

Data Analytics & AI

AI has emerged as the promising technology that links patients, providers, and payers in utilizing data to identify gaps in care, guide strategic decision-making, and streamline operations that improve workflows for caregivers. Uncover examples of how predictive modeling and prescriptive analytics help to close care gaps, improve outcomes, and reduce costs by improving operational efficiency.

Advanced Tech in Healthcare

Advancements in healthcare, whether through data and communications, research and clinical trials, medical devices, or consumer offerings, are delivering promising care alternatives, changing the patient experience, and enhancing support for high-risk and elderly populations. Discover how to quickly adapt to emerging technologies including voice activation, visualization, automation, and machine learning and how these technologies are being incorporated to advance care.

Value-Based Care and Network Contracting

Progress continues in the move from fee-for-service to value-based care, driven by innovative approaches in adopting innovative VBC models, risk-based arrangements, and bundled contracts. Focused sessions will delve into how providers and payers are collaborating to enhance coordinated care, optimize care delivery, and treat the individual holistically.

Health Plan Innovation and Engagement

Increased “consumerism”, an altered workplace dynamic, and employee stress and burnout has increased competition and access to health solutions. People want immediate, personalized experiences to permeate through all aspects of their lives and healthcare is no exception—people are demanding more from their health plans. Learn the strategies and tools health plans are utilizing to respond to market developments and fiscal pressures with innovations in partnerships, programs, technologies that strengthen plan design and care delivery.