Leadership team
The leaders at CCA are passionate about transforming healthcare and improving the health and well-being of people with the most significant needs. Get to know our team!
Executive Team
Christopher D. Palmieri
Chris Palmieri has spent nearly 30 years leading healthcare organizations focused on delivering care to individuals who are covered by public programs. Chris has a passion for delivering high-quality care coordination and specialized services to low income and vulnerable populations, using innovative approaches to respond to the full scope of each individuals’ health and health-related social needs, leveraging hands-on and tech-enabled approaches.
Prior to joining Commonwealth Care Alliance (CCA), Chris served as CEO of Remedy Partners, a national bundled payment company. He also served as CEO of Visiting Nurse Service of New York CHOICE Health Plans, successfully creating a $2 billion safety-net insurance company. Additionally, Chris held senior positions with Amerigroup Corporation, Metropolitan Jewish Health System, and Faxton-St. Luke’s Health Care/Mohawk Valley Network.
Chris was recently elected to the American Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) Board of Directors. He currently serves as chair of the Association for Community Affiliated Plans (ACAP), a national trade association representing 67 nonprofit health plans in 28 states, and as chair of the National Managed Long-Term Services and Supports (MLTSS) Association, a consortium of leading managed care organizations serving state Medicaid programs and beneficiaries. In addition, Chris serves as an independent director on the board of U.S. Medical Management, which offers comprehensive, home-based healthcare services through care delivery for elderly individuals and those with complex medical issues. Chris is a member of the Ithaca College Board of Trustees, where he serves as chair of the finance and investment committee.
Hany Abdelaal, D.O.
As president of clinical services, Hany oversees the clinical, care delivery, and quality functions at the heart of CCA’s work on behalf of its members. His strategic focus is on scaling and enhancing CCA’s uncommon care model to remain at the forefront of innovation, health equity, and customer experience.
Hany has 20 years of executive management experience with integrated health systems. Most recently, he served as president of VNS Health Plans, a safety-net insurance organization offering both Medicare Advantage and New York State Medicaid Managed Care products. In this role, Hany pioneered several innovative care management programs and tools. Hany oversaw the organization’s disaster response efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic and Super Storm Sandy, and he led the successful integration of several health plans serving individuals with significant needs.
Prior to joining VNS Health in 2012, Hany was chief medical officer and vice president of medical affairs at Elderplan, a Medicare Managed Care plan servicing the New York City metropolitan area. He has also served as medical director of Metropolitan Jewish Health System and Homefirst.
Hany received his Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine from the New York College of Osteopathic Medicine and completed his residency at Maimonides Medical Center.
Amanda Cassel Kraft
Amanda Cassel Kraft serves as Chief Operating Officer for Commonwealth Care Alliance (CCA). She leads CCA’s core business and IT operations, including claims administration, enrollment, member services, and enterprise project management, all with a focus toward improving the care experience for CCA’s members and provider partners.
Previously, as a senior leader at the Massachusetts Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS) for over a decade, Amanda was instrumental in major policy and health care initiatives that advanced health equity and care delivery for millions of people across Massachusetts. As assistant secretary and Medicaid director, she was a key architect of the MassHealth 1115 waiver, a five-year, $67 billion agreement with the federal government to support nation-leading accountable care and health equity initiatives, behavioral health reforms and funding for safety net health systems. Amanda also implemented major initiatives including risk-based accountable care covering more than one million MassHealth members; a statewide roadmap to help residents better access mental health and substance use treatment; pharmacy rebate initiatives that achieved hundreds of millions in annual savings for the state; and more than $500 million of new federal funding for home and community-based services.
Amanda earned a Master in Public Policy degree from the Harvard Kennedy School and a Bachelor of Arts from Stanford University.
Alfred Enagbare, Ph.D.
As chief people officer, Alfred is responsible for the strategic management and delivery of talent, employee programs, engagement, policies, processes, and practices, and leads the Human Resources department as well as CCA’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion programs.
Prior to joining CCA, Alfred was vice president of human resources for The Travelers Companies, Inc., and served as vice president, human resources for enterprise technology, operations, eBusiness and EBIA Groups; business insurance; and field human resources. He also worked for The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc., as vice president of human resources for the group benefits division; Novartis Pharmaceuticals Group and Novartis Consumer Health organization in several senior human resources positions; and held senior-level positions at McDonald’s Corporation in the U.S. and South Africa, including the establishment of McDonald’s in South Africa.
Alfred is the president of the Board of Directors for the Human Resources Leadership Forum of Southern New England and past-chair of the Benefits and Compensation Committee for United Way of Central and Northeastern Connecticut. He is a past-member of the Goodwin College Business Administration Program Advisory Board; and currently a member of the Society for Human Resource Management, and the National Association of African Americans in Human Resources.
Alfred holds both a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree from San Francisco State University, and a PhD from Golden Gate University.
Elizabeth “Liz” Goodman, JD, MSW, DrPH
As chief legal and public affairs officer, Liz is responsible for CCA’s legal, communications, public policy, and federal and state government affairs functions, as well as leading CCA’s vendor management organization. She also serves as the company’s corporate secretary. Liz provides legal and public affairs counsel to CCA’s leadership team and board of directors as the organization executes on its vision of leading the way in transforming the nation’s healthcare for individuals with the most significant needs.
With more than 30 years’ experience in healthcare law and policy, Liz most recently served as executive vice president of government affairs and innovation at AHIP, the national association whose members deliver market-based solutions and public-private partnerships that make healthcare coverage more affordable and accessible for everyone. She was responsible for the trade’s federal government affairs, state government affairs and public policy and clinical policy and advocacy functions.
Before joining AHIP, Liz served as the chief of long-term services and supports at MassHealth, where she oversaw $5.5 billion in programming, including the state’s fully integrated DSNP and PACE offerings, and fee-for-service post-acute and long-term services support programs. Prior to her work at MassHealth, Liz spent nearly seven years in various roles at WellCare Health Plans and nearly 5 years at Genentech, one of the world’s leading biopharmaceutical companies.
Liz earned her Doctorate in Public Health/Health Leadership from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, her Juris Doctorate and Master of Social Work at the University of Maryland, and a Bachelor of Arts in Religion and Political Science from Trinity College, Hartford.
In addition to her work at CCA, she serves as the chair of the board of instED, a mobile integrated health solution incubated by CCA, and she is an adjunct professor of Health and Policy Management at the Gillings School of Global Public Health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Matt Peary
As Interim Chief Financial Officer, Matt leads CCA’s financial organization including accounting, planning and analysis, tax, actuarial and treasury. With nearly 30 years of experience, Matt brings expansive expertise to CCA, including financial operations, planning and analysis, investor relations, mergers and acquisitions, accounting, and reinsurance and regulatory compliance.
Prior to Joining CCA, he was the divisional Chief Financial Officer for NeueHealth, where he managed over $1.1B in revenue through a network of owned and affiliated provider relationships for healthcare payers and CMS across Medicare, Medicaid, and Marketplace business. Prior to NeueHealth, he held several leadership positions at Magellan Health, including VP of Investor Relations and Chief Financial Officer for Magellan Complete Care, a managed care organization serving Medicare and Medicaid populations. He also held several finance and corporate development leadership positions at Cigna, including serving as Chief Financial Officer of Vielife (a Cigna subsidiary).
Matt has a Master of Business Administration in Finance from the University of Connecticut and is a Certified Public Accountant and Chartered Financial Analyst.
Don Stiffler
As chief revenue and growth officer, Don has oversight for new market strategies and new product initiatives, provider network (through value-based contracting and shared savings arrangements), plan performance, sales, new growth initiatives including the development of business opportunities for CCA and its subsidiaries, marketing and instED.
Don brings nearly 30 years of healthcare experience to the CCA executive leadership team. Prior to joining CCA, he served as the national vice president for business development at Optum/UnitedHealth Group, where he oversaw all business development activities for the Complex Care Management Division for 39 markets throughout the US. Prior to this role, Don served as the company’s vice president of business development for Eastern US, where he led 16 markets and held other business development and strategy positions. Before his time at Optum/UnitedHealth Group, Don served as the vice president of network operations at the Community Behavioral Healthcare Network of Pennsylvania, a division of AmeriHealth Caritas.
Don holds a master’s degree in psychology from Walden University and a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Shippensburg University.
K.C. Turan
As chief risk, compliance & ethics officer, K.C. leads CCA’s cross-organizational corporate and regulatory compliance, ethics, enterprise risk management, privacy and security, fraud risk management, internal audit, quality and controls assurance, third-party compliance oversight, and various business unit, subsidiary, and partner/affiliate company compliance programs.
With over 20 years of experience in the corporate governance, risk management and compliance (GRC) field, K.C. has an extensive and highly successful track record of building, operationalizing, and leading numerous world-class and award-winning GRC programs across the most dynamic and heavily regulated industries, including healthcare, insurance, banking and financial services, technology, data management and business intelligence, and enterprise/information services. Prior to joining CCA, K.C. held senior executive corporate governance roles at UPMC, Blue Shield of California, Dun & Bradstreet, and Bank of America. He likewise served as chief risk, compliance & ethics officer at UPMC, Blue Shield, and Dun & Bradstreet.
K.C. has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania, a Juris Doctorate from Loyola Marymount University Law School, and an MBA from UCLA’s Anderson School of Management.
Board of Directors
David Klein
David H. Klein is a corporate director and advisor with deep experience and expertise in health care delivery and payment. He provides advice on policy, strategy, operations and finance to healthcare delivery and payer organizations. Mr. Klein also serves as: a special advisor to the CEO of the University of Rochester (UR) Medical Center and a professor of public health sciences in the UR School of Medicine and Dentistry. Mr. Klein was most recently the Chief Executive Officer of The Lifetime Healthcare Companies, a family of companies which includes Excellus BlueCross BlueShield that provided health coverage and health care services to more than 1.5 million people. Mr. Klein had been a senior executive with The Lifetime Healthcare Companies and its predecessor companies since 1986, serving as CEO from 2003 until 2012. Mr. Klein previously was an executive with the national BlueCross BlueShield Association and Health Care Service Corporation. He served as Director of the national Blue Cross Blue Shield Association (BCBSA) and America’s Health Insurance Plans.
Mr. Klein currently serves as a Director of the independent special district Lee Health System. He is also a Director of the following privately held companies: Cogito, and Honest Medical Group. Mr. Klein is a member of the Cressey & Company private equity fund Distinguished Executives Council. He serves as an advisor to Health Catalyst Capital Management, LLC private equity fund and Triple Tree Capital Partners venture fund. He has served as non-executive chair of the New York eHealth Collaborative which operates New York State’s health information exchange. Mr. Klein has chaired United Way of Greater Rochester and an American Cancer Society Capital Campaign to establish a new Rochester Hope Lodge.
Mr. Klein received a Bachelor of Science from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and his Master of Business Administration from the University of Chicago.
Tejal Gandhi, M.D.
Tejal Gandhi, M.D., M.P.H., C.P.P.S., is the chief safety and transformation officer at Press Ganey. In this role, Dr. Gandhi is responsible for advancing the Zero Harm movement, improving patient and workforce safety, and developing innovative healthcare transformation strategies. Before joining Press Ganey in January 2020, Dr. Gandhi served as chief clinical and safety officer at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI), where she led IHI programs focusing on improving patient and workforce safety beginning in 2017. Prior to IHI, Dr. Gandhi was president and chief executive officer of the National Patient Safety Foundation (NPSF) from 2013 until 2017, when NPSF merged with IHI. She has also served as president of the Lucian Leape Institute, a think tank founded by NPSF that now operates within the IHI Safety portfolio and was a board member of the Certification Board for Professionals in Patient Safety, which administers the Certified Professional in Patient Safety credential.
In 2019, Dr. Gandhi was elected as a member of the National Academy of Medicine. She is a certified professional in patient safety, and a recipient of the John M. Eisenberg Patient Safety and Quality Award, given in recognition of her contributions to understanding the epidemiology of medical errors in the outpatient setting and for developing prevention strategies. Dr. Gandhi has also been named as one of the “100 Most Influential People in Healthcare,” “Top 25 Women in Healthcare,” and “50 Most Influential Clinical Executives” by Modern Healthcare magazine. An internist by training, Dr. Gandhi previously served as executive director of quality and safety at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and as chief quality and safety officer at Partners Healthcare. She received her M.D. and M.P.H. degrees from Harvard Medical School and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and trained at Duke University Medical Center.
Peter Andruszkiewicz (Peter A)
Peter Andruszkiewicz (Peter A) is an accomplished healthcare executive with extensive leadership experience including roles as CEO and president of Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island and president of Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Georgia. He also served in executive positions at Blue Cross Blue Shield of the National Capital area (now CareFirst Blue Cross Blue Shield), and CIGNA.
Andruszkiewicz’s career has been dedicated to creating collaborative models in search of disruptive, positive change in the way providers work together to deliver healthcare, the way care is financed, and enabling a new kind of engaged, activated healthcare consumer.
Since his retirement in 2016, he serves on several healthcare and advisory boards, two non-for-profit boards, and enjoys turning wooden bowls. See www.claryvillewoodworks.com
Bradford C. Berk
Bradford C. Berk, MD, PhD, is a board-certified cardiologist and a Distinguished Professor of Medicine, Neurology, Pathology, Pharmacology & Physiology and Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation at the University of Rochester. He has served as Chief of the Cardiology division, Chairman of Medicine and CEO of the University of Rochester Medical Center and Senior Vice President of Health Sciences at the University of Rochester.
He stepped down in 2015 to become the founding director of the University of Rochester Neurorestoration Institute (URNI), which provides the highest quality multidisciplinary care to individuals who have paralysis. He is internationally known for his research on the pathophysiology of cardiovascular disease. He has published more than 300 articles, chapters, and books.
Andrea Gelzer
Andrea Gelzer, M.D., M.S., FACP has had the roles of senior vice president of medical affairs and corporate chief medical officer at AmeriHealth Caritas for more than a decade. At AmeriHealth Caritas, she has been responsible for the development of the company’s integrated care management model, deployed new approaches to alternative/value-based provider payment, developed many innovative population health management strategies for vulnerable populations, and built corporate infrastructure to sustain significant growth. She serves as the key clinical spokesperson and policy advocate for the company.
Dr. Gelzer currently serves on several influential industry committees, including the Health and Human Service (HHS) Health Care Payment Learning and Action Network (LAN) Care Transformation Forum (CTF), the Core Quality Measures Collaborative (CQMC) Steering Committee, and the executive committee for the Gravity Project. She is a member of the Board of Directors for the American Telemedicine Association (ATA) and is the immediate past Chairman of the Board of Directors of HealthShare Exchange (HSX), Philadelphia’s regional health information exchange.
Dr. Gelzer earned her undergraduate degree from Tufts University, her Doctor of Medicine from St. George’s University, and a Master’s degree in preventive medicine/administrative medicine at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. She is certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine and by the American Board of Preventive Medicine in clinical informatics.
Robert Gittens
Mr. Gittens has been the executive director of Bridges Homeward since 2016. From 2003 until 2016, Mr. Gittens was the vice president for public affairs at Northeastern University. He also served as cabinet secretary of the Commonwealth’s Executive Office of Health and Human Services from 2001 to 2003 and was commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Youth Services (DYS) from 1997 to 2001. He was first assistant district attorney in the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office from 1992 to 1997 and chairman of the Massachusetts Parole Board from 1990 to 1992. Mr. Gittens has played a distinguished role in the community as chairman of the Massachusetts Juvenile Justice Advisory Committee and member of the Governor’s Youth Violence Task Force. He has served as a board member of numerous organizations, including Judge Baker Children’s Center, Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, and Goodwill Industries.
Mr. Gittens holds a J.D. degree from Northeastern University School of Law and a B.A. in Political Science from Northeastern.
Thomas Glynn
Thomas Glynn has more than 20 years of healthcare experience, including 14 years as Chief Operating Officer of Partners HealthCare, now Mass General Brigham. Currently an adjunct lecturer in public policy at the Harvard Kennedy School, Mr. Glynn previously served as the 2012 faculty chair of the executive program for new State Commissioners for Public Health. He also oversaw the Massachusetts Medicaid program as Deputy Commissioner of Public Welfare under Governor Michael Dukakis and served as chair of the Mayor’s Healthcare Commission with a focus on neighborhood health centers under Boston mayor Raymond Flynn.
Most recently, Mr. Glynn was CEO of the Harvard Allston Land Company. He also served as CEO of the Massachusetts Port Authority and as General Manager of the MBTA. Mr. Glynn is the current chair of the MBTA Board of Directors and former Co-Chair of the public transportation committee on Governor Maura Healey’s transition team.
Before Partners, Mr. Glynn served as Assistant Dean of Brandeis University’s Heller School for Social Policy and Management, Senior Vice President for Administration and Finance at Brown University, and Deputy Secretary of Labor under President Bill Clinton.
Mr. Glynn has also served on the Board of Directors of the Pine Street Inn, the Massachusetts General Hospital Institute for Health Professions, John Hancock Financial Services, Brandeis University, and McLean Hospital, and as a committee member of the Harvard Corporation Committee on Facilities and Capital Planning. He holds a PhD from Brandeis University’s Heller School and a BA from Tufts University.
Ira Gottlieb
From 2018 through 2022, Mr. Gottlieb, a Principal of Mazars USA LLP, an international accounting, audit, tax and advisory services organization, served under a management contract as the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Restructuring Officer for United Medical Center Hospital (UMC) in Washington D.C. UMC is a public safety net hospital with approximately 1,400 FTE’s; 300+ beds; 220 skilled nursing facility beds and a 34-bed locked psychiatric unit. From 2012 until his 2022 retirement, Mr. Gottlieb was a Principal in Mazar’s healthcare practice. In 1989 Mr. Gottlieb founded and was Chief Executive Office of Creative Health Concepts, Inc. (CHC), a healthcare consulting and solutions company, a position held until CHC was purchased by Mazars in 2012. Mr. Gottlieb has over 30 years of experience in the healthcare industry with a specialty in the managed care market segment on both the payer and provider side of healthcare delivery. He has provided managed care consultative services to national, regional and local payers, healthcare plans, 25+ hospitals and hospital systems. In addition, he has extensive experience in government programs for Managed Medicare and Medicaid Exchange and value-based payments. Mr. Gottlieb also founded and was Chief Executive Officer of Creative Management Strategies, Inc., a national retained healthcare executive search firm specializing in “C-Suite” assignments for health plans and hospitals. He also served as a sponsor representative on the Healthfirst Board of Directors for five years. Mr. Gottlieb was also a CEO and Chairman of two trade organizations: the New York Employment Council and the Association of Personal Consultants of New York.
Mr. Gottlieb has a bachelor’s degree from The City University of New York.
Rizal Hamdallah
Rizal Hamdallah is the Chief Commercial Officer – International for Tyson Foods. From 2020 to 2022, he was the Chief Innovation Officer at Clif Bar & Company, joining the company in 2020. Prior to Clif Bar, he held the positions of Chief Global growth Officer and Chief Innovation Officer at Ocean Spray Cranberries where he led several successful product launches and was instrumental in the creation of Lighthouse, the company’s innovation incubator. Earlier in his career, Mr. Hamdallah held positions at leading consumer packaged goods industry brands, including SC Johnson, Unilever, and Nestlé. He also founded GetBetty, Inc., a Chicago-based start-up offering on-demand beauty services. In 2019, Mr. Hamdallah was named one of the Boston Business Journal’s “40 Under 40” honorees. Mr. Hamdallah earned a Master of Product Design and Development Management from Northwestern University.
Sean Kelley
As the former Chief Information Security Officer at the Environmental Protection Agency, Sean Kelley played a pivotal role in evolving and strengthening the agency’s internal security program. Prior to that, at the Department of Veteran Affairs Office of Information Technology, he served as Chief of Staff and later as Deputy Chief Information Officer for the Veteran Benefits Administration.
Currently serving as the Chief Strategy and Growth Officer at Connsci, LLC, Mr. Kelley leads the charge in driving strategic shifts that position IT as a catalyst for innovation within the organization. Beyond his corporate endeavors, Mr. Kelley has hosted a popular talk show on WTOP/Federal News Radio, providing a platform for dialogue between government executives and emerging technology companies. His journey to leadership began in the military, where he served as both an enlisted Naval Sailor and a commissioned Naval Officer, undertaking humanitarian missions and assuming various leadership roles in Washington, DC.
Mr. Kelley earned a master’s degree from Webster University and another from the Naval Postgraduate School, complemented by a bachelor’s degree from Southern Illinois University. He holds certifications in cybersecurity (CISSP) and program management (PMP). In addition to his professional achievements, Mr. Kelley serves on numerous advisory and non-profit boards.
Leslie Kirwan
Leslie Kirwan served as the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) Dean for Administration and Finance at Harvard University from 2009 until her retirement in 2021. In this role, Dean Kirwan oversaw FAS administrative functions and directly led FAS Finance, Human Resources, Research Administration, Facilities, Physical Resources and Planning, Diversity, and Media and Technology Services. Prior to joining Harvard, Dean Kirwan served as the Secretary of Administration and Finance for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts from 2007 to 2009. In that role, Dean Kirwan served as a member of Governor’s Deval Patrick’s cabinet and was responsible for executing key finance and administrative duties including preparation of the Governor’s budget recommendation, development of a state capital budget, monitoring and management of financial activities across state government, and the development and analysis of fiscal policy. She also oversaw the activities of more than 2,500 state employees in agencies and divisions ranging from the Department of Revenue to the Divisions of Human Resources and Information Technology and chaired the Health Connector Authority which oversees Massachusetts health care reform. Before being tapped by Governor Patrick, Dean Kirwan served in other administration and finance leadership roles in the Commonwealth and at the Massachusetts Port Authority for over 20 years.
Dean Kirwan received an A.B. from Harvard College and a Master of Public Policy from Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.
Larry Neiterman
Larry Neiterman is a former Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer for Deloitte US Consulting, with extensive experience managing strategic planning, mergers and merger integration, and operations consulting. He also was the head of Deloitte’s Life Sciences & Healthcare practice, where he oversaw more than 20 acquisitions and three global ventures. He currently serves as Chairman and CEO of CA Healthcare Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition company based in California.
Joseph Paduda
Joseph Paduda is the principal of the consulting firm Health Strategy Associates, which helps payers, providers, and managed care organizations build brands, develop and differentiate services, enter new markets, increase sales, and make wise acquisitions. With more than 30 years of experience and deep expertise in pharmacy management, Mr. Paduda is also the president of CompPharma, LLC, an education, research and advocacy organization that conducts an annual survey of workers’ compensation payers’ pharmacy management programs.
Mr. Paduda is a respected media source and popular speaker at such conferences as the National Rx Drug Abuse & Heroin Summit and International Association of Industrial Accident Boards (IAIABC). Before starting his consulting business in 1997, Mr. Paduda held executive positions with major insurers, including Traveler’s, United Healthcare and Liberty Mutual.
Mr. Paduda holds a Bachelor of Arts in anthropology from Syracuse University and a Master of Science in health and fitness management from American University.
Christopher Palmieri
Chris Palmieri has spent two and a half decades leading publicly funded healthcare organizations and has a passion for providing high-quality care coordination and care delivery and specialized services that address the spectrum of social determinants of health to low-income individuals and those with significant needs, including seniors and people with disabilities.
Since 2015 as president and chief executive officer, Chris has transformed Commonwealth Care Alliance into a national leading $2 billion health system, which has consistently provided improved health and quality outcomes to its customer base. Chris is also the founder of Winter Street Ventures®, Commonwealth Care Alliance’s start-up accelerator and venture investment subsidiary, and launched a business that provides in-home emergency department services, called instED®.
Prior to joining Commonwealth Care Alliance, Chris served as CEO of Remedy Partners, a national bundled payment company, headquartered in Darien, Connecticut. Chris also served as president and CEO of Visiting Nurse Service of New York CHOICE Health Plans, successfully launching a $2 billion safety-net insurance company offering both Medicare Advantage and Medicaid Managed Care products. Additionally, Chris has held senior positions with Amerigroup Corporation, Metropolitan Jewish Health System, and Faxton-St. Luke’s Health Care/Mohawk Valley Network.
Chris is currently chair of the Association for Community Affiliated Plans (ACAP), a national trade association representing 67 nonprofit health plans in 28 states, and chair of the National Managed Long-Term Services and Supports (MLTSS) Association, a consortium of leading managed care organizations serving state Medicaid programs and beneficiaries. He is also currently chair of the board of LifePod, a remote patient monitoring company and Winter Street Ventures portfolio company, and serves as the independent director and chair of the board of Healthify. Lastly, Chris is a member of the Ithaca College Board of Trustees.
Carol Raphael
Ms. Raphael is a senior advisor at Manatt Health Solutions. She served as chief executive officer and president of the Visiting Nurse Service of New York (VNSNY), the largest non-profit home health agency in the United States from 1989 to 2011. Prior to joining VNSNY, Ms. Raphael held an executive position at Mt. Sinai Medical Center and was an executive deputy commissioner of the Human Resources Administration in charge of the Medicaid and Public Assistance programs in New York City. Ms. Raphael was an Advanced Leadership Fellow at Harvard University in 2012.
Ms. Raphael is a former chair of the national AARP board. She currently serves on numerous boards, including the Kaiser Permanente School of Medicine, Henry Schein, Inc., the Primary Care Development Corporation, the SCAN Foundation, the RAND Health Board of Advisors, the Medicare Rights Center, and the New York eHealth Collaborative. She is the chair of the Long Term Quality Alliance and the Chair of the CMS Technical Expert Panel for Quality Measures Development for Dual Eligible and Medicaid Beneficiaries using Home and Community Based Services and Managed Long-Term Care. She has also served on the boards of Lifetime Excellus BlueCross BlueShield, Barrier Therapeutics, Pace University, and the American Foundation for the Blind. Ms. Raphael also served on a number of commissions, including the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC), the Federal Bipartisan Commission on Long Term Care, the New York State Hospital Review and Planning Council, and several Institute of Medicine Committees. Additionally, she was a member of New York State Governor Cuomo’s Medicaid Redesign Team. She was co-chair of the National Quality Forum Attribution Committee and chaired its Post-Acute, Long Term Care and Hospice Workgroup from 2011 to 2015. Ms. Raphael is a member of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health Policy and Management Executive Council and the New York City Age Friendly Commission. She co-edited the book Home-Based Care for a New Century and was a Visiting Fellow at the Kings Fund in the United Kingdom.
Ms. Raphael received a Master of Public Administration from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government and completed its Senior Executive Program.
Karen Shields
Karen Shields has a keen understanding of the complex intersection of technology and healthcare to best serve populations with significant needs. She is the current Chief Client Engagement Officer at Gainwell Technology, where she oversees technological innovation for clients and their members. As former Deputy Director of the CMS Center for Medicaid and CHIP services she supported the delivery of healthcare to over 86 million individuals.
James Wice
James Wice, M. Ed., is a higher education professional with more than 20 years’ experience in improving accessibility for individuals with disabilities. He most recently served as the Director of Accessibility and Disability Resources at Wellesley College for 23 years, where he re-envisioned the institution’s disability services to better meet the accommodation needs of students with disabilities. He is an advocate for job opportunities for those with disabilities and throughout his career has advised individuals with disabilities on job hunting, employment and disability laws, and access to programs.
Mr. Wice serves on several boards, including an advisory board at Mass General, the Board of Directors at the Boston Center for Independent Living, and as a College Representative of the Greater Boston Employer Advisory Board of the Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission. Mr. Wice is also Board Chair for Boston Self-Help Center, Inc., where he helped to create the United States Volt Hockey Association. He serves as Manager and Team Representative for the Commonwealth Cruisers Power Wheelchair Soccer Club.
Mr. Wice holds a Master of Education degree in Rehabilitation Counseling from the University of Massachusetts, Boston and a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. He is a member of the New England Association on Higher Education and Disability (New England AHEAD).