Our Team

Senior Advisor, Consultant to the Consumer-Purchaser Alliance, Pacific Business Group on Health

David Hopkins

David S. P. Hopkins is Research Advisor at Stanford University’s Clinical Excellence Research Center and Senior Advisor, Pacific Business Group on Health, where he served for many years as Director of Quality Measurement and Improvement. Earlier in his career he was Director of Corporate Affiliations and Policy at Stanford University Hospital. David received his M.S. in Statistics and Ph.D. in Operations Research from Stanford.

Founder and CEO, PFCC Partners

Libby Hoy

As the mother of three sons living with mitochondrial disease, Libby has over 25 years of experience navigating the healthcare system. Libby began volunteering as a Parent Mentor in 1995 and has been working to improve health systems and empower patients and families to be active partners in care ever since. Libby strives to build the infrastructure and capacity for healthcare organizations to engage all patients and families, from the bedside to the boardroom.

In 2010, Libby founded PFCCpartners to create a community of patients, families, providers and health care organizations committed to the shared learning of Patient & Family Centered Care practice. PFCCpartners also supports the PFANetwork, inclusive of more than 600 Patient Family Advisors working in healthcare settings across the country to partner for improvement in the quality, safety, experience and
the design of healthcare.

President, Hospital Quality Institute

Robert Imhoff

Chief Analytics Officer, Health Care Access and Information (HCAI)

Christopher Krawczyk, PhD

Dr. Christopher Krawczyk is Chief Analytics Officer with the California Department of Health Care Access and Information (HCAI). In this role, Dr. Krawczyk provides overall strategic direction for analyses of healthcare quality, outcomes, and utilization; for data services that facilitate stakeholder access to using data in their own analyses and work; and engagement of stakeholders to increase the usefulness and impact of HCAI data and analytic products.

Chief Medical Officer, CalPERS

Julia Logan, MD

Patient Safety Advisor

Joan Maxwell

Executive Director, Cal Healthcare Compare

Bruce Spurlock, MD

Bruce Spurlock, MD is the Executive Director for Cal Healthcare Compare. He is also President and CEO of Cynosure Health, a healthcare improvement organization whose vision is to create the day when suboptimal care is eliminated; when safe, reliable, and affordable healthcare is a reality for every patient. He leads and advises large improvement collaboratives at the regional, state, and national level designed to accelerate the implementation of evidence-based practices. He is a nationally known speaker on a broad range of health care topics including translating policy into practice, health care trends, and effectively engaging every stakeholder to drive improvement.

Director, Market Analysis and Insight, California Health Care Foundation

Kristof Stremikis

Kristof Stremikis is director of CHCF’s Market Analysis and Insight team, which promotes greater transparency and accountability in California’s health care system.

He oversees the foundation’s work to provide research and analysis to policymakers and other health leaders across the state to give a market-wide view of the complex health care ecosystem and to support informed decisions about California’s health care landscape. Previously, Kristof served as associate director for policy at the Pacific Business Group on Health, where he also oversaw the Purchaser Value Network. Prior to that, he spent six years at the Commonwealth Fund as senior researcher to the president. Kristof received a bachelor’s degree in economics, political science, and history from the University of Wisconsin, Madison; a master’s of public policy from the University of California, Berkeley; and a master’s of health policy and management from Columbia University.

Chair, CHC Board, California Health Care Coalition

Ken Stuart

Ken has over 45 years of experience in administration and consulting for employee group benefit plans. He served as the administrative manager of the San Diego Electrical Health & Welfare Trust, San Diego Electrical Pension Trust and the NECA/IBEW Drug-Free Workforce Program. He was previously, employed for 16 1/2 years by one of the largest third-party administration and consulting firms in the US servicing numerous Taft-Hartley, single employer and municipal employee group benefit plans. Ken was recently appointed Chairman of the Healthcare Payments Data Review Committee pursuant to California Assembly Bill 1810, works for the California Health Care Coalition, and is the Chair for the Cal Hospital Board of Directors.

Executive Director, Risk Mgmt. & Patient Safety, Kaiser Permanente Northern California Region

Kevin Worth

Kevin is a seasoned Healthcare Executive with more than 20 years’ experience in leadership positions in community, academic and integrated delivery healthcare settings.

In March 2019 Kevin was promoted to the Executive Director role for Kaiser Permanente for Risk Management, Patient Safety, and Patient and Family Centered Care.

Kevin joined Kaiser Permanente in 2003 as the Quality and Compliance Director for the Oakland and Richmond medical centers, from UCSF Medical Center where he held a similar position.

Kevin joined the Redwood City team in 2004, as the Area Quality Leader.  In 2007, Kevin transitioned to the role of Continuum Administrator.  In 2010, Kevin assumed an expanded role as the Area Quality Leader for Redwood City and South San Francisco, a position he held through 2013.  In 2013, Kevin accepted an assignment as Chief Operating Officer of the Richmond Medical Center.  Kevin returned to the Area Quality Leader position for Redwood City and South San Francisco in 2015.  Kevin was promoted to the position of Area Quality Leader for Kaiser Permanente Greater South San Francisco and San Francisco Area in 2016.

California Association of Long Term Medicine

Terry Hill, MD, FACP

Terry Hill, MD, FACP, is a board-certified internist and geriatrician who served as COVID-19 Medical Director for the Alameda-Contra Costa Medical Association.  He has served as chair of the California Medical Association’s Administrative Medicine Forum since 2016.  Past roles include president of the California Association of Long Term Care Medicine, board chair of HealthImpact, and co-chair of the Coalition for Compassionate Care of California.  Formerly in private practice geriatrics, his career has included executive positions at Hill Physicians Medical Group, Laguna Honda Hospital, California’s Quality Improvement Organization, and the California Prison Receivership.  His writing has addressed the epidemiology of COVID-19 in long-term care, quality improvement, professional self-regulation, palliative care, and the dynamics of moral judgment in clinical practice.  He received his MD from UCSF and his fellowship training at Stanford.

Director of the Health Equity Program and Senior Research Scientist at the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research

Kathryn Kietzman, PhD, MSW

Kathryn G. Kietzman, PhD, MSW, is director of the Health Equity Program and a senior research scientist at the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research. She is also an associate researcher in the Department of Community Health Sciences at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health. Her research agenda focuses primarily on the long-term health and social care needs of physically, socially, and financially vulnerable populations, including older adults and people with disabilities who rely on public programs and other informal supports to maintain their independence.

Kietzman currently leads a California Health Interview Survey study to assess population-level need for, and access to, long-term services and supports in California. Other recent work includes projects conducted for the California Department of Aging: one to assist with the selection and visualization of long-term services and supports and caregiver indicators on the Master Plan for Aging Data Dashboard on Aging; the other project assessed the current and future demand for two Medi-Cal funded aging services programs in California. Previous research includes an evaluation of how older adults with serious mental illness are served through California’s public mental health delivery system, and an investigation of how dual eligible health care consumers (i.e., those insured by both Medicare and Medi-Cal) access and use information to make decisions about their health care options. Kietzman has also evaluated efforts to increase the use of clinical preventive services among the underserved 50+ population in South Los Angeles through multi-sectoral collaboration and enhanced linkages between community and clinical settings.

Kietzman currently serves on the Executive Board of the Center for Health Care Rights (the Health Insurance Counseling and Advocacy Program for the City and County of Los Angeles), the Advisory Board of the California Social Work Education Center (CalSWEC), and is a member of the California Aging and Disability Research Partnership, which evolved from California’s Master Plan for Aging. Prior to joining the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research, Kietzman was a Health and Aging Policy Fellow in the office of United States Senator Debbie Stabenow of Michigan. She has previously served as a member of the Board of Directors for the American Society on Aging and as Chair of the Commission for the Senior Community in the City of Santa Monica,

Kietzman earned her doctorate in social welfare from the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs where her dissertation research was supported by the John A. Hartford Foundation and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. She completed both bachelor and master degrees in social welfare at UC Berkeley.​

 

System Vice President Quality and Patient Safety, Providence

Amber Theel, BSN, MBA, NEA-BC, CPHQ

Rochelle Ereman

Albert Lam, MD, Board President, Immediate Past President of CALTCM

Albert Lam, MD

VP Quality, Patient Safety, Adventist Health

Patty Atkins

Patricia has 30+ years of health care leadership experience including: clinical and regulatory risk management, strategic planning, Lean Six Sigma, physician and employee engagement, data governance, contract negotiations, and implementation of large-scale cultural and digital transformation initiatives across an integrated health care system.

With a passion and purpose for improving health outcomes and preventing patient harm, she leads synergistic strategies that drive organizational value in quality, patient safety, and patient experience providing her the insights to ask the right questions regarding healthcare consumer value, and how to anticipate and prepare for the future.

She has led teams to achieve top performance in external quality and patient safety rankings, embed a high reliability cultural transformation, and received the National Malcom Baldrige Quality Award®, the highest level of national recognition for performance excellence that a U.S. organization can receive. Patricia is the recipient of the prestigious Press-Ganey Kerry Johnson Patient Safety Champion Award for her achievement of stellar patient safety results and her commitment to collaboration with
organizations across the United States.

Patricia is a strong advocate for excellence in geriatric care programs (ACEP, IHI, ACS) and promotes programs that support positive end-of-life experiences. As a mother of four young adults, she is also attuned to the perspectives, issues and challenges that young generations are facing. Her concerns for the future of healthcare, climate change, maternity care, and child development stir her motivation to contribute to impactful solutions that will make a positive difference in the lives of people across California. With an unwavering commitment to excellence in service and quality while maintaining a healthy bottom line, her success is built on the values of integrity, teamwork, caring, accountability, and respect.

President of Wolf Eagle Enterprises, LLC

Gretchen E. Alkema, PhD

Gretchen Alkema is president of Wolf Eagle Enterprises, LLC – a strategic engagement and organizational development consultancy for industry leaders in aging, longevity, and care delivery innovation.  Gretchen delivers trusted insights and advice, management support, and customized solutions to leaders eager to clear through operational blocks and rise to a higher level of success.

As a nationally recognized expert, strategist, and leader, Gretchen brings over thirty years of care systems and innovation experience to improve the lives of older adults, those with complex needs, and their family caregivers.  Gretchen has fifteen years’ experience in public and philanthropic investment, and five years as a Gallup® Certified Strengths Coach.

Previously, Gretchen served as vice president of policy and communications at The SCAN Foundation from 2009 to 2022.  Prior to philanthropy, Gretchen built her care system expertise through a variety of policy, research, academic, and practice-based roles.  Gretchen holds a Ph.D. in Gerontology from the University of Southern California and received post-doctoral training from the VA Greater Los Angeles.  She earned a master’s degree in social work from the University of Michigan, and bachelor’s degree from the University of Colorado.  Gretchen is a California native with Midwestern roots, an outdoor enthusiast, and a continuous seeker of the perfect cup of coffee.

Medical Consultant

Bonnie Kwok, MD, MPH

Dr. Bonnie Kwok is a Medical Consultant for the Population Health Management Division of the California Department of Health Care Services. She is Board-certified in Family Medicine. Prior to joining DHCS, Dr. Kwok served as the Physician Lead for Group Medical Visits, diabetes and Centering Pregnancy group visits facilitator, and Assistant Division Head at Contra Costa Health Services in the San Francisco Bay Area. She also served as clinical faculty at Contra Costa Family Medicine Residency Program where she completed her residency training. She received her MD from the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health and MPH from San Francisco State University. Her passions include chronic disease management, birth equity and narrative medicine.

Chief Medical Officer and a Chief Deputy Executive Director at Covered California

Monica Soni, MD

Dr. S. Monica Soni is the Chief Medical Officer, and a Chief Deputy Executive Director at Covered California, leading the organization’s Health Equity and Quality Transformation division. In this capacity she is responsible for health equity, health care strategy, medical policy, and other clinical operations to continuously improve not only the health services provided through Covered California’s contracted health plans, but also California’s delivery system.

She is a board-certified internal medicine physician with more than a decade of experience working in both inpatient and outpatient settings and continues to see patients. She is an Associate Professor within the UCLA Department of Medicine and the Charles R. Drew University Department of Internal Medicine, where she is committed to residency diversification and pipeline development.

Prior to joining Covered California, Dr. Soni served as Associate Chief Medical Officer within Evolent Health focused on the delivery of high-quality, cost-effective specialty care for the over 16 million supported Medicaid lives across the United States. During her time at the organization, she played a critical role in clinical informatics, provider engagement, value-based strategies and innovation.

Dr. Soni also served as the Director of Specialty Care for the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services, the second-largest municipal health system in the United States. There she ensured the delivery of timely and equitable specialty care across four hospitals, 20 ambulatory care clinics, the correctional health system and more than 200 community partners. She also worked as the Director of Continuity Care for Martin Luther King, Jr. Outpatient Center, where she led primary care, urgent care and transitions of care.

A graduate of Harvard College, Dr. Soni graduated cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in Anthropology. She received her medical degree from Harvard Medical School and completed her residency in internal medicine at the University of California, San Francisco with a focus in primary care. In addition, Dr. Soni was a fellow in the California Health Care Foundation Leadership Program and the Carol Emmott Foundation Fellowship. She is currently a board member for Mercy Housing California, a leading affordable housing organization, and previously served as a Commissioner for the Los Angeles County Hospital and Health Care Delivery Commission.

Executive Consultant, MemorialCare

Helen Macfie, PharmD

Senior Director of Measurement and Accountability at PBGH

Rachel Brodie

Rachel manages PBGH’s Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement work, which seeks to incorporate patient-centered and patient-reported outcomes measures into care and payment. She also oversees the Patient Assessment Survey (PAS), which annually measures patient-reported experience at the medical group level.  Both initiatives advance one of PBGH’s key strategies to accelerate transparency by publicly reporting health care ratings, educating the public about health care value, supporting consumer choice and helping to drive improvement in health care.

Previously, Rachel managed the California Joint Replacement Registry, a statewide initiative to collect and report scientifically valid data on the results of hip and knee replacement surgeries, including device safety and effectiveness, postoperative complication and revision rates, and patient-reported outcomes.  Rachel also worked with the California Office of the Patient Advocate to develop its consumer quality report card and contributed to the PBGH Consumer Tools Assessment, which reviewed web-based consumer decision support tools.  She also managed the health plan performance measures negotiations and risk adjustment modeling for the former PBGH Negotiating Alliance.

Rachel received a Bachelor of Arts from Princeton University.

Patient Family Advisor

Barbara Kivowitz

Barbara is a clinician, consultant, and author specializing in health care innovation with
the goal of helping organizations shift to more relationship-based models of care. She is
the coauthor of Love in the Time of Chronic Illness: How to Fight the Sickness, Not Each
Other, a guide for patient-caregiver partners and for the clinicians who help them. She
has delivered programs based on her book at UCSF, Stanford HealthCare, Sutter Health,
Massachusetts General Hospital, Dana Farber Cancer Center, the Beryl Institute, and
elsewhere. She is also a frequent speaker at conferences for patient-caregiver groups and
for clinicians.

Barbara is currently on the Board of Directors of Sutter Health DCE which oversees care
for all Medicare and Medicaid patients, and she is also on Board of Directors of San
Francisco Village, an intentional community for older San Franciscans. She was previously
on the Board of Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates. She is on the Honorary Board of
Well Spouse Organization, on the Advisory Board of Patient and Family Centered Care
Partners, and on the Technical Advisory Committee for California Hospital Compares. She
participates in national patient/family focused initiatives through the American College of
Physicians, the National Institute on Aging, and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid
Services (CMS). She serves as a Patient Family Advisor at Sutter Health.

She previously led the innovation practice for an R&D group within Lotus/IBM, provided
innovation consulting to large healthcare organizations and to the State of Vermont, and
worked as a clinical social worker in community based settings. She has graduate degrees
from Harvard and Simmons Universities, has worked as an advocate with refugee
populations, and speaks five languages

Chief Operating Officer, Health Plan of San Mateo

Colleen Murphey

Colleen Murphey serves as the Chief Operating Officer for the Health Plan of San Mateo (HPSM), a County Organized Health System that covers one in five residents of San Mateo County. She joined HPSM in 2017 as the Director of Provider Service. Colleen has been working in the health care sector since 2007 in strategic consulting and entrepreneurial roles.

Before joining HPSM, Colleen was a Director at the Health IT company Kyruus where she led work with large health systems for the company’s West Coast market. Prior to this, Colleen was a consultant for McKinsey & Company (2012 to 2015) serving healthcare clients on a variety of topics. She consulted for the Wharton Small Business Development Center from 2010-2012, helping early-stage health care startups develop business plans and secure funding, and briefly dabbled in launching her own startup. From 2007-2010, Colleen worked as an Analyst and Senior Analyst for The Advisory Board Company in Washington DC with a focus on Health IT. Prior to her career in health care, Colleen worked in public education in Chicago.

Colleen has published and co-published papers in several forums, and is a regular speaker on podcasts and at conferences. She is passionate about healthcare strategy and serving the safety net. She received her bachelor’s degree from The University of Chicago and her M.B.A. in Healthcare Management from The Wharton School of Business.

Professor, University of California, Irvine

Dana Mukamel, PhD

Dana Mukamel is Professor at the Department of Medicine with joint appointments in Public Health and Nursing at the University of California, Irvine.  She is also Director of the iTEQC Research Program (Translational Technology Enhancing High Quality Care).  Her research focuses on quality of care, development of quality measures, quality report cards, and studies of market incentives and government policies and regulations leading to high quality of care.  She is an expert in quality measurement using big data and quality report cards.  Much of her work focuses on long-term-care settings and care for the elderly.  She also develops mHealth apps to improve care in general, and patient decision making in particular, emphasizing the importance of preferences and personal choice in medical decision making.  Dr. Mukamel’s extensive research, with over 200 peer reviewed publications, is funded by NIH, AHRQ, PCORI and private foundations.  She serves on many national advisory and review boards, including CMS, AHRQ and MedPAC expert panels as well as journals’ editorial boards.  Her work has been recognized by a large number of awards, including a Life Time Achievement Award from the APHA.

Professor Mukamel holds a B.S. degree in Chemistry from Tel-Aviv University, Israel, an M.S. degree in Technology & Policy from MIT, and a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Rochester.

 

 

 

Director of Clinical Affairs and Quality California Association of Health Facilities

DeAnn Walters

DeAnn Walters is Director of Clinical Affairs and Quality Improvement for the California Association of Health Facilities (CAHF). Ms. Walters provides membership support and policy guidance for providers of skilled nursing facilities and intermediate care facilities for developmentally disabled individuals.

Ms. Walters has 18 years of experience in operations as a nursing home administrator.  Her experience includes overseeing short-term rehabilitation, Alzheimer’s care, and mental health programs. During that time, she attained both AHCA National Quality Bronze and Silver awards at multiple facilities.

Ms. Walters has been recognized with the Del Callaway Administrative Excellence Award from the California Association of Health Facilities in 2013. She is a current member of the Laguna Sunrise Rotary.

Physician Policy Researcher, RAND Corporation

Debra Saliba MD, MPH, AGSF

Debra Saliba, MD, MPH, AGSF holds the UCLA Anna and Harry Borun Endowed Chair in Geriatrics and is Director of the UCLA/Los Angeles Jewish Home Borun Center.  She also is a Senior Natural Scientist at RAND and a physician scientist at the Los Angeles VA Geriatrics Research and Clinical Center (GRECC).  Dr. Saliba is a nationally recognized leader in geriatrics and long-term care quality. She served as principal investigator for CMS national revision and testing of MDS 3.0 for nursing homes, introducing items that captured resident self-report of health needs.  Item development and testing engaged a national consortium of community and VA investigators, stakeholders and nursing homes.  Her research has engaged interprofessional teams in addressing a range of post-acute and long-term care quality challenges including: inappropriate re-hospitalizations; disaster response and emergency preparedness; resident safety; pressure ulcer care and fall prevention; quality measurement; staffing models; culture change; ethical resource allocation; and the implementation of training and quality improvement initiatives within nursing homes.

In addition to her current service on the National Academy of Science Committee on Nursing Home Quality, Dr. Saliba serves on the CMS Nursing Home 5-Star Technical Advisory Panel, the National Quality Forum (NQF) Committee on Person and Family Centered Care and the NQF committee on Post-acute and Long-term care. Dr. Saliba is past President and past Board Chair of the American Geriatrics Society. She serves on the Editorial Boards of three leading journals in aging, including serving as Deputy Editor for the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

Director, Public Programs & Long-Term Services & Supports, Health Net

Edward Mariscal

Ed Mariscal is the Director of Public Programs & Long Term Services & Supports with Health Net.  A licensed Nursing Home Administrator since 2010, and Residential Care Facility for Elderly Administrator since 2021, he has worked in Southern California his entire career as an Administrator, Regional Administrator and Regulatory Compliance Specialist.  In his current role, he is responsible for the planning, implementation and oversight of Health Net’s current State Health Program services, Long Term Services and Supports Program, homeless services programs as well as driving Health Net’s Public Programs overall strategy.  Ed received his Bachelor’s degree at UCLA, and Master’s degrees at the University of Arizona.

Directing Attorney, Justice in Aging

Eric Carlson

Eric Carlson is a Directing Attorney at Justice in Aging.  Mr. Carlson has thirty years of experience in long-term services and supports (LTSS), including home and community-based services, nursing facility care, and assisted living facilities.  Mr. Carlson counsels attorneys from across the country, co-counsels impact litigation that protects LTSS consumers, and is author of the legal treatise Long-Term Care Advocacy (Lexis Publishing) and the advocacy guide 25 Common Nursing Home Problems — and How to Resolve Them.  Mr. Carlson recently served on the federal Coronavirus Commission for Safety and Quality in Nursing Homes.

President of Wolf Eagle Enterprises, LLC

Gretchen E. Alkema, PhD

Gretchen Alkema is president of Wolf Eagle Enterprises, LLC – a strategic engagement and organizational development consultancy for industry leaders in aging, longevity, and care delivery innovation.  Gretchen delivers trusted insights and advice, management support, and customized solutions to leaders eager to clear through operational blocks and rise to a higher level of success.

As a nationally recognized expert, strategist, and leader, Gretchen brings over thirty years of care systems and innovation experience to improve the lives of older adults, those with complex needs, and their family caregivers.  Gretchen has fifteen years’ experience in public and philanthropic investment, and five years as a Gallup® Certified Strengths Coach.

Previously, Gretchen served as vice president of policy and communications at The SCAN Foundation from 2009 to 2022.  Prior to philanthropy, Gretchen built her care system expertise through a variety of policy, research, academic, and practice-based roles.  Gretchen holds a Ph.D. in Gerontology from the University of Southern California and received post-doctoral training from the VA Greater Los Angeles.  She earned a master’s degree in social work from the University of Michigan, and bachelor’s degree from the University of Colorado.  Gretchen is a California native with Midwestern roots, an outdoor enthusiast, and a continuous seeker of the perfect cup of coffee.

President & CEO, LeadingAge California

Jeannee Parker Martin

Jeannee Parker Martin, President & CEO of LeadingAge California, and Vice Chairman of The Corridor Group Holdings, is a leader in the strategic development of healthcare programs. Jeannee served as TCG’s CEO, President and Co-Owner from 1995-2014. Active in health service planning, development and delivery of care for 30 years, Jeannee has assisted organizations around the world ─ spanning the U.S., Central and South America, Thailand, and Turkey, and for the World Health Organization, and the U.S. Department of State. Jeannee founded the first AIDS Home Care & Hospice Program in the US and is internationally recognized as an early pioneer in AIDS care and service delivery. In 2019, she was appointed to the California Master Plan for Aging Stakeholder Advisory Committee to chart the roadmap for California’s older adult population, and in 2020 to the federal CMS Coronavirus Commission on Safety and Quality in Nursing Homes to help identify strategies and recommendations to the US response in nursing homes.

Jeannee is highly valued by boards and executive teams for her leadership and understanding of strategic, financial and governance matters, integrated health care delivery systems, and the impact of changes in health care delivery and payment initiatives on payers and providers.

Jeannee received her Master’s in Public Health from Yale University School of Medicine, and her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Georgetown University. Jeannee has received numerous awards at the local, state and national level including induction into the National Association for Home Care & Hospice Hall of Fame, the Georgetown University School of Nursing
Alumna Award, the California Lillian O’Brien Award, and nomination to MedPac, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission.

Vice President, Medical Management, Centene Corporation

Jennifer Lloyd

State Program Director, Health Services Advisory Group

Jennifer Wieckowski, MSG

Executive Director, Risk Mgmt. & Patient Safety, Kaiser Permanente Northern California Region

Kevin Worth, RN, MS, CNS

Legislative Director, California Commission on Aging

Leza Coleman

Leza Coleman was introduced into the world of senior advocacy in 2006 as a field LTC ombudsman. In that role she responded to requests for advocacy assistance from residents living in Elk Grove and South Sacramento’s licensed long-term care facilities on issues impacting residents’ quality of life and quality of care issues. In 2012 Leza became the Executive Director of the California Long-Term Care Ombudsman Association. “CLTCOA” is the statewide professional association, that provides leadership, and program assistance for the 35 local Long-Term Care Ombudsman Programs, their staff, and volunteers. She was responsible for leading the association’s policy and advocacy efforts.

Leza currently serves as the Legislative Director with the California Commission on Aging (CCoA).

 

CEO Emeritus, LifeLong Administrative Offices

Marty Lynch, PhD, MPA

Marty Lynch, PhD, MPA is CEO Emeritus, of LifeLong Medical Care where he served as CEO for 40 years.  Dr. Lynch co-founded the Elderly Sub-Committee of NACHC and is past Chair of California Primary Carae Association. Dr. Lynch served on the California Master Plan on Aging Stakeholder Advisory Group and has served on the Medi-Cal Stakeholder group. He is interested in aging and community health and the effects of Climate Change on health center communities. Dr. Lynch received his Ph.D. from UCSF, and an MPA from the Kennedy School at Harvard.

Management Consultant, Interpro Inc

Mary Schramke, MBA, PhD

Professor, Division of General Internal Medicine and Health Services Research, University of California, Los Angeles

Neil Wenger, MD, MPH

Chair, Solano County Alcohol & Drug Advisory Board Professor Emeritus, Health Education San Francisco State

Ramon Castellblanch

Ramón Castellblanch is Professor Emeritus, Public Health, at San Francisco State University.  In 2019-20, he served on California’s Master Plan for Aging Research Subcommittee where he participated in the MPA workgroup developing measures for its data dashboard.  That dashboard will publicly track Master Plan progress.  Starting in 2021, he serves on the advisory board of the UCLA Elder Index.

Staff Attorney, California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform (CANHR)

Tony Chicotel

Tony Chicotel is from Huron, Ohio and a graduate of Muskingum University (B.A.) The Ohio State University College of Law (J.D.) and the University of California School of Public Policy (MPP).  Since 2006, Tony has worked for California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform, also known as CANHR.  His primary work is to promote the rights of residents in long term care facilities – through litigation, legislation, regulatory policy, and consumer education.  Tony’s focus areas include: civil rights, eviction defense, dementia care, incapacity and decision making, conservatorship, and end-of-life care.

Likes: burritos, baseball, beaches, and milkshakes

Dislikes: flat pillows, Costco parking lots, and tucking in shirts

Executive Vice President, Commonwealth Adult Day Health Care Center

Kay Lee, MPH, JD

Kay Lee is the Executive Vice President at Commonwealth Adult Day Health Care Center in Buena Park, CA and the Administrator of Burlingame Adult Day Health Care Center in Burlingame, CA. Kay has served on the Board of the California Association for Adult Day Services (CAADS), currently as the Vice President and Chair of the Legislative and Advocacy Committee. Kay has a Master’s in Public Health (MPH) from University of California, Berkeley, a Juris Doctor (JD) from Georgetown University Law Center, with a bar license to practice law in the State of California. Kay continues work to improve quality of care and access to services for the adult day services committee, having worked alongside many colleagues throughout the pandemic and beyond on the Crisis Team/Vision Team, a joint collaboration between various state agencies (such as the California Department of Aging and the Department of Health Care Services) and other adult day services providers.

Program Director for New Sunrise Adult Day Healthcare Center and ECM Director

Lena Haroutunian, MSW

Lena is the Program Director for New Sunrise Adult Day Healthcare Center in Northridge and also serves as the ECM Director. She serves on the Board for CAADS as Treasurer, leads the ECM Learning Lab under CAADS, and is a member of the Vision Team since 2020 at the start of the COVID-19 Pandemic. In addition, Lena is pursing her LCSW license. She received her MSW from USC in 2015 and has been working with the geriatric population since. 

President-CEO California Hospice and Palliative Care Association (CHAPCA)

Sheila Clark, CHPCA

Sheila Clark, CHPCA was appointed by California Hospice and Palliative Care Association (CHAPCA) board after a national search as the third President and CEO in June 2020. CHAPCA is a 501 3c and was founded in 1983. CHAPCA is the leading advocate and source of information in California for patients and families confronting a life limiting illness. ​

As President and CEO Sheila’s aim is to increase CHAPCA mission and vision across California by building stronger relationships within the hospice and palliative care provider community serving Californians. ​Sheila believes that “giving people information to make informed decisions is essential”. ​

Prior to serving as President and CEO of CHAPCA Sheila has over 28 years of senior leadership service in the hospice and palliative care community serving, patients, families, and those that serve at the bedside. 

President & CEO California Association for Health Services at Home

Dean Chalios

Dean Chalios is President and Chief Executive Officer of the California Association for Health Services at Home (CAHSAH).  In that capacity, he is responsible for overall policy development, management and operations of the largest state home care association in the nation.  He has been an association executive and health care policy advocate for over 20 years having held senior positions with the California Medical Association and the California Dental Association and has also served on the staff of the California State Assembly and the United States Senate. Mr. Chalios is a graduate of San Jose State University and holds a master’s degree from the University of San Francisco.​

Senior Advisor, Consultant to the Consumer-Purchaser Alliance, Pacific Business Group on Health

David Hopkins

David S. P. Hopkins is Research Advisor at Stanford University’s Clinical Excellence Research Center and Senior Advisor, Pacific Business Group on Health, where he served for many years as Director of Quality Measurement and Improvement. Earlier in his career he was Director of Corporate Affiliations and Policy at Stanford University Hospital. David received his M.S. in Statistics and Ph.D. in Operations Research from Stanford.

Chief Medical Officer, Molina Healthcare of California

Sayeed Khan, MD

Dr. Sayeed Khan is a physician executive with two decades of experience in coordinated managed care delivery systems for both Medicare and Medicaid. He is currently the Chief Medical Officer of Molina Healthcare of California, which serves the needs of more than half a million members in both Southern and Northern California. He previously held leadership positions at several large medical groups in Southern California, namely Healthcare Partners Medical Group, Heritage Provider Network, and AltaMed Health Services.

Dr. Khan completed his undergraduate studies at Boston University, completed medical schooling in Chicago, Illinois at Rush University, did his internship and residency at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Santa Clara, California. He is board certified in Internal Medicine. In addition to his administrative responsibilities, Dr. Khan practices as a part time hospitalist in Long Beach, California.

Patient Family Advisor

Barbara Kivowitz

Barbara is a clinician, consultant, and author specializing in health care innovation with
the goal of helping organizations shift to more relationship-based models of care. She is
the coauthor of Love in the Time of Chronic Illness: How to Fight the Sickness, Not Each
Other, a guide for patient-caregiver partners and for the clinicians who help them. She
has delivered programs based on her book at UCSF, Stanford HealthCare, Sutter Health,
Massachusetts General Hospital, Dana Farber Cancer Center, the Beryl Institute, and
elsewhere. She is also a frequent speaker at conferences for patient-caregiver groups and
for clinicians.

Barbara is currently on the Board of Directors of Sutter Health DCE which oversees care
for all Medicare and Medicaid patients, and she is also on Board of Directors of San
Francisco Village, an intentional community for older San Franciscans. She was previously
on the Board of Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates. She is on the Honorary Board of
Well Spouse Organization, on the Advisory Board of Patient and Family Centered Care
Partners, and on the Technical Advisory Committee for California Hospital Compares. She
participates in national patient/family focused initiatives through the American College of
Physicians, the National Institute on Aging, and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid
Services (CMS). She serves as a Patient Family Advisor at Sutter Health.

She previously led the innovation practice for an R&D group within Lotus/IBM, provided
innovation consulting to large healthcare organizations and to the State of Vermont, and
worked as a clinical social worker in community based settings. She has graduate degrees
from Harvard and Simmons Universities, has worked as an advocate with refugee
populations, and speaks five languages

Director, CMQCC, Division of Neonatal and Developmental Medicine

Leslie Kowalewski

Chief Analytics Officer, Health Care Access and Information (HCAI)

Christopher Krawczyk, PhD

Dr. Christopher Krawczyk is Chief Analytics Officer with the California Department of Health Care Access and Information (HCAI). In this role, Dr. Krawczyk provides overall strategic direction for analyses of healthcare quality, outcomes, and utilization; for data services that facilitate stakeholder access to using data in their own analyses and work; and engagement of stakeholders to increase the usefulness and impact of HCAI data and analytic products.

VP, Quality Support Systems, Cottage Health System

Sharon Lutz, PhD

Sharon K. L. Lutz, Ph.D., serves as Vice President, Quality Support Services for Cottage Health in Santa Barbara.  She obtained her Ph.D. in Statistics from Iowa State University and her B.A. in Mathematics from St. Olaf College.  Dr. Lutz has nearly 30 years of extensive experience in Quality Management. She has served as a Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award Examiner and as an Improvement Advisor to the Institute for Healthcare Improvement. She has held Data and Quality Consultant and Management roles for Fairview Hospital and HealthCare Services, Park Nicollet Health Services and Regions Hospital in St. Paul Minnesota before moving to California in 2004. In her role at Cottage Health, Dr. Lutz oversees Quality Improvement, Risk Management, Case Management, Social Services, Infection Prevention and Control, Interpreter Services and Spiritual Care.

Medical Director, CMQCC/Sutter Health

Elliott Main

Director, Performance Analytics, Hospital Quality Institute

Scott Masten

Patient Family Advisor

Mary Schramke

Executive Director, Cal Healthcare Compare

Bruce Spurlock, MD

Bruce Spurlock, MD is the Executive Director for Cal Healthcare Compare. He is also President and CEO of Cynosure Health, a healthcare improvement organization whose vision is to create the day when suboptimal care is eliminated; when safe, reliable, and affordable healthcare is a reality for every patient. He leads and advises large improvement collaboratives at the regional, state, and national level designed to accelerate the implementation of evidence-based practices. He is a nationally known speaker on a broad range of health care topics including translating policy into practice, health care trends, and effectively engaging every stakeholder to drive improvement.

Senior Executive Director of Health Services Advisory Group

Jennifer Wieckowski

Jennifer Wieckowski, MSG, is the Senior Executive Director of Health Services Advisory Group, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Quality Innovation Network-Quality Improvement Organization (QIN-QIO) for California and Arizona. She is responsible for providing oversight and direction to the QIN-QIO tasks to improve the effectiveness, efficiency, economy, and quality of services delivered to Medicare beneficiaries in California. Her expertise is in healthcare quality and data analysis to drive improvement in order to achieve the best possible patient outcomes with community providers, such as hospitals, nursing homes, home health agencies, and community-based organizations. Prior to joining HSAG in 2008, Ms. Wieckowski was project administrator at the California Health Innovation Center for Partners in Care Foundation. In this role, Ms. Wieckowski was engaged in the strategic operations with the California Departments of Aging and Public Health, National Council on Aging, health systems, physician groups, foundations, education, nonprofits, and aging organizations to disseminate evidence-based health promotion programs to high-risk older adults within California. She also worked for the California Center for Long Term Care Integration, housed at the University of Southern California. She earned a Master of Science in gerontology from the University of Southern California and a Bachelor of Science from Cornell University. She resides with her husband and three kids in Los Angeles, California.

Executive Director, Risk Mgmt. & Patient Safety, Kaiser Permanente Northern California Region

Kevin Worth

Quality Improvement Manager, Santa Clara Valley Medical Center

Asraf Gulzar

Ashraf has over 26 years of healthcare experience. Prior to joining Santa Clara Valley Medical Center as a Quality Improvement Manager, she was Clinical Director of Quality, overseeing Accreditation, Regulation and Licensing (AR&L), Lead Quality Nurse Consultant and Department Manager for Oncology/ Hematology/Infusion clinic, at Kaiser Santa Clara. Prior to joining Kaiser, she was a Director of Quality Management and Infection Prevention and Control Program at O’Connor Hospital. She has also worked as Clinical and Business Manager of Wound Care Clinic and Hyperbaric Unit, Manager for Medical Surgical Telemetry Unit, and Clinical Educator for Oncology Unit at O’Connor Hospital. She was also the Consultant for the Joint Commission International. As a staff nurse, she has worked in Oncology and Cardiology units. She also has served as a faculty for School of Nursing at The Aga Khan University School of Nursing.

She received Master’s in Nursing Degree from San Jose State University, Bachelor’s in Nursing Administration and Diploma in Nursing from The Aga Khan University Karachi, Pakistan. She is certified as a HACP (Healthcare Accreditation Certified Professional), CPHQ (Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality and Improvement Advisor (IA). She is also a member of Sigma Theta Tau Honor society for nurses and several other professional members including National Association for Healthcare Quality and California Association for Healthcare Quality.

Chief Quality Officer, Scripps Health

Craig Uejo, MD, MPH, FACOEM

As Chief Quality Officer, Dr. Uejo oversees efforts to further elevate the quality and safety of health care at Scripps’ acute-care hospitals and outpatient clinics across San Diego County. He also directs performance improvement initiatives and ensures compliance with the data reporting requirements of regulatory agencies.

Dr. Uejo also serves as medical director of occupational health and safety at Scripps, a role he has held since 2012. In this position, Dr. Uejo manages the employee health and worker’s compensation programs for Scripps and oversees the clinical and administrative operations of the employee care clinics available for Scripps’ workforce.

Previously, Dr. Uejo served as Scripps’ lead corporate physician for infection prevention and employee safety. He also was medical director of Scripps’ employee wellness program. Dr. Uejo’s career as a physician spans more than 25 years, most of which has been in the fields of occupational and environmental medicine, as well as employee health.

After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of California, Irvine, Dr. Uejo earned his medical degree from the University of Southern California. He completed his medical residency at UC San Diego and UC Irvine and later earned a master’s degree in public health from San Diego State University. Dr. Uejo is board certified in preventive medicine with an emphasis in occupational health.

 

Principal Researcher

Jack Jordan

Jack Jordan has over 30 years’ experience in quality improvement, analytics and patient safety in both the private sector and the Federal Government. Prior to Joining AIR, as a Principal Research Associate, he worked at Henry Ford Health System for 22 years in a number of roles, most recently as the Director of Performance Excellence and Quality at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit where he led the effort to improve outcomes and develop a high reliability organization. He has also led the inpatient analytics work for the Henry Ford Health System where he helped leverage the investment in technology to improve care by making relevant actionable data available to improve value to patients.  

Previously he served as a Deputy Director of the Partnership for Patients at the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation. In that position, he was the lead subject matter expert on patient safety, evaluation and improvement methods for a 500 million dollar public and private partnership to reduce hospital-acquired conditions. This was a key program supported by CMS that help avoid over 3 million harm events across the nation and saved an estimated $28 billion dollars. This work was also awarded the Pinnacle Award from the American Pharmacy Association Foundation in 2016. Previously he was Director of Quality Initiatives at Henry Ford Health System, Detroit, Michigan.  In this role, Jack played a key role in the Baldridge Award-winning organization-wide quality improvement strategy and implementation.  He has served as a leader overseeing key improvement projects including a highly successful comprehensive No Harm campaign to reduce iatrogenic harm which was awarded the 2011 Eisenberg Award. Other projects included mortality reduction, surgical care improvement, tight glycemic control, ICU improvement, and implementing rapid response teams.   

Prior to working at Henry Ford Health System Mr. Jordan worked at General Motors Powertrain product engineering.  His role at GM involved developing a quality program in the technology development stage of engineering and supporting the organizational efforts to apply the ideas of W. Edwards Deming. 

Mr. Jordan holds a master’s degree in mathematics from Michigan State University and a master’s degree in applied Statistics from Oakland University and a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics from the University of Iowa. 

 

 

Research Analyst

Jesualdo Barbosa

Clinical Professor, UC Davis School of Nursing and Center for Healthcare Policy and Research

Deb Bakerjian, PhD, MSN, FNP

Policy Analyst, UC Davis School of Nursing

Kristen Bettega, BS

Data Systems Analyst, UC Davis Center for Healthcare Policy and Research

Shao-You Fang, PhD

Senior Health Policy Analyst, UC Davis Center for Healthcare Policy and Research

Dominique Ritley, MPH

Professor of Medicine and Pediatrics UC Davis School of Medicine and Center for Healthcare Policy and Research

Patrick Romano, MD, MPH

Program Manager, Cal Healthcare Compare

Tracy Fisk

Executive Director, Cal Healthcare Compare

Bruce Spurlock, MD

Bruce Spurlock, MD is the Executive Director for Cal Healthcare Compare. He is also President and CEO of Cynosure Health, a healthcare improvement organization whose vision is to create the day when suboptimal care is eliminated; when safe, reliable, and affordable healthcare is a reality for every patient. He leads and advises large improvement collaboratives at the regional, state, and national level designed to accelerate the implementation of evidence-based practices. He is a nationally known speaker on a broad range of health care topics including translating policy into practice, health care trends, and effectively engaging every stakeholder to drive improvement.

Director, Programs & Strategic Initiatives, Cal Healthcare Compare

Alex Stack, MPH

Senior Program Manager, Cal Healthcare Compare

AJ Rolle, MPH

AJ is joining Cal Healthcare Compare as a Senior Program Manager with nearly 10 years of experience in project management, analytics and quality improvement. Prior to this role, he was the Assistant Director, Quality Performance Improvement, at UChicago Medicine, leading a team of project and program managers in implementing QI initiatives across the health system.​

Previous to his work at UChicago Medicine, AJ spent 8 years at the American Hospital Association with a portfolio ranging from leading the measurement and evaluation of government-funded quality improvement initiatives to launching the 100 million mask campaign to support distribution of PPE during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic as well as managing key initiatives within AHA’s behavioral health portfolio. ​

AJ earned an MPH, with a focus on Epidemiology, from University of Illinois – Chicago and Bachelor of Science degrees in Medical Microbiology & Immunology and Spanish from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.