Board
Board of Directors
- CHAIR: Mary D. Naylor, PhD, RN, FAAN
Director, New Courtland Center for Transitions and Health at the University of Pennsylvania, School of Nursing
- Dr. Naylor is the Marian S. Ware Professor in Gerontology and Director of the NewCourtland Center for Transitions and Health at the University of Pennsylvania, School of Nursing. Since 1990, Dr. Naylor has led a multidisciplinary program of research designed to improve the quality of care, decrease unnecessary hospitalizations and reduce health care costs for vulnerable, community-based elders.To date, Dr. Naylor and her research team have completed three National Institute of Nursing Research funded randomized clinical trials testing and refining the Transitional Care Model, an innovative approach to addressing the needs of high risk chronically-ill elders and their family caregivers. With the support of several foundations, her research team has recently partnered with a major insurance organization and health care plan to translate this model into the “real world” of clinical practice and promote its widespread adoption. An ongoing clinical trial funded by the Marian S. Ware Alzheimer Program at PENN and the National Institute on Aging has expanded testing of this model of care among hospitalized cognitively impaired elders and their caregivers. Additionally, Dr. Naylor and colleagues are engaged in a study funded by the National Institute on Aging and the National Institute for Nursing Research that will examine over time the natural history of changes in health and quality of life among elders newly admitted to long term care settings or services.In the 1990s, Dr. Naylor co-led the establishment of a Program of All-Inclusive Care (PACE) at Penn’s School of Nursing. Dr. Naylor also is the National Program Director for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation sponsored Interdisciplinary Nursing Quality Research Initiative (INQRI). The primary goal of INQRI is to generate, disseminate and translate research that demonstrates nursing’s contribution to the quality of patient care. In recognition of her research and leadership, Dr. Naylor has received numerous awards. In 2005, Dr. Naylor was elected to the National Academy of Sciences, Institute of Medicine (IOM). Currently, Dr. Naylor is a member of the IOM Roundtable for Evidence-Based Medicine, and the IOM Board on Health Care Services.
Vice President for Performance Measurement, National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA)
- Mary Barton is Vice President for Performance Measurement at NCQA. Prior to joining NCQA she was scientific director of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) at the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). Dr. Barton’s responsibilities include supporting and providing oversight for the methodological, evidence review, and recommendation-making work of USPSTF and Evidence-based Practice Centers. In addition to overseeing the team of medical officers whose work supports USPSTF, Dr. Barton leads the clinical services team within AHRQ’s Prevention and Care Management Portfolio.Dr. Barton trained in primary care internal medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, and she completed a general medicine research fellowship at Harvard. Prior to joining AHRQ, she was an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School, where she performed clinical epidemiology and health services research related to cancer screening and prevention in terms of access, test performance, and outcomes. Dr. Barton has a clinical interest in and has presented widely about the performance of the clinical breast examination. She is a member of the American College of Physicians and the Society of General Internal Medicine.Dr. Barton received her MD from Harvard University as well as a master’s in public policy from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard.
President and CEO, Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF)/Continuing Care Accreditation Commission (CCAC)
- Brian J. Boon, Ph.D., joined the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF) in March of 2001 as its President/CEO. Incorporated in 1966, and with offices in Washington, D.C.; Tucson, Arizona; and Edmonton and Ottawa, Canada, CARF is an independent international private, not-for-profit organization that accredits over 19,000 program sites of organizations in the United States, Canada, Western Europe, and South America. Accreditation markets include Children and Youth Services, Behavioral Health, Employment and Community Services, Medical Rehabilitation, and Aging Services.In January of 2003, CARF acquired the Continuing Care Accreditation Commission (CCAC), and now extends its reach of quality to more than 300 continuing care retirement systems in the United States and Canada and has expanded accreditation service to the full continuum of services for senior adults. Brian holds a Ph.D. in counseling psychology from the University of Alberta and maintains his professional licenses and affiliations in the psychology profession.Brian has presented and published in the area of improving organizational performance, and outcomes-based management in health care delivery.Prior to being recruited into his current position, Brian spent the prior sixteen years in the workers’ compensation industry with the Alberta Workers’ Compensation Board, his last position as Vice-President of Customer Service and Disability Management. His portfolio included adjudication, case management services, oversight of an authorized healthcare provider network (24,000 providers), and responsibility for a CARF-accredited outpatient rehabilitation centre that was recognized with a silver award in a National Quality Management Competition, “Better with Less,” sponsored by Coopers & Lybrand (now PricewaterhouseCoopers). In September 2001, Brian was recognized by the National Rehabilitation Association as a Mary E. Switzer scholar, participating in the 23rd Memorial Seminars.
President and CEO, The SCAN Foundation
- Bruce Allen Chernof, MD, FACP, currently serves as the President and CEO of The SCAN Foundation whose mission is to advance the development of a sustainable continuum of care for seniors. The SCAN Foundation is one of the largest foundations in the United States focused entirely on improving the quality of health and life for seniors.Previously Dr. Chernof served as the Director and Chief Medical Officer for the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services. Dr. Chernof has also served as a Regional Medical Director for Medicaid and SCHIP programs at Health Net, a network model HMO.Dr. Chernof completed his residency, and chief residency in Internal Medicine as well as a Fellowship in Medical Education at UCLA. He earned his medical degree from UCLA and completed his undergraduate work at Harvard University. Currently, Dr. Chernof is an Adjunct Professor of Medicine at UCLA.
Director, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) ex-officio
- Carolyn M. Clancy, MD, was appointed Director of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) on February 5, 2003. Prior to her appointment, Dr. Clancy served as the Agency’s Acting Director and previously was Director of AHRQ’s Center for Outcomes and Effectiveness Research.Dr. Clancy, who is a general internist and health services researcher, is a graduate of Boston College and the University of Massachusetts Medical School. Following clinical training in internal medicine, Dr. Clancy was a Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation Fellow at the University of Pennsylvania. She was also an assistant professor in the Department of Internal Medicine at the Medical College of Virginia before joining AHRQ in 1990.Dr. Clancy holds an academic appointment at George Washington University School of Medicine (Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Medicine) and serves as Senior Associate Editor, Health Services Research. She has served on multiple editorial boards and is currently on the board of the Annals of Family Medicine, American Journal of Medical Quality, and Medical Care Research and Review. She is a member of the Institute of Medicine and was elected a Master of the American College of Physicians in 2004.In 2009, Dr. Clancy was chosen as the most powerful physician-executive by the readers of Modern Healthcare and Modern Physician magazines. She was also awarded the 2009 William B. Graham Prize for Health Services Research.Her major research interests include improving health care quality and patient safety, and reducing disparities in care associated with patients’ race, ethnicity, gender, income, and education. As Director, she launched the first annual report to the Congress on health care disparities and health care quality.Dr. Clancy lives in the Maryland suburbs of Washington, D.C, with her husband, Bill. She enjoys jogging, movies, and spending time with her extended family, especially four nieces in Virginia.
Vice President of Public Policy,The Alzheimer’s Association
- Robert Egge is the Alzheimer’s Association’s Vice President of Public Policy. With policy experience in Alzheimer’s and related healthcare issues, Mr. Egge leads the Association’s Public Policy division based in Washington, DC. The division includes federal affairs, state affairs, public health and grassroots advocacy teams working together with more than 70 Association chapters and 300,000 advocates in pursuit of policies to better serve those affected by Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders. Chief among these priorities are increasing federal support for Alzheimer research and therapy development, enhancing Alzheimer care and support, and improving Alzheimer planning, coordination and execution by Federal and state agencies.In his previous position as Executive Director of the Alzheimer’s Study Group, Mr. Egge led a review of the broad range of challenges posed to the nation by the mounting Alzheimer crisis, and opportunities to address them. The Alzheimer’s Study Group, a blue ribbon task force of national leaders co-chaired by former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and former Nebraska Senator Bob Kerrey, was created to develop a national strategic plan to address Alzheimer’s disease. Mr. Egge worked closely with Gingrich, Kerrey and other Alzheimer’s Study Group members such as Justice Sandra Day O’Connor to shape and develop the group’s national assessment, strategy and specific policy proposals.Mr. Egge’s editorials have appeared in a variety of newspapers including the New York Times, the Financial Times, Business Week and the San Francisco Chronicle. He has also testified before Congress and given frequent television, radio and print interviews on health care policy.
Senior Fellow, Center for American Progress
- Judy Feder is a professor of public policy and, from 1999 to 2008, served as dean of the Georgetown Public Policy Institute. She is also a Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress. Judy is one of the nation’s leaders in health policy—particularly in efforts to understand and improve the U.S health insurance system. A widely published scholar, her three decades of policy research began at the Brookings Institution, continued at the Urban Institute, and, since 1984, flourished at Georgetown University. Her expertise on health insurance, Medicare, Medicaid, and long-term care is regularly drawn upon by members of Congress, executive officials, and the national media.Judy has also held leadership policy positions. As staff director of the congressional Pepper Commission—chaired by Sen. John D. Rockefeller IV (D-WV)—she is widely credited with setting the stage for the health reform debate of the 1990s. During former President Bill Clinton’s first term, she served as principal deputy assistant secretary for planning and evaluation in the Department of Health and Human Services, where she worked to expand health insurance coverage, effectively manage Medicare and Medicaid, and assure the safety of food and drugs. In 2006 and 2008, Judy was the Democratic nominee for Congress in Virginia’s 10th congressional district. She is an elected member of the Institute of Medicine, the National Academy of Public Administration, and the National Academy of Social Insurance; a former chair and board member of AcademyHealth; a member of the Center for American Progress Action Fund board, the Robert Wood Johnson Health Policy Fellowships Program Advisory Board, and the Hamilton Project’s Advisory Council; and a senior advisor to the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured.Judy is a political scientist, with a BA from Brandeis University, and a master’s and PhD from Harvard University.
Chief Public Policy Officer, The Arc of the United States
- Marty Ford is the Director of Legal Advocacy for The Arc and UCP Disability Policy Collaboration. She has 25 years of experience in federal public policy issues affecting people with disabilities. Ms. Ford represents both The Arc of the United States and United Cerebral Palsy on Capitol Hill and in the federal agencies on issues affecting people with disabilities, including long term services and supports (including Medicaid), the Supplemental Security Income program, and Social Security disability issues. Ms. Ford is in her third year as Chairperson of the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD), a coalition of over 110 national organizations working on federal disability policy issues. She also serves as Co-Chair of the CCD Task Forces on Social Security and on Long Term Services and Supports. She is a member of the National Academy of Social Insurance.
Assistant Secretary for Aging, Administration on Aging ex-officio
- Kathy Greenlee was appointed by President Barack Obama as the fourth Assistant Secretary for Aging at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and confirmed by the Senate in June 2009. Ms. Greenlee brings over 10 years of experience advancing the health and independence of older persons and their families.Prior to becoming Assistant Secretary, Ms. Greenlee served as Secretary of Aging for the state of Kansas. In that capacity, she led a cabinet-level agency with 192 full-time staff members and a total budget of $495 million. Her department oversaw the state’s Older Americans Act programs, the distribution of Medicaid long-term care payments and regulation of nursing home licensure and survey processes. She also served on the board of the National Association of State Units on Aging.Before her tenure as the Secretary of Aging, Ms. Greenlee served as State Long-Term Care Ombudsman in Kansas, and the state’s Assistant Secretary of Aging. Ms. Greenlee also served as general counsel at the Kansas Insurance Department. During her tenure there, she led the team of regulators who evaluated the proposed sale of Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Kansas, and oversaw the Senior Health Insurance Counseling for Kansas program. Greenlee also served as Chief of Staff and Chief of Operations for then Governor Kathleen Sebelius.Ms. Greenlee is a graduate of the University of Kansas with degrees in business administration and law.
President and CEO, National Alliance for Caregiving
- Gail Hunt is President and CEO of the National Alliance for Caregiving, a non-profit coalition dedicated to conducting research and developing national programs for family caregivers and the professionals who serve them. Prior to heading NAC, Ms. Hunt was President of her own aging services consulting firm for 14 years. She conducted corporate eldercare research for the National Institute on Aging and the Social Security Administration, developed training for caregivers with AARP and the American Occupational Therapy Association, and designed a corporate eldercare program for EAPs with the Employee Assistance Professional Association.Prior to having her own firm, she was Senior Manager in charge of human services for the Washington, DC, office of KPMG Peat Marwick. Ms. Hunt attended Vassar College and graduated from Columbia University in New York. In May of 2004, she was appointed by the White House to serve on the Policy Committee for the 2005 White House Conference on Aging. Ms. Hunt is on the Advisory Panel of Medicare Education. She is the incoming chair for the National Center on Senior Transportation. Ms. Hunt is also on the Board of Commissioners for the Center for Aging Service Technology and she is also on the steering committee for Long-Term Care Quality Assurance.
President and CEO, NewCourtland
- After a liberal arts education in her home town of New York, Ms. Kass came to Philadelphia in the mid sixties and had a varied work experience which included credit management, research correspondence, truck dealership management, health maintenance organization management, and editing a series of guide books to the city.During these same years, and as part of her community commitment, Ms. Kass was a founding mother and the first chair of the board of the University City New School, a private elementary school in West Philadelphia.Since 1999 Gail Kass has been the President and CEO of the Presbyterian Foundation for Philadelphia, a not-for-profit public charity. Since 1995, President and CEO of its subsidiary, NewCourtland, also a not-for-profit, whose business and mission are improving the lives of Philadelphia’s frailest elder citizens.Ms. Kass has been with the Presbyterian organization since 1981 when she joined the Presbyterian Medical Center as the director of the clinics which served the West Philadelphia community. In her fifteen years at the Medical Center she was a vice president and then the Senior Vice President for Strategic Planning, in which position she positioned the medical center for sale to the University of Pennsylvania in 1995.Under Ms. Kass direction, NewCourtland has moved from managing Philadelphia nursing homes to being the sole member of the boards of six of them so that each could be refinanced and made sound financially, clinically and socially. Ms. Kass is a trustee of each of the facilities, which in the aggregate house over 1400 and employ over 2000 Philadelphia residents. The NewCourtland facilities have earned the reputation in the city for high quality resident care and for being the employers of choice for health care workers interested in long term care options.The nursing homes offer a broad array of programs tailored to the needs of the residents and staff which assure a rich quality of life. NewCourtland is also proud of the development of its Ladder of Opportunity which provides encouragement, counseling, education and funding to its employees in order that they advance their careers in long term care. In addition to providing management to its nursing homes, NewCourtland has several for-profit subsidiaries: a nurse staffing agency, a financial management company, an operational management company, and a soon to be launched high-tech home care company. To meet the growing need of today’s elder citizens NewCourtland is currently developing a host of supportive programs and housing for those who can remain community based. Each of these has been developed under Ms Kass’ guidance.Ms. Kass was chosen in 1999 as one of Philadelphia’s Women of Distinction by the Philadelphia Business Journal, and awarded the Meritorious Service Award in 2003 by the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging. She served on the Health Care sub-committee of Mayor Street’s transition committee, on the Aging subcommittee for Governor Rendell’s transition, and the long term care subcommittee of the Medical Assistance Advisory Committee. She served on the Life Science Career Advisory Committee, was a board member of the Life Science Career Alliance Board sitting on its Career Ladder subcommittee, and served on the health care task force for former Philadelphia mayor, Wilson Goode. She is a member of The Forum of Executive Women, and served on a committee for the Curtis Institute. She was honored to be one of the seven delegates of Governor Rendell to the White House Conference on Aging, and has recently been asked by its President to sit on the Leadership Council of the American Association of Housing and Services for the Ageing. In 2007, Ms. Kass became a trustee to the University of the Arts in Philadelphia.Ms. Kass and her husband raised their blended family of four children in West Philadelphia and she currently lives in Center City.
Vice President, Long-Term Care Quality Improvement Program, The Commonwealth Fund
- Mary Jane Koren, MD., MPH is the vice president for the Long-Term Care Quality Improvement Program and manages the Commonwealth Fund/Harvard University Minority Fellowship Program in Health Policy. Prior to coming to the Fund, Dr. Koren, an internist and geriatrician, was vice president at the Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation in New York City from 1997 to 2002, where she created and directed a grants program in the field of health services and aging. She began her career in geriatrics at Montefiore Medical Center, where she started the geriatrics fellowship program and was assistant medical director for the Montefiore Home Health Health Care Agency.In 1986, Dr. Koren joined the faculty of the department of geriatrics at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine and was named associate chief of staff for extended care at the Bronx Veterans Administration Medical Center. In 1987, she joined the New York State Department of Health as the Director of the Bureau of Long Term Care Services, which oversaw the state’s nursing homes, and adult day health care programs. While at the Fund, Dr. Koren has given invited testimony to Congressional committees on nursing home quality and the implications for health care of the aging of the Baby Boomers, serves on numerous national advisory committees and expert panels for CMS and other federal agencies, and has, for the last two years, chaired the national steering committee for Advancing Excellence: the NH Quality Campaign. She is also on the Board of Grantmakers in Aging and, through GIA’s mentorship program, works with colleagues from other foundations new to the field of philanthropy.
Founder and President, National Investment Center for the Seniors Housing & Care Industry (NIC)
- Mr. Kramer is founder and president of the National Investment Center for the Seniors Housing & Care Industry (NIC), a non-profit education and resource center that serves debt and equity investors interested in the seniors housing and long term care industry. NIC is the leading provider of research as well as business and financial performance data on this segment for capital providers. NIC’s focus is to advance the quality of seniors housing and care by facilitating informed investment decisions through driving increased transparency for investors. Mr. Kramer, a frequent writer and speaker on trends in seniors housing and long term care, has directed NIC since its inception in 1991. A former county government official and Maryland state legislator, Mr. Kramer was a leader on health and environmental issues while representing the state capital of Annapolis in the 1980s. Mr. Kramer was educated at Harvard and Oxford Universities and also holds a Master of Divinity degree from Westminster Theological Seminary.
Senior Vice President & Chief Medical Officer, OptumHealth Care Solutions, United Health Group
- Dr. Mark Leenay is the Senior Vice President of Medical Management and Physician Services for Ovations and the Chief Medical Officer for Evercare Hospice, both divisions of UnitedHealth Group.He has responsibility for medical payment and policy management, physician and provider relationships, clinical operations and establishing and implementing clinical strategy and innovation for all UnitedHealth Group Medicare business. His teams manage clinical technology, medical payment policy, physician workforce, clinical program deployment, and assure clinical performance.Dr. Leenay is the media spokesperson for Ovations and Evercare and has discussed hospice and palliative care, chronic disease management, caregiving, and health aging with such media outlets as the Wall Street Journal, Businessweek, and numerous local and national radio and television newscasts.Dr. Leenay is adjunct assistant professor at the University of Minnesota maintains an appointment at the Comprehensive Cancer Center. He is a member of the quality and research committees of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Association, and is a former director of the board of the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine.Prior to joining UnitedHealth Group, Dr. Leenay was the medical director of Palliative Care and Hospice at Fairview and the University of Minnesota, one of six national Palliative Care Leadership Centers. In this role, he directed hospice programs, inpatient palliative care consulting services and outpatient palliative care clinics while serving as a long-term care physician and medical director. In addition, Dr. Leenay has served as a skilled nursing facility certified medical director and as a long-term care, pain and palliative care consultant for various healthcare organizations, including Stratis Health and Aetna.Throughout his career, Dr. Leenay has presented on numerous palliative care, health policy and geriatric topics regionally and nationally, including pain management and methadone use, hospice utilization in nursing facilities, Medicare demonstration projects and numerous ethical and palliative issues. He has published several articles in Minnesota Physician, Minnesota Health Care News, and Topics.Dr. Leenay’s honors and awards include the inaugural Clinical Innovation Award of the University of Minnesota Medical Center. His program at the University and Fairview received the Circle of Life award from the American Hospital Association, and his program was designated as one of four “Island’s of Hope” in the 2002 book Means to a Better End: A Report on Dying in America Today. He was the MMA delegate to the Minnesota State Commission on End-of-Life Care and was former U.S. Senator from Minnesota David Durenberger’s delegate to the White House Conference on Aging in 1995.Dr. Leenay received his BS from LeMoyne College in Syracuse, NY, and his MS in psychology from the University of Pennsylvania, with a special interest in family systems theory. He received his MD degree from Thomas Jefferson University and did his residency at Overlook hospital, an affiliate of Columbia University at the time.Dr. Leenay lives in Princeton, Minnesota with his wife Dr. Tamara Leenay and their children Ryan and Jillian.
Director of the Families and Health Care Project, United Hospital Fund
- Carol Levine joined the United Hospital Fund in New York City in 1996. She directs the Families and Health Care Project, which focuses on developing partnerships between health care professionals and family caregivers, especially during transitions in health care settings (www.nextstepincare.org). She directed the Citizens Commission on AIDS in New York City from 1987-91 and The Orphan Project 1991-96. As a senior staff associate of The Hastings Center, she edited the Hastings Center Report. In 1993 she was awarded a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship for her work in AIDS policy and ethics. She edited Always On Call: When Illness Turns Families into Caregivers (2nd ed., Vanderbilt University Press, 2004), and with Thomas H. Murray, co-edited The Cultures of Caregiving: Conflict and Common Ground among Families, Health Professionals and Policy Maker (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2004). She was named a WebMD Health Hero in 2007.
Chief Executive Officer, National Association of Area Agencies of Aging
- Chief Executive Officer Sandy Markwood has more than 30 years experience in the development and delivery of aging, health, human services, housing and transportation programs in counties and cities across the nation. Prior to coming to n4a in January 2002, Sandy served as the Deputy Director of County Services at the National Association of Counties where she took a lead role in research, training, conference planning, program development, technical assistance and grants management.As CEO, Sandy is responsible for n4a’s overall management. She sets strategic direction for the staff, oversees the implementation of all policy, grassroots advocacy, membership and program initiatives. She also leads n4a’s fund-raising efforts and engages corporate sponsors to support critical initiatives, including an aging awards/best practices program and the Leadership Institute for Area Agency on Aging staff. Externally, Sandy forms strategic partnerships with federal agencies and organizations in aging, human service and health care arenas to enhance the role and recognition of Area Agencies on Aging and Title VI programs.Sandy holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from the University of Virginia.
Director, Engelberg Center for Health Care Reform; Leonard D. Schaeffer Chair in Health Policy Studies, Brookings Institution
- Mark McClellan is senior fellow, director of the Engelberg Center for Health Care Reform, and Leonard D. Schaeffer Chair in Health Policy Studies at the Brookings Institution. Established in 2007, the Engelberg Center provides practical solutions to achieve high-quality, innovative, affordable health care with particular emphasis on identifying opportunities on the national, state and local levels.A doctor and economist by training, McClellan has a highly distinguished record in public service and academic research. He is a former administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and former commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration. McClellan served as a member of the President’s Council of Economic Advisers and senior director for health care policy at the White House under President George W. Bush. He also served in the Clinton administration as deputy assistant secretary of the Treasury for economic policy, where he supervised economic analysis and policy development on a range of domestic policy issues.Previously, McClellan was an associate professor of economics and associate professor of medicine with tenure at Stanford University, where he directed Stanford’s Program on Health Outcomes Research; served as associate editor of the Journal of Health Economics; and was co-principal investigator of the Health and Retirement Study, a longitudinal study of the health and economic status of older Americans. He has twice received the Kenneth J. Arrow Award for Outstanding Research in Health Economics.In his capacity as a health policy expert, McClellan is the co-director of the Bipartisan Policy Center’s Leaders’ Project on the State of American Health Care; co-chair of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Commission to Build a Healthier America; and chair of the FDA’s Reagan-Udall Foundation. He is also co-chair of the Quality Alliance Steering Committee, sits on the National Quality Forum’s Board of Directors, is a member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, and is a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research.McClellan holds an MD from the Harvard University–Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Division of Health Sciences and Technology, a PhD in economics from MIT, an MPA from Harvard University, and a BA from the University of Texas at Austin. He completed his residency training in internal medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, is board-certified in Internal Medicine, and has been a practicing internist during his career.
Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services ex-officio
- In 2002, Dr. McGann joined the full-time staff of CMS, initially in the Quality Improvement Group in OCSQ. He led the execution of Task 1a (Nursing Home) and Task 1b (Home Health) of both the 7th and the 8th QIO contract cycles. The results of this work were published in the Annals of Internal Medicine in September 2006. In July 2007 he was promoted to Deputy Chief Medical Officer. His responsibilities included leading the re-design and clearance team for the QIO 9th Statement of Work. The procurement of this $1.1B contract was completed successfully on 1 August 2009. He has also contributed to the ongoing re-design of the ESRD Network Program.Dr. McGann relocated from the University of Alberta in Canada in 1995, where he had 10 years of experience in geriatric health care, to become the founding Clinical Director of the J. Paul Sticht Center on Aging at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Dr. McGann was on the team responsible for the design, development, and implementation of a new system of integrated health care delivery for elderly patients and their families–The J. Paul Sticht Center on Aging. Dr. McGann was the Residency Program Director for the Geriatric Medicine Fellowship Program at Wake Forest University School of Medicine until 2002.Dr. McGann was also appointed the first AGS-HCFA Medicare Scholar for the 2000-2001 academic year. He was based at HCFA (now CMS) Central Office in Baltimore and was also a visiting professor at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine during his scholar year. Dr. McGann is a board-certified internist and geriatrician. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Chemistry and a Master’s Degree in Biology from MIT. He received an MD degree from McGill University in Montreal in 1981.
President and CEO, LeadingAge (formerly AAHSA)
- Larry Minnix in the President and CEO of the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging (AAHSA), a position he has held since 2001.For more than 35 years, Minnix has been a passionate advocate for leadership and innovation in not-for-profit aging services. He entered the field as an administrative intern at Wesley Woods Center for Emory University, where he went on to serve as CEO. He also served as an AAHSA board member prior to joining the association as its CEO.Minnix has translated his passion into practice as AAHSA’s CEO. During his tenure, he established the Center for Aging Services Technologies (CAST), developed programs to address important issues like workforce retention and regulatory reform, and is currently advocating for long-term care financing reform.Minnix is a frequent speaker on long-term care, quality, ethics, and public policy. He serves on the boards of Generations United and the Erickson School of Aging Studies. Most recently, Minnix was named to NonProfit Time’s 2008 “Power and Influence Top 50” list.Minnix received his undergraduate and doctorate degrees from Emory University and is an ordained elder in the United Methodist Church.
President and Chief Executive Officer, American Health Care Assoication
- The Honorable Mark Parkinson is the president and chief executive officer of the American Health Care Association (AHCA) and National Center for Assisted Living (NCAL), which represents more than 11,000 for- and not-for-profit nursing homes, assisted living residences, and facilities for the care of people with mental retardation and developmental disabilities. Before leading AHCA/NCAL, the native Kansan was a successful businessman, state legislator, and most recently served as the 45th Governor of the State of Kansas.
A summa cum laude graduate of Wichita State University, Parkinson finished first in his class from the University of Kansas School of Law in 1984 before forming his own private practice law firm in 1986. In 1990, Parkinson was elected to the Kansas House of Representatives; two years later he was elected to the Kansas Senate. While serving in the state legislature, Parkinson earned a reputation for bridging party lines.
In 1996, Parkinson focused on a new passion—helping to enhance seniors’ quality of life by providing first-class elder care facilities. An owner and operator for more than 15 years, Parkinson helped to develop ten facilities in Kansas and Missouri. His experience as founder, developer, and CEO of facilities offering skilled nursing care, assisted living, and dementia-related care has given Parkinson a perspective that spans the continuum of care. His vision also helped to earn national recognition for the design of one of his assisted living facilities, and the title of “Outstanding Business in Northeast Johnson County” for his company.
Next, the successful businessman and former state legislator returned to the state capital, joining The Honorable Kathleen Sebelius as her Lieutenant Governor in 2006. Three years later, Parkinson was sworn in as Governor of Kansas when Sebelius was selected to serve as U.S. Secretary of Health & Human Services.
Under his leadership, Kansas developed a comprehensive energy policy and a ten-year transportation plan for maintaining the state’s infrastructure. Citing his bipartisan support and ability to move the state forward even in challenging economic times, the Topeka Capital Journal named Parkinson “Kansan of the Year” in 2009.
Married for more than 27 years, Mark and Stacy Parkinson are the parents of three children – Alex, Sam and Kit – and active in community and charitable organizations.
From his hands-on work at the facility level to his experience in the State Legislature, the former Governor of Kansas is uniquely qualified to take on the challenges of addressing myriad health policy issues while guiding the nation’s largest association of long term and post-acute health care providers toward the future.
Past President and Chief Executive Officer, Visiting Nurse Service of New York
- Carol Raphael served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Visiting Nurse Service of New York (VNSNY), which is the largest nonprofit home health agency in the United States from 1989 to 2011. Prior to joining VNSNY, Ms. Raphael held executive positions at Mt. Sinai Medical Center and in New York City government. In 2012, Ms. Raphael will be an Advanced Leadership Fellow at Harvard University. She chairs the New York eHealth Collaborative a public-private partnership working to advance the adoption of health information technology. She is the incoming Chair of the Long-Term Quality Alliance, a member of the National Quality Forum Coordinating Committee where she chairs its Post Acute/Long-Term Care Workgroup and a member of New York State Governor Cuomo’s Medicaid Redesign Team.Ms. Raphael is a nationally recognized expert on health care policy and served on numerous commissions including the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, the New York State Hospital Review and Planning Council and several Institute of Medicine committees. She served on the Lifetime Blue Cross/Blue Shield Board and is currently on the boards of AARP, Pace University, and the Citizens Budget Commission. She is a member of numerous advisory boards including the Harvard School of Public Health’s Health Policy Management Executive Council, the New York City Health and Mental Hygiene Advisory Council, The New York City Age-Friendly Commission, the Atlantic Philanthropies Geriatrics Practice Scholars National Advisory Board, the New York University School of Nursing Advisory Board, and the Markle Foundation’s Connecting for Health Steering Committee. She co-edited the book Home Based Care for a New Century. She was a Visiting Fellow at the Kings Fund in the United Kingdom, and was listed in Crain’s New York Business 50 Most Powerful Women in New York City.
Senior Vice President, AARP
- Susan C. Reinhard is a Senior Vice President at AARP, directing its Public Policy Institute, the focal point for public policy research and analysis at the federal, state and international levels. She also serves as the Chief Strategist for the Center to Champion Nursing in America at AARP, a national resource and technical assistance center created to ensure that America has the nurses it needs to care for all of us now and in the future. Dr. Reinhard is a nationally recognized expert in nursing and health policy, with extensive experience in translating research and developing coalitions to promote policy change.
Before coming to AARP in 2007, Dr. Reinhard served as a Professor and Co-Director of Rutgers Center for State Health Policy where she directed several national initiatives to work with states to help people with disabilities of all ages live in their homes and communities. She directed a national technical assistance center to assist 53 states and territories funded by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to re-design their long-term care systems. She also led a national effort to help states enroll more low-income older adults and people with disabilities in the Medicare Savings Programs.In previous work, Dr. Reinhard served three governors as Deputy Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services, where she led the development of health policies and programs that gained national prominence. She also co-founded the Institute for the Future of Aging Services in Washington, DC and served as its Executive Director of the Center for Medicare Education. Her research and policy expertise includes nursing and health care workforce development and regulation, family caregiving, consumer choice and control in health and supportive care, development of assisted living and other community-based care options, quality improvement in long-term care, state pharmaceutical policy, and medication safety.Dr. Reinhard is a former faculty member at the Rutgers College of Nursing and is a fellow in the American Academy of Nursing. She holds a master’s degree in nursing from the University of Cincinnati, and a PhD in Sociology from Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey.
Executive Director, National Association of State Units on Aging
- Ms. Roherty is the Executive Director of the National Association of State Units on Aging. Since 1964, the National Association of State Units on Aging (NASUA) has been the bipartisan, professional, nonprofit organization of representatives of state aging agencies (including the District of Columbia and the territories). The primary purposes of NASUA are to serve as a focal point of communication between the states and the federal government, and to provide an information network among the states on issues pertinent to the aging services network.Ms. Roherty and her staff are responsible for educating Congress, the Administration, other state executive branch organizations, advocacy groups, and the general public on administrative and health and social policy issues of special concern to the state officials administering the programs for long-term care services. Ms. Roherty also furnishes technical assistance to state aging, Medicaid, and disability program staff.Prior to joining NASUA, Ms. Roherty served as the director of the National Association of State Medicaid Directors. In that capacity Ms. Roherty helped states as they navigated through many transitions in the Medicaid program including transitioning the dually eligible population to Medicare Part D; the development of Medicaid waivers in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina; and the conception of and implementation of the Deficit Reduction Act.Ms. Roherty has also held various positions at The Finance Project, the National Association of State Budget Officers, the National Governors Association, and the National Conference of State Legislatures. Ms. Roherty holds a master of public policy with a concentration in finance from the University of Maryland. In her spare time, Ms. Roherty is the mother of five children.
President, Alliance for Quality Nursing Home Care
- Alan G. Rosenbloom is President of the Alliance for Quality Nursing Home Care in Washington, DC. The Alliance includes 16 of the largest long term care provider companies in America, all of which offer skilled nursing facility care and services as a core business. The Alliance companies care for more than 300,000 people each year in more than 1800 nursing facilities in 47 states. The Alliance concentrates its activities on advocacy and public policy and is a leader among provider organizations in shaping the long term care delivery system for the nation’s future.Before joining the Alliance in January 2006, Mr. Rosenbloom served as President and CEO of the Pennsylvania Health Care Association in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. He previously served in several capacities with the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging in Washington, D.C, and as a partner in two Philadelphia-based law firms, where he limited his practice to health care law.Mr. Rosenbloom has held various community service positions and has taught as an Adjunct Professor of Health Care Law and Ethics at St. Joseph’s University and Eastern College.Mr. Rosenbloom received a B.A. summa cum laude from the University of Massachusetts and a J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania, where he served as Associate Editor of The Law Review. He also studied public policy analysis at the Wharton School. He has had extensive public speaking experience during his more than 20 year professional career.
MS, RN, Institute for Healthcare Improvement;
- Patricia A. Rutherford is a Vice President at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI). She is responsible for developing and leading innovations in the following areas: Transforming Care at the Bedside; Optimizing Care Coordination and Transitions in Care; Clinical Office Practice Redesign; Improving Efficiency and Flow in Hospitals, Specialty Practices and Outpatient Settings; and Innovations in Patient-Centered Care. She was the Project Director for the Transforming Care at the Bedside Initiative (2003-2008), funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation; and she is currently the co-investigator for the STate Action on Avoidable Rehospitalizations (STAAR) initiative, funded by The Commonwealth Fund. Her skills include knowledge of process improvement, innovation, and idealized design; coaching clinicians, staff, and senior leaders in organizations on process improvement; and management of all aspects of large scale performance improvement initiatives.Prior to her work at IHI, she worked 21 years at Children’s Hospital in Boston, MA. She has provided leadership for the Department of Nursing’s quality improvement endeavors and interdisciplinary process improvement initiatives. She lead initiatives to redesign care delivery and make improvements in inpatient and outpatient programs.
Dean, Columbia University School of Social Work
- Jeanette C. Takamura is the first female and the 17th dean of the Columbia University School of Social Work. Dean Takamura served as Assistant Secretary for Aging in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services from 1996-2001 during the second term of the Clinton Administration.While Assistant Secretary, Dr. Takamura led the development of a modernized Older Americans Act and initiated the design and proposal of a new national program — the National Family Caregiver Support Program. The National Family Caregiver Support Program proposal was a Presidential initiative and was subsequently signed into law, as a part of the Older Americans Act, in November, 2000. Under her leadership, the Older Americans Act programs also received the largest funding increase since 1974. To ensure program and fiscal accountability in aging programs and services, she established the National Aging Performance Outcomes Measurement Program. Finally, Assistant Secretary Takamura secured the participation of and led more than 40 Executive Branch agencies in identifying national public policy and program directions for the 21st century. For her efforts, she received the Secretary’s Distinguished Service Award and the Lucy Stone Achievement Award from the White House.Dean Takamura was named a Social Work Pioneer by the National Association of Social Workers in 2006. She is an elected fellow of the National Academy on Social Insurance and of the National Academy for Public Administration. She is an invited principal of the Council on Excellence in Government and has served on many national and international advisory boards, commissions, and advisory and working groups including those under the auspices of the World Health Organization and the International Longevity Center. Dr. Takamura has received awards for her work on aging policy and program development. She is the past Board chair of the American Society on Aging and a Commissioner on the National Commission for Quality Long Term Care. Most recently, she served on the Obama Transition Team, specifically the Agency Review Team for the Department of Health and Human Services. The Government of Japan has also awarded Dr. Takamura with The Order of the Rising Sun, Gold with Ribbons, for her accomplishments.Earlier, Dr. Takamura was the Edward R. Roybal Endowed Professor in Applied Gerontology and Public Service at California State University Los Angeles. She was Deputy Director of Health (COO) for the Hawaii State Department of Health and previous to this was Director of the Executive Office on Aging, where she led the design and advocacy for an actuarially-based state universal long term care financing proposal in 1988. Dr. Takamura was an Assistant Professor at the University of Hawaii – Manoa and Project Coordinator for the College of Health Sciences and Social Welfare’s Health Team Development Program for the Schools of Medicine, Nursing, Public Health, and Social Work. Her doctorate in social policy was received from The Heller School at Brandeis University.
Chief Medical Officer, Total Community Options (TCO)
- Dr. Mary Tuuk is the Chief Medical Officer for Total Community Options (TCO). Dr. Tuuk is responsible for medical oversight of the two PACE programs affiliated with TCO, Total Longterm Care in Denver, CO and Total Community Care in Albuquerque, NM. These two programs currently serve over 1900 frail seniors at seven adult day health centers. Prior to this position, Dr. Tuuk was the Associate Medical Director for Total Longterm Care and was a PACE primary care physician for over 10 years.Prior to joining PACE, Dr. Tuuk practiced in a geriatric outpatient clinic setting for over 9 years. She coordinated the geriatrics curriculum for the Mercy Family Medicine residency program while in this practice.Dr. Tuuk also has an interest in palliative medicine and was the medical director for Porter Hospice and Hospice of Peace in Denver for 5 years. She was responsible for medical oversight of the hospice outpatient services as well as patient care in the inpatient hospice units.Dr. Tuuk received her undergraduate degree from the University of Dayton and her medical degree from the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine. She completed her internal medicine residency at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center and her fellowship in geriatric medicine at the Denver VA Medical Center.
Senior Vice President,Strategic Partnerships National Quality Forum(NQF)
- Thomas B. Valuck, MD, JD, is Senior Vice President, Strategic Partnerships at the National Quality Forum (NQF). He leads NQF’s work in promoting uses of measurement information for payment incentives, public reporting, accreditation and certification, quality improvement, workforce education, and systems development. He oversees NQF’s convening of the National Priorities Partnership and NQF’s assistance to communities in applying performance measurement to enhance healthcare quality and efficiency. He also works with public and private sector stakeholders in selecting measures for payment and public reporting programs and in setting the national agenda for measure development and endorsement.Dr. Valuck comes to NQF from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), where he advised senior agency and Department of Health and Human Services leadership regarding Medicare payment and quality of care, particularly pay for performance. While at CMS, Dr. Valuck received a 2009 Administrator’s Citation and the 2007 Administrator’s Achievement Award for leadership in advancing Medicare’s pay-for-performance initiatives.Dr. Valuck worked at the University of Kansas Medical Center for nine years, where he managed quality improvement, utilization review, risk management, and physician relations in his role as Vice President of Medical Affairs before becoming the Vice President of External Affairs, where he advocated for delivery system, financing, and public health reforms before the U.S. Congress and the Kansas Legislature. Dr. Valuck has also worked for the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee as a Robert Wood Johnson Health Policy Fellow, for the White House Council of Economic Advisers researching and analyzing public and private healthcare financing issues, and at the law firm of Latham & Watkins as an associate practicing regulatory health law.Dr. Valuck has degrees in biological science and medicine from the University of Missouri-Kansas City; a master’s in health services administration from the University of Kansas; and a law degree from the Georgetown University Law School.
Executive Director, Direct Care Alliance
- Ms. Leonila Vega, Esq., is a civil rights attorney specializing in elder and disability law. She has represented older Americans and individuals living with disabilities throughout Wisconsin. Prior to becoming Executive Director of the Direct Care Alliance, Ms. Vega developed and enforced advocacy procedures for older adults and direct care workers involved with the Wisconsin Innovative Family Care Waiver Program. She obtained a substantial wage increase for direct care workers in the state and was appointed by the governor of Wisconsin to the Independent Living Council, elected twice to serve as Chair. Ms. Vega became the Direct Care Alliance’s first Executive Director and established the organization as the national advocacy voice for the more than three million direct care workers in the U.S. Under her leadership, DCA has launched various programs and has been a strong advocate for solutions to the issues facing direct care workers. Ms. Vega is a founding member of the Eldercare Workforce Alliance and served as co-chair for the subcommittee on the direct care workforce. She also serves as co-chair of the Carework Network. A native of Mexico, Ms. Vega moved from her rural hometown to California, where she attended the University of California – Irvine. She then earned her law degree from the University of Wisconsin – Madison.
- Doug Pace is the Executive Director of the Long-Term Quality Alliance (LTQA). The goal of the LTQA is to identify and foster quality measures that reflect what is important to consumers and family caregivers receiving long-term services and supports and position providers to apply best practices to enhance quality of life, improve care and reduce costs. The Alliance is governed by a broad-based board comprised of 30 of the nation’s leading experts on long-term care related issues. Prior to joining the LTQA, Doug was the Director of the Long-Term Care Solution Campaign at the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging (AAHSA) in Washington, DC.The Long-Term Care Solution Campaign was a grass roots advocacy effort to promote a new system for paying for long-term services and supports that provides choice, promotes personal responsibility and is available to all who need services. He returned back to AAHSA in March 2008 after 18 months as the Executive Director of the National Commission for Quality Long-Term Care. The Commission was an independent commission of The New School in New York, NY co-chaired by Former Senator Bob Kerrey and Former Speaker Newt Gingrich. The 22 member bi-partisan Commission was an autonomous body that evaluated the quality of long term care, identified factors influencing the ability to improve the quality of care, and made recommendations about national efforts that should lead to sustainable quality improvement.Before joining the Commission, Doug was the Vice-President for Culture Transformation and the Director of Assisted Living and Continuing Care with AAHSA. While there, he conducted policy, research, and lobbying efforts for Assisted Living and CCRC issues and coordinated the Association’s work in the area of culture change. Doug represented AAHSA on the Assisted Living Workgroup (ALW) and served as the Co-Facilitator. The ALW was formed at the request of the Senate Special Committee on Aging to look at the future of Assisted Living. The ALW presented a report to the Committee in April of 2003. A recommendation of the ALW report was the creation of the Center for Excellence in Assisted Living (CEAL). Doug was the founding Chair of CEAL.Prior to joining AAHSA in June of 2001, Doug was the President of the Tennessee Association of Homes and Services for the Aging (TNAHSA) in Nashville, TN. During his 5 year tenure at TNAHSA, Doug was instrumental in the passage of legislation creating a new licensure category for Assisted Living, and served on the task force that helped write the rules and regulations for Assisted Living. In addition, he was appointed by the governor of Tennessee to the Long Term Care Advisory Panel. The panel was charged with assisting state officials in formulating a long term care plan for the state of Tennessee. Doug also served on the AAHSA Assisted Living Committee for 4 years prior to joining AAHSA. He is a licensed Nursing Home Administrator who ran a 210 bed multi level facility including a SNF, NF, a secured Alzheimer’s unit and assisted living before joining TNAHSA.
