JOHN ROTHER
President
jrother@nchc.org
John Rother is President of the National Coalition on Health Care, America’s oldest and most diverse group working to achieve comprehensive health system change. The Coalition’s membership of more than 80 participating organizations includes medical societies, businesses, unions, health care providers, faith-based associations, pension and health funds, insurers, and groups representing consumers, patients, women, minorities, and persons with disabilities.
Prior to joining the Coalition in 2011, Mr. Rother served as the longtime Executive Vice President for Policy, Strategy, and International Affairs at AARP. There he led the development of AARP’s policy positions and advocacy strategies. Under his leadership, AARP engaged in robust public policy research and analysis, public education, and advocacy on health and retirement issues at the federal, state and international levels. Mr. Rother wrote numerous articles and was a frequent speaker on health, retirement security, the federal budget, and the boomer generation.
From 1981 to 1984, Mr. Rother was Staff Director and Chief Counsel for the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging under the direction of Chairman John Heinz (R-PA). From 1977 to 1981 he served as Special Counsel for Labor and Health to U.S. Senator Jacob Javits (R-NY).
Mr. Rother is a graduate of Oberlin College and the University of Pennsylvania Law School. He is a member of the DC Bar, the National Academy of Social Insurance, and the Gerontological Society of America.
In 2010 Mr. Rother received the Robert Ball Award for Outstanding Achievements in Social Insurance from the National Academy of Social Insurance for “lifetime advocacy to strengthen Social Security and Medicare.”
SHAWN MARTIN
Interim CEO
smartin@nchc.org
Shawn Martin currently serves as the interim CEO of the National Coalition on Health Care. Shawn is the Senior Vice President, Advocacy, Practice Advancement and Policy at the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), and is responsible for overseeing the AAFP Division of Government Relations and the Robert Graham Center for Policy Studies in Family Medicine and Primary Care in Washington, DC, as well as the Division of Practice Advancement at the AAFP headquarters in Leawood, Kan. In this role, he directs legislative and private sector advocacy on issues such as physician payment and medical liability reform.
Prior to joining the AAFP senior management team, Martin served as director of government relations and health policy and director of socioeconomic affairs at the American Osteopathic Association. He began his career at AOA as the assistant director of congressional affairs from 1999 to 2000, when he was promoted to deputy director of government relations and director of congressional affairs. In 2006, he was named director of government relations and health policy and, in 2011, he also became director of socioeconomic affairs at the AOA.
Martin has served on the National Quality Assurance Coalition Patient Centered Medical Home Advisory Board, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Practice Transformation Advisory Board, the Hospital and Facilities Accreditation Program Patient-Centered Medical Home Advisory Panel. He serves in leadership roles of several coalitions in Washington, including a six-year period as chair of the Health Coalition on Liability and Access. He also is an active member of the Patient Centered Primary Care Collaborative, where he has served in several official leadership roles since its inception in 2006.
In 2010, Martin received the Ryland Medal for Health Policy from the New York Institute of Technology, and in 2009, he received the Oklahoma Osteopathic Association President’s Citation. He was named by The Hill as one of the top 10 health care lobbyists in Washington, DC.
A native of Oklahoma, Martin earned his Bachelor of Science degree in business administration and marketing from Phillips University in 1992.
JACK LEWIN
Chairman; Principal and Founder, Lewin and Associates, LLC
Prior to his current position at Lewin and Associates, Dr. Jack Lewin most recently served as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Cardiovascular Research Foundation. Previously, Dr. Lewin was CEO of the American College of Cardiology (ACC) from 2006 through April 2012. The 41,000 member ACC represents over 90% of U.S. cardiologists, 5,000 cardiovascular nurses and clinicians and over 5,000 international members. Prior to his stint at ACC, Lewin was CEO of the 35,000 member California Medical Association for eight years. Previously, he was Hawaii’s Director of Health from 1986-1994, overseeing 6,500 employees, 12 hospitals and a billion-dollar budget. Before that, as a Commissioned Officer in the US Public Health Service, Dr. Lewin was the founder and first Director of the Navajo Nation Department of Health, serving the needs of America’s largest American Indian tribe. He currently serves as the voluntary Chairman of the Board for the National Coalition on Health Care. In 2011, he was named as one of Modern Healthcare’s 100 Most Influential People in Healthcare. Dr. Lewin received his BA in Biological Sciences from the University of California, Irvine, and his MD from the University of Southern California.
BLAIR CHILDS
Senior Vice President, Public Affairs, Premier, Inc.
As senior vice president of public affairs for Premier, Inc., Blair Childs is the primary spokesperson and communications strategist for Premier on key issues impacting healthcare cost and quality. He serves as liaison to the U.S. Congress, White House, healthcare policymakers and other major bodies involved in healthcare policy and regulation. Based in Washington D.C., Childs leads Premier’s Advocacy, Communications, Safety and Thought Leadership units and serves on the company’s Executive Team.
Prior to coming to Premier, Childs was Executive Vice President of Strategic Planning and Implementation for AdvaMed, the Advanced Medical Technology Association. Childs has held senior management positions in professional, trade and advocacy associations and a Fortune 500 company.
Childs has been at the center of policy issues in Washington, D.C. for more than two decades, playing a leading role on issues impacting medical devices, pharmaceuticals, insurers and hospitals. He has been responsible for organizing and leading public policy advocacy programs at the state and national levels on some of the nation’s most visible and complex issues over the last two decades, including tort, Medicare and healthcare reform. He is a respected and well-recognized expert on health policy and advocacy, and has appeared on all the major television networks as well as been quoted in most national publications.
Childs has held senior management positions in professional, trade and advocacy associations and a Fortune 500 company.
CHRIS DAWE
Managing Director, Evolent Health
Mr. Chris Dawe is a Managing Director at Evolent Health, a leading provider of value-based care solutions to health systems and physicians. Prior to joining Evolent, Mr. Dawe was the Health Care Policy Advisor at the National Economic Council at the White House. In his role, he coordinated the implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) for President Obama’s economic team, with a particular focus on health system improvement and health issues in the federal budget debate.
Previously, Mr. Dawe served from 2011 to 2013 as the Director of Delivery System Reform at the US Department of Health and Human Services, where he coordinated the implementation of the elements of the ACA that seek to foster the delivery of higher quality, more affordable health care.
Before joining the Administration, Mr. Dawe served as a Professional Staff Member at the Senate Finance Committee for Chairman Max Baucus of Montana. During his tenure at the Finance Committee, he was responsible for issues relating to Medicare payment and delivery system reform, health information technology, patient-centered outcomes research and care coordination and quality improvement, including the creation of key elements of the ACA and HITECH Act such as Accountable Care Organizations, the CMS Innovation Center and Meaningful Use standards and incentives. From 2007 to 2008, Mr. Dawe served as the health policy advisor to Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts.
Prior to serving in the Senate, Mr. Dawe was the legislative analyst at Jennings Policy Strategies, a health care policy consulting firm led by Chris Jennings, President Clinton’s former senior health advisor. While at Jennings Policy Strategies, he served in 2006 as the Deputy Director for Global Health at the Clinton Global Initiative.
Before coming to Washington, Mr. Dawe was a market analyst at Partners Healthcare, Massachusetts’ largest hospital system.
Mr. Dawe is a native of Dighton, MA and a magna cum laude graduate of Bowdoin College.
KEVIN DONNELLAN
Executive Vice President & Chief of Staff, AARP
Kevin J. Donnellan is executive vice president and chief of staff for AARP. He provides the link between the CEO and AARP's Executive and Leadership Teams, working to implement the enterprise strategy, solve problems and deal with sensitive issues before they are brought to the chief executive.
Prior to becoming chief of staff, Kevin served eight years as AARP's chief communications officer (CCO). Under his leadership, AARP has become a 21st-century media conglomerate, exploding the myth that Americans 50-plus are not wired into new communications channels. In 2011, 2012 and 2013, he was named to Influence 100—the world's 100 most influential corporate communicators—by the Holmes Report. As chief of staff, Kevin continues to provide leadership and management for all internal communications, executive positioning and public outreach functions in the enterprise.
Before becoming CCO in 2006, Kevin served AARP in a number of roles in advocacy (director of advocacy, director of grassroots and elections) and legislative and public policy (legislative counsel) that proved critical to the growth and success of the organization.
Kevin is a member of the Ad Council Advisory Committee on Public Issues and chairs the group's Committee on Community & Stewardship. He is a member of the prestigious Arthur W. Page Society. He also serves on the advisory board of George Mason University's College of Health and Human Services. He is a former chair of the board of directors of the Long-Term Care Campaign and represented AARP on the Leadership Council of Aging Organizations.
Kevin came to AARP from Capitol Hill, where he was executive assistant to Rep. Geraldine Ferraro. He holds Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees in government and politics from St. John's University in New York.
THE HONORABLE DAVID DURENBERGER
Former U.S. Senator
David Durenberger served as senior U.S. Senator from Minnesota (R-MN) from 1978 to 1995. He was elected to succeed Hubert and Muriel Humphrey and was the first Minnesota Republican ever elected to three terms in the Senate. Senator Durenberger’s health policy experience extends over three decades.
Sen. Durenberger began his lifelong commitment to public policy reform as Chief of Staff to Governor Harold LeVander of Minnesota in 1966, when Medicare, Medicaid and the Great Society’s myriad of categorical health, welfare and social programs were being launched in Washington.
In 1978 Sen. Durenberger was elected to the U.S. Senate. In 1980 he became chair of the Health Subcommittee of the Senate Finance Committee and was catapulted into the leadership role in national health reform. He authored and co-authored most Medicare/Medicaid, health insurance and other health reform legislation from 1980 until President Clinton’s Health Security Act in 1993, including the original Health Insurance Reform Act, which eventually became Kassebaum-Kennedy in 1996 and the Medicare Choice reform, which was part of the Balanced Budget Act, passed in 1995 and vetoed by President Clinton.
During his Senate career, Sen. Durenberger chaired the Intergovernmental Relations Subcommittee, led President Reagan’s New Federalism effort in 1982, was a 14-year member of the Advisory Committee on Intergovernmental Relations, and served as Vice Chair of the Pepper Commission in 1989-1990.
Sen. Durenberger was also a member of HHS Secretary Otis Bowen’s Medicare Catastrophic Committee, the Congressional Bio Ethics Committee, the National Infant Mortality Commission and the Congressional Advisory Committee to the Office of Technology Assessment.
In addition to serving as Chairman of Citizens For Long Term Care, Sen. Durenberger was also the Senior Health Policy Fellow at the Graduate School of Business at the University of St. Thomas, and chair of their joint effort with the University of Minnesota to create the National Institute of Health Policy and the President of the Washington-based Medical Technology Leadership Forum. He authored Prescription for Change, a book on healthcare reform through consumer choice, and is an accomplished speaker on the subject.
MICHAEL MACCOBY
President, The Maccoby Group
Dr. Michael Maccoby is globally recognized as an expert on leadership. He is president of The Maccoby Group in Washington, DC and is an Associate Fellow of the Säid Business School, Oxford University.
For over 35 years, Dr. Maccoby has been consultant and coach to leaders in corporations, unions, universities, the World Bank and the State and Commerce Departments of the U.S. Government and the U.S. Army. He has worked in 36 countries in the Americas, Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Africa.
Dr. Maccoby became known internationally both for his books on leadership and his pioneering projects to improve the workplace. His book The Gamesman (1977), was the first bestseller to describe the new entrepreneurs and managers in high-tech industry. The Leader (1981) followed, presenting as an ideal, managers who developed both their organizations and people for a changing world. Why Work? Motivating the New Work Force (second edition, 1995), presents a new theory of motivation to fit the changing values of knowledge workers. It has been translated into 10 languages. Dr. Maccoby is co-author of Agents of Change: Crossing the Post Industrial Divide (2003), which describes his leadership of AT&T’s Workplace of the Future in the 1990s. His 2007 book, The Leaders We Need, And What Makes Us Follow, examines leadership from the point of followers as well as leaders.
His article “Narcissistic Leaders: the Incredible Pros, the Inevitable Cons”, January, 2000 won a McKinsey Award, which recognizes the two best Harvard Business Review articles published each year. It was the basis for the book, The Productive Narcissist: The Promise and Peril of Visionary Leadership, published in 2003. In 2007, Harvard Business School Press published the paperback with a new introduction, re-titled Narcissistic Leaders: Who Succeeds and Who Fails.
Dr. Maccoby was facilitator of the National Coalition on Health Care in developing specifications for a comprehensive U.S. health care policy and is on the board of the NCHC Action Fund. He has been a consultant on the management of change at health care centers, and received grants from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation for the study “Leadership for Health Care in the Age of Learning”, which was published by the Association of Academic Health Centers in 2001. He is the senior author of Transforming Health Care Leadership, A Systems Guide to Improve Patient Health, Decrease Costs, and Improve Population Health (Summer, 2013).
Dr. Maccoby worked as a consultant, researcher and lecturer in Sweden from 1973-2005. His book Sweden At the Edge, Lessons for American and Swedish Managers (1991) described some of his work. In 2007, King Carl XVI Gustaf named him a Commander of the Royal Order of the Polar Star.
From 1978-90, Dr. Maccoby was director of the Program on Technology, Public Policy and Human Development at the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. He has taught at Harvard, University of Chicago, Cornell University, University of California, l’Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris, Oxford, the Brookings Institution and the Washington School of Psychiatry. He received a B.A. in Social Psychology, and a Ph.D. in Social Relations from Harvard. He also studied philosophy at New College, Oxford, and psychoanalysis with Erich Fromm and graduated from the Mexican Institute where he was a training analyst. With Fromm, he wrote Social Character in a Mexican Village (1970, reissued in 1996). He has been a fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences and is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, American Anthropological Association, Society for Applied Anthropology and the National Academy of Public Administration. He is a member of the boards of The Albert Shanker Institute, The Washington School of Psychiatry and Our Little Brothers and Sisters, an orphanage in Mexico, Honduras, Haiti, Nicaragua, Guatemala, El Salvador, the Dominican Republic, Bolivia and Peru.
ADRIENNE MORRELL
Senior Vice President for Public, Government and Community Affairs for SCAN
Adrienne Morrell is the Senior Vice President for Public, Government and Community Affairs of SCAN Health Plan. Adrienne joined SCAN in September 2018 and oversees federal, state, and community relations. She works with policymakers and regulators helping SCAN fulfill its mission of keeping seniors healthy and independent.
Prior to SCAN, Adrienne was the Executive Vice President, Federal & External Affairs at America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) advocating for federal policies to improve health care affordability, choice, and value.
For over a decade, she led government relations for Health Net, Inc. She also served as a director of legislative affairs for the American Association of Health Plans. Adrienne began her career on Capitol Hill as a legislative aide to Congressman Harris Fawell (IL) and Senator Olympia Snowe (ME).
Adrienne earned a Bachelor of Arts in history from Kenyon College.
DONALD MOULDS
Chief Health Director, CalPERS
Don Moulds was named CalPERS chief health director in August 2019.
As head of the Health Policy and Benefits Branch, he provides leadership and oversees our health benefits program, including policy, research, plan contracting and administration, rate development, member and employer account management, and the long-term care program.
He brings to his role more than 20 years of strategic leadership in government and health policy at both the state and federal levels.
Don joined CalPERS from The Commonwealth Fund, a national foundation and think tank dedicated to improving the American healthcare system, where he was executive vice president for programs.
Prior to the Commonwealth Fund, he served as acting assistant secretary for planning and evaluation at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, where he served as a principal policy advisor to then-Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.
Before that, he spent over a decade in California where he led the bipartisan Senate Office of Research and was principal consultant for the leader of the Senate on health insurance and other issues.
Don earned a bachelor's degree in philosophy from Bates College. He holds a master's and a doctorate in philosophy from the University of Illinois and has taught philosophy and ethics courses at the University of Illinois, Harvard University, and California State University, Sacramento.
MARGARET E. O’KANE
President, NCQA
Margaret E. O’Kane is founder and president of the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA).
She is a member of the National Academy of Medicine, and has received the Picker Institute Individual Award for Excellence in the Advancement of Patient-Centered Care, as well as the Gail L. Warden Leadership Excellence Award from the National Center for Healthcare Leadership.
Modern Healthcare magazine has named O’Kane one of the “100 Most Influential People in Healthcare” 11 times, most recently in 2016, and one of the “Top 25 Women in Healthcare” 3 times.
She is a board member of the Milbank Memorial Fund and is Chairman of the Board of Healthwise, a nonprofit organization that helps people make better health decisions.
O’Kane holds a master’s degree in health administration and planning from Johns Hopkins University, where she received the Distinguished Alumnus Award.
VALINDA RUTLEDGE
Senior Vice President of Federal Affairs, America's Physician Groups
Valinda Rutledge is the Senior Vice President of Federal Affairs at America’s Physician Groups. She is responsible for analyzing and advocating for APG’s positions on government initiatives such as bundled payments, Medicare Advantage, Medicaid pilots, Dual Eligible, PCMH, and ACOs. She previously worked as a member of the leadership team (Senior Advisor and Group Director) at the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services Innovation (CMMI) where she helped build the Innovation Center from its startup phase and managed the design and launch of several of the Center’s models. In particular, she led the development and rollout of the Bundled Payment for Care Improvement Initiative, Strong Start and other national programs related to care transformation.
Before joining CMS, Ms. Rutledge served as the Chief Executive Officer of several systems including Bon Secours, SSM Health, and CaroMont Health in Gastonia, North Carolina where she led the development of a 210-day bundled knee payment arrangement between CaroMont Health and North Carolina’s largest health insurer, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina.
Ms. Rutledge received the 2013 Becker’s Healthcare Leadership Award, which is given to the top 30 individuals in the nation who demonstrate leadership and impact to the industry on a national level. She currently serves on several National Scientific Advisory Boards including NaviHealth and as a Subject Matter Expert for Sg2 (part of Vizient) where she is responsible for assisting in the development of Sg2’s national thought leadership regarding payment transformation.
Ms. Rutledge holds two advanced degrees: a Master of Business Administration degree from Butler University in Indianapolis and a Master of Science degree in nursing from Wayne State University in Detroit. She is frequently sought as a national speaker in the area of payment, clinical innovation, and population health.
MELISSA SCHULMAN
Senior Vice President, Government and Public Affairs, CVS Health
As Senior Vice President, Government and Public Affairs, Melissa Schulman leads the teams responsible for the public policy, regulatory, state and federal advocacy, and public affairs efforts for the enterprise and business units. She has 14 years of experience on Capitol Hill and 18 years in the private sector.
Schulman has a proven record of success steering coalitions and draws on broad experience utilizing industry expertise to successfully navigate the nuances of Washington. She is known for her ability to build bipartisan consensus by dissecting complex issues in a way that resonates with key legislators and policymakers. Schulman has been named by Roll Call among the Top Fifty Congressional Staff and is frequently cited in political publications such as The Hill, National Journal and others.
DAMON A. SILVERS
Director of Policy and Special Counsel, AFL-CIO
Mr. Damon A. Silvers is the Director of Policy and Special Counsel for the AFL-CIO. He joined the AFL-CIO as Associate General Counsel in 1997.
Mr. Silvers serves on a pro bono basis as a Special Assistant Attorney General for the state of New York. Mr. Silvers is also a member of the Investor Advisory Committee of the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Treasury Department’s Financial Research Advisory Committee, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board’s Standing Advisory Group and its Investor Advisory Group.
Mr. Silvers served as the Deputy Chair of the Congressional Oversight Panel for TARP from 2008 to 2011. Between 2006 and 2008, he served as the Chair of the Competition Subcommittee of the United States Treasury Department Advisory Committee on the Auditing Profession and as a member of the United States Treasury Department Investor’s Practice Committee of the President’s Working Group on Financial Markets.
Prior to working for the AFL-CIO, Mr. Silvers worked for the Harvard Union of Clerical and Technical Workers, the Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers, and as a law clerk at the Delaware Court of Chancery for Chancellor William T. Allen and Vice-Chancellor Bernard Balick.
CHRISTINE SIMMON
Senior Vice President of Policy and Strategic Alliances, Association for Accessible Medicines
Christine Simmon joined the Association for Accessible Medicines (AAM) (formerly the Generic Pharmaceutical Association) in 2012 as the Senior Vice President of Policy & Strategic Alliances, marking her return to the Association where she had served as Vice President of Policy, Public Affairs & Development from 2002-2006. In her current role, Christine is responsible for leading policy development and issues management, as well as building relationships with strategic partners in the health care sector.
Before rejoining AAM, Christine was the Senior Director of Public Policy for CVS Caremark, where she was the policy lead for the integrated retail, convenient care clinic and PBM enterprise at both the state and federal levels. Prior to that, Christine was a policy, strategy and communications consultant to the health care industry, specializing in pharmaceutical matters. Previously, Christine was a Senior Policy Analyst at BlueCross BlueShield Association, where she helped position the insurer as a leading voice on pharmaceutical cost and safety issues.
Christine received her J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center and her B.A. in American Studies from Georgetown University.
SUSAN TURNEY
CEO, Marshfield Clinic Health System
In September 2014, Dr. Susan Turney became the first CEO of Marshfield Clinic Health System.
Dr. Turney completed her internal medicine residency at Marshfield Clinic/St. Joseph’s Hospital and subsequently joined the staff at the Marshfield Clinic, where she practiced for 22 years and served as chair of the Department of Internal Medicine and Medical Director of Patient Financial Services.
In 2004, Dr. Turney became the CEO and executive vice president of the Wisconsin Medical Society. Among the Society’s accomplishments under her leadership was the founding of the Wisconsin Statewide Health Information Network, created to improve individual and community health, promote patient-centered healthcare, and advance the use of information technology to improve healthcare quality and efficiency.
In October 2011, Dr. Turney became the President and CEO of MGMA-ACMPE, a national membership association for professional administrators and leaders of medical group practices whose members work in organizations that deliver 40 percent of healthcare services in the United States.
Dr. Turney has served on committees for the National Quality Forum and the American Medical Association and fulfilled appointments by the Wisconsin governor and the the U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary. She served as the 2005-2006 MGMA Board chair and has been an ACMPE Fellow since 2005.
JOHN ROTHER
President
jrother@nchc.orgJohn Rother is President of the National Coalition on Health Care, America’s oldest and most diverse group working to achieve comprehensive health system change. The Coalition’s membership of more than 80 participating organizations includes medical societies, businesses, unions, health care providers, faith-based associations, pension and health funds, insurers, and groups representing consumers, patients, women, minorities, and persons with disabilities.
Prior to joining the Coalition in 2011, Mr. Rother served as the longtime Executive Vice President for Policy, Strategy, and International Affairs at AARP. There he led the development of AARP’s policy positions and advocacy strategies. Under his leadership, AARP engaged in robust public policy research and analysis, public education, and advocacy on health and retirement issues at the federal, state and international levels. Mr. Rother wrote numerous articles and was a frequent speaker on health, retirement security, the federal budget, and the boomer generation.
From 1981 to 1984, Mr. Rother was Staff Director and Chief Counsel for the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging under the direction of Chairman John Heinz (R-PA). From 1977 to 1981 he served as Special Counsel for Labor and Health to U.S. Senator Jacob Javits (R-NY).
Mr. Rother is a graduate of Oberlin College and the University of Pennsylvania Law School. He is a member of the DC Bar, the National Academy of Social Insurance, and the Gerontological Society of America.
In 2010 Mr. Rother received the Robert Ball Award for Outstanding Achievements in Social Insurance from the National Academy of Social Insurance for “lifetime advocacy to strengthen Social Security and Medicare.”
SHAWN MARTIN
Interim CEO
smartin@nchc.orgShawn Martin currently serves as the interim CEO of the National Coalition on Health Care. Shawn is the Senior Vice President, Advocacy, Practice Advancement and Policy at the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), and is responsible for overseeing the AAFP Division of Government Relations and the Robert Graham Center for Policy Studies in Family Medicine and Primary Care in Washington, DC, as well as the Division of Practice Advancement at the AAFP headquarters in Leawood, Kan. In this role, he directs legislative and private sector advocacy on issues such as physician payment and medical liability reform.
Prior to joining the AAFP senior management team, Martin served as director of government relations and health policy and director of socioeconomic affairs at the American Osteopathic Association. He began his career at AOA as the assistant director of congressional affairs from 1999 to 2000, when he was promoted to deputy director of government relations and director of congressional affairs. In 2006, he was named director of government relations and health policy and, in 2011, he also became director of socioeconomic affairs at the AOA.
Martin has served on the National Quality Assurance Coalition Patient Centered Medical Home Advisory Board, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Practice Transformation Advisory Board, the Hospital and Facilities Accreditation Program Patient-Centered Medical Home Advisory Panel. He serves in leadership roles of several coalitions in Washington, including a six-year period as chair of the Health Coalition on Liability and Access. He also is an active member of the Patient Centered Primary Care Collaborative, where he has served in several official leadership roles since its inception in 2006.
In 2010, Martin received the Ryland Medal for Health Policy from the New York Institute of Technology, and in 2009, he received the Oklahoma Osteopathic Association President’s Citation. He was named by The Hill as one of the top 10 health care lobbyists in Washington, DC.
A native of Oklahoma, Martin earned his Bachelor of Science degree in business administration and marketing from Phillips University in 1992.
JACK LEWIN
Chairman; Principal and Founder, Lewin and Associates, LLC
Prior to his current position at Lewin and Associates, Dr. Jack Lewin most recently served as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Cardiovascular Research Foundation. Previously, Dr. Lewin was CEO of the American College of Cardiology (ACC) from 2006 through April 2012. The 41,000 member ACC represents over 90% of U.S. cardiologists, 5,000 cardiovascular nurses and clinicians and over 5,000 international members. Prior to his stint at ACC, Lewin was CEO of the 35,000 member California Medical Association for eight years. Previously, he was Hawaii’s Director of Health from 1986-1994, overseeing 6,500 employees, 12 hospitals and a billion-dollar budget. Before that, as a Commissioned Officer in the US Public Health Service, Dr. Lewin was the founder and first Director of the Navajo Nation Department of Health, serving the needs of America’s largest American Indian tribe. He currently serves as the voluntary Chairman of the Board for the National Coalition on Health Care. In 2011, he was named as one of Modern Healthcare’s 100 Most Influential People in Healthcare. Dr. Lewin received his BA in Biological Sciences from the University of California, Irvine, and his MD from the University of Southern California.
BLAIR CHILDS
Senior Vice President, Public Affairs, Premier, Inc.
As senior vice president of public affairs for Premier, Inc., Blair Childs is the primary spokesperson and communications strategist for Premier on key issues impacting healthcare cost and quality. He serves as liaison to the U.S. Congress, White House, healthcare policymakers and other major bodies involved in healthcare policy and regulation. Based in Washington D.C., Childs leads Premier’s Advocacy, Communications, Safety and Thought Leadership units and serves on the company’s Executive Team.
Prior to coming to Premier, Childs was Executive Vice President of Strategic Planning and Implementation for AdvaMed, the Advanced Medical Technology Association. Childs has held senior management positions in professional, trade and advocacy associations and a Fortune 500 company.
Childs has been at the center of policy issues in Washington, D.C. for more than two decades, playing a leading role on issues impacting medical devices, pharmaceuticals, insurers and hospitals. He has been responsible for organizing and leading public policy advocacy programs at the state and national levels on some of the nation’s most visible and complex issues over the last two decades, including tort, Medicare and healthcare reform. He is a respected and well-recognized expert on health policy and advocacy, and has appeared on all the major television networks as well as been quoted in most national publications.
Childs has held senior management positions in professional, trade and advocacy associations and a Fortune 500 company.
CHRIS DAWE
Managing Director, Evolent Health
Mr. Chris Dawe is a Managing Director at Evolent Health, a leading provider of value-based care solutions to health systems and physicians. Prior to joining Evolent, Mr. Dawe was the Health Care Policy Advisor at the National Economic Council at the White House. In his role, he coordinated the implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) for President Obama’s economic team, with a particular focus on health system improvement and health issues in the federal budget debate.
Previously, Mr. Dawe served from 2011 to 2013 as the Director of Delivery System Reform at the US Department of Health and Human Services, where he coordinated the implementation of the elements of the ACA that seek to foster the delivery of higher quality, more affordable health care.
Before joining the Administration, Mr. Dawe served as a Professional Staff Member at the Senate Finance Committee for Chairman Max Baucus of Montana. During his tenure at the Finance Committee, he was responsible for issues relating to Medicare payment and delivery system reform, health information technology, patient-centered outcomes research and care coordination and quality improvement, including the creation of key elements of the ACA and HITECH Act such as Accountable Care Organizations, the CMS Innovation Center and Meaningful Use standards and incentives. From 2007 to 2008, Mr. Dawe served as the health policy advisor to Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts.
Prior to serving in the Senate, Mr. Dawe was the legislative analyst at Jennings Policy Strategies, a health care policy consulting firm led by Chris Jennings, President Clinton’s former senior health advisor. While at Jennings Policy Strategies, he served in 2006 as the Deputy Director for Global Health at the Clinton Global Initiative.
Before coming to Washington, Mr. Dawe was a market analyst at Partners Healthcare, Massachusetts’ largest hospital system.
Mr. Dawe is a native of Dighton, MA and a magna cum laude graduate of Bowdoin College.
KEVIN DONNELLAN
Executive Vice President & Chief of Staff, AARP
Kevin J. Donnellan is executive vice president and chief of staff for AARP. He provides the link between the CEO and AARP's Executive and Leadership Teams, working to implement the enterprise strategy, solve problems and deal with sensitive issues before they are brought to the chief executive.
Prior to becoming chief of staff, Kevin served eight years as AARP's chief communications officer (CCO). Under his leadership, AARP has become a 21st-century media conglomerate, exploding the myth that Americans 50-plus are not wired into new communications channels. In 2011, 2012 and 2013, he was named to Influence 100—the world's 100 most influential corporate communicators—by the Holmes Report. As chief of staff, Kevin continues to provide leadership and management for all internal communications, executive positioning and public outreach functions in the enterprise.
Before becoming CCO in 2006, Kevin served AARP in a number of roles in advocacy (director of advocacy, director of grassroots and elections) and legislative and public policy (legislative counsel) that proved critical to the growth and success of the organization.
Kevin is a member of the Ad Council Advisory Committee on Public Issues and chairs the group's Committee on Community & Stewardship. He is a member of the prestigious Arthur W. Page Society. He also serves on the advisory board of George Mason University's College of Health and Human Services. He is a former chair of the board of directors of the Long-Term Care Campaign and represented AARP on the Leadership Council of Aging Organizations.
Kevin came to AARP from Capitol Hill, where he was executive assistant to Rep. Geraldine Ferraro. He holds Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees in government and politics from St. John's University in New York.
THE HONORABLE DAVID DURENBERGER
Former U.S. Senator
David Durenberger served as senior U.S. Senator from Minnesota (R-MN) from 1978 to 1995. He was elected to succeed Hubert and Muriel Humphrey and was the first Minnesota Republican ever elected to three terms in the Senate. Senator Durenberger’s health policy experience extends over three decades.
Sen. Durenberger began his lifelong commitment to public policy reform as Chief of Staff to Governor Harold LeVander of Minnesota in 1966, when Medicare, Medicaid and the Great Society’s myriad of categorical health, welfare and social programs were being launched in Washington.
In 1978 Sen. Durenberger was elected to the U.S. Senate. In 1980 he became chair of the Health Subcommittee of the Senate Finance Committee and was catapulted into the leadership role in national health reform. He authored and co-authored most Medicare/Medicaid, health insurance and other health reform legislation from 1980 until President Clinton’s Health Security Act in 1993, including the original Health Insurance Reform Act, which eventually became Kassebaum-Kennedy in 1996 and the Medicare Choice reform, which was part of the Balanced Budget Act, passed in 1995 and vetoed by President Clinton.
During his Senate career, Sen. Durenberger chaired the Intergovernmental Relations Subcommittee, led President Reagan’s New Federalism effort in 1982, was a 14-year member of the Advisory Committee on Intergovernmental Relations, and served as Vice Chair of the Pepper Commission in 1989-1990.
Sen. Durenberger was also a member of HHS Secretary Otis Bowen’s Medicare Catastrophic Committee, the Congressional Bio Ethics Committee, the National Infant Mortality Commission and the Congressional Advisory Committee to the Office of Technology Assessment.
In addition to serving as Chairman of Citizens For Long Term Care, Sen. Durenberger was also the Senior Health Policy Fellow at the Graduate School of Business at the University of St. Thomas, and chair of their joint effort with the University of Minnesota to create the National Institute of Health Policy and the President of the Washington-based Medical Technology Leadership Forum. He authored Prescription for Change, a book on healthcare reform through consumer choice, and is an accomplished speaker on the subject.
MICHAEL MACCOBY
President, The Maccoby Group
Dr. Michael Maccoby is globally recognized as an expert on leadership. He is president of The Maccoby Group in Washington, DC and is an Associate Fellow of the Säid Business School, Oxford University.
For over 35 years, Dr. Maccoby has been consultant and coach to leaders in corporations, unions, universities, the World Bank and the State and Commerce Departments of the U.S. Government and the U.S. Army. He has worked in 36 countries in the Americas, Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Africa.
Dr. Maccoby became known internationally both for his books on leadership and his pioneering projects to improve the workplace. His book The Gamesman (1977), was the first bestseller to describe the new entrepreneurs and managers in high-tech industry. The Leader (1981) followed, presenting as an ideal, managers who developed both their organizations and people for a changing world. Why Work? Motivating the New Work Force (second edition, 1995), presents a new theory of motivation to fit the changing values of knowledge workers. It has been translated into 10 languages. Dr. Maccoby is co-author of Agents of Change: Crossing the Post Industrial Divide (2003), which describes his leadership of AT&T’s Workplace of the Future in the 1990s. His 2007 book, The Leaders We Need, And What Makes Us Follow, examines leadership from the point of followers as well as leaders.
His article “Narcissistic Leaders: the Incredible Pros, the Inevitable Cons”, January, 2000 won a McKinsey Award, which recognizes the two best Harvard Business Review articles published each year. It was the basis for the book, The Productive Narcissist: The Promise and Peril of Visionary Leadership, published in 2003. In 2007, Harvard Business School Press published the paperback with a new introduction, re-titled Narcissistic Leaders: Who Succeeds and Who Fails.
Dr. Maccoby was facilitator of the National Coalition on Health Care in developing specifications for a comprehensive U.S. health care policy and is on the board of the NCHC Action Fund. He has been a consultant on the management of change at health care centers, and received grants from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation for the study “Leadership for Health Care in the Age of Learning”, which was published by the Association of Academic Health Centers in 2001. He is the senior author of Transforming Health Care Leadership, A Systems Guide to Improve Patient Health, Decrease Costs, and Improve Population Health (Summer, 2013).
Dr. Maccoby worked as a consultant, researcher and lecturer in Sweden from 1973-2005. His book Sweden At the Edge, Lessons for American and Swedish Managers (1991) described some of his work. In 2007, King Carl XVI Gustaf named him a Commander of the Royal Order of the Polar Star.
From 1978-90, Dr. Maccoby was director of the Program on Technology, Public Policy and Human Development at the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. He has taught at Harvard, University of Chicago, Cornell University, University of California, l’Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris, Oxford, the Brookings Institution and the Washington School of Psychiatry. He received a B.A. in Social Psychology, and a Ph.D. in Social Relations from Harvard. He also studied philosophy at New College, Oxford, and psychoanalysis with Erich Fromm and graduated from the Mexican Institute where he was a training analyst. With Fromm, he wrote Social Character in a Mexican Village (1970, reissued in 1996). He has been a fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences and is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, American Anthropological Association, Society for Applied Anthropology and the National Academy of Public Administration. He is a member of the boards of The Albert Shanker Institute, The Washington School of Psychiatry and Our Little Brothers and Sisters, an orphanage in Mexico, Honduras, Haiti, Nicaragua, Guatemala, El Salvador, the Dominican Republic, Bolivia and Peru.
ADRIENNE MORRELL
Senior Vice President for Public, Government and Community Affairs for SCAN
Adrienne Morrell is the Senior Vice President for Public, Government and Community Affairs of SCAN Health Plan. Adrienne joined SCAN in September 2018 and oversees federal, state, and community relations. She works with policymakers and regulators helping SCAN fulfill its mission of keeping seniors healthy and independent.
Prior to SCAN, Adrienne was the Executive Vice President, Federal & External Affairs at America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) advocating for federal policies to improve health care affordability, choice, and value.
For over a decade, she led government relations for Health Net, Inc. She also served as a director of legislative affairs for the American Association of Health Plans. Adrienne began her career on Capitol Hill as a legislative aide to Congressman Harris Fawell (IL) and Senator Olympia Snowe (ME).
Adrienne earned a Bachelor of Arts in history from Kenyon College.
DONALD MOULDS
Chief Health Director, CalPERS
Don Moulds was named CalPERS chief health director in August 2019.
As head of the Health Policy and Benefits Branch, he provides leadership and oversees our health benefits program, including policy, research, plan contracting and administration, rate development, member and employer account management, and the long-term care program.
He brings to his role more than 20 years of strategic leadership in government and health policy at both the state and federal levels.
Don joined CalPERS from The Commonwealth Fund, a national foundation and think tank dedicated to improving the American healthcare system, where he was executive vice president for programs.
Prior to the Commonwealth Fund, he served as acting assistant secretary for planning and evaluation at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, where he served as a principal policy advisor to then-Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.
Before that, he spent over a decade in California where he led the bipartisan Senate Office of Research and was principal consultant for the leader of the Senate on health insurance and other issues.
Don earned a bachelor's degree in philosophy from Bates College. He holds a master's and a doctorate in philosophy from the University of Illinois and has taught philosophy and ethics courses at the University of Illinois, Harvard University, and California State University, Sacramento.
MARGARET E. O’KANE
President, NCQA
Margaret E. O’Kane is founder and president of the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA).
She is a member of the National Academy of Medicine, and has received the Picker Institute Individual Award for Excellence in the Advancement of Patient-Centered Care, as well as the Gail L. Warden Leadership Excellence Award from the National Center for Healthcare Leadership.
Modern Healthcare magazine has named O’Kane one of the “100 Most Influential People in Healthcare” 11 times, most recently in 2016, and one of the “Top 25 Women in Healthcare” 3 times.
She is a board member of the Milbank Memorial Fund and is Chairman of the Board of Healthwise, a nonprofit organization that helps people make better health decisions.
O’Kane holds a master’s degree in health administration and planning from Johns Hopkins University, where she received the Distinguished Alumnus Award.
VALINDA RUTLEDGE
Senior Vice President of Federal Affairs, America's Physician Groups
Valinda Rutledge is the Senior Vice President of Federal Affairs at America’s Physician Groups. She is responsible for analyzing and advocating for APG’s positions on government initiatives such as bundled payments, Medicare Advantage, Medicaid pilots, Dual Eligible, PCMH, and ACOs. She previously worked as a member of the leadership team (Senior Advisor and Group Director) at the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services Innovation (CMMI) where she helped build the Innovation Center from its startup phase and managed the design and launch of several of the Center’s models. In particular, she led the development and rollout of the Bundled Payment for Care Improvement Initiative, Strong Start and other national programs related to care transformation.
Before joining CMS, Ms. Rutledge served as the Chief Executive Officer of several systems including Bon Secours, SSM Health, and CaroMont Health in Gastonia, North Carolina where she led the development of a 210-day bundled knee payment arrangement between CaroMont Health and North Carolina’s largest health insurer, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina.
Ms. Rutledge received the 2013 Becker’s Healthcare Leadership Award, which is given to the top 30 individuals in the nation who demonstrate leadership and impact to the industry on a national level. She currently serves on several National Scientific Advisory Boards including NaviHealth and as a Subject Matter Expert for Sg2 (part of Vizient) where she is responsible for assisting in the development of Sg2’s national thought leadership regarding payment transformation.
Ms. Rutledge holds two advanced degrees: a Master of Business Administration degree from Butler University in Indianapolis and a Master of Science degree in nursing from Wayne State University in Detroit. She is frequently sought as a national speaker in the area of payment, clinical innovation, and population health.
MELISSA SCHULMAN
Senior Vice President, Government and Public Affairs, CVS Health
As Senior Vice President, Government and Public Affairs, Melissa Schulman leads the teams responsible for the public policy, regulatory, state and federal advocacy, and public affairs efforts for the enterprise and business units. She has 14 years of experience on Capitol Hill and 18 years in the private sector.
Schulman has a proven record of success steering coalitions and draws on broad experience utilizing industry expertise to successfully navigate the nuances of Washington. She is known for her ability to build bipartisan consensus by dissecting complex issues in a way that resonates with key legislators and policymakers. Schulman has been named by Roll Call among the Top Fifty Congressional Staff and is frequently cited in political publications such as The Hill, National Journal and others.
DAMON A. SILVERS
Director of Policy and Special Counsel, AFL-CIO
Mr. Damon A. Silvers is the Director of Policy and Special Counsel for the AFL-CIO. He joined the AFL-CIO as Associate General Counsel in 1997.
Mr. Silvers serves on a pro bono basis as a Special Assistant Attorney General for the state of New York. Mr. Silvers is also a member of the Investor Advisory Committee of the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Treasury Department’s Financial Research Advisory Committee, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board’s Standing Advisory Group and its Investor Advisory Group.
Mr. Silvers served as the Deputy Chair of the Congressional Oversight Panel for TARP from 2008 to 2011. Between 2006 and 2008, he served as the Chair of the Competition Subcommittee of the United States Treasury Department Advisory Committee on the Auditing Profession and as a member of the United States Treasury Department Investor’s Practice Committee of the President’s Working Group on Financial Markets.
Prior to working for the AFL-CIO, Mr. Silvers worked for the Harvard Union of Clerical and Technical Workers, the Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers, and as a law clerk at the Delaware Court of Chancery for Chancellor William T. Allen and Vice-Chancellor Bernard Balick.
CHRISTINE SIMMON
Senior Vice President of Policy and Strategic Alliances, Association for Accessible Medicines
Christine Simmon joined the Association for Accessible Medicines (AAM) (formerly the Generic Pharmaceutical Association) in 2012 as the Senior Vice President of Policy & Strategic Alliances, marking her return to the Association where she had served as Vice President of Policy, Public Affairs & Development from 2002-2006. In her current role, Christine is responsible for leading policy development and issues management, as well as building relationships with strategic partners in the health care sector.
Before rejoining AAM, Christine was the Senior Director of Public Policy for CVS Caremark, where she was the policy lead for the integrated retail, convenient care clinic and PBM enterprise at both the state and federal levels. Prior to that, Christine was a policy, strategy and communications consultant to the health care industry, specializing in pharmaceutical matters. Previously, Christine was a Senior Policy Analyst at BlueCross BlueShield Association, where she helped position the insurer as a leading voice on pharmaceutical cost and safety issues.
Christine received her J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center and her B.A. in American Studies from Georgetown University.
SUSAN TURNEY
CEO, Marshfield Clinic Health System
In September 2014, Dr. Susan Turney became the first CEO of Marshfield Clinic Health System.
Dr. Turney completed her internal medicine residency at Marshfield Clinic/St. Joseph’s Hospital and subsequently joined the staff at the Marshfield Clinic, where she practiced for 22 years and served as chair of the Department of Internal Medicine and Medical Director of Patient Financial Services.
In 2004, Dr. Turney became the CEO and executive vice president of the Wisconsin Medical Society. Among the Society’s accomplishments under her leadership was the founding of the Wisconsin Statewide Health Information Network, created to improve individual and community health, promote patient-centered healthcare, and advance the use of information technology to improve healthcare quality and efficiency.
In October 2011, Dr. Turney became the President and CEO of MGMA-ACMPE, a national membership association for professional administrators and leaders of medical group practices whose members work in organizations that deliver 40 percent of healthcare services in the United States.
Dr. Turney has served on committees for the National Quality Forum and the American Medical Association and fulfilled appointments by the Wisconsin governor and the the U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary. She served as the 2005-2006 MGMA Board chair and has been an ACMPE Fellow since 2005.