NCHC Team Members

John C. (Jack) Lewin, Chairman of the Board

Dr. Jack Lewin is President and Chief Executive Officer of the Cardiovascular Research Foundation. Dr. Lewin previously served as 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. Read more about the Board.

John Rother, President and CEO

Mr. John Rother is President and CEO 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.

Mr. Rother serves on several boards, including the American Board of Internal Medicine Foundation, the National Quality Forum, the Alliance for Health Reform, the Pension Rights Center and Generations United. He also serves on the MacArthur Foundation’s Aging Society Network and the Institute of Medicine’s National Roundtable on Value and Science-Driven Health Care. He has consistently been named as one of the Most Powerful People in Healthcare.

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.”

Mark A. Goldberg, Executive Vice President

Mark A. Goldberg is the Executive Vice President of the National Coalition on Health Care, the largest and most broadly representative alliance of organizations working together to improve the American health care system.

He was previously the Lester Crown Visiting Professor of Management and a Distinguished Faculty Fellow at the Yale School of Management; Senior Vice President for Policy and Strategy at the Coalition; Director of Public Affairs at McKinsey & Company and Publisher of the McKinsey Quarterly; Editor and Publisher of the Brookings Review and Development Officer at the Brookings Institution; co-founder and Chairman of the Climate Institute; Senior Fellow at the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching; and Counselor to the Special Assistant to the President for Consumer Affairs at the White House.

He has published numerous articles about health care policy, regulation, and other topics in academic journals and major newspapers, including the New England Journal of Medicine; Health Affairs; the Yale Journal on Regulation; the Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law; the Washington Post; the Los Angeles Times; and the Wall Street Journal.

Larry McNeely, Policy Director

Larry McNeely coordinates NCHC’s policy development and advocacy, working with President and CEO John Rother.  In that capacity, Mr. McNeely has served as a principal author for the NCHC Plan for Health and Fiscal Policy and Achieving Real Savings Through Better Care:  Policy Options for Improving Care and Slowing Cost Growth through Bipartisan Delivery System and Payment Reform. In 2013, with fellow authors NCHC Board Chair Jack Lewin, MD and G. Lawrence Atkins, President of the National Academy of Social Insurance, Mr. McNeely published “The Elusive Path to Sustainability” in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Prior to joining NCHC in May 2011, Mr. McNeely served as Health Care Advocate with U.S. Public Interest Research Group (U.S. PIRG), where he led that organization’s federal health care reform program.  From 2001 to 2008, he was an Organizer for Service Employees International Union and its affiliated locals, working with hospital, nursing home and public sector workers grappling with the high cost of health care.

McNeely holds a Masters of Public Administration from West Virginia University and a Bachelors of Arts from St. John’s College, Annapolis, MD.

Therese Gratia, Communications Director

Therese Gratia joined NCHC in January 2017 as the director of communications. Prior to joining NCHC, Therese received her Master’s degree from the Institute of World Politics in Statecraft and International Affairs with a specialization in Peacebuilding, Stabilization, and Humanitarian Affairs. She also served as the Alumni and Communications Coordinator for the Institute. Additionally, Therese holds a Bachelor’s degree in International Studies from the University of Southern Mississippi.

Bill Poydence, Finance & Operations Manager