Experience

HUMAN SERVICES, VERMONT AGENCY OF

• United States
• Government Administration
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Secretary

  • Jan 2022 - Present

• Deputy Secretary

  • Jun 2020 - Oct 2022



Department of Vermont Health Access

• Deputy Commissioner/Special Assistant to the Commissioner

  • Mar 2018 - Jun 2020

  Senior leader for the Department of Vermont Health Access, Vermont’s public health plan, which insures nearly 200,000 Vermonters. Leads Medicaid’s payment and delivery system reform efforts, as Vermont transitions from fee-for-service to value-based payments. Directs the work of the Director of Payment Reform, Rate Setting and Reimbursement, Director of Health Information Exchange and Technology, Co-directors of the Vermont Chronic Care Initiative and the Executive Director of Vermont’s Blueprint for Health. Works with the legislature and other regulatory boards to form policies that align with the goals of Health Care Reform. Assists the DVHA Commissioner in ensuring alignment of DVHA programs with the Commissioner’s priorities, Agency priorities, state government as a whole, and with external partners and stakeholders. Works with the senior management team on health care reform integration and organizational efficiency. Engages Departmental leadership, other departments, DVHA’s payment reform team, and other DVHA units to design, test and implement modifications to current payment and delivery system approaches. Modifications have included evolution of the Vermont Chronic Care Initiative, geographic attribution methodologies for the Vermont Medicaid Next Generation Accountable Care Organization program and the waiver of prior authorization. Drives progress in ad hoc projects, particularly those that involve complex management or complex cross organization collaboration.



Vermont Blueprint for Heath, Department of Vermont Heath Access

• Waterbury, VT

• Associate Director, Assistant Director, Community and Self-management Director

  • Jul 2008 - May 2018

  Operational leader for the Blueprint for Health team. Recognized as a thought leader within the Blueprint on program design and strategy. Manage the Blueprint budget of over $5 million Represent the Blueprint at key state, regional, and national health reform meetings. Collaborate with Vermont’s Accountable Care Organization’s quality improvement staff to enhance performance statewide and at the primary care practice level on key population outcomes measures. Develop curriculum and tools for an integrated communities and care coordination learning collaborative, foster a joint leadership approach over field team operations, and support the evolution of Community Collaboratives for an integrated health system. Established and continue to manage a nationally-recognized system of quality improvement facilitators working in primary care and specialty addictions medicine practices or agencies. Simultaneously negotiate, write, and monitor progress on at least 10 grants and contracts. Matured, and continue to administer a statewide network of self-management programs including Stanford University’s chronic disease, chronic pain and diabetes program, in-person tobacco cessation, Copeland Center’s Wellness Recovery Action Planning and Diabetes Prevention Program. Initiated Vermont’s first statewide primary care patient experience survey. Co-led development of 3 learning collaboratives: asthma, cancer screening, and medication assisted therapy for opiate addiction. Acted as the liaison between Department of Health prevention programs and the Blueprint for Health. Developed and supported the concept of prevention teams within the Department of Health Office of Local Health and facilitated the Department of Health integrated community prevention training and professional development team.



State of Vermont, Department of Health

• Burlington, Vermont Area

• Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program Coordinator

  • Jul 2005 - Jul 2008

  Directed the statewide Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program (CLPPP) including primary prevention, surveillance and case management. Administered the State of Vermont’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention CLPPP grant. Provided direction, vision, support, and supervision for a staff of five employees and twelve regional designees. Partnered with the Office of the Vermont Attorney General to facilitate policy reform. Identified and sought relevant grant funding to support lead poisoning prevention activities. Developed, implemented and evaluated statewide educational campaigns to prevent lead poisoning. Coordinated activities among other state agencies and not-for-profits to ensure that services are available to provide monitoring and inspection when lead exposure is suspected. Developed guidelines, recommendations, and training methodologies to reach diverse target audiences including the general public, health care providers, parents and rental property owners. Enforced rental property owner compliance with the Vermont Lead Law 18 VSA § 1759. Prepared the CLPPP annual report to the Vermont Legislature required by 18 VSA § 1756 and §1760.



Champlain Valley Area Health Education Center

• United States
• Higher Education
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Program Coordinator

  • Aug 2001 - Jul 2005

  Represented Champlain Valley Area Health Education Center at regional, state, and national meetings. Facilitated and convened regional partnerships for large-scale health workforce development and tobacco initiatives. Engaged diverse groups of health care providers in health workforce development and tobacco education initiatives. Managed and coordinated tobacco grant and educational needs assessment for health care providers. Coordinated and organized delivery of tobacco education to health care providers in a four-county region. Implemented health care provider tobacco education protocol. Coordinated and developed all aspects of a comprehensive health careers workforce development program reaching over 8000 students each year spanning kindergarten to adult learners. Developed curricula for diverse programs in health and health-related careers. Directed and developed MedQuest, a residential summer health careers program for 45 high school students. Created publicity materials for health careers and workforce development programs using a variety of software. Developed, administered, analyzed and coordinated evaluation of health careers workforce development initiatives. Sought grant funding to expand health careers workforce development activities.



Northwestern Medical Center

• United States
• Hospitals and Health Care
• 200 - 300 Employee

• Community Health Educator

  • 2003 - 2005



Loretto

• United States
• Hospitals and Health Care
• 400 - 500 Employee

• Lifestyles Director

  • Aug 1999 - Aug 2001

  Served as an active member of the site executive team. Assisted in creating and administering a leadership vision for a continuum of care retirement community of 270 residents. Collaborated with local organizations including Syracuse University and the American Heart Association. Directed all activities of the lifestyles department including: wellness, recreation, aquatics, transportation, resident services, and resident committees. Provided direction, vision, support, and supervision for a diverse staff of eight to ten employees. Administered an annual budget in excess of $150,000. Facilitated development, creation, and implementation of over 500 wellness, fitness, and recreation programs a month. Developed and implemented diverse programs and curricula for retirement community residents. Created department communications and publicity for all programmed activities using a variety of software programs. Acted as a liaison between residents and administrative departments. Implemented community standards theory in dealing with resident safety issues and concerns. Coordinated site volunteer program.



Southern Illinois Regional Effort for AIDS

• Carbondale, IL

• HIV/AIDS Outreach Worker

  • Mar 1998 - May 1999



2014 - 2018

• National

• Accepted Presentations for National and Regional Organizations

  • 1999 - 1999

  Republican Governors Association: Policy Session Growing Rural America: Increasing Access to Care, San Diego CA July 2018 Ministry of Health Alberta, Canada: Transforming to an Integrated Health System, Edmonton, Canad, October 2017 National Academy for State Health Policy: Where the Trails Meet: Blending and Braiding Funds for Improved Population Health, Portland OR, October 2017 Association of State and Territorial Health Officers: Patient-Centered Medical Homes in Rural Underserved Areas, National Webinar, August 2016 Patient-Centered Primary Care Collaborative, Medical Home Summit: Transforming to an Integrated Health System: Vermont Blueprint for Health, Washington, DC, June 2016 Maine Quality Counts: Aligning State and ACO Health Improvement Efforts: Vermont’s Unified Community Collaborative, Webinar, March 2016 Milbank Memorial Fund: Interfacing Primary Care Transformation with Accountable Care Organizations, Community Care Organizations, Others Health Care Reform Initiatives, Detroit MI, November 2015 National Association of Health Data Organizations: Effective use of All-Payer Claims Database Data, Washington DC, October 2015 Universal Health Care Foundation: Vermont Blueprint for Health: Community System of Health, Hamden, CT, April 2015 Maine Quality Counts: Primary Care Transformation: Lessons Learned from Across the Nation, Bangor, ME, April 2015 National Academy for State Health Policy: Accountable Care Organizations Integration with the Vermont Blueprint for Health, Atlanta, GA, October 2014 Maine Quality Counts: Adopt, Modify and Scale Community Health Teams Into the Future, Bangor, ME, October 2014 Academy Health: Public Health’s Role in a Post – ACA World, San Diego CA, June 2014 National Academy for State Health Policy: Quality Measurement to Support Value-Based Purchasing: Aligning Federal and State Efforts, National Webinar , March 2014



2012-2013

• National

• Accepted Invitations to Speak for National and Regional Organizations

  • 1999 - 1999

  National Academy for State and Health Policy: Federal State Discourse on Aligning Federal and State Efforts on Quality Measurement to Support Value Based Purchasing Washington, DC, November 2013 Association of State and Territorial Health Officers: Technical Assistance Washington, DC – Brief on Vermont's Payment and Care Model, Webinar, November 2013 Association of State and Territorial Health Officers: Technical Assistance State of New York - Brief on Vermont's Payment and Care Model, Webinar, October 2013 National Academy for State Health Policy: Care Coordination for Individuals with Complex Conditions, Seattle, WA , October 2013 National Academy for State Health Policy: Integrating Public Health into State Health Reform Implementation, National Webinar, August 2013 Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality: Change Agents in Action: Lessons Learned from Leading Primary Care Practice Facilitation Programs, National Webinar, June 2013 PA IMPaCT: Primary Care Extension Service Multi-State Meeting, New York, NY, May 2013 NC IMPaCT: Data Infrastructure for Multi-payer Care Coordination, National Webinar, May 2013 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: Scaling and Sustaining Self-Management Programs: Sustainable Financing for the Future, Washington, DC , July 2012 Administration on Aging: Expert Panel: Healthcare and Community-based Organizations - Building an Infrastructure to Scale Self-Management, Washington, DC , May 2012 Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration: Policy Academy: Bringing Recovery Supports to Scale, Reston, VA Samuelson, April 2012 National Council on Aging: Vermont's Success in Developing a Sustainable Infrastructure for Chronic Disease Self-management, National Webinar, April 2012 Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality: Hiring and Training Practice Facilitators, National Webinar, April 2012