Senior Manager, Medicaid & Behavioral Health Policy

• Jan 2021 - Present

Manager, Public Policy

• Sep 2018 - Jan 2021

Rate Review Stakeholder Relations Specialist

• Dec 2015 - Sep 2018

-Coordinate and manage a statutorily-required process to review Colorado Medicaid provider payments. Duties include:o Oversee organization-wide collaboration on multi-year rate comparison and access to care analyses, as well as stakeholder engagement processes, for different categories of service examined over a five-year cycle.o Advise management on overall analysis techniques, stakeholder engagement strategy, and policy recommendations for client access concerns and provider payments for specific services.o Coordinate and co-author five reports, which provide analyses and recommendations to the Colorado General Assembly’s Joint Budget Committee, which have been used in formulating the state budget.o Provide all technical assistance and support for a 24-person advisory committee, appointed by Colorado General Assembly leadership, in quarterly meetings, including anticipating areas that need clarification and developing memos to deepen committee member understanding and engagement.- Identify and lead an organization-wide effort to more transparently and consistently develop, track, and communicate provider rate setting processes and obtain leadership support for implementation of new processes.

Rate Review Stakeholder Relations Specialist

• Dec 2015 - Aug 2018

Hospital Policy Analyst

• Sep 2014 - Dec 2015

-Conduct research and draft policy recommendations regarding Medicaid clients and hospital payments. Research includes pulling and analyzing internal claims data, researching practices in other state Medicaid programs, and synthesizing best practice literature.-Develop and implement a stakeholder engagement and communication plan to assist in the design of the Accountable Care Collaborative (ACC). The ACC is the largest delivery program in Colorado Medicaid, with over 900,000 members.-Coordinate across multiple offices within Colorado Medicaid to identify, research and develop frameworks for the Request for Proposals for the future ACC. -Investigate and develop internal reports regarding inpatient and outpatient utilization and payment.

Research Assistant - Health Policy & Management Dept.

• Jan 2014 - Aug 2014

-Ensure compliance with PCORI-funded grant guidelines and deliverables for a project examining type 2 diabetes and stated-preference methods. Tasks include scheduling meetings with the principal investigator, co-investigators, university staff and stakeholders, communication with the funder, and recording and archiving meeting minutes.-Served as the project manager for the first meeting of a national board of 20+ stakeholders, responsible for the preparation of all meeting materials, coordination of travel and accommodations, meeting evaluation and meeting note dissemination.-Research, draft and edit project-related documents for public dissemination. Documents include the project white paper, methods explanation, introductory project material and quarterly status reports for both lay and scientific audiences.-Draft Institutional Review Board protocols for six-stages of the three-year grant and draft survey instrument protocols for qualitative interviews and focus group meetings.

Legal Assistant

• Aug 2011 - Aug 2013

-Coordinated with partners, associate attorneys, paralegals and clients to ensure successful handling of over 100 civil rights litigation and employment discrimination cases taken on a contingency basis. Drafted disclosures, scheduling orders, written discovery, and economic damages analyses. -Organized, tracked and managed over 1,500 calls annually from potential clients and reported frequency and subject matter trends to partners on a quarterly basis, which led to streamlined initial consultation and referral procedures. Gathered pertinent caller details from complex legal situations and concisely conveyed information to partners and associates, with turn-around time from initial call to appointment scheduling or referral averaging under two business days.-Independently interviewed over 80 friendly and unfriendly witnesses and composed detailed affidavits.-Trained and supervised three legal assistants.

Program Manager

• Aug 2010 - Jul 2011

-Implemented the youth council component in the first year of a three year $1,000,000 federal grant from the Corporation for National and Community Service to create a Youth Engagement Zone. -Utilized service-learning and youth empowerment best practices to develop and guide youth councils in low income neighborhoods.-Co-designed and carried out a two year $120,000 federal grant from Learn & Serve America to investigate service learning as a dropout prevention strategy. Coordinated with university partners, community based organizations, government agencies, district level school administrators, principals, educators & guidance counselors at four public schools. Results of the project were incorporated into national guidelines for service-learning best practices.-Collaboratively designed an inclusivity blueprint for a national non-profit model. Developed guidelines for communication methods, curriculum, development, hiring practices and office culture.

Volunteer In Service To America (VISTA) at Front Range EarthForce

• Jul 2009 - Jul 2010

-Recruited and trained six educators in the Earth Force Service-Learning Process and worked collaboratively with educators to mentor over 125 students as they researched, designed and implemented sustainable projects to address self-identified community issues.-Primary author of three federally funded grants, providing ten percent ($60,000) of Front Range Earth Force’s total operating expenses.-Assisted with the streamlining and stabilizing of SPREE Force, a non-profit collaborative initiative that encompassed a year-long, at-home, environmental program for 1000 elementary school students.