Connecting and Preparing Leaders for Health Care's Transformation

Alex M. Azar II was sworn in as the Secretary of Health and Human Services on Jan. 29, 2018. Azar has spent his career working in both the public and private sectors, as an attorney and in senior leadership roles focused on advancing healthcare reform, research and innovation.

From 2001 to 2007, Azar served at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services – first as its General Counsel (2001–2005) and then as Deputy Secretary. During his time as Deputy Secretary, Azar was involved in improving the department’s operations; advancing its emergency preparedness and response capabilities as well as its global health affairs activities; and helping oversee the rollout of the Medicare Part D prescription drug program.

In 2007, Azar rejoined the private sector as senior vice president for corporate affairs and communications at Eli Lilly and Co. From 2012 to 2017, he served as president of Lilly USA LLC, the company’s largest affiliate. Azar clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia prior to practicing law for several years.

Azar graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in economics and government from Dartmouth College and earned his law degree from Yale University.

For the past 10 years, Azar has lived in Indiana with his wife and their two children.

Seema Verma currently serves as Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), and she is only the 15th person ever confirmed to the post. She was nominated by President Trump on November 29, 2016 – the seventh nomination by the President-elect – and confirmed by the U.S. Senate on March 13, 2017. As Administrator, Ms. Verma oversees a $1 trillion budget, 26% of the total federal budget, that administers healthcare programs for more than 130 million Americans every day.

A nationally recognized leader in health policy and operational design, she has guided healthcare policy in the public and private sector, working with states to build flexibility into their Medicaid programs to help them meet the diverse needs of their unique populations. As the architect of the historic Healthy Indiana Plan, she helped create and implement the Nation’s first consumer-directed Medicaid program.

Administrator Verma is a graduate of the University of Maryland, and holds a Master’s degree in Public Health with a concentration in health policy and management from Johns Hopkins University.

Her editorial commentaries have appeared in the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post and Health Affairs, and she also previously served as Vice President of Planning for the Health & Hospital Corporation of Marion County, Indiana and most recently before heading CMS was President and CEO of Seema Verma Consulting.

Chet Burrell, joined CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield in December 2007. He is a seasoned professional with more than 40 years in the health care industry. His experience includes serving as President and Chief Executive Officer of RealMed Corporation, a provider of online claims processing services and founder; and Chairman and CEO for Novalis Corporation, a managed care technology and consulting company. He has also served in senior-level positions for Anthem and Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield plans and Blue Cross of Northeastern New York. In addition to his private sector health care experience, Burrell has also served in the New York State government in a variety of capacities, including the Offices of Mental Health and Health Systems Management and as a member of the New York Governor’s Staff.

Burrell earned his Bachelor’s degree in Sociology and Political Science from Allegheny College and a Master’s degree in Public Administration from the University of Albany. Burrell serves on the Boards of the DC Chamber of Commerce, the Greater Baltimore Committee’s Executive and Health Care Committees, the Greater Washington Board of Trade and the Council for Affordable Quality Healthcare (CAQH).

Karen Springer was named Ascension President, Healthcare Operations in 2017. In this role, Karen is accountable for the management oversight of Enterprise Excellence, which includes Performance Excellence and the Project Management Office (ePMO) as well as Ascension Healthcare’s small and medium Ministry Markets, delivering solutions to improve operating performance and achieve operating excellence for all ministries within those markets, and the successful execution of strategic operating priorities. Karen provides leadership and guidance across Ministry Markets’ ongoing efforts to explore new models of healthcare delivery to achieve operational excellence. Driven by the operating model, Karen plays a key role in evaluating and aligning each Ministry Market’s services and structure to help leverage Ascension’s collective resources in order to create maximum value for the communities served while ensuring financial stability and optimal operating performance.

Prior to her current position, Karen Springer served as Senior Vice President, Ascension Health/Tennessee Market Executive and President and CEO of Saint Thomas Health. In this role, Karen oversaw nine acute care hospitals, 97 primary care and specialty clinics, 17 ambulatory surgery centers, 14 outpatient imaging centers, 13 outpatient rehab clinics, five sleep centers and one post-acute partnership. While President and CEO, Springer implemented the clinical dyad leadership model to Saint Thomas Health and Saint Thomas Medical Partners, including both the chief clinical officer role partnered with the chief operating officer, and the chief medical officer role partnered with the chief executive officer. She also established a chief nursing officer role for Saint Thomas Health in 2017. Springer focused heavily on new systems for population health management by assisting in the launch of an accountable care organization, MissionPoint Health Partners to launch the journey for clinical integration system of care.

Springer also served as Saint Thomas Health President and Chief Operating Officer with responsibility for operational success and effectiveness of Saint Thomas Health hospital facilities, physician practices and numerous joint ventures. Saint Thomas Health inpatient facilities include four acute care facilities ranging from 30 to 500 beds, a critical access hospital, long-term care facility and a joint venture specialty hospital complemented by joint-venture acute care hospitals and a robust network of community health clinics, medical practices, imaging centers and outpatient rehabilitation services.

Springer joined Saint Thomas Health in 2011 after serving as Executive Vice President/Chief Operating Officer at Lutheran Hospital of Indiana for four years. While there, she was administratively responsible for the operations of a 400-bed acute care hospital, providing key leadership of 16 division directors and more than 2,000 associates. Springer began her healthcare leadership career in the Lutheran Hospital System in Fort Wayne, Indiana, serving first as Director for cardiovascular and medical/surgical ICUs. From 1997 to 2000, she was Chief Nursing Officer for the Rehabilitation Hospital in Fort Wayne with direct responsibility for hospital operations and for multiple patient care departments in a setting focused on restoration of abilities. For Dupont Hospital, she held increasingly responsible positions and was responsible for construction of a new $52 million facility, serving as both Chief Operating Officer and Chief Nursing Officer.

Springer received her Associate of Science degree in Nursing from Germanna College in Virginia and her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Indiana Wesleyan University. She completed her Master of Science degree in Administration at Ball State University.

Springer is active in the Middle Tennessee community, serving as the Board Chair for Habitat for Humanity of Greater Nashville, Board Member of the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce, Nashville Healthcare Council, Nashville Health, Tennessee Hospital Association, Center for Medical Interoperability and the Tennessee Business Roundtable. She also serves on the Boards of Saint Thomas Health, Saint Thomas Rutherford, River Park Hospital, DeKalb Community Hospital and Stones River Community Hospital. She serves on the board of advisors for the University of Kentucky MHA. And she is a member of Sigma Theta Tau, the International Honor Society of Nursing.

Springer resides in Nashville with her husband of 38 years, Brad. They have one amazing son who practices law in New Mexico and is married to a beautiful woman with whom he has two very busy boys.

Enrique Conterno is a senior vice president of Eli Lilly and Company. He also is president of Lilly Diabetes and president of Lilly USA.

Enrique joined Lilly in 1992 and has held a range of roles in sales, finance, marketing, business development, and general management. He served as marketing and sales director for Lilly’s Peru and Brazil affiliates, as executive marketing director for the intercontinental region and Japan, and as general manager for Lilly Mexico. He also was vice president of the company’s U.S. neuroscience business unit and vice president for health care professional markets.

In addition to his role as president of Lilly Diabetes, Enrique was named president of Lilly USA in January of 2017. He also was president of Lilly USA in 2009.

Enrique earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Case Western Reserve University and a master’s degree in business administration from Duke University.

Enrique is on the Board of Governors at the American Red Cross and on the Board of Visitors at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business.

Dr. Rhonda Robinson Beale is a seasoned healthcare executive with over 30 years of experience in health care systems, managed care and quality improvement in behavioral health and medical care. She is the Chief Medical Affairs Officer for the Blue Cross of Idaho Foundation for Health, Inc. Dr. Robinson Beale has served in the past as SVP/Chief Medical Officer for Blue Cross of Idaho and for several other large, national and local health care organizations, such as Optum, a subsidiary within United Health Group; PacifiCare; Cigna; Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and Health Alliance Plan in Michigan. She has been involved with many national organizations as a subject matter expert, including National Institute of Mental Health, Institute of Medicine, National Quality Forum, American Psychiatric Association, American Psychological Association, American Society of Addiction Medicine, NCQA and others.

Dr Robinson Beale has served on many national boards, engaged with key committees and workgroups and has been significantly involved in influencing changes in the system. She was on the IOM committee that created “Crossing the Quality Chasm and “To Err is Human.” Dr. Robinson Beale has been involved in influencing local and national legislation particularly around Parity and ACA issues. Her involvements led to her having the opportunity to testify before the Senate’s Health, Education, Labor and Pension Committee (HELP) on the state of behavioral health care.

As the Managing Director for Healthcare at Google, Ryan Olohan leads the teams responsible for developing and managing Google's relationships with pharmaceutical and consumer health companies. Ryan and his teams partner with the largest companies in the world to leverage Google's consumer platforms while connecting the vast health resources and innovation at Google in an effort to push the industry forward. His relentless push is why he was selected by MM&M as a “Top 40 Healthcare Transformer of 2016” and PRWeek’s 2017 Top 50 Healthcare Influencer.

Before Healthcare, Ryan spent the first half of his 11 years at Google overseeing the CPG industry as the Head of Consumer Packaged Goods. Prior to Google, Ryan was a consultant for Hewitt Associates and a Vice President at Bank of NY Mellon before getting the itch to lead Business Development at two prominent startups. Outside of his day job, he is a frequent speaker at industry events and is a Board member for the Chopra Foundation, the Consumer Healthcare Products Association Foundation, and the Digital Health Coalition. He is also the founder of the Google Healthcare Advisory Board and the co-author of the widely acclaimed "Pharma 3D" (www.Pharma3D.com) in partnership with Google, McKinsey, and Wharton. When not at Google, Ryan "relaxes" at home in New Jersey with his wife and seven children.

Amy Compton-Phillips, MD, is Executive Vice President and Chief Clinical Officer for Providence St. Joseph Health. She is responsible for enhancing health care and health outcomes across the seven-state system. Leading the division of Clinical Care and Personalized Health, she is responsible for ensuring Providence St. Joseph Health’s 111,000 caregivers and 20,000+ employed and/or affiliated physicians deliver care that is safe, effective, compassionate, seamless, personalized, and high value for all. Working with physicians, nurses, and pharmacists, she helps foster clinical research, innovation and entrepreneurship to create ever better health outcomes. She is a frequent keynote speaker, author, board member, and serves as the Care Redesign Theme Leader for New England Journal of Medicine Catalyst.

Dr. Compton-Phillips has an extensive background in directing patient care programs and leading development of high-performing health care organizations. Prior to joining Providence in 2015, Dr. Compton-Phillips served as the Chief Quality Officer at Kaiser Permanente, where she focused on improving the value of care delivery. Among many other initiatives, she helped create infrastructure to implement health care improvements at scale across the Kaiser Permanente system. During her tenure, Dr. Compton-Phillips was a key organizational leader in developing capacity in patient-driven design, enhancing clinical outcomes and the care experience, and addressing the affordability of care.

Dr. Compton-Phillips has served as a front line physician in an array of administrative and leadership roles. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree from Johns Hopkins University and earned her medical degree from the University of Maryland School of Medicine. She is a board certified internist, with strong clinical interest in wellness and women’s health.

Michael Jackson (“MJ”) is the Business Leader for Public Health and US Elections at Amazon Web Services (AWS), where he leads an agile team that commercializes industry-specific cloud offerings for highly regulated environments, and addresses the unique needs of mission-driven stakeholders.

MJ previously served as General Manager of Consumer Health at Intel Corporation; and Director of Public Sector & Health Strategy at Adobe Systems, where he established new lines of business and led the commercialization of digital solutions currently trusted to help power federal, state, and commercial Health Benefits Exchanges in over 30 US states.

MJ earned an MBA and a Bachelor’s degree in Management Information Systems, from the University of Baltimore. He is also a proud veteran of the US Coast Guard and serves on the Board of Directors at Health Care for the Homeless in Baltimore, MD.

As a heart disease survivor, Julie believes she was given a second chance at life for a reason. She finds that that when she is sharing the inspiration behind her second chance with others, she is living into her life purpose.

Julie is the North American Wellness Lead for Accenture, a Global Fortune 500 Company, CEO and Owner of Seven Studios (a yoga and fitness studio), published author of The 7 Life Miracles, a Life Coach, a motivational speaker and an entrepreneur, owning several companies, including: aromatherapy product lines, an online life coaching series and a public speaking academy.

Julie has appeared on The Carol Alt Show with Fox News, interviewed on The Marilu Henner Show and has been featured on many television shows and new stations either as a fitness/wellness expert, author of motivational content or entrepreneur. Julie has spoken and presented across the globe, including at the White House, The Tower of London, the US Chamber of Commerce, TED Talk, Solutions at Work Live, various national health conferences, the National Business Group on Health, International Women’s Day, and the US Department of Defense. In 2016, she was selected a one of “25 Remarkable Women” from Role Model Magazine and one of 12 ‘Women You Should Know’ in Central Ohio by the Women for Economic and Leadership Development (WELD) organization. Julie has been featured in numerous magazines including: FITNESS Magazine, Columbus CEO, Weight Watchers Magazine, Fit Columbus Magazine and others. Julie has shot over 80 fitness and motivational videos, has several health and wellness mobile phone apps and is an author and often serves as a subject matter expert for local and national news stories. Julie won the Employee Benefits Newsmagazine Leadership In Health Care Award, was selected as one of FITNESS MAGAZINE’S Top 10 Champions of Health and Wellness, was named a 40 Under 40 award winner, TechColumbus Innovation Award Finalist, one of 100 Buckeyes You Should Know, and a lululemon athletica ambassador. Julie is also an animal lover and volunteers with several pet organizations. She is also passionate about the Make a Wish organization and serves as a wish granter for children with life-threatening illness.

Julie has a Master’s Degree in Education-Exercise Physiology from The Ohio State University, and a Bachelor’ s Degree in International Business from Marietta College. She has her Registered Yoga Teacher Training 200 hour certification with Yoga Alliance and fitness and pilates certifications from ACE, AFAA, ACSM, and Fitour. She also has a life coach certification from Well Coaches.

Matt Wallaert is a behavioral scientist working at the intersection of technology and human behavior, designing products and programs that help people live happier, healthier lives and teaching others to do the same. An advocate for behavior change as the outcome of everything, he has a checkered past: academia, building and selling two successful startups, Microsoft's first behavioral scientist, director at Microsoft Ventures. He is currently the industry's first Chief Behavioral Officer at Clover Health, an insurance company focused on health outcomes. Wallaert sits on the board of a variety of startups and non-profits, prioritizes underrepresented founders and audiences, and continues to build side products like GetRaised.com, which has helped underpaid women ask for and earn over $2.3B in salary increases. And more important than all of that, he's a proud dad to a son named Bear.

Karin VanZant is the Executive Director, Life Services at CareSource. She has been charged with building a new division of CareSource that will transition current Medicaid members off of government subsidies into a high quality life. Life Services will accomplish this goal through assisting members to build a solid structure of economic and social supports that when coupled with the health supports currently in place will give members a new path for their future.

Prior to joining CareSource, Karin VanZant was the co-founder and Executive Director of Think Tank, Inc. For ten years as this organization’s leader, Karin assisted the team to live out the mission of equipping and facilitating collaboration among people and organizations seeking ways to promote greater connectedness and a more thriving community. Prior to starting Think Tank, Karin VanZant has served in various leadership capacities in the nonprofit sector through the Community Action Network – at the local level and as a member of the Ohio Association of Community Action Agencies. This has included working with diverse teams to develop and implement strategies and approaches aimed at fostering economic opportunity and personal and community leadership potential present among under-resourced neighborhoods and groups.

Karin VanZant has a MPA in Public Administration (2008) and a BA in Social Work (1998) from Wright State University. Karin is certified in various curriculums including Bridges Out of Poverty, Family Development & WIA Case Management. She has helped author presentations and curriculum for use within nonprofit, business and faith based organizations seeking to become relevant and holistic in their approach to poverty alleviation. Karin also teaches at Antioch Midwest University and Wright State University on a variety of subjects including US Hunger and Poverty, Introduction to Human Services, Grant Writing, Leading Change, Coaching as Management, Holistic Case Management and Emotional Intelligence. She lives in Springfield, Ohio with her husband and her son.

John Doerr is an engineer, acclaimed venture capitalist, and the chairman of Kleiner Perkins. For more than 37 years, John has served entrepreneurs with ingenuity and optimism, bringing ideas worth spreading to disruptive leaders and teams.

In 2018, John authored Measure What Matters, a handbook for setting and achieving audacious goals. Through his book and platform, WhatMatters.com, he shares valuable stories and lessons from innovators.

John was an original investor and board member at Google and Amazon, helping to create over 500,000 jobs and the world’s second and third most valuable companies. He’s passionate about helping entrepreneurs reimagine the future, from health care transformation to machine learning. Outside of Kleiner Perkins, John works with social entrepreneurs for change in public education, the climate crisis, and global poverty. John serves on the board of the Obama Center and ONE.org.

Ceci Connolly, a nationally-recognized health care leader, took over as president and CEO of the Alliance of Community Health Plans in January 2016. In her role, she works with some of the most innovative executives in the health sector to provide high-quality, evidence-based, affordable care. She is passionate about transforming America’s system to deliver greater value to all.

Connolly has spent more than a decade in health care, first as a national correspondent for the Washington Post and then in thought leadership roles at two international consulting firms. She is a leading thinker in the disruptive forces shaping the health industry and has been a trusted adviser to c-suite executives who share her commitment to equitable, patient-centered care.

She is co-author of the book “LANDMARK: The Inside Story of America’s Health Law and What it Means for Us All,” has covered six presidential campaigns and numerous natural disasters including Hurricane Katrina. She is the first non-physician to receive the prestigious Mayo Clinic Plummer Society award for promoting deeper understanding of science and medicine and in 2001 was awarded a fellowship to Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government.

For four years, Connolly served on the board of Whitman-Walker Health, a $26 million non-profit, community health center, assisting 15,000 clients a year. She is a founding member of Women of Impact (WOI) for Healthcare and serves on the national advisory committee of the Altarum Institute Center for Sustainable Health Spending. She is a graduate of Boston College.

Ian is an internationally known author, consultant, and futurist specializing in long-term forecasting and planning with particular emphasis on health care and the changing business environment. He combines research and consulting skills with an incisive Scottish wit to help public and private organizations plan their longer-term future.

Ian has written, lectured, and consulted on a wide variety of forecast¬ing, strategy, and health care topics for government, industry, and a variety of nonprofit organizations in North America, Europe, the Middle-East and Asia. He has spoken to a range of audiences from the boards of Fortune 100 companies to the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing. Ian has worked with more than 100 Fortune 500 companies in health care, manufacturing, information technology, and financial services. Recent client sponsors include GE, Kaiser Permanente and the Mayo Clinic. He is a frequent commentator on the future for television, radio, and the print media.

Ian is the author of Leading Change in Healthcare: Building a Viable System for Today and Tomorrow (AHA Press, June 2011) and Healthcare in the New Millennium: Vision, Values and Leadership (Jossey-Bass, 2002). His previous book: The Second Curve - Managing The Velocity of Change (Ballantine, 1996) was a New York Times Business Bestseller and Businessweek Bestseller. Ian has co-authored several other books and chapters, including Future Tense: The Business Realities of the Next Ten Years (William Morrow, 1994) and Looking Ahead at American Health Care (McGraw-Hill, 1988). He also has co-authored numerous journal articles for publications such as Chief Executive, Encyclopaedia Britannica, Across the Board, The British Medical Journal, New England Journal of Medicine, and Health Affairs.

Ian is a past President of the Institute for the Future (IFTF). Ian is a founding partner in Strategic Health Perspectives a joint venture between Harris Interactive and the Harvard School of Public Health’s Department of Health Policy and Management. In 2017 the Strategic Health Perspectives team joined with Leavitt Partners (Health Intelligence Partners HIP program) a forecasting and intelligence service for clients in the healthcare industry. Ian serves as a Senior Advisor to Leavitt Partners and to HIP. From 1996-1999, Ian was retained by Accenture, (formerly Andersen Consulting), as Chairman of the Health Futures Forum. In that capacity, Ian chaired a number of international forums on the future of healthcare. Before coming to IFTF in 1985, Ian spent seven years in British Columbia, Canada, in a variety of research, teaching, and consulting positions.

Ian holds an interdisciplinary Ph.D. in urban stud¬ies from the University of British Columbia; an M.A. in geography from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, and a graduate degree in urban planning from the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England). He is a past director and chair of the California Health Care Foundation; a director of the new Martin Luther King Community Hospital in Los Angeles; a past director of the Health Research and Education Trust (HRET), the research and education arm of the American Hospital Association; and a past director of the Center for Healthcare Design. Ian currently serves on the Founder’s Council of United States of Care a new non-partisan non-profit movement to achieve long-lasting solutions that make health care better for everyone. He also serves on the Advisory Council of the Council of Accountable Physician Practices (an affiliate of the American Medical Group Association and served as a member of the Stakeholders Advisory Committee of the Program on Health System Improvement at Harvard University.

Harold L. Paz, M.D., M.S., is executive vice president and chief medical officer for Aetna. He leads clinical strategy and policy at the intersection of all of Aetna’s domestic and global businesses. He is responsible for driving clinical innovation to improve member experience, quality and cost in all areas of the health care delivery system. Reporting to Aetna’s Chairman and CEO, he is a member of the company’s executive committee.

Before joining Aetna in 2014, Dr. Paz served as chief executive officer of Penn State Hershey Medical Center and Health System, senior vice president for Health Affairs for Penn State University, dean of its College of Medicine and professor of medicine and public health sciences for eight years. His vision for health care transformation at Penn State led to the formation of an integrated healthcare system of four hospitals, 64 ambulatory care practices and 18 affiliated hospitals focused on population health across central Pennsylvania. Prior to his appointment to Penn State, he spent 11 years as dean of the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and chief executive officer of Robert Wood Johnson University Medical Group, the largest multispecialty group practice in New Jersey where he was professor of medicine.

Dr. Paz has focused his research and teaching on clinical outcomes, health care effectiveness and employee health benefit design. A pioneer in the field of quality management, Dr. Paz was among the first to study clinical outcomes in the intensive care unit. From this early work, he recognized the need to formally train physicians in quality, and in 1993 he started the first fellowship of its kind in quality management. Currently, he is professor adjunct of internal medicine at Yale University School of Medicine and remains clinically active in pulmonary medicine at the West Haven Veteran’s Administration Hospital. He serves on the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) Leadership Consortium and the NAM Roundtable on Quality Care for People with Advanced Illness.

A fellow of the American College of Physicians and the American College of Chest Physicians, Dr. Paz is currently on the boards of United Surgical Partners International, Research!America and the National Health Council. Dr. Paz is past chair of the Board of Directors of the Association of Academic Health Centers and a former member of the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) and the University Health System Consortium boards of directors. He previously was chair of the AAMC Council of Deans administrative board and has served on the AAMC executive council, in addition to corporate and scientific advisory boards in the biotechnology field. He has authored more than 85 publications, including peer-reviewed research and quality articles, chapters, commentaries and abstracts. He is the recipient of numerous awards and an honorary degree.

Dr. Paz received his bachelor's degree from the University of Rochester, a master of science in life science engineering from Tufts University, and his medical degree from the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry. He completed his residency at Northwestern University, where he served as chief medical resident and instructor in clinical medicine. He was a Eudowood Fellow in pulmonary and critical care medicine at Johns Hopkins Medical School. In addition, he was a post-doctoral fellow in environmental health science at Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health.