Health Chairs and Emerging Leaders Meetings
Winter 2005
THINGS THAT WORK
Opportunities to Improve Access and Quality of Care
and
CRITICAL HEALTH AREAS PROGRAM (CHAP)
December 6-7
Chicago, IL
Faculty Bios
Dr. Eric T. Baumgartner, MPH
Dr. Baumgartner is a career public health physician committed to the mission of creating population health and access to care. He currently serves as Director of Policy and Program Planning for the Louisiana Public Health Institute; a Technical Assistance Team Leader for the Georgia Health Policy Center’s Rural Health Network Technical Assistance Program; and a national coach for communities in action around health and health care. He works directly with both urban and rural community health collaboratives and serves on the Leadership Council of Communities Joined in Action (CJA), a member association for leaders in community health initiatives.
Dr. Baumgartner formerly served in a variety of public health posts at the local and state levels, including as local health director in rural Mississippi and State Health Officer of Louisiana. In addition, he served as the Chief of the Texas Department of Health’s Bureau of Managed Care, where he helped manage the conversion of the Texas TANF Medicaid program to managed care. More recently, he served as the Director of Community Access and State-based Programs for the federal Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) where he managed grant-making to communities (CAP Grant) and states (State Planning Grants) committed to expanding access to care.
Dr. Baumgartner received his medical degree at Louisiana State University Medical Center and his Masters of Public Health degree at Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. He completed a general pediatrics residency at the University of Arkansas and a general preventive medicine residency at Tulane. He is certified by the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American College of Preventive Medicine. 
Ms. Rachel Block
Rachel Block is the project director for the United Hospital Fund's Quality Strategies Initiative where she is developing and implementing coordinated efforts to measure, report on and improve health care delivery and outcomes across the health care system in New York.
Prior to joining the Fund, Rachel was vice president in the Health Services Group at MAXIMUS, where she directed strategic planning and development of products and services to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of state health programs. Rachel also worked for eight years at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (previously Health Care Financing Administration), where she held several senior management positions directing policy development and operations of Medicaid, State Children's Health Insurance, and Federal Survey and Certification Programs, with particular emphasis on quality improvement, data and systems issues. During this time, she worked closely with CDC and HRSA to improve coordination across Federal and state health programs. From 1992-94, Rachel worked for then-Governor Howard Dean in the development of a comprehensive health reform plan for the state of Vermont. She worked for the New York State Legislature from 1978-92 where she concentrated on Medicaid, coverage for the uninsured, public health and professional licensing issues. She is a member of the Academy for Health Services Research and Policy, and the national advisory committee for the Robert Wood John Foundation's Depression in Primary Care Initiative.
Ms. Alice Burton
Alice Burton is director of the State Health Policy Group at AcademyHealth, where she leads The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s State Coverage Initiatives (SCI) program, and advises on other special projects. Previously, Ms. Burton was the director of the planning administration at the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. In that role, she was responsible for policy analyses and advising the Department on health care financing legislative issues, including Medicaid, the Maryland State Children’s Health Insurance Program, and the uninsured. She also served as the project director for Maryland’s Health Resources and Services Administration Planning Grant on the uninsured. Ms. Burton is a graduate of the University of Maryland, College Park, and holds a master’s degree in health policy from the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Mr. Richard Cauchi
Richard Cauchi is a Health Program Director at the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) Denver office, where he directs projects on Pharmaceuticals, Health Finance and Managed Care. He has written issue reports on subjects including "State Pharmaceutical Assistance Programs", "What’s the Benefit? Medicare Rx and the States” and "Managed Care: Where Do We Go From Here?" In the past three years he provided special briefings on pharmaceutical policy at national meetings of state legislators in California, Colorado, New Orleans, Texas, Washington, D.C. and for 20 state sessions including Alaska, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Nevada, New York, Pennsylvania, Utah and Washington state. He has been the source for recent health stories in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the AMA's American Medical News, USA Today and London Financial Times.
Prior to joining NCSL in 1997, Richard spent 25 years working on public policy analysis and tracking bills in the Massachusetts State Legislature, including a 7-year stint working on Medicaid budgets. He majored in history and government at Tufts University in Massachusetts; and also completed graduate courses in Asian studies. He presently resides in Wheat Ridge, Colorado.
Dr. Mady Chalk
Mady Chalk, Ph.D. is the Director of the Center for Performance-based Policy at the Treatment Research Institute (TRI) directed by A. Thomas McLellan. She is leading TRI’s efforts to assist state and local governments in implementing evidence-based changes to their financing, organizational, regulatory, and information reporting polices and practices to improve the quality of clinical care and the delivery of addiction treatment.
Prior to joining TRI, Dr. Chalk was the Director of the Division of Services Improvement in the Federal Center for Substance Abuse Treatment in SAMHSA. During her time in the Federal government, Dr. Chalk provided the leadership for CSAT’s Target Cities program, the State-wide Screening, Brief Interventions and Referral to Treatment program, and (in collaboration with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation) the Network for Improvement of Addiction Treatment. Each of these programs focused on increasing access to treatment and creating broader service availability. Dr. Chalk also led efforts to create linkages between the Addiction Technology Transfer Centers and the NIH to foster dissemination and adoption of evidence-based clinical practices.
Prior to coming to the Federal government, Dr. Chalk was a faculty member in the Department of Psychiatry in the Yale School of Medicine where she led a Division of Yale Psychiatric Institute and taught Family Therapy.
Ms. Pamela S. Dickson
Pamela S. Dickson is the Deputy Director for the Health Care Group at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and interim team leader for the Coverage Team. She previously served as team leader for the Disparities Team. Her program activities since joining the Foundation in 1997 have focused on increasing access and quality of care for all Americans with a particular emphasis on reducing racial and ethnic disparities. Before joining the Foundation, Ms. Dickson held several senior positions at the New Jersey Department of Health. As Assistant Commissioner from 1988 through 1994, she supervised the all-payer hospital rate-setting system and the health planning program. As Director of Health Care Reform Initiatives, she coordinated efforts among the Governor’s Office, The Department of Health, The Department of Human Services and The Department of Insurance to implement New Jersey’s 1993 Health Care and Insurance Reform Legislation.
Ms. Dickson has held positions as a member of the Board of Directors of the National Association of Health Data Organizations and of the Access for the Uninsured Steering Committee of The National Academy for State Health Policy. She holds an M.B.A. in Health Care Administration from the Wharton School of Business.
Ms. Catherine Dower, JD
Associate Director - Health Law and Policy
Center for the Health Professions, University of California, San Francisco
At the UCSF Center for the Health Professions, Catherine Dower focuses her work on research and policy projects. She co-directs the Health Workforce Tracking Collaborative, which assesses efforts to meet health care workforce challenges such as maldistribution, shortages and language access. For five years, she directed the California Workforce Initiative, a comprehensive program to conduct research and develop policy regarding the education, regulation and management of California’s health care professionals. As staff to the Pew Health Professions Commission, she co-directed the Commission’s national Taskforce on Health Care Workforce Regulation and was a principal author of the Commission’s reports on health professions regulation. She has also directed Center studies on emerging professions in complementary and alternative health care, the taskforce on midwifery and a research project to review the impact of affirmative action efforts on health status. Catherine’s published work targets health professions regulation and women’s health, and as an active member of the Center’s speakers’ bureau, she addresses health care educators, professionals, regulators and legislators across the country.
Catherine received her undergraduate and law degrees from the University of California at Berkeley and is licensed to practice law in the State of California.
Dr. Burton L. Edelstein, MPH
Burton L. Edelstein DDS, MPH, a pediatric dentist, is Professor of Health Policy and Dentistry at Columbia University and is the Founding Director of the Children’s Dental Health Project, a DC-based non-profit policy advisory organization that works to improve the oral health of vulnerable children. Burt practiced in Connecticut and taught at Harvard for 21 years before committing to full time health policy practice and research. As a 1996-97 Robert Wood Johnson Health Policy Fellow, he was health aide to the US Senate Minority Leader during development of the State Child Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). Before joining Columbia, he was consultant to the US Department of Health and Human Services on its oral health initiatives, chair of the US Surgeon General’s Workshop on Children and Oral Health, and author of the child section of the US Surgeon General's Report "Oral Health in America." He is a graduate of the State University of New York system, the Harvard School of Public Health, and Boston Children’s Hospital. His work has been recognized with awards by national dental associations, educators, researchers, and the Association of State and Territorial Dental Directors.
Dr. Linda Elam, MPH
Linda Elam is a Senior Policy Associate with the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured. A major initiative of the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured serves as a policy institute and forum for analyzing health care coverage and access for the low-income population and assessing options for reform. Dr. Elam uses her health sciences, industry and health policy background in her work for the Commission, focusing on health care access with an emphasis on Medicaid prescription drug policy. She received her Bachelor of Science degree from Howard University, her Master’s of Public Health degree in health policy and management from the University of California at Berkeley and her Ph.D. in health policy and management from the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Kristine Goodwin is an independent consultant specializing in health care policy and research. She previously worked as a Senior Policy Specialist in NCSL’s Health Care Program where she focused on primary care, workforce and rural health issues. Prior to her work with NCSL, she worked as a consultant for BBC Research & Consulting in Denver, and Andersen Consulting’s government practice in Pennsylvania. She began her career in health policy more than 10 years ago as a Health Policy Supervisor for the Pennsylvania Insurance Department.
Kristine received her master’s degree in public and international affairs from the University of Pittsburgh.
Ms. Christi Granstaff, MSW
Christi Granstaff, MSW is the Health Policy Director at the Tennessee Primary Care Association. She directs the Association’s government relations, public relations, and health policy activities. She educates federal and state policy makers about primary health care in medically underserved communities, including health disparities and the integration of primary care and behavioral health. She keeps the membership informed and active on federal and state health care policy issues. She also works closely with community health centers and underserved communities to link them to funding resources thus promoting their development.
Ms. Granstaff advocates on behalf of Tennessee’s community health centers (CHCs) who serve patients regardless of ability to pay on a sliding fee scale. The CHCs provide comprehensive primary care services to uninsured, Medicaid, Medicare, and private pay patients. Their patients participate in disease management programs and have access to much needed preventive and screening services. Tennessee recently allocated $6 million to the CHCs in recognition of their important role as safety net providers for the growing number of uninsured in the state.
Ms. Granstaff is the Chair of the Political Action for Candidate Election Committees for both the National Association and the Tennessee Chapter of Social Workers, is a member of the Tennessee Women’s Political Caucus, and is active with the Tennessee Economic Council on Women. She worked on Congressman Jim Cooper’s successful campaign for Tennessee’s 5th Congressional Seat and worked on his legislative staff in Washington, D.C. during his first several months in office.
Ms. Nicolette Highsmith, MPA
Nikki Highsmith is senior vice president for program at the Center for Health Care Strategies (CHCS). Ms. Highsmith is responsible for the development and management of training, technical assistance, and grant programs for senior level Medicaid and SCHIP state executives, health plans and consumer organizations. She is also responsible for strategic planning and program development at CHCS and for overseeing two signature CHCS products, the CHCS Purchasing Institute and the Best Clinical and Administrative Practices Program. She is also director of the State Action for Oral Health Access, a multimillion dollar initiative of The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The Center for Health Care Strategies is a non-profit, policy resource center that promotes high quality care for low-income populations and people with chronic illnesses and disabilities. CHCS is funded by The Robert Wood Johnson, the Annie E. Casey, David and Lucile Packard, and California HealthCare Foundations, as well as The Commonwealth Fund and Kaiser Permanente.
Ms. Highsmith has significant experience in Medicaid managed care, both as a state purchaser and a federal budget official. Previously, Ms. Highsmith was the deputy director of the Medicaid Managed Care Program for the state of Massachusetts, where she purchased health care on behalf of the state Medicaid agency. Ms. Highsmith was also a senior Medicaid analyst at the Office of Management and Budget, Executive Office of the President, in Washington, D.C., where she was responsible for approving Medicaid managed care waivers and developing the federal Medicaid budget. Ms. Highsmith has a bachelor’s in history from the University of Texas and a master’s in public administration from American University.
Mr. Scott Leitz
Scott Leitz directs the Office of Health Policy and Research at the Minnesota Department of Health.
Mr. Leitz’s Office has broad responsibility for research and analysis on Minnesota’s health care market, including the monitoring of health insurance premiums, the status of health access for Minnesotans, research into health disparities, and reporting on issues of health quality. In addition, the Office is responsible for the implementation of Minnesota’s Health Information Technology efforts, Minnesota’s Adverse Health Event reporting system, and ongoing research and analysis of public health statistics. The Office serves as a non-partisan health policy analysis resource to Minnesota’s legislature, executive branch, and stakeholders.
Mr. Leitz has a master’s degree in public affairs from the University of Minnesota’s Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs and a B.S. in economics and mathematics from the University of Wisconsin—Eau Claire.
Dr. Marsha Lillie-Blanton
Marsha Lillie-Blanton is a vice-president of the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation where she directs the Foundation’s policy research on access to care for vulnerable populations. She also holds an adjunct faculty position in the Department of Health Policy and Management of the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health. Her research and policy interests are in the areas of substance abuse, racial/ethnic minority health, and HIV/AIDS.
Prior to joining the Foundation, Dr. Lillie-Blanton served as Associate Director of Health Services Quality and Public Health Issues of the U.S. General Accounting Office. Dr. Lillie-Blanton has over fifteen years of work experience in health policy research and management positions. She has authored and co-authored numerous articles, book chapters, and reports on health care access and financing issues for vulnerable populations.
Dr. Lillie-Blanton serves on the American Journal of Public Health editorial board, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Changes in Health Care Financing and Organization (HCFO) Initiative advisory committee, and the D.C. Department of Health Medicaid Medical Care Advisory Committee. She is an elected member of the National Academy of Social Insurance.
Dr. Lillie-Blanton received a bachelor's degree from Howard University and a master's and doctorate degree from the Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health.
Dr. Barbara Lyons
Barbara Lyons is a Vice President of the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation and Deputy Director of the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured. A major initiative of the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured serves as a policy institute and forum for analyzing health care coverage and access for the low-income population and assessing options for reform. The Commission strives to bring increased public awareness and expanded analytic effort to the policy debate on health coverage and access for low-income and vulnerable populations.
Dr. Lyons concentrates on issues related to health care coverage, access to care, managed care, and health care financing for Medicaid and low-income populations. She has published numerous articles on health and long-term care financing for the poor and elderly population. Prior to her position with the Kaiser Commission, Dr. Lyons served on the policy staff of the Commonwealth Fund Commission on Elderly People Living Alone where she specialized in economic, health coverage and financing issues facing elderly people. She also held a Research Associate faculty appointment at the Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health.
Dr. Lyons received her doctoral degree from the Johns Hopkins University, School of Public Health. She also holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Maryland and a Master’s degree in Health Finance and Management from the Johns Hopkins University.
Ms. Cindy Mann, JD
Cindy Mann, Executive Director of the Center for Children and Families (CCF), has extensive experience in the design, implementation and analysis of federal and state policies affecting children and families. At CCF, her specific areas of focus include the financing of Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), federal developments affecting health care coverage, and state waiver policy. In addition to her work with CCF, she is currently a Research Professor at the Georgetown University Health Policy Institute, and an Associate Commissioner with the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured.
Her experience directing programs and researching policies that impact children and families includes serving as Director of the Family and Children's Health Program Group at the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA, now the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services) where she was responsible for the children and families side of the Medicaid program and the State Children's Health Insurance Program; leading the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities' federal and state health policy work; and state-level work on health and welfare issues and public finance in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New York. Recent publications include: Medicaid Cost Pressures for States: Looking at the Facts, The President's Proposals for Medicaid and SCHIP: How Would They Affect Children's Health Care Coverage?, and The New TennCare Waiver Proposal: What is the Impact on Children? She holds a law degree from New York University School of Law and an undergraduate degree from Cornell University.
Mr. Charles Milligan, JD, MPH
Charles Milligan became executive director of the Center for Health Program Development and Management (Center) at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) in March 2004. Mr. Milligan oversees the delivery of the Center’s services to its clients, which include the Maryland Medicaid program, other state and local agencies in Maryland, the federal government, other state Medicaid agencies, and private foundations. Mr. Milligan also coordinates the Center's work with academic departments and research centers at UMBC.
Before joining the Center, Mr. Milligan was vice president at The Lewin Group, where he provided consulting services to states and other clients, primarily involving the Medicaid program. Prior to that, he was Medicaid and SCHIP director for the state of New Mexico. He practiced as a health law attorney earlier in his career.
Mr. Milligan holds a J.D. from Harvard Law School, an M.P.H. from the University of California at Berkeley, and a B.B.A. from the University of Notre Dame.
Information about the Center may be found at http://www.chpdm.org/.
Dr. Anne Marie Murphy
Dr. Murphy has been the Illinois Medicaid Director since May 5, 2003. Anne Marie directs the Illinois Department of Public Aid’s Medicaid and SCHIP programs, which serves over 2.1 million Illinoisans and has a budget of over $11 billion in FY05.
Prior to taking the position of Illinois’ Medicaid Director, Anne Marie was a senior health care policy advisor for Senator Richard J. Durbin (D-IL) from January 1997 to May 2003. In that capacity, Anne Marie advised the Senator on all aspects of healthcare and welfare policy, including Medicare, Medicaid, health insurance, public health, mental health, medical research, Food and Drug Administration issues, domestic violence prevention and veterans’ health care.
Before joining the Durbin staff, Anne Marie was a Health, Education and Labor Committee staff member for Senator Paul Simon (D-IL) and Senator Edward M. Kennedy (D- MA).
Anne Marie’s career has focused on a very wide range of healthcare issues from state financing and budgeting to public health, consumer safety and strategies to reduce the number of uninsured.
Anne Marie earned a Bachelors Degree in Natural Sciences (Honors) from Trinity College Dublin, Ireland and a Ph.D. in Molecular Genetics from the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland.
Dr. Constance M. Pechura
Constance Pechura, Ph.D., is a Senior Program Officer at The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. She serves as the Portfolio Leader for the Human Capital Portfolio, which makes investments to improve the quality and diversity of the workforce and leadership in health and health care (about $90 million per year). Dr. Pechura is also the responsible program officer for the Minority Medical Faculty Development Program, RWJ Community Health Leaders Program, RWJ Health Policy Fellowships, and Depression in Primary Care Program. Participating in the Addiction Prevention and Treatment Team and the Pioneer Portfolio, Dr. Pechura works in a variety of grantmaking areas. In addition to program responsibilities, she has developed and taught a course in negotiation and communications styles for a wide variety of RWJF staff.
Dr. Pechura came to the Foundation from the Institute of Medicine/ National Academies of Science where she directed a number of studies in health sciences policy, neuroscience and behavioral health, and veterans’ health as a Senior Staff Officer from 1988 to 1993. She served as Deputy Director (1993 to 1995) and Director (1995 to 1998) of the Institute’s Board on Neuroscience and Behavioral Health. In addition, she taught health policy in the Stanford in Washington Program from 1993 to 1998, and taught anatomy and neuroscience courses at George Washington University Medical School and the F. Edward Hebert School of Medicine at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. Dr. Pechura earned a Bachelor of Science in Psychology at Virginia Commonwealth University and a Ph.D. in Anatomy, with a specialization in Neuroscience, from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS). Awards include a National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowship, an Outstanding Teaching award from the USUHS Medical School Class of 1988, the National Research Council’s Special Achievement Award in 1993.
Dr. Pechura’s community service includes the Richmond Hotline from 1974 to 1978 and founder and director of the Rape Crisis Outreach Center from 1975 to 1978. She served on the Board of Directors for Student Pugwash USA from 1994 to 2000, serving as Chair from 1995 to 2000. She was a court-appointed mediator for civil cases in Mercer County New Jersey from 2002 to 2004 and mediated truancy cases for the Trenton Board of Education from 2002 to 2003.
Dr. John Santa, MPH
John Santa is the Assistant Director for Health Projects at the Center for Evidence-based Policy at Oregon Health & Sciences University. The Center seeks to address policy challenges by applying the best available evidence through self governing communities of interest. The Center is currently engaged on behalf of multiple state Medicaid purchasers in the Drug Effectiveness Review Project. This Project seeks to provide the best evidence regarding comparative effectiveness and safety of prescription drugs. The Center and Dr. Santa have also provided consulting services to the Public Employees Benefit Board (Oregon's largest health benefits purchaser) focused on strategic planning and integration of evidence-based approaches related to PEBB's long term vision.
From December of 1999 to January of 2003 Dr. Santa was the Administrator of the Office of Oregon Health Policy and Research. During this period of time he was involved with issues related to the uninsured, Medicaid, prescription drugs, and evidence-based medicine. He was the principal investigator for two large grants during his state service; a HRSA grant to study state strategies to reduce the rate of uninsurance and a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation grant, State Coverage Initiatives, to develop, submit and implement a Medicaid waiver expanding coverage. He was the Chair of the Public Employees Benefit Board.
Since leaving state government he has been involved in a variety of projects related to prescription drugs, disease management, health benefit design, bioterrorism and other health policy topics. He currently practices General Internal Medicine at Portland Veterans Affairs.
Dr. Santa has served on the governing boards of multiple community and professional organizations. He recently completed a Masters in Public Health at Portland State University.
Dr. Santa graduated from Stanford University and Tufts Medical School in the 70s. He completed a residency in Internal Medicine in Portland in 1979. In the 1980s and 90s Dr. Santa played a lead role in the medical and community response to the AIDS epidemic. In the 90s Dr. Santa was the Corporate Medical Director for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Oregon. In the late 90s he was the Medical Director for one of Oregon's largest medical groups.
Ms. Sharon Silow-Carroll, MBA, MSW
Sharon Silow-Carroll, M.B.A., M.S.W. is Senior Vice President at the Economic and Social Research Institute (www.esresearch.org), a non-profit, non-partisan health policy research organization based in Washington, D.C. Ms. Silow-Carroll’s areas of expertise include health care reform strategies and meeting the needs of vulnerable populations. Her recent and current projects include: assessing state efforts to stretch limited health care dollars; analyzing key 'ingredients' of quality improvement efforts in top-performing hospitals; reviewing community-based programs to expand health coverage to low-income workers; examining local initiatives to enhance access to oral health care; and identifying best practices in consumer-centered care for underserved populations. She is author of numerous reports and articles analyzing public and private sector initiatives aimed at enhancing access, containing costs, and improving quality of health care.
Ms. Silow-Carroll received her Masters in Business Administration from the Wharton School's Health Care Management Program, and her Masters in Social Work from the University of Pennsylvania's School of Social Work.
(e-mail: silow@optonline.net)
Mr. Mike Splaine
Mike is the Director of State Policy and Advocacy Programs for the Alzheimer’s Association. Working in Washington, DC, and in the field with the association chapters, he has lead responsibility for creating and providing training and technical assistance to the Alzheimer’s Association’s grassroots network to accomplish state and federal priorities, with a current focus on state efforts Medicaid long-term care programs.
Mr. D. Douglas Stratton
Mr. Stratton is the Executive Director of the Indiana Comprehensive Health Insurance Association. Prior to accepting this position he served as the President and CEO of Principal Health Care of Indiana, and held senior executive positions with several national health carriers and managed health care programs. He has served on 14 Boards of Directors of health insurance and medical organizations, and served as an advisor to medical and insurance Fortune 100 organizations. He is a member of the Indiana Health Care Finance Task Force; a former Vice President and Executive Committee member of the Indiana Association of Health Plans; and a former Adjunct Professor and guest lecturer at Butler University’s College of Business Administration. He is a licensed Attorney having represented health and medical clients over the last 30 years in 18 States. He has advised the Department of Justice in health industry mergers, and frequently speaks on health care and related issues.
Ms. Terri D. Wright
Terri D. Wright is a program director for health policy at the W.K. Kellogg Foundation in Battle Creek, Michigan.
Ms. Wright develops and reviews the Foundation’s health programming priorities and initiatives, evaluates and recommends proposals for funding, and administers projects and initiatives. She also assists in public policy analysis and related program development, as well as the Foundation’s devolution initiative.
Previously, Ms. Wright was maternal and child health director and bureau chief at Child and Family Services at the Michigan Department of Community Health in Lansing, Michigan. While there, Wright managed 165 full-time employees and a budget of $300 million, with the goal of reducing preventable maternal, infant, and child morbidity and mortality.
Ms. Wright received her bachelor’s degree in community and school health, as well as her New York State certification in secondary school education from City University of New York. She received her master’s of public health degree in health planning and administration from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.
Ms. Wright takes an active leadership role in several professional associations. Currently, she is a board trustee of the Michigan Women’s Foundation, and is board director of the Michigan AIDS Fund. In addition, she is a member of the American Public Health Association and the Michigan Public Health Association.
The W.K. Kellogg Foundation was established in 1930 “to help people help themselves through the practical application of knowledge and resources to improve their quality of life and that of future generations.” Its programming activities center around the common vision of a world in which each person has a sense of worth; accepts responsibility for self, family, community, and societal well-being; and has the capacity to be productive, and to help create nurturing families, responsive institutions, and healthy communities.
To achieve the greatest impact, the Foundation targets its grants toward specific areas. These include: health; food systems and rural development; youth and education; and philanthropy and volunteerism. Within these areas, attention is given to exploring learning opportunities in leadership; information and communication technology; capitalizing on diversity; and social and economic community development. Grants are concentrated in the United States, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the southern African countries of Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Swaziland, and Zimbabwe.
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