An independent Board of Directors oversees the HealthWell Foundation. The Board is composed of individuals in leadership positions within their respective areas of expertise who are considered national experts in their fields. Their thoughtful contributions guide the HealthWell Foundation to success and provide strong directives for continued growth and sustainability.
Board Chair
David Knowlton retired as President and CEO of the New Jersey Health Care Quality Institute, an independent, nonpartisan organization promoting health care quality, safety, accountability and cost-containment. As a founding member, he has advocated for eliminating medical errors and improving health care quality throughout his career. Under his leadership, the institute has promoted projects and initiatives that have advanced health quality, education and consumer protections — successfully advocating for numerous statutory improvements to ensure patient safety and transparency in both quality and cost.
In 2009 – 2010, he served as Chairman of the Leapfrog Group, a national organization promoting healthcare safety and quality and served as a board member for 10 years. He chaired the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Score committee as well as serving on numerous National Quality Forum Steering Committees as well.
David was Deputy Commissioner of Health for the State of New Jersey from 1987 until 1990 under the administration of Gov. Tom Kean.
Following Governor Chris Christie’s 2009 election as governor, David led the governor’s transition team on health care. He was recommended by the United States Trustee and appointed by the court as a “Patient Care Ombudsman” to protect patient rights and quality in three healthcare bankruptcy proceedings.
He served as Chairman of the Board for St. Francis Medical Center and co-chaired The Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease in New Jersey with former Governor Jim Florio. He helped found and chaired Health Care Policy 360, a joint venture of Rutgers University and the Quality Institute. This four-day immersion course explains the real-world impact of emerging health trends to senior-level executives in healthcare industries. David served as an adjunct professor of Political Science at Rutgers University.
He topped NJ Spotlight’s list of “New Jersey’s Top 10 Healthcare Policy Analysts and Experts” and was listed in the annual NJBIZ “Power 50 Health Care” rankings.
He was the Chairman and CEO of Compassionate Care Foundation, one of the first six Alternative Treatment Centers licensed to grow, process, and dispense medicinal marijuana under New Jersey’s new medicinal marijuana law. He founded and currently leads the not-for-profit Cannabis Education and Research Institute (CERI) to preserve and expand access to medicinal marijuana.
David is a founding board member of America’s Nurses, the nation’s first nurse practitioner practice management organization. As a Public Benefit Corporation, America’s Nurses has a financial commitment to the nurse practitioner profession and the health care needs of those they serve. In 2021, they launched their flagship practice, Altrix Primary Care in Nashua, New Hampshire.
David completed his baccalaureate education in psychology at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst and was granted a master’s degree from Trinity College in Hartford.
Vice Chair & Secretary
Dr. Suzanne Miller is Professor and Director of the Patient Empowerment and Decision-Making Department, as well as a member of the Cancer Prevention and Control Program, at Fox Chase Cancer Center/Temple University Health System. She is also an Adjunct Professor at Temple University, Lewis Katz School of Medicine (Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Medicine and the Department of Cancer and Cell Biology) and Temple University, College of Public Health. Her funded research and clinical services are focused at the interface of psychology and oncology, particularly with a view to applying personalized biobehavioral and health communication principles to bridge the gap between the availability of groundbreaking cancer prevention and control technologies and the populations they are meant to serve. Her most recent books are Individuals, Families, and the New Era of Genomics: Biopsychosocial Perspectives (Norton Publications, 2006), The Handbook of Cancer Control and Behavioral Science: A Resource for Researchers, Practitioners, and Policy Makers (APA Publications, 2008), and The Handbook of Health Decision Science (Springer Publications, 2016).
Dr. Miller is the Chair of the New Jersey Health Care Quality Institute board and is a member of numerous other non-profit and academic boards, including the Society of Behavioral Medicine (SBM). She was the Editor-in-Chief of SBM’s flagship journal, Translational Behavioral Medicine: Practice, Policy, Research. Dr. Miller is a fellow of the American Psychological Association and the Society of Behavioral Medicine. She was awarded the Partners in Research Award from the National Cancer Institute’s Cancer Information Service, the Cancer Control Award from the American Cancer Society, the Outstanding Senior Scientist Oncology Award from the Society of Behavioral Medicine, The C. Tracey Orleans Award for Outstanding Service to the Society of Behavioral Medicine, NCI’s featured grantee, the Social & Behavioral Sciences Community Partner Outstanding Supervisor Award from Temple University, and the Distinguished Mentor Award from the Society of Behavioral Medicine. She speaks and writes about the effects of cancer on the American population and how to live an informed and healthy life from a multicultural perspective. With respect to her international acclaim, her concepts and measures have been translated into numerous cultures and languages, with health disparities and health literacy as a prime focus. She has served as an invited distinguished visiting professor in Japan, Italy, Switzerland, China, the Netherlands, France, Israel, Australia and Poland, among others, and maintains collaborative cross-cultural linkages.
Vice Chair & Treasurer
Ms. Jerri Scarzella is a founding member of HealthWell Foundation and serves in the capacity of Vice Chair and Treasurer of the Board.
Ms. Scarzella is a graduate of the American University School of Nursing in Washington, D.C. Ms. Scarzella celebrated 43 years at Holy Cross Hospital in Silver Spring, Maryland, retiring recently. Her career at Holy Cross Hospital included roles as a leader in a number of capacities -Head Nurse in the Emergency Department, Interventional Radiology Nurse, Risk Management Coordinator, Director of Customer Relations, and Policies and Procedures Coordinator for Holy Cross Hospital (working with every department to ensure that policies meet regulatory and other requirements). Ms. Scarzella has also held the role of Customer Service Educator for the hospital and its sister hospital in Germantown, Md. She was inducted into the hospital’s Legacy Society in 2010. She has served as the President of both the Potomac Chapter and the National Society for Healthcare Consumer Advocacy and speaks on a variety of topics both nationally and internationally. Ms. Scarzella has worked locally in a consultative capacity with the Washington, D.C., public school system as an educator for principals and teachers, and with the Department of Homeland Security.
Ms. Scarzella has received numerous awards and recognitions for her work in Patient Advocacy, including, but not limited to, Healthcare Council of the National Capital Area Award for Leadership in Patient Representation, American Hospital Association Certificate of Recognition Award for Volunteerism and Leadership, Columbia Union College Department of Nursing Service Award (five consecutive years), numerous awards for volunteer participation on various work groups of the Society for Healthcare Consumer Advocacy of the AHA. In 2009, she became a recipient of the coveted Ruth Ravich Award, which is presented to patient advocates who have a public identity that raises awareness about the rights of people seeking health care, who have provided outstanding service, and whose work supports the vision of bringing the patients’ needs to the center of healthcare.
She has been asked to be a reviewer of books and television programs from a customer service perspective and has been the keynote speaker for various nursing and other professional graduating classes.
Ms. Scarzella was a contributor and team member of the AHA Task Force on the Patient’s Bill of Rights revision (revised title: “The Patient Care Partnership”) and a participant on the AHA’s Society for Healthcare Strategy and Market Development “Foundation for Trust: Truth in Advertising for Hospitals” Task Force. She was also a reviewer and contributor to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Evidence Report/Technology Assessment “Vaginal Birth After Cesarean Section.”
Ms. Scarzella was asked to provide pre-telecast feedback (from a patient/patient advocate perspective) to the three-hour television broadcast “Critical Condition” with Hedrick Smith — a program exploring America’s health care system.
In her capacity as HealthWell Foundation’s Vice Chair and Treasurer of the Board, Ms. Scarzella has provided the community at large with information about the foundation by her participation in conferences and interviews for print and other media.
Board Member & Chief Compliance Officer
Mr. Stephen Weiner is the Founding Chair of the National Health Law practice at Mintz (www.mintz.com) and has had over 40 years of experience in the health care field as a policy maker, educator, author, and attorney. He served as a special assistant to the Governor of Massachusetts for health policy, chaired a Massachusetts regulatory commission governing rates for health care providers and was an Associate Professor at Boston University School of Law and directed its Center for Law and Health Sciences. He has also taught as an adjunct faculty member at Yale Law School, Boston University School of Law, and Suffolk University Law School.
As a private practitioner for over 30 years, Mr. Weiner represented health care service providers in a broad array of legal matters, including governance; compliance; mergers, acquisitions, strategic affiliations, joint ventures (including between exempt and non-exempt organizations),“demergers”; payer strategies; and research-related matters. He advised with respect to structuring the health care regulatory system for the Dubai Health Care City (DHCC) and served for a number of years as a member of the DHCC licensing board. Domestically, Mr. Weiner was very active with regard to the development and implementation of Massachusetts’ signature health care reform program and its state-initiated efforts to promote interoperable electronic health records, as well as with legislative efforts to restructure the health care payment and delivery system in Massachusetts. He also worked extensively with the U.S. Department of Defense on matters relating to the TRICARE Prime benefit and the operations of the U.S. Family Health Plan program.
Mr. Weiner has been named “Lawyer of the Year” for Health Care Law in Boston by Best Lawyers; was a recipient of the Good Guy award from the Massachusetts Women’s Political Caucus for his promotion of equality for women in the workplace; and in 2009 as one of 10 Outstanding Hospital Lawyers nationally by Nightingale’s Healthcare News. He was also selected by the Massachusetts Medical Law Report as a winner of its Rx for Excellence Leaders in Quality award. He has been nationally ranked by Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business for his strategic and policy work and was recognized as a leading health lawyer in Massachusetts by Chambers since 2005. He has also been listed in the health law section of The Best Lawyers in America, and in Who’s Who in America, and as a Massachusetts Super Lawyer by Boston magazine. Mr. Weiner recently retired from active law practice.
Mr. Weiner currently serves as board chair of the American Lyric Theater, based in New York (www.altnyc.org), as a trustee and chair of the governance and audit committee of Jacob’s Pillow Dance, based in Becket, MA (www.jacobspillow.org); and as a board member and vice president of the Palm Springs Opera Guild of the Desert (www.palmspringsoperaguild.org). He has previously served as a board member of a number of health care organizations as well as of the Boston Ballet, OperaBoston, the Huntington Theater in Boston, and the Massachusetts AIDS Action Committee.
Board Member
Cathleen Bennett is the President and CEO of the New Jersey Hospital Association and its affiliates, the Health Research and Educational Trust of New Jersey, a not-for-profit that promotes continuing education, patient safety, quality improvement and research, and the for-profit Healthcare Business Solutions, which provides group purchasing and other business solutions for healthcare providers. She co-founded Q3 Health Innovation Partners, LLC in 2018 with a focus on improving quality of care, patient safety and education in addition to leveraging the collective capabilities of the Hospital Associations of New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Ohio. She also serves on a number of boards, including Patient Innovations, Healthcare Employees Federal Credit Union, New Jersey Health Executive Leadership Academy, and Rutgers University, Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy’s Health Administration Master’s Program.
Prior to her tenure at NJHA, she served as New Jersey’s 20th Health Commissioner. As Commissioner, she established her top priority by creating an Office of Population Health to promote stronger collaboration among hospitals, local health departments and healthcare providers. She convened an unprecedented Population Health Action Team, which brought eight state departments together to strategize on how to improve health in all policies. And, demonstrating a commitment to continuous quality improvement, she led the Department in a rigorous, multi-faceted, peer-reviewed assessment process to achieve national accreditation from the Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB) for high standards for public health services, leadership and accountability. Bennett also transitioned the Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services and four state psychiatric hospitals from the Department of Human Services to the Department of Health’s new Integrated Health Services branch, in recognition that good health encompasses the whole person.
Bennett began her career in the private sector, with 15 years of experience as an executive, providing consulting, strategy and management services to federal and state health and human services agencies. Bennett holds a MPA from the University of Pennsylvania, a JD from Penn State Dickinson Law, and a BA from Villanova University.
Board Member
Dr. Nancy Carteron is a global expert in Autoimmune disease and Sjogren’s disease, in particular. During 28 years of rheumatology private practice in San Francisco, she developed the Woman’s Program at a leading tertiary referral medical center, chairing the board of directors, bringing together architectural design and funding for the center, and hiring the first clinical director. Dr. Carteron was also an integral part of the medical center’s liver and heart transplant, and complex immune-mediated disease teams. Recently, Dr. Carteron served on the NIH Advisory Group for the Office of Autoimmune Disease Research (OADR) within the Office of Research on Women’s Health (ORWH), providing strategic guidance for research funding priorities for the institute.
Early in her medical career, Dr. Carteron served in leadership roles to support the autoimmune patient perspective within health care organizations including Chair of Financial Assistance for the Northern California Arthritis Foundation, and President of both the Rheumatoid Arthritis Assistance Foundation and the San Francisco Lupus Foundation. Furthering her effort to focus resources on gaps in health care, she was a founding board member for the HealthWell Foundation, along with fellow board members Steve Weiner and Jerri Scarzella. Dr. Carteron served as Vice Chair and Secretary from HealthWell’s founding through 2018.
After authoring the book, A Body Out of Balance: Understanding and Treating Sjogren’s, with patient Ruth Fremes, MA, advocacy for this autoimmune disease became an ongoing partnership with the National Sjogren’s Foundation. Dr. Carteron served on their board of directors, contributed to strategic initiatives which lead to the adoption of new diagnostic codes (ICD-10), and laid the groundwork for clinical development programs. She is immediate Past Chair of the Medical and Scientific Advisory Group and continues to serve as Medical and Scientific Editor for the international publication, Sjogren’s Quarterly. Since 2016, Dr. Carteron has contributed to the Foundation’s Clinical Guideline Program, becoming Rheumatology Chair in 2017, and now assuming oversight for the expanding initiative. Guidelines for several manifestations of Sjogren’s have been published in top tier peer-reviewed journals, and the research has changed the understanding and treatment of this complex disease. Dr. Carteron received the Foundation’s highest honor, the Healthcare Leadership Award in 2016, and the Cedar Sinai Medical Center Patient Advocate Scholarship Award, California Healthcare Institute in 2013.
Dr. Carteron has conducted research in both molecular virology and cellular immunology. She served as Principal Investigator on autoimmune late-stage clinical trials with immune therapies, and currently is Co-Investigator of a public-private partnership NIH grant, Sjogren’s Team, Accelerating Medicines PartnershipÒ-Autoimmune and Immune-Mediated (AMP-AIM) program. The team is developing a national cohort and biorepository to study the molecular mechanisms of this autoimmune disease. This research is conducted in association with Sjogren’s experts of several medical specialties at University of California, Berkeley and San Francisco, along with colleagues at Johns Hopkins, Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, and the NIH/NIDCR. Dr. Carteron has contributed to the autoimmune disease field with peer-reviewed and lay articles, book chapters, invited presentations and videos, and online courses.
Dr. Carteron received an MD from Johns Hopkins and post-graduate clinical and research training at Duke, Stanford and University of California, San Francisco. She is board certified in Rheumatology and Internal Medicine, a Health Sciences Clinical Professor at the University of California, Berkeley, and Clinical Professor of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). She maintains an academic consultative practice at Berkeley, and a teaching practice at UCSF.
Board Member
Dr. Don Liss serves as Chief Medical Officer at Johns Hopkins Health Plans. Prior to his current role, Dr. Liss served as Chief Medical Officer of Health Partners Plans in Pennsylvania. Dr. Liss has significant managed care and health insurance experience, and previously served as Vice President and Chief Medical Officer at Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, Vice President Medical Affairs at CVS Health, Vice President Clinical Programs and Policy at Independence Blue Cross (IBC) and as Regional Medical Director for Aetna’s plans in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic.
Dr. Liss is a native of Philadelphia and a 1987 graduate of Drexel University College of Medicine. He completed residency training in internal medicine and served as Chief Medical Resident at Temple University Hospital prior to a Clinician-Educator Fellowship in General Internal Medicine at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.
Dr. Liss is board certified in internal medicine. He serves as a member of the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council Technical Advisory Committee and the Recognition Programs Review Oversight Committee at NCQA.
Board Member
Dr. Kenneth Moritsugu currently serves as President and Chief Executive Officer of First Samurai Consulting, LLC, a firm specializing in health consulting focused on public health systems and policies.
Rear Admiral Kenneth Moritsugu was the Acting Surgeon General of the United States, in 2002 and again from July 2006 until his retirement from the Commissioned Corps of the United States Public Health Service (USPHS) in September 2007. A career officer in the USPHS for 37 years, he served as the Deputy Surgeon General of the United States. During his tenure, he was responsible for the development and production of over twenty nine reports and publications for the Surgeon General.
Upon retirement, Dr. Moritsugu was the Vice President, Johnson & Johnson’s Diabetes Solutions Companies, and Worldwide Chairman of the Johnson & Johnson Diabetes Institutes (JJDI). He further served as the Interim Chief Science and Medical Officer of the American Diabetes Association from August 2019 through June 2020.
Dr. Moritsugu is Board Certified in Preventive Medicine; holds Fellowships in the American College of Preventive Medicine, the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, the Royal Society of Public Health, the Royal Society of Medicine, and the National Academy of Public Administration; and is a Certified Correctional Health Professional. He is the recipient of twelve honorary degrees from various academic institutions.
He attended Chaminade College of Honolulu and earned a Baccalaureate Degree with Honors from the University of Hawaii. Dr. Moritsugu earned his Medical Doctor degree from the George Washington University School of Medicine and a Master of Public Health in Health Administration and Planning from the University of California, Berkeley.
Board Member
Robert Moroni is a Certified Public Accountant and seasoned business professional with a diverse background in Operations, Human Resources, and Finance. He currently serves as the Senior Talent executive for Greenberg Traurig, an international law firm with 4000 employees in over 40 locations.
Mr. Moroni previously held a senior leadership role at General Motors Corporation, where he was responsible for all strategic and operational activities supporting over 150 healthcare plans for more than 1.1 million lives and an annual budget of more than $5 billion. He also served as a legal plan fiduciary, risk manager, and HIPAA privacy officer.
Moroni has had a strong presence in federal legislative and regulatory affairs, has worked on Medicare Part D and Health Care Savings Account legislation, and has testified before the United States Energy and Commerce/Health Subcommittee on prescription drugs efficacy. He has been quoted regarding health policy issues in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, The Pink Sheet, and other publications. Mr. Moroni served on the board of directors and executive committee of The Leapfrog Group, which initiates breakthroughs in health care safety, quality, and affordability.
Mr. Moroni has a Master of Health Services Administration (MHSA) from the University of Michigan Ann Arbor and an MBA from the University of Detroit.
Scientific & Ethics Advisor
Jeffrey Peppercorn, MD, MPH is a medical oncologist specializing in breast cancer and Director of the Massachusetts General Hospital Supportive Care and Survivorship Program. He is an Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. His research interests include bioethics and policy issues related to cancer care. He is also engaged in clinical and health services research aimed at improving care delivery and outcomes for cancer survivors. He teaches Ethics at Harvard Medical School and chaired the Ethics committee of the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology for more than a decade and has served as Chair of the Ethics committee of the American Society for Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and on the NCCN guidelines panel for cancer survivors. His research has been funded by the NIH, American Cancer Society, Greenwall Foundation for Bioethics, National Comprehensive Cancer Network, and ASCO and he has published over 200 papers related to oncology and bioethics. He has served as an advisor to the HealthWell Foundation for many years and currently serves as the Scientific and Ethics Advisor to the Foundation.
Legal Counsel
Robert D. Clark is the Founder and Managing Member of ClarkLaw PLLC, a law firm located in Washington, DC. Among his responsibilities, Mr. Clark serves as legal counsel for the HealthWell Foundation, and has done so for many years. He is an entrepreneurial practitioner with four decades of innovative business, corporate, and transactional experience in private practice, and as in-house legal counsel, with premier national law firms and health care organizations.
Mr. Clark’s legal practice is primarily focused on the health care industry, and he represents for-profit and non-profit health care organizations and providers of all types. In that regard, his health care regulatory experience includes, among other things, counseling on state and federal laws governing fraud and abuse, self-referral prohibitions, facility and provider licensure and certification, provider and vendor contracting, managed care operations and contracting, HIPAA and privacy, and compliance program development and operation. Mr. Clark is also a seasoned health care transactional attorney, and over the years he has served as lead counsel in numerous sales, acquisitions, mergers, joint ventures, and other transactions involving health care organizations and providers.
During his career, Mr. Clark served as managing partner of the health law practice of a national law firm, where he was responsible for the operation, management, strategic direction, and growth of the firm’s prominent health law practice. Mr. Clark also served as in-house General Counsel, or Assistant General Counsel, for health care organizations with a national footprint; and in that capacity he was responsible for over-seeing all legal issues and matters, including those involving corporate governance, transactions, contracting, risk management, litigation, compliance, security and privacy, employment and benefits, and management of legal staff and outside legal counsel.
Mr. Clark’s forty years of experience includes tenures at ClarkLaw PLLC (Founder and Managing Member); Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz (Shareholder and Co-Chair, Healthcare Transactions Team); Ober Kaler Grimes & Shriver (Shareholder); Mintz Levin Cohn Ferris Glovsky & Popeo (Shareholder and Managing Member of the Firm’s National Healthcare Practice); Vitas Healthcare Corporation (General Counsel); Manor Care, Inc. (Assistant General Counsel), among others.
Education
Georgetown University Law Center, LL.M., Taxation, 1990; Howard University, J.D., Magna Cum Laude, 1981; University of Maryland, B.A., Political Science, 1976
Admissions
District of Columbia, 1981; Court of Appeals of the District of Columbia, 1981
President & Chief Executive Officer
Mr. Michael Heimall joined the HealthWell Foundation in November 2024 and serves as President & Chief Executive Officer. As President & CEO, Mr. Heimall provides leadership across all Foundation activities, strengthening the long-term direction of the organization in collaboration with the Board of Directors and senior management. He oversees the Foundation’s compliance activities, while creating and maintaining a positive, growth and development-focused work culture and environment for the Foundation staff. In this role, Mr. Heimall also engages with strategic partners to further promote the Foundation’s mission.
Prior to joining the Foundation, Mr. Heimall served as Executive Director of the Washington DC Veterans Affairs Medical Center, one of the largest Veterans Affairs Medical Centers in the country with more than 3,200 employees and $900 million in revenues. He oversaw the academic medical center’s six community-based clinics, 170 inpatient beds, a 120-bed nursing home — and a research portfolio of over $22 million.
He also served as CEO of Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md. At Walter Reed, he led a 240-bed academic health system employing 7,000 people with $1.2 billion in revenue. The Medical Center operates the Department of Defense’s only Cancer Center and only Transplant Service. As CEO, he oversaw the Military Health System’s largest research portfolio with more than 600 active protocols.
Mr. Heimall has held a number of progressive leadership positions in health care organizations, including Interim Chief Executive Officer, Madigan Army Medical Center, Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington State, and Chief Executive Officer, William Beaumont Army Medical Center, Fort Bliss, Texas.
A hallmark of his career has been driving a culture of reliability and improving patient quality and safety. Under his leadership, health care institutions have reduced mortality and rates of hospital readmissions. He has driven institution-wide transformations that improved employee engagement and satisfaction.
Mr. Heimall received his MS in Strategic Studies, U.S. Army War College, Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania. He holds an MHA in Healthcare Administration from Baylor University, Waco, Texas, and a BA in International Studies from Norwich University, Northfield, Vermont.
Chief Foundation Program Officer
Ms. Shela Halper serves as Chief Foundation Program Officer for the HealthWell Foundation.
Since joining the Foundation in 2006, Ms. Halper has served in a variety of development, marketing and external relations positions and has worked closely with the President and CEO to create a positive work culture that focuses on employee development and work-life balance.
In her current role as Chief Foundation Program Officer, Ms. Halper serves as a member of HealthWell’s senior management team and provides strategic direction and oversight of HealthWell’s strategic non-profit partnerships, key messaging and brand. Ms. Halper oversees the corporate external relations department and day-to-day outreach activities to key non-profit, health care provider and pharmacy stakeholders. In addition, she manages a range of special projects, including ongoing website enhancements, developing concepts for new special initiative funds, and cultivating a healthy work environment for HealthWell staff members.
Ms. Halper has more than 25 years of experience working in the non-profit health care arena. Prior to joining the HealthWell Foundation, she oversaw the public education, marketing and fundraising activities at the National Mental Health Association (now Mental Health America), where she developed and launched nationally recognized social marketing campaigns to raise awareness about a range of mental health issues. In addition, she built strategic partnerships with leading corporations in and outside of the health care industry to increase public awareness and improve access to care.
Ms. Halper received a master’s degree in social work (administration) and a Certificate in Health Administration & Policy from the University of Chicago and a B.A. in Behavioral Science and Law from the University of Wisconsin – Madison.
Chief Operations Officer
Mr. Fred Larbi joined the HealthWell Foundation in 2016 as Senior Associate Director of Operations and has served in positions of increasing responsibility including Director of Operations, prior to assuming the role of Chief Operations Officer. In his current role as Chief Operations Officer, Mr. Larbi serves as a member of HealthWell senior management, oversees corporate strategic operations, and is responsible for day-to-day operations of HealthWell’s HWF Direct, LLC contact center subsidiary. He also continues to make significant contributions to development efforts through forecasting and operational fund management.
Mr. Larbi brings over ten years’ experience in patient access-to-care programs and the copayment assistance arena to the Operations team. Previously, he served as Manager of Patient Access Programs for the Cystic Fibrosis (CF) Foundation in Bethesda, Maryland, where he focused on day-to-day management of the CF Foundation’s Copay Assistance Program. In addition, Mr. Larbi assisted in the relaunch and management of CF Foundation Compass, a personalized service providing CF patients with assistance through insurance, financial, legal and other issues.
Mr. Larbi earned his B.A. in Marketing from University of Ghana, Legon and his MBA from LeMoyne College, Syracuse, NY.
Chief Financial Officer
Ms. Richa Dahiya joined the HealthWell Foundation in December 2023 and serves as Chief Financial Officer. In this role, Ms. Dahiya is responsible for the financial strategy, planning, and long-term financial direction of the organization in collaboration with the CEO, board, and senior management. She provides strategic leadership and oversight for the Foundation’s corporate finance, accounting, auditing, and human resource functions. In addition, Ms. Dahiya is responsible for managing the Foundation’s investment portfolio.
Prior to joining HealthWell, Ms. Dahiya was the Chief Financial Officer at Tax Analysts where she led the finance, accounting and real estate teams, and management of investment portfolios. She helped streamline finance and audit functions and worked closely with the finance committee and the Board of Directors.
Bringing almost 20 years of finance and management experience to the Foundation, Ms. Dahiya is well-versed in both non-profit and for-profit organizations. She has helped scale organizations organically and through M&A with a focus on financial strategy and operations.
Prior to her role at Tax Analysts, Ms. Dahiya held positions in finance and strategy in mid-size and Fortune 500 companies including retail, health care, and transportation industries for companies such as Rosetta Stone, FedEx, Greyhound and Blockbuster.
Ms. Dahiya has a Financial Management Certificate from Cornell University and received her master’s in business administration from Faculty of Management Studies (Delhi University) in New Delhi, India and a B.A in Mathematics from Delhi University, India.
Chief Human Resources Officer
Mr. Ellery Joyeau joined the HealthWell Foundation in January 2025 and serves as Chief Human Resources Officer. In this role, Mr. Joyeau is responsible for the people strategy of the organization in collaboration with the President & CEO, Board and senior management. He provides strategic leadership and oversight for the Foundation’s human resource function.
Prior to joining HealthWell, Mr. Joyeau was the Vice President of People & Culture at National Quality Forum where he led the merger of the organization with another large national accreditation agency.
Bringing over 20 years of human resources and management experience to the Foundation, Mr. Joyeau has worked in many aspects of the health care industry including provider to payer, managed care and behavioral health settings.
Prior to his role at NQF, Mr. Joyeau held positions in human resources at companies such as GBMC Health System, CareFirst Blue Cross Blue Shield, Sierra Military Health and Juvo Behavioral Health.
Mr. Joyeau is a certified Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) from the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). He earned his undergraduate degree in Marketing and an MBA from Cleveland State University in Cleveland, Ohio.
Mr. Michael Heimall joined the HealthWell Foundation in November 2024 and serves as President & Chief Executive Officer. As President & CEO, Mr. Heimall provides leadership across all Foundation activities, strengthening the long-term direction of the organization in collaboration with the Board of Directors and senior management. He oversees the Foundation’s compliance activities, while creating and maintaining a positive, growth and development-focused work culture and environment for the Foundation staff. In this role, Mr. Heimall also engages with strategic partners to further promote the Foundation’s mission.
Prior to joining the Foundation, Mr. Heimall served as Executive Director of the Washington DC Veterans Affairs Medical Center, one of the largest Veterans Affairs Medical Centers in the country with more than 3,200 employees and $900 million in revenues. He oversaw the academic medical center’s six community-based clinics, 170 inpatient beds, a 120-bed nursing home — and a research portfolio of over $22 million.
He also served as CEO of Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md. At Walter Reed, he led a 240-bed academic health system employing 7,000 people with $1.2 billion in revenue. The Medical Center operates the Department of Defense’s only Cancer Center and only Transplant Service. As CEO, he oversaw the Military Health System’s largest research portfolio with more than 600 active protocols.
Mr. Heimall has held a number of progressive leadership positions in health care organizations, including Interim Chief Executive Officer, Madigan Army Medical Center, Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington State, and Chief Executive Officer, William Beaumont Army Medical Center, Fort Bliss, Texas.
A hallmark of his career has been driving a culture of reliability and improving patient quality and safety. Under his leadership, health care institutions have reduced mortality and rates of hospital readmissions. He has driven institution-wide transformations that improved employee engagement and satisfaction.
Mr. Heimall received his MS in Strategic Studies, U.S. Army War College, Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania. He holds an MHA in Healthcare Administration from Baylor University, Waco, Texas, and a BA in International Studies from Norwich University, Northfield, Vermont.
Ms. Ginny Dunn joined the Foundation in 2011 as Associate Director of Communications and Marketing and has served in positions of increasing responsibility including Senior Associate Director of Communications and Marketing prior to assuming her role as Director, Communications and Marketing.
Ms. Dunn has over 20 years of pharmaceutical sector experience in external communications and marketing. As Director, reporting to the Foundation’s President & Chief Executive Officer, Ms. Dunn works closely with the entire organization to ensure timely and accurate distribution of Foundation news and information. She plays an integral role in developing marketing materials and is responsible for content development for external print and digital communications including press releases, newsletters, social media and patient outreach. Ms. Dunn is also the Foundation’s contact for media relations. She provides direct oversight to the Foundation’s Communications and Marketing Assistant, Digital Marketing Coordinator and the Marketing & Events Manager to ensure message consistency and accuracy for all public-facing communications and participation in industry and disease-specific conferences to align with the Foundation’s corporate strategy.
Prior to joining HealthWell, Ms. Dunn served for over 12 years in external communication and investor relations roles in the biotechnology sector.
Mr. Scott Borsuk serves as Director of Compliance for the HealthWell Foundation.
Mr. Borsuk joined the Foundation in May 2023. As Director of Compliance, he oversees the Foundation’s compliance program, ensuring compliance activities are completed consistently and in a timely manner and seeks out ways to continuously enhance and strengthen the program. He is responsible for conducting compliance and risk management training for junior staff and oversees compliance effectiveness reviews. Mr. Borsuk reports to the Foundation President and Chief Executive Officer with direct and unimpeded access to the Chief Compliance Officer, legal counsel, and Board Chair. In addition, Mr. Borsuk acts as the primary point of contact for all program audits, donor audits, external risk assessments, and corporate compliance inquiries. Mr. Borsuk leads an internal audit workgroup comprised of staff members from operations, quality, finance, and data analytics tasked to objectively audit internal processes and compliance with internal policies, conduct gap analyses to identify procedural and programmatic weaknesses, and create and manage effective action plans in response to gap analysis and audit findings, compliance violations, and identified areas of risk.
Mr. Borsuk is an experienced healthcare compliance professional with over 20 years’ experience advising health system executives, board members and other key stakeholders on compliance matters and the impact on operational procedures and business practices. Mr. Borsuk focuses on building demonstrable and influential relationships with both internal and external customers and business partners to develop high impact strategies and mitigate risk. As a CPA, Mr. Borsuk can leverage his unique combination of compliance knowledge and business acumen, that fuels success while ensuring compliance with all applicable regulations.
Mr. Borsuk received a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from St. Francis University in Loretto, Pennsylvania.
Ms. Sarina Robbins joined the Foundation in March 2020 and serves as Director of Development & Growth. In this role, Ms. Robbins is responsible for a variety of development activities, including the identification of current and potential patient financial needs, forecasting, market research, monitoring industry trends, communicating with donors, submitting funding applications, completing presentations to stakeholders, research initiative project management, and supervision of a variety of operational procedures.
Ms. Robbins brings over eight years of non-profit health care experience. Previously, she served for over three years at the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation in the field of Medical Compliance. Prior to that, she held positions at Inova Health System and Adventist HealthCare.
Ms. Robbins received Master’s Degrees in both Business Administration and Health Administration from the University of Maryland Global Campus and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Community Health from the University of Maryland College Park.
Abby Pevey, Senior Manager, Individual Giving and Development
[email protected] or 240-257-3159
Ms. Shela Halper serves as Chief Foundation Program Officer for the HealthWell Foundation.
Since joining the Foundation in 2006, Ms. Halper has served in a variety of development, marketing and external relations positions and has worked closely with the President and CEO to create a positive work culture that focuses on employee development and work-life balance.
In her current role as Chief Foundation Program Officer, Ms. Halper serves as a member of HealthWell’s senior management team and provides strategic direction and oversight of HealthWell’s strategic non-profit partnerships, key messaging and brand. Ms. Halper oversees the corporate external relations department and day-to-day outreach activities to key non-profit, health care provider and pharmacy stakeholders. In addition, she manages a range of special projects, including ongoing website enhancements, developing concepts for new special initiative funds, and cultivating a healthy work environment for HealthWell staff members.
Ms. Halper has more than 25 years of experience working in the non-profit health care arena. Prior to joining the HealthWell Foundation, she oversaw the public education, marketing and fundraising activities at the National Mental Health Association (now Mental Health America), where she developed and launched nationally recognized social marketing campaigns to raise awareness about a range of mental health issues. In addition, she built strategic partnerships with leading corporations in and outside of the health care industry to increase public awareness and improve access to care.
Ms. Halper received a master’s degree in social work (administration) and a Certificate in Health Administration & Policy from the University of Chicago and a B.A. in Behavioral Science and Law from the University of Wisconsin – Madison.
Ms. Audrey Quartey joined the HealthWell Foundation in 2022 and serves as Director, External Relations. In this role, she is responsible for serving as liaison to physician offices and pharmacies to ensure familiarity with our programs and processes and strengthening HealthWell’s alliance development activities with medical specialty societies. Ms. Quartey is also responsible for strategically advising HealthWell’s corporate management, external relations, and development teams on the most efficient methods and procedures to increase stakeholder engagement on behalf of the patients we serve. Reporting to the Chief Foundation Program Officer, she coordinates activities with the external relations, development, and operations teams to create performance metrics to maintain and increase stakeholder satisfaction.
Ms. Quartey has over 12 years of experience in the health care industry, focusing on health insurance coverage, reimbursement, and access to care programs. Before joining the Foundation, she served as the Senior Manager of Provider Relations for over six years at the PAN Foundation. In this role, she managed health care provider and pharmacy relations, ensuring that all stakeholders were knowledgeable about programs and processes. She was also responsible for strategic provider outreach to expand the provider base and promote program offerings.
Prior to joining the Foundation, she worked with CareMetx and Lash Group as a Reimbursement Advocate, supporting patients, health care providers, and pharmacies.
Ms. Quartey has a Bachelor of Science in Marketing from Syracuse University and received certification as a Nuclear Medicine Technologist.
Ms. Richa Dahiya joined the HealthWell Foundation in December 2023 and serves as Chief Financial Officer. In this role, Ms. Dahiya is responsible for the financial strategy, planning, and long-term financial direction of the organization in collaboration with the CEO, board, and senior management. She provides strategic leadership and oversight for the Foundation’s corporate finance, accounting, auditing, and human resource functions. In addition, Ms. Dahiya is responsible for managing the Foundation’s investment portfolio.
Prior to joining HealthWell, Ms. Dahiya was the Chief Financial Officer at Tax Analysts where she led the finance, accounting and real estate teams, and management of investment portfolios. She helped streamline finance and audit functions and worked closely with the finance committee and the Board of Directors.
Bringing almost 20 years of finance and management experience to the Foundation, Ms. Dahiya is well-versed in both non-profit and for-profit organizations. She has helped scale organizations organically and through M&A with a focus on financial strategy and operations.
Prior to her role at Tax Analysts, Ms. Dahiya held positions in finance and strategy in mid-size and Fortune 500 companies including retail, health care, and transportation industries for companies such as Rosetta Stone, FedEx, Greyhound and Blockbuster.
Ms. Dahiya has a Financial Management Certificate from Cornell University and received her master’s in business administration from Faculty of Management Studies (Delhi University) in New Delhi, India and a B.A in Mathematics from Delhi University, India.
Ms. Elham Ghatri joined the HealthWell Foundation in May 2024 and serves as Director of Accounting. Reporting to the Chief Financial Officer, Ms. Ghatri is responsible for managing day-to-day operations of the Accounting Department, including financial reporting, grants management, and regulatory compliance.
Ms. Ghatri brings over 20 years of progressive experience in non-profit and corporate accounting in positions of increasing responsibility to the Foundation.
Prior to joining HealthWell, Ms. Ghatri served as Assistant Controller at NALC where she was responsible for oversight of daily accounting activities, external audits, and preparing and analyzing financial statements to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and senior leadership. In addition, she supervised investment activities, payroll, and accounting personnel.
Before joining NALC, Ms. Ghatri served in a number of senior consulting and auditing roles.
She earned her B.S. degree in Accounting from George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, and an M.S. in Applied Economics from Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD.
Mr. Tim Vawter joined HealthWell in 2012 and serves as the Foundation’s Associate Director of Information Technology. In this role, Mr. Vawter is responsible for overseeing the operation, maintenance and upgrade of IT system infrastructure for the Foundation’s headquarters and its contact center subsidiary, HWF Direct, LLC. Reporting to the Director of Finance, he serves as point of contact and interface for all external IT third-party vendors and provides expertise in the areas of networking, server and database support, firewall administration, information security and user hardware/software support. Responsibilities also include assisting with internal design and multimedia projects, and e-marketing systems oversight.
Mr. Vawter held the positions of Foundation Coordinator, IT and Multimedia Specialist, and Senior Manager, Information Technology prior to assuming the role of Associate Director.
Before joining HealthWell, he provided information technology and design support for several Maryland-based organizations.
Mr. Vawter earned his B.A. degree from Troy University.
Mr. Ellery Joyeau joined the HealthWell Foundation in January 2025 and serves as Chief Human Resources Officer. In this role, Mr. Joyeau is responsible for the people strategy of the organization in collaboration with the President & CEO, Board and senior management. He provides strategic leadership and oversight for the Foundation’s human resource function.
Prior to joining HealthWell, Mr. Joyeau was the Vice President of People & Culture at National Quality Forum where he led the merger of the organization with another large national accreditation agency.
Bringing over 20 years of human resources and management experience to the Foundation, Mr. Joyeau has worked in many aspects of the health care industry including provider to payer, managed care and behavioral health settings.
Prior to his role at NQF, Mr. Joyeau held positions in human resources at companies such as GBMC Health System, CareFirst Blue Cross Blue Shield, Sierra Military Health and Juvo Behavioral Health.
Mr. Joyeau is a certified Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) from the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). He earned his undergraduate degree in Marketing and an MBA from Cleveland State University in Cleveland, Ohio.
Ms. Lori Martin joined the HealthWell Foundation in 2022 as the Associate Director of Human Resources and in 2023 was promoted to Director.
In this role, she is responsible for managing the HR team and overseeing strategies for recruitment, benefits administration, performance management, rewards and recognition, career development, and employee wellness and engagement initiatives. She is also responsible for HR compliance and HealthWell’s commitment to equal opportunity and diversity.
Ms. Martin has over 20 years of experience in human resources leadership roles in the health care and health research industries. Prior to joining HealthWell, she served as the Director of HR Compliance & Leave Management for Sheppard Pratt, and as the Human Resources Director for Family Services, Inc. (now part of Sheppard Pratt). Prior to joining Family Services, she served as Vice President of HR for a leading public health research organization.
Ms. Martin earned her MBA in Organizational Behavior and Development from George Washington University and a B.S. in Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing from the University of Delaware.
Mr. Fred Larbi joined the HealthWell Foundation in 2016 as Senior Associate Director of Operations and has served in positions of increasing responsibility including Director of Operations, prior to assuming the role of Chief Operations Officer. In his current role as Chief Operations Officer, Mr. Larbi serves as a member of HealthWell senior management, oversees corporate strategic operations, and is responsible for day-to-day operations of HealthWell’s HWF Direct, LLC contact center subsidiary. He also continues to make significant contributions to development efforts through forecasting and operational fund management.
Mr. Larbi brings over ten years’ experience in patient access-to-care programs and the copayment assistance arena to the Operations team. Previously, he served as Manager of Patient Access Programs for the Cystic Fibrosis (CF) Foundation in Bethesda, Maryland, where he focused on day-to-day management of the CF Foundation’s Copay Assistance Program. In addition, Mr. Larbi assisted in the relaunch and management of CF Foundation Compass, a personalized service providing CF patients with assistance through insurance, financial, legal and other issues.
Mr. Larbi earned his B.A. in Marketing from University of Ghana, Legon and his MBA from LeMoyne College, Syracuse, NY.
Ms. Erica Mata serves as Operations Director for the Foundation after joining HealthWell in December 2019 as Project Manager. Prior to her current role, she served as the Associate Director of Operations.
As Operations Director, Ms. Mata ensures that all activities managed by the corporate operations team are implemented effectively and efficiently. She interacts with all departments as it relates to operations and serves as subject matter expert in the areas of OIG-compliant operations. Reporting to the Chief Operating Officer, Ms. Mata supervises the day-to-day operations of the Foundation by overseeing task assignments and project management. She oversees the coordination of new fund set up in the Grant Management System and ensures system integration with the Foundation’s third-party claims administrator. Ms. Mata works closely with the COO to implement strategic operations initiatives.
In her previous role as Project Manager, she focused on Contact Center initiatives and other departmental projects. She created project management plans, tracked and reported on their progress, identified barriers and helped ensure their successful completion.
Prior to joining HealthWell, Ms. Mata worked as a program manager for a large non-profit health care system, bringing over 12 years’ non-profit and health care experience in the areas of event management, prospect management and Grateful Patient Program management.
Ms. Mata earned her B.A. degree in Business Administration with a specialization in project management from American InterContinental University.
Mr. Cesar Martinez joined the HealthWell Foundation in October 2019 and serves as Director, Architect Solutions. Prior to his current role, he served as the Solutions Architect. In this role, Mr. Martinez oversees the grants management system (GMS) team which manages the ongoing operation, maintenance and upgrade of the Foundation’s GMS systems and portals. He works closely with the Foundation’s corporate and contact center teams to identify and prioritize key, critical GMS customization projects required to meet the needs of individuals accessing Foundation grants and services. In addition, Mr. Martinez is also responsible for identifying technologies to improve the Foundation’s products and services and as well as developing strategies to address legacy GMS debt and ensuring the technical platforms align with the Foundation’s strategic priorities.
In his previous role as Operations Implementation Manager, Mr. Martinez provided redundancy across all areas of the operations process and assisted in driving projects to completion while ensuring outcomes align with expectations of the Foundation. He was responsible for day-to-day monitoring of various fund elements and the efficient management of Foundation funds. Mr. Martinez served as a consultant for the HealthWell Foundation from 2014 until joining the team full-time. Prior to this, he served as Information Technology Manager for Persiano Rug, Inc. where he designed and implemented a full IT systems solution for the company.
Mr. Martinez received his Bachelor’s in Systems Engineering from the University of Azuay, Cuenca, Ecuador and a Full Stack Web Developer certification from Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland in 2021.
Mr. Samuel Sappor joined the Foundation in November 2020 as the Data Analytics Manager, prior to assuming his role as Associate Director of Data Analytics. As the Associate Director, Mr. Sappor plays an integral role in the overall data and analytics strategy, including planning for new and updated reporting, ensuring alignment among key stakeholders. He is responsible for continually improving reporting and data analytic processes, including developing dashboards and reports, identifying areas of process improvement, data clean up, forecasting needs, and new business initiatives. Additionally, he is responsible for the extraction of data for annual reporting, donor, financial and program audits, and ad hoc requests for our corporate and contact center offices.
Bringing over 12 years’ experience in contact center management and customer service to the Foundation’s corporate office, he previously served as the Reports Lead and Team Lead for HealthWell’s contact center where he was responsible for day-to-day reports pertaining to call volume patterns, staff efficiency and productivity.
Mr. Sappor earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Physics from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) and received a certification in Data Analytics from General Assembly, Washington DC in 2021.
Ms. Rita Coleman re-joined the Foundation in August 2022 and serves as Associate Director of Operations. Prior to her current role, she served as the Senior Operations Manager. As Associate Director of Operations, Ms. Coleman focuses on fund management including, overseeing the timely and accurate delivery of donor reports, daily fund reconciliation activities, and new fund set up related to the GMS system. She serves as the primary liaison with our external pharmacy benefit administrator and responsible for the maintenance of fund product information. She is also responsible for monitoring escalation issues related to grant and payment processing. Ms. Coleman assists in the identification and implementation of new special initiative program enhancements.
Prior to this, Ms. Coleman served as Senior Operations Manager and Special Initiatives Manager, serving as the subject matter expert for special funds. Prior to re-joining in 2022, she provided consulting processing services for HealthWell. She also previously served in a multi-functional program operational role for the Foundation from 2010 to 2018.
Ms. Coleman earned her Master’s in Public Health at Walden University.
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