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. 

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. 

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. 

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.   

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.  

Dr. Nancy Carteron is a Consultant Rheumatologist with globally recognized expertise in the complex autoimmune disease, Sjogren’s. She is Health Sciences Clinical Professor at the University of California, Berkeley with an academic practice in the Berkeley Sjogren’s Clinic. Dr. Carteron also serves as Professor of Medicine (Volunteer) at the University of California, San Francisco, Division of Rheumatology. Previously, she managed complex autoimmune and immunologic diseases during 28 years in rheumatology clinical practice in San Francisco. 

Dr. Carteron is a research and clinical member of the Sjogren’s Disease Team, Accelerating Medicines Partnershipâ Autoimmune and Immune-Mediated Diseases program, a 5-year national public-private partnership to investigate Sjogren’s and other immune diseases AMP-AIM. Dr. Carteron has authored numerous research publications on Sjogren’s CHEST, rheumatoid arthritis, immunology, and molecular virology.  

Dr. Carteron has a long association with the National Sjogren’s Foundation, having served on their Board of Directors, chaired their Medical and Scientific Advisor group, and now serves as Rheumatology Chair, Clinical Guidelines program and Medical and Scientific Editor, Sjogren’s Quarterly. 

Dr. Carteron received her MD from Johns Hopkins and post-graduate training at Duke, Stanford and University of California, San Francisco. She was the founder of the Women’s Health Program at California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco. 

David Ertel is the Chief Financial Officer of Vizient, Inc., a company dedicated to performance improvement in the health care space, where he is responsible for information technology, financial operations, accounting, internal audit and treasury, and mergers and acquisitions.  Vizient focuses on cost, clinical quality and performance improvement, and is a trusted partner for the nation’s leading health systems.

Before joining Vizient, David served as Chief Financial Officer and Chief Strategy Officer of the University of Miami’s health care enterprise (UHealth), and, prior to that, as Chief Financial Officer for the Einstein Healthcare Network (EHN), an integrated delivery system in the greater Philadelphia market. He has also been a Managing Director and the head of the Health Care Group at Morgan Stanley.

David is currently a Director of the Santa Fe Opera Company, where he is a member of the Executive Committee and chairs the Endowment Investment Committee. He also serves as an Advisory Director for Acclara Solutions, Houston, Texas.

David previously served as Vice Chair of the Board and Chair of the Finance and Strategic Planning Committees of the Princeton HealthCare System/University Medical Center at Princeton, and as an advisor to the National Committee for Quality Health Care and the Service Program for Older People, Inc.

He holds an MBA in Finance and a Master’s in Hospital Administration from Columbia University.

Dr. Don Liss serves as Chief Medical Officer at 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. 

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. 

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

Ms. Krista Zodet serves as President and Chief Executive Officer of the HealthWell Foundation. Ms. Zodet is responsible for developing the long-term direction of the organization in collaboration with the board and for providing strategic leadership and oversight of the organization’s operations, programs, and staff. 

Ms. Zodet has been a member of the Foundation’s management team for over 17 years. In alignment with the Foundation’s strategic plan, Ms. Zodet is responsible for compliantly broadening HealthWell’s capacity to better support its mission through funding diversification and innovative patient support. As a passionate and dedicated patient advocate, she works diligently to ease patient burden and mitigate stress through the Foundation’s transparent, patient-focused, program and streamlined processes. Ms. Zodet is committed to maintaining the positive work environment she established in 2013 upon becoming President that focuses on employee growth and development while maintaining healthy work-life integration to ensure solid bench strength supporting a robust succession plan. 

With a life sciences background spanning almost 30 years, Ms. Zodet has experience educating others on how to navigate complicated health care systems, including Medicare beneficiary programs; working with a team of health care professionals to design, implement and report on quality improvement projects with hospitals; helping people navigate the health care system and access their medicines through patient assistance programs; and providing strategic guidance regarding program design, emerging industry or product trends, opportunities for service enhancements and new services for pharmaceutical and biotechnology clients. 

Ms. Zodet received a master’s degree in Social Work with a Specialist Certificate in Aging and a B.A. in Sociology from the University of Michigan – Ann Arbor. 

Krista.Zodet@HealthWellFoundation.org  |  (240) 632-5305 

Mr. Alan Klein serves as Chief Development Officer for the HealthWell Foundation.

For more than seven years, as part of the organization’s senior management team, Mr. Klein has been responsible for identifying, developing, and managing fundraising and strategic partnerships relating to the Foundation’s corporate operations. Prior to joining HealthWell, Mr. Klein spent more than 24 years in progressively responsible senior and officer-level business development and business management positions at large, small and pre-revenue organizations within the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. Primary achievements and responsibilities included the finalization of transactions (in- and out-licensing, M&A, co-development, cash-structured exchanges, fee-for-service) exceeding $6 billion in combined valuation within many therapeutic areas. In addition, he was responsible for the management of revenue growth and portfolio investments, profit management, and supervision of strategic product development programs, while also serving on boards of directors for two non-profit organizations.

Mr. Klein received his Master’s degree in Business Administration from Johns Hopkins University and a B.A. from the University of Maryland.

Alan.Klein@HealthWellFoundation.org  |  (240) 632-5312

Mr. Collin Alexander joined HealthWell in 2012 as Accounting Specialist and has served in positions of increasing responsibility, including Senior Accountant, Controller, and Director of Finance, prior to assuming the role of Chief Financial Officer. As Chief Financial Officer, Mr. Alexander reports directly to the Foundation’s President and Chief Executive Officer and is responsible for management of day-to-day operations of the Finance Department. He serves as key point of contact for annual financial audits and financial aspects of all program audits. He is responsible for state and federal filings, financial statements, and other reoccurring financial activities, including development of the Foundation’s annual budget and reporting relevant and timely information regarding the financial health of the Foundation to senior staff and the Board of Directors. He also serves as Treasurer for a local non-profit organization.

Mr. Alexander earned his Master’s in Business Administration from the Robert H. Smith School of Business at University of Maryland and his Bachelor of Arts degree in Accounting at University of Maryland’s University College.

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. 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.

Shela.Halper@HealthWellFoundation.org  |  (240) 632-5307

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 Chief Development 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 Digital Marketing Manager and the Marketing & Events Coordinator 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.

Ginny.Dunn@HealthWellFoundation.org  |  (240) 632-5309

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.

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.

Ms. Sharon Flores-Britt joined the HealthWell Foundation in 2021 and serves as Associate Director, Finance. Ms. Flores-Britt held the positions of Accountant and Senior Accountant for the Foundation prior to assuming her new role as Associate Director, Finance. In this role, she is responsible for the management of day-to-day accounting activities and collaborates with the Chief Financial Officer to assist in compiling and analyzing financial information. She is also responsible for managing the monthly closing process, and the implementation of new accounting standards. She plays an integral role in the preparation of the annual budget, 990 tax return and 1099 tax documents for vendors and contractors, audit reviews, and compiling and analyzing data to determine trends.

Before joining the Foundation, Ms. Flores-Britt served as Assurance Senior Associate for PricewaterhouseCoopers where she was responsible for overseeing the execution of audits and for developing end-to-end audit plans, and preforming audits for public and private companies in accordance with applicable auditing standards. She was also responsible for coordinating with clients across multiple departments to streamline requests and ensure timely and accurate reporting.

Ms. Flores-Britt earned her B.S. degree in Business Administration with a major in Accounting and her B.A. degree with a major in Mathematics from King’s College, Wilkes-Barre, PA. Ms. Flores-Britt holds an active Certified Public Accountant (CPA) license.

Mr. Brian Katz joined the Foundation in March 2020 as Manager, Development & Individual Giving. In his current role as Associate Director, Development & Individual Giving, Mr. Katz is responsible for the strategic management of fundraising programs, including individual giving, major gifts, and planned giving. Working closely with the Chief Development Officer, Mr. Katz is responsible for promoting the mission of the Foundation by growing its individual and non-pharmaceutical organization donor bases, establishing partnerships with key stakeholders, and managing the Foundation’s gift acceptance process.

Prior to joining HealthWell, Mr. Katz was fundraising for the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless in Denver and the Hebrew Home of Greater Washington in Rockville.

Mr. Katz earned his B.A. degree from West Virginia University.

Ms. Lori Martin joined the HealthWell Foundation in 2022 as the Associate Director of Human Resources. 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.

Ms. Audrey Quartey joined the HealthWell Foundation in 2022 and serves as Associate 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. Sarina Robbins joined the Foundation in March 2020 and serves as Associate Director of Development. 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.

Mr. Samuel Sappor joined the Foundation in November 2020 as the Data Analytics Manager, prior to assuming his role as Associate Director, Data Analytics.

As the Associate Director, Data Analytics, Mr. Sappor plays an integral role in the overall data and analytics strategy, including planning for new and updated reporting and data projects, ensuring alignment among key stakeholders, continually improving reporting and data analytic processes including developing dashboards and reports. Mr. Sappor interprets and analyzes data at both the contact center and corporate offices to identify areas of process improvement, data clean up, forecasting needs, and new business initiatives. 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. In addition, he works closely with the contact center, collaborating with key stakeholder to forecast call, payment, and process volumes and calculates the full time equivalent (FTE) of agents required to perform the different tasks.

Bringing over 12 years’ experience in contact center management and customer service to the Foundation’s corporate office he previously served as 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’s degree in Physics from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), and also received certification in Data Analytics from General Assembly, Washington DC in 2021.

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.

Ms. Crystal Lynch joined the HealthWell Foundation in 2019 and serves as Senior Manager, Provider and Pharmacy Relations. Reporting to the Associate Director of External Relations, Ms. Lynch is responsible for managing day-to-day outreach to providers and pharmacies to ensure they are familiar with HealthWell programs and processes and to increase stakeholder engagement with the Foundation. In addition, she coordinates activities with the external relations and operations teams to enhance the user experience and streamline program resources.

Prior to this, she served as Senior Operations Manager. In this role, Ms. Lynch was responsible for creating recurring donor reports, assisting in the creation and maintenance of internal operating procedures, implementing process improvement and change management, and monitoring program metrics.  Ms. Lynch brings more than 12 years’ experience as a trainer, quality control lead, and supervisor for several patient assistance programs and foundations.

Ms. Lynch earned her B.A. degree in American Studies with a concentration in Business from the University of Maryland, College Park.

Ms. Rosi Bankovic  joined the HealthWell Foundation in May 2022 as Implementation Manager prior to assuming her current role of Manager, Salesforce Administration. In this role, Ms. Bankovic assists in driving projects to completion while ensuring outcomes align with expectations of the Foundation. Under the direction of the Director, Architect Solutions, Ms. Bankovic works closely with the operations and grant management system teams to provide full project lifecycle support for the internal GMS user and stakeholders. Her role includes requirement gathering and documentation, system configuration and administration, writing test cases, and assisting in testing solutions against requirements. 

Before joining, Ms. Bankovic served as a consultant for the HealthWell Foundation from 2015, after which she transitioned full time to HealthWell’s dedicated contact center, HWF Direct, LLC as a Quality Assurance Supervisor in 2020. As a Quality Assurance Supervisor, she created the quality program to drive the improvement, alignment and consistent processing across various processes including payment requests, income documents and online applications. As a consultant, she served as a subject matter expert and provided a variety of management services including training, quality assurance, SOP creation, GMS admin tasks, reports, and data extraction. The consultant role was facilitated through Ms. Bankovic’s prior role with Covance Market Access Services, where she worked as a Program Associate on the HealthWell Foundation Program from 2005 to 2008. 

Ms. Bankovic received her bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Washington State University – Tri-Cities and master’s degree in Business Administration from Hood College in Frederick, Maryland. 

Mr. Dillon Hughes joined the HealthWell Foundation in May 2022 as a Salesforce Developer, prior to assuming his role as Manager, Salesforce Development. In this role, he works on customizing and optimizing HealthWell’s grant management system (GMS) to ensure a streamlined experience for those accessing Foundation grants and services. In addition to these technical responsibilities, Mr. Hughes works closely with the Director, Architect Solutions, along with the operations team and Foundation’s contact center, HWF Direct, LLC., to identify and prioritize opportunities for system efficiency and improvement.

Prior to joining HealthWell, Mr. Hughes worked as a Salesforce Consultant with Acumen Solutions and later Salesforce after the merger in 2021. In this role, he was responsible for customizing client’s Salesforce instances through Lightning Web Component design and Apex integrations among other helpful enhancements. For long standing clients, Mr. Hughes worked to eliminate technical debt, freeing up resources to allow for updated configurations of their Salesforce system.

Mr. Hughes received his bachelor’s degree in mathematics from the University of North Georgia in December of 2015 and is currently working toward his master’s degree in Humanitarian Action from the University of London, SOAS.

Ms. Chelsea Lingrel

Ms. Chelsea Lingrel  joined the HealthWell Foundation in 2020 and serves as Digital Marketing Manager. Ms. Lingrel brings over seven years’ experience in non-profit endeavors to the Foundation. In this role, she assists in the management of the Foundation’s integrated digital marketing strategy and develops relevant content for all social channels. She is responsible for implementation, analytics, and online engagement across all social platforms. She also works with the External Relations team to help support outreach efforts and strategic partnerships with advocacy organizations. 

Prior to joining HealthWell’s corporate team, Ms. Lingrel served as a Foundation Specialist for HealthWell Foundation’s dedicated contact center, HWF Direct, LLC. 

Ms. Lingrel earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Interdisciplinary Anthropology from The University of Akron, Akron, OH and a Certificate in Non-profit Management from the Center for Community Engagement, St. John-Fisher College, Fairport, NY. 

Mr. Augusto Martinez joined the HealthWell Foundation in 2023 and serves as Manager, Salesforce Development.  In this role, he is responsible for front and back-end portal development and other grant management system (GMS) integrations.  Mr. Martinez works closely with the operations team to develop solutions that support business requirements and drive strategic priorities.

Prior to joining HealthWell, Mr. Martinez served as a Software Development Manager for a local software development firm where he was responsible for web services and development, database architecture, and building and enhancing web applications.

Mr. Martinez received his Bachelor’s in Information Systems Engineering from the University of Azuay, Cuenca, Ecuador and a Full Stack Web Developer certification from John Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland in 2021.

Mr. Albert Mejia joined the HealthWell Foundation in 2018 as Junior Accountant and assumed the role of Finance Manager in 2023. In his role as Finance Manager, Mr. Mejia provides support to the Foundation in the areas of accounting and financial oversight. He is responsible for managing day-to-day accounting activities, including accounts receivable, and accounts payable. Working closely with the Associate Director of Finance, Mr. Mejia assists with the monthly closing process including compiling and analyzing financial information for internal stakeholders. In addition, he also provides assistance with internal and external audits. Mr. Mejia brings over 14 years’ experience as Program Supervisor for two local contact centers where he was responsible for management and supervision of day-to-day operations for multiple client programs.

Mr. Mejia is currently working toward his degree in business administration at University of Maryland University College, College Park, MD.

Ms. Ellen Riley-Davis joined the HealthWell Foundation in 2022 and serves as Operations Manager. In this role, Ms. Riley-Davis is responsible for reviewing and enhancing operations, organizing the operations management documentation processes, as well as creating, maintaining, and regularly reviewing/updating standard operating procedures. In addition, she supports the Operations team through project and change management to ensure timely completion of projects and communications to key stakeholders. Working closely with the Operations Director, she assists with the compilation of yearly program audits.

Prior to joining the Foundation’s corporate team, Ms. Riley-Davis was a Program Supervisor at HealthWell’s contact center, HWF Direct, LLC, where she was responsible for supporting and coaching Program Leads and Senior Specialists through the payments and income documentation review process.  She served as a primary point of contact for the processing team, investigating inquiries and managing escalated matters.  Ms. Riley-Davis supported quality initiatives to ensure the achievement of quality metrics.  She maintained a working knowledge of Foundation guidelines and standard operating procedures and appropriate use of the secured Grants Management System.

She joined HWF Direct, LLC in September 2020 as a Program Specialist.  Prior to assuming the Program Specialist role, she provided consulting services for HealthWell having had 9 years of experience as a subject matter expert, quality assurance lead, and program supervisor for several patient assistance programs and foundations through Covance Market Access Services between 2007 to 2016.

Ms. Riley-Davis earned her bachelor’s degree in English Literature with a minor in Public Relations from Saint Mary’s College, Notre Dame, Indiana.

Ms. Casey Calandrelle joined the HealthWell Foundation in 2023 and serves as Data Analytics Coordinator, bringing more than 4 years of experience in data extraction and interpretation to the team. 

Reporting to the Associate Director of Data Analytics, Ms. Calandrelle assists with the extraction and interpretation of data for annual reporting, data clean up, as well as donor, financial, and program audits. As part of the data analytics team, Ms. Calandrelle provides continual support and improvement of current data processes through report and dashboard development. Additionally, she works closely with HealthWell’s corporate and contact center operation teams to fulfill ad hoc requests. 

Prior to joining the Foundation, Ms. Calandrelle worked as an Applications Data Mining Analyst for a small insurance agency.  

Ms. Calandrelle earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Information Systems from The University of Maryland Baltimore County, Baltimore, Maryland.  

Ms. Pamely Flores Vasco joined the HealthWell Foundation in 2022 and serves as Finance Coordinator. Ms. Flores Vasco previously served as Staff Accountant prior to taking on her role of Finance Coordinator. In this role, she is responsible for managing accounts receivable and revenue including compiling and recording into multiple accounts. Additionally, she collaborates with the Associate Director of Finance to reconcile cash accounts, fixed assets, revenue, accounts receivable, and other accounts on a monthly and annual basis to assist in the financial close process. Ms. Flores Vasco is also responsible for assisting with the preparation of Finance board materials and audit requests as warranted.

Prior to joining the Foundation’s corporate headquarters, Ms. Flores Vasco served in various roles, including Program Lead and Consultant, for HealthWell’s dedicated contact center, HWF Direct, LLC.

Ms. Flores Vasco earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador.

Ms. Linda Haglund joined the Foundation in November 2022 and serves as the Marketing and Events Coordinator. In this role, Ms. Haglund is responsible for the coordination and management of conferences attended by Foundation representatives. Reporting directly to the Sr. Associate Director of Communications and Marketing, she plays integral role in the identification of relevant industry and disease-specific conferences to promote HealthWell’s brand and to educate attendees about our programs and resources. Ms. Haglund is responsible for pre- and post-conference logistics, content accuracy and inventory management of marketing materials, and timely dissemination of relevant communications.

Prior to joining the Foundation, Ms. Haglund spent over six years in the non-profit sector in the areas of donor relations and event management. She also possesses 10 years’ experience in the areas of pharmaceutical sales and brand marketing. Ms. Haglund managed the data entry team at The National Foundation for Cancer Research and, most recently, founded DMV Showcase Co., a non-profit that helps skilled high school athletes gain collegiate scholarships.

Ms. Haglund received her BS degree in Business Management from Oregon State University.

Ms. Megan Minnick joined HealthWell in 2022 and serves as the Human Resources Coordinator bringing more 15 years of administrative and human resources support experience across the health care and mental health industries to the Foundation’s corporate office.  

In this role, Ms. Minnick is responsible for the essential day-to-day activities associated with full cycle human resources support for the corporate team including assisting with benefit management, payroll administration, and recruitment activities.  As Human Resources coordinator, she works closely with the corporate team to identify and develop employee engagement initiatives that aide in promoting a compliant and positive work environment.    

Prior to joining the Foundation, Ms. Minnick specialized in talent acquisition strategies and recruitment for several large hospital and health care systems in the south-central Pennsylvania area.  

Ms. Minnick is a current member of Chesapeake Human Resources Association. 

Ms. Tammie Grigsby joined HealthWell in 2023 and serves as Executive Assistant reporting directly to the President and Chief Executive Officer. In her role, Ms. Grigsby works closely with the President and Chief Executive Officer to carry out strategic tasks in order to support the Foundation’s mission. Her responsibilities include assisting in the preparation of quarterly Board meetings, including material compilation, dissemination, and on-site meeting support. Ms. Grigsby is also responsible for day-to-day administrative support for the President and CEO and the senior management team. She assists with logistics for senior management travel, conference participation, Foundation-wide meetings and events, and other special initiatives as assigned.  

Ms. Grigsby brings more than 25 years of experience in administrative support to C-Level executives in both the for-profit and non-profit sectors to the Foundation.  

Ms. Sabrina Howard joined HealthWell in 2019 and serves as Office Assistant. In this role, Ms. Howard provides essential day-to-day organizational support across all departments of the Foundation. She is responsible for maintaining the corporate calendar including scheduling meetings, alerting the team of updates and cancellations and over all coordination of logistics for on-site events. Ms. Howard also serves as liaison between the Foundation’s senior team and property management to communicate all facility updates and alerts. She recommends and implements changes to office workflow to improve efficiency of the Foundation’s corporate headquarters.

Prior to joining the Foundation, Ms. Howard served as a leader and trainer as well as Department Manager, Customer Order Specialist, and Customer Service Representative for several local Maryland businesses.