Rise

Alexa Arao CEO & Administrator

Home Health Providers

Alexa is a patient-centric and visionary healthcare leader with over 25 years of clinical expertise and a proven track record of driving transformative outcomes in care delivery. Currently serving as CEO & Administrator of Home Health Providers LLC, a Mesa-based startup home health agency, she is dedicated to delivering timely, excellent care while advancing innovation in community health.

Prior to her entrepreneurial venture, she spent a decade at Kaiser Permanente-San Francisco, rising from Assistant Manager to Director. Among her groundbreaking achievements, she co-led the development of Kaiser’s first Level 1 Geriatric Emergency Department, pioneering a 24/7 multidisciplinary care model that reduced patient falls at home by 55% and readmissions by 26% through AI-driven, patient-centric protocols. Her work set the gold standard across Kaiser’s national network and other non-Kaiser organizations across the nation.

She also spearheaded Kaiser San Francisco’s Enhanced Recovery Programs (ERAS/ERM), revolutionizing surgical care by slashing hospital stays— reducing joint surgery stays from 3 days to 22 hours and cardiac surgeries from 4 days to under 2. Her success became the blueprint for Northern California Kaiser hospitals, and she shared these innovations globally at the World ERAS Congress in France and Sweden.

A lifelong learner, she holds four master’s degrees spanning business and healthcare disciplines, blending strategic acumen with clinical excellence. With her years in executive leadership and a passion for collaboration, she remains committed to elevating health systems, improving patient outcomes, shaping the future of care delivery, and providing excellent care without delay to their patients and their families.

Eva Balint Chief Medical Officer

EB Consulting

Vandna Bhrany Principal 

8BAdvisors 

Vandna Bhrany Vice President, HEDIS Strategy & Analytics 

AmeriHealth Caritas 

Vandna Pandita, MPH is the Vice President of HEDIS® Strategy and Analytics for the AmeriHealth Caritas Family of Companies [ACFC].  In her role, Vandna is leverages her experience in quality and risk adjustment operations to support members and providers as it relates to performance reporting and the member and provider experience.  Her area of influence spans analytics, plan operations and digital integration of data and processes in the transition to interoperability.  

Prior to AmeriHealth, Vandna has worked for several national health plans, including Aetna, several Blue Cross Blue Shield plans, the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association and Centene.  She has successfully led several health plans through NCQA Accreditation, managed HEDIS® reporting, improvement and outreach, and helped develop and implement a successful provider profiling and performance measurement program.  In addition to her health plan experience, Vandna managed Risk Adjustment Client Operations for Evolent Health, is a former certified HEDIS® Compliance Auditor and led project management and client solutions for a retrieval, abstraction/coding and analytics vendor supporting health plans and provider groups in their efforts to optimize revenue and improve quality within their populations. 

Vandna attended the University of California at Berkeley as an undergraduate and received her Master’s in Public Health from the University of California at Los Angeles. 

Vandna has moved from coast to coast, spending the better part of the last 25 years working on her southern drawl in Atlanta, Georgia.  These days you can find her running the streets of Atlanta, cooking for friends or working on her newest hobby, making wobbly pottery.  

Paul Chiang Senior Medical & Practice Advisor

HCCI

Dr. Paul Chiang, Former Medical Director, Northwestern Medicine Home Care Physicians, and Senior Medical and Practice Advisor, Home Centered Care Institute

Dr. Chiang served as the Medical Director for Northwestern Medicine HomeCare Physicians (HCP), a suburban Chicago practice focused on delivering care to medically complex patients in their homes. HCP house call program has made more than 142,000 house calls to more than 10,000 home-limited patients since its founding in 1997. Personally, Dr. Chiang has made over 38,000 house calls to more than 3,900 patients in his 24-year career. His practice and work have been featured on ABC News Chicago and in northeast Illinois’ Daily Herald. In 2014, Northwestern Medicine Central DuPage Hospital named him as one of 50 Unsung Heroes. In October 2019, Dr. Chiang received the “House Call Doctor of the Year” award from the American Academy of Home Care Medicine. In 2024, Dr. Chiang received the Community Leadership Award from the Chicago Health Executives Forum.  He is board certified in Internal Medicine and Hospice and Palliative Medicine.

Dr. Chiang serves as the Senior Medical and Practice Advisor for Home Centered Care Institute (HCCI), where he focuses his time on developing curriculum, teaching current and future providers and presenting locally and nationally on the value of home-based primary care.

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Elizabeth Chidothe Home care expert, regional health plan 

 Elizabeth Chidothe is a Value Based Program Manager with Medica.  She received her Master's of Science in Nursing at the University of Pennsylvania.  She has worked in multiple primary care settings with a passion for an accessible holistic and preventative approach to chronic disease prevention and management. With this passion, she became a founding member of the nurse-led startups Retrace Health and Nice Healthcare whose missions were to provide affordable and convenient care to patients via video and in their homes. As a leader in both companies, she rigorously worked on establishing policies, programs, and frameworks for the company and for the people she managed that would set the stage for quality and holistic care for the populations they served. She came to Medica in hopes to impact the longevity and vitality of populations through her work with Value Based Care.  Outside of work, she sits on the ANA Innovation Advisory Committee for policy and determinants of health equity. 

John Criswell Founder, CEO & Chairman 

Porter 

John has over 25 years of entrepreneurial and executive experience in the healthcare space, building relationships across major, national health plans and large regional healthcare systems. John’s newest venture, Porter, designed to reach beyond standard home interventions, is the only quality stars and risk adjustment-focused care coordination program. John previously founded Pulse8, a healthcare analytics and technology company delivering complete visibility into the efficacy of risk adjustment and quality management programs, and led them to a successful acquisition by a publicly traded health IT company. John was recently granted a patent by the United States Patent and Trademark Office for a method and apparatus for risk adjustment.  

Jatin Dave CMO, Gov Products, Associate Professor of Medicine

UPMC Health Plan, UMass Chan Medical School

As the Chief Medical Officer of Government Products, UPMC Health Plan, Jatin provides strategic, clinical, and policy leadership and oversight of healthcare services for Government Products at UPMC Health Plan. He is also practices as a consultant for the palliative care team at Tufts Medical Center and is an assistant clinical professor of medicine with Tufts University School of Medicine Jatin is an Associate Professor at U Mass Chan Medical School in the Department of Population and Quantitative Health Science and is board certified in Internal Medicine, Geriatric Medicine, Hospice and Palliative Care and Clinical Informatics.

Before that Jatin worked as the chief medical officer for MassHealth, Medicaid program for Massachusetts and before that he was at New England Quality Care Allianc where he served as a chief medical officer, a member of the executive leadership team, quality committees, and the board of trustees.. Prior to that, he served as medical director of geriatrics and Senior Care Options at Tufts Health Plan.

Previously, at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Jatin served as both a primary care physician and consultant geriatrician, as well as director of education. While there, he received the Geriatric Academic Career Award and the Clinical Innovation Award.

Shannon Decker Founder & CEO

VBC One

Dr. Shannon Decker is Founder & CEO at VBC One, a consulting firm assisting physician groups, health plans and vendors maximize the performance of their value based contracts and offerings. Dr. Decker has more than 25 years experience in health care and most recently led teams in risk, quality, data and analytics, telehealth, COVID response and delegation compliance. Of her more than 25 years of experience in healthcare--17 include working with risk adjustment, quality and Medicare. Dr. Decker has a PhD. in Interdisciplinary Studies, dual MBA degrees--in Finance and in Marketing, as well as an M.Ed. in Secondary Education and a M.Ed. in Administration and Leadership. Dr. Decker is on the faculty at Arizona State University and is also an associate professor in the social and behavioral sciences for Walden and Capella Universities where she chairs and oversees the dissertations of doctoral students. An author of two books and several peer-reviewed articles, and a prolific national public speaker, her interests include the study of human behavior and how social and behavioral theories may be brought to bear in value based care and population health management as a whole. 

Tina Dueringer CEO, Principal Advisor

Dueringer Advisors, Inc

Tina Dueringer, BSN, RN, CCM, PCC, is the CEO and Principal Advisor at Dueringer Advisors Inc., a distinguished consulting firm dedicated to supporting health plans, vendors, and leaders in the health insurance and provider sectors. With a robust background spanning Medicare Advantage, Medicaid, Duals, ACA, and commercial markets, Tina brings extensive expertise in care management, utilization management, clinical quality, Model of Care development, Stars ratings, HEDIS measures, and accreditation standards such as NCQA and URAC. 

Tina's career is marked by strategic insights into health plan operations, including strategic planning, joint ventures, partnerships, delegated relationships, and the advancement of value-based care models. She is deeply committed to advancing Health Equity, Population Health, and integrated care initiatives across the industry. 

Previously, Tina served as Vice President of Clinical Quality and Stars at Rebellis Group, specializing in Medicare Advantage and government consulting. Her leadership journey includes pivotal roles at Cityblock, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona, and the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, Medicaid Policy Division. 

Tina earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing and holds a post-graduate certification in Population Care Coordination from Duke University. She is also a Board-Certified Case Manager (CCM), underscoring her dedication to enhancing healthcare delivery and outcomes through comprehensive care coordination strategies. 

Lauren Dunning Director

Milken Institute Future of Aging

Lauren Dunning is a director for the Milken Institute Future of Aging, where she develops initiatives and strategic partnerships that advance healthy longevity and financial security across the life course. In her role, Dunning leads work on integrated care solutions leveraging technology and oversees the Future of Aging Advisory Board, a group of global leaders from across sectors that provides advisement, expertise, and collaboration to maximize collective impact. Before joining the Milken Institute, Dunning served in key policy leadership roles over 10 years at the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, where she was most recently the director of government affairs working with officials at all levels to shape public health policy. Dunning has written and presented on a variety of topics across public health, aging, and health care, held an appointment as an adjunct professor of law at Georgetown University Law Center, and serves in an advisory capacity to a number of organizations including LeadingAge California and the Atria Research Institute. Dunning earned a JD from Georgetown University Law Center, a Master of Public Health, from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and a bachelor’s degree from George Washington University. She works at the Milken Institute’s Santa Monica office. 

Ana Handshuh Principal

CAT5 Strategies

Ana Handshuh, Principal at CAT5 Strategies, is a government programs executive with expertise in creating and implementing corporate programs for the healthcare industry. Her background includes Quality, Core Measures, Care Management, Benefit Design and Bid Submission, Accreditation, Regulatory Compliance, Revenue Management, Communications, Community-based Care Management Programs and Technology Integration. Ms. Handshuh currently serves on the Board of the Resource Initiative and Society for Education (RISE), the preeminent national professional association dedicated to managed and accountable care financing and delivery. She is a sought after speaker on the national healthcare circuit in the areas of Quality, Star Ratings, Care Management, Member and Provider Engagement, and Revenue Management. Her recent consultancy roles have included assisting organizations create programs to address the unmet care management needs in the highest risk strata of membership, document their processes and procedures, achieve accreditation status, design and submit government program bids, institute corporate-wide programs and create communications strategies and materials. She possesses sophisticated business acumen with the ability to build consensus with cross-functional groups to accomplish corporate goals. Ms. Handshuh served as the Vice President of Managed Care Services at Central Florida Inpatient Medicine (CFIM). In this role, she provided leadership and strategy on CFIM projects and collaborations with physicians, risk entities, hospital health care systems, and health plans. CFIM is the largest Hospitalist group in Central Florida, with 70 providers discharging over 50,000 patients annually from multiple hospitals across two health care delivery systems and 24 skilled nursing facilities. At CFIM Ms. Handshuh previously served as the Vice President of Operations. Prior to those assignments, she worked with Precision Healthcare Systems as their Vice President of Quality Improvement. In that capacity, she led the IPA’s Quality efforts and collaborated with payers on implementing programs to move the needle on Quality and Star Rating initiatives. Ms. Handshuh also served as the Director of Corporate Program Development at Physicians United Plan. In this role, she led the Quality Management and Corporate Communications departments and spearheaded the development of innovative integrated technology solutions to drive business excellence and Star Rating achievement initiatives. For the past fifteen years Ms. Handshuh has taken an active role in redefining and implementing changes that have led to improvements and greater efficiency within Government programs and healthcare delivery. Prior to joining Physicians United Plan Ms. Handshuh was the founder of I-Six Creative. Under Ms. Handshuh’s vision and leadership, I-Six Creative provided expertise in the areas of managed Medicare benefit design, MSO/IPA operations, provider network strategy, new market launches, technology integration, corporate communications and quality improvement.  

Julie Kennedy Founder

Rubywell

Jake Mead CEO

Impact Sales Partners 

With over 23 years in healthcare, Jake Mead brings deep expertise across the payer, provider, and
vendor landscapes—spanning Medicare Advantage supplemental benefits, STARS &
quality programs, health plan sales, managed Medicaid & MLTSS, care management,
home health & hospice, and DME. He has led sales teams, optimized processes, and driven
marketing initiatives to scale organizations of all sizes—delivering exponential growth,
margin improvement, and higher valuations by building the systems and strategies that
sustain it. He is also on the cutting edge of health-tech innovation, having advised AI and
robotics companies to integrate intelligent automation into care delivery.

Beau Muñoz

Independent Healthcare Technologist

J. Beau Muñoz, MD is a former Navy combat physician, battalion surgeon, published scientist, and patent holder in machine learning applications for ICU clinical decision support tools. He is a California native and a graduate of the University of Southern California with a degree in Economics. Upon completing his undergraduate degree, he was a recipient of the congressionally awarded Fulbright Fellowship which funded 2 years of full-time graduate work overseas. He graduated from Duke School of Medicine in 2010 and attended Harvard Medical School’s Massachusetts General Hospital General Surgery residency. In addition to multiple combat deployments and extensive international service, in 2018, Dr. Muñoz was the recipient of the Department of Defense Exchange of Scientists and Engineers Program (ESEP) award which supported a 1-year trauma surgery research fellowship at Queens Elizabeth Hospital in England. Prior to venturing out into the health-tech startup field, Dr. Muñoz was the Director of Operational Medicine for the US Naval Special Warfare Command (Navy Seal Teams) in Coronado, Ca. Dr. Muñoz has both a professional and academic interest in the application of machine learning technologies to clinical and population-based medicine. His works have been published in The Lancet and the journal Surgery. 

Hallie Noecker Partner

Whistleblower Partners

Hallie Noecker is a partner at Whistleblower Partners. She brings cases in federal and state courts and before various agencies on behalf of clients reporting fraud spanning various industries, including healthcare, technology, and financial services.

Hallie has particular expertise in healthcare fraud, including matters involving Medicare, Medicaid, and other government-funded healthcare programs.

She is part of the legal team pursuing a qui tam case against UnitedHealth Group alleging the nation’s largest Medicare Advantage Organization submitted false claims for payment to the Medicare Program by improperly inflating its members’ risk scores. Her broad healthcare experience also includes matters involving upcoding, kickbacks, lack of medical necessity, manipulation of clinical trial data, and various forms of improper billing under the rules applicable to the various government-sponsored healthcare programs.

Hallie earned her J.D., cum laude, from the University of California, San Francisco (formerly UC Hastings College of the Law) in 2015. During law school, she was an associate editor of the Hastings International and Comparative Law Review, a judicial extern for the Honorable Goodwin Liu at the Supreme Court of California and was inducted into the Pro Bono Society for her substantial debtor and consumer rights pro bono work. Hallie completed her first year of legal study at the University of Wisconsin Law School where she was on the Dean's List both semesters.

Hallie enjoys dragging her husband all over San Francisco on foot, escaping in a novel, and experimenting in the kitchen. She was a Taylor Swift fan before it was cool.

Bryant Saxon CIO

Pennant

Amy Sharrett Director, Clinical Services Operations & Performance Monitoring 

Community Health Plan of Washington 

Amy Sharrett is a dedicated leader with a passion for driving collaboration and innovation in healthcare operations. With a wealth of experience in managing complex projects, improving workflows, and integrating technology solutions, Amy has helped organizations achieve their goals and improve performance.

Currently, Amy serves as the Senior Director, IT at Community Health Plan of Washington, where she oversees strategic projects and key areas such as interoperability solutions, clinical systems support, the CIS system, and vendor contracting oversight.

Previously, Amy was the Director of Clinical Services Operations and Performance, where she provided strategic direction and fostered a culture of operational excellence. Amy has successfully facilitated collaboration between clinical, operational, and IT leaders, directed NCQA Health Plan Accreditation activities, and managed various programs and initiatives.

With a Bachelor of Science in Health Services Administration from Eastern Washington University, Amy is committed to promoting professional growth, operational efficiency, and continuous improvement in healthcare settings.

Pippa Shulman Chief Medical Officer, Chief Strategy Officer

Medically Home

Eliza “Pippa” Shulman, DO, MPH, is the Chief Strategy OƯicer and Chief Medical OƯicer at Medically Home, a leader in transforming healthcare by enabling hospital-level care at home. Medically Home partners with health systems, physician groups, and payers to implement a care model that safely shifts advanced medical care into the home, improving patient outcomes while addressing capacity challenges in traditional hospital settings.

Pippa is a pioneer in home-based care, ensuring patients receive hospital-level care where they want to be—at home. As the clinical architect behind Medically Home’s innovative care models, she drives advancements in patient-centered care delivery. Previously, she led the Center for Healthcare Innovation at Atrius Health, where she implemented cutting-edge care solutions, and served as Chief of Geriatrics and Palliative Care at Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates, focusing on value-based care and improving home and palliative care services.

Triple-boarded in family medicine, preventive medicine, and hospice and palliative medicine, Pippa trained at the NH-Dartmouth Family Medicine and Dartmouth Hitchcock Leadership Preventive Medicine Residencies, developing expertise in driving systemic care improvements. She is also the president of the American Academy of Homecare Medicine.

A sought-after speaker, Pippa has shared her expertise at events such as the Mayo Clinic Platform Conference, HLTH, and The World Hospital at Home Congress. Her insights are valued by regulators and industry leaders working to improve care quality and access. Pippa’s vision for the future is clear: the path to better healthcare begins in the home.

Max Voldman Partner

Whistleblower Partners LLP

Max Voldman is a partner at Whistleblower Partners. Max’s practice is focused on representing whistleblowers under the federal False Claims Act and numerous state law equivalents, and the whistleblower programs of the Internal Revenue Service, Securities and Exchange Commission, Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and Department of Transportation. 

He is part of the legal team pursuing a qui tam case against UnitedHealth Group alleging the nation’s largest Medicare Advantage Organization submitted false claims for payment to the Medicare Program by improperly inflating its members’ risk scores. Max also has experience analyzing complex data sets, developing damages models, and assisting with statistical analyses. He has also published numerous articles on issues of healthcare law, whistleblower programs, and environmental issues. 

Max received his J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center. During law school, Max served as a research assistant on taxation to Professor John Brooks and as the Symposium Editor for the Journal of Law and Public Policy. Prior to law school, Max completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Illinois, where he was a member of the Mathematics Honors Society and graduated with a degree in Actuarial Science and a Minor in Business. 

Max worked in State Farm’s actuarial science department and coached the debate team for a high school in Illinois, including one team that won the State Championship. He is fluent in Russian.  

In his spare time, Max enjoys hiking, tennis, and is, unfortunately, a devoted fan of the Chicago Bears.  

Darren Wethers CEO

Wethers Consulting, LLC

Darren Wethers is a board-certified internal medicine physician and certified physician executive. 

He graduated from Morehouse College, Northwestern University Medical School and completed internal medicine training at Emory University School of Medicine before establishing himself in internal medicine practice in the St. Louis, Missouri area, becoming a “Top Doctor” honoree several years running. Dr. Wethers was the medical staff president at SSM St. Mary’s Health Center in 2006-07 and chaired the facility’s Credentials committee 2007-11.  

In 2011, Dr. Wethers began a career in administrative medicine, servings as a medical director with Coventry Health Care and Aetna, vice president of clinical operations at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona and at Atrio Health Plans, where he served as chief medical officer. He launched Wethers Consulting, LLC in 2023, which has clients including Rebellis Group, Toney Health and MetaDigital. Dr. Wethers is a strategic advisor to the Managed Care Resource Alliance (MCRA).  

Dr. Wethers is a member of the American Association for Physician Leadership, Fellow of the American College of Physicians, member of Alpha Phi Alpha and Sigma Pi Phi fraternities; he is the immediate past chairman of the board for Gamma Mu Educational Services (GMES) and is a board member of Northwestern University Medical School Alumni Association, for which he serves as president-elect and co-chair of the Inclusion and Allyship committee.  

Kristen Wheeler Executive Director of Home Care & Supportive Services

National Alliance for Care at Home

Charlotte S. Yeh Former CMS Regional Administrator, Former Chief Medical Officer, AARP Services Inc 

Founder, Yeh Innovation 

Dr. Yeh is a passionate advocate for healthcare transformation and healthy aging. 

Her career has spanned the industry: providers, payers, tech companies, 

nonprofits, and the government. Roles have included Chief Medical Officer, AARP 

Services Inc.; Regional Administrator, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services; 

and emergency department chief. Dr. Yeh received an MD from Northwestern University Medical School. She has extensive board experience and has garnered many honors for her work.