2017 Speaking Faculty

Chris Botts is the Care Delivery and Payment Manager within the Professional Satisfaction & Practice Sustainability group at the American Medical Association (AMA). In this capacity, he supports the AMA’s multi-year journey identifying effective care delivery elements that help support high-quality patient care, physician satisfaction and practice sustainability. He manages the development and implementation of tools and resources that assist physicians in the adoption of new commercial and governmental payment and care delivery models. Additionally, he works with external partners such as coalitions, commercial payers, employers, patients, health care systems and hospitals, and electronic health record vendors in promoting new payment model concepts.

Prior to joining the AMA, he worked at the Health Care Reform and Innovation Administration within the District of Columbia’s Department of Health Care Finance designing and implementing new, innovative health information technology (health IT) programs. These programs worked to improve data integration and provide actionable information to reduce health disparities, enhance health care quality and outcomes, and promote wellness in DC. He also helped lead DC’s State Innovation Model grant from CMS charged with designing the District’s strategy for health care transformation. Mr. Botts also worked at the Center for Health Policy (formerly known as the Engelberg Center for Health Care Reform) within the Brookings Institution in Washington, DC where he supported the Center’s strategic planning and project coordination of payment and delivery reform initiatives including those related to Medicare alternative payment models and health plan innovations. Mr. Botts earned a Bachelor of Science (BS) in Neuroscience with a concentration in Premedical Studies from the College of William and Mary.

Sherl Brand is a registered nurse with over twenty five years’ experience in home and community based care, hospice care and case management with for profit and non-profit organizations. Sherl joined CareCentrix in January 2016 as the Senior Vice President of Network Management leading network management teams in Phoenix, Hartford and Tampa with the responsibility of managing the home care, DME and home infusion provider network and ensuring adequacy, quality and access to care for health plan partner members. Since that time Sherl has expanded her role to include a PAC and strategy focus and now serves as the Senior Vice President of Strategic Solutions.

Prior to joining CareCentrix, she served as Chief External Affairs Officer with Visiting Nurse Association Health Group in New Jersey where she managed the organizations call center, nurse liaisons, government affairs, business development, connected health initiatives and strategic partnerships including hospital joint ventures. Ms. Brand also served as the CEO of the Home Care Association of NJ, assuming oversight of all aspects of the Association and its related foundation, the Home Care Foundation of NJ. In 2009, she took on the added role of Director of Emergency Preparedness.

Sherl also served as Patient Care Inc.’s Vice President of Business Development & Government Affairs with responsibility for markets in Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Georgia, Illinois and Kentucky and as the Director of National Managed Care Contracting for Bayada Home Healthcare for 15 states. During her many years in health care leadership positions her responsibilities have included government affairs, marketing, business development, acquisitions and operations, strategic partnerships and managed care contracting.

Sherl has served on multiple national, state and local boards and advisory groups. Most recently she was elected as Secretary for the National Partnership for Medicaid Home Based Care. She also serves on Nursing Spectrum’s Regional Advisory Board, National Government Services Provider Advisory Group for home health and hospice, Home Care 100 Advisory Board and Westfield NJ Regional Board of Health. In 2013 Sherl was appointed by Governor Chris Christie to serve on the NJ Medical Assistance Advisory Council. At this time she also served on the New Jersey’s Department of Human Service MLTSS Steering Committee. In the past she was a member of the National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC) Board of Directors and served as the elected Chair of the National Forum of State Associations, an affiliate of NAHC representing home care and hospice associations throughout the US. Sherl has held multiple board and advisory positions within home care, hospice, senior living, community and nursing organizations.

In 2013 Ms. Brand was honored by the Home Care & Hospice Association of NJ with their Lifetime Achievement Award for her outstanding work to advance home care and hospice and in 2000 she received the Association’s Member of the Year Award. Ms. Brand has received Service Awards from the Union County (NJ) HIV Consortium and the Community Service Council of Bergen County (NJ), the President’s Award for outstanding volunteerism from the Junior League of Elizabeth-Plainfield and an Outstanding Achievement in Mental Health Studies Award from the Mental Health Association of Central Ohio.

Ms. Brand received her B.S.N. from Ohio Wesleyan University and was a nationally Certified Case Manager from 1993-2008. She resides in Westfield, New Jersey, with her husband and two sons.

Rich Carpenter is the Founder & CEO of CareHandOff.com, a technology company transforming lay caregiving through mobile care plan checklists and supportive workflows that improve outcomes for patients, caregivers, clinicians, and payers.

Rich is a professional inventor, investor, and entrepreneur whose last healthcare startup became a Fast500 company serving 10 of the largest global pharmas. He cared for his parents in his home for their last three years of life.

Rich holds a BA in History from Cornell University with additional courses in finance and statistical modeling from the Johnson School and Villanova’s graduate school of business.

Ms. Wendy Cofran has been Chief Information Officer for Century Health Systems, Inc., the parent company of Natick Visiting Nurse Association (Natick VNA) and Distinguished Care Options (DCO) for over two decades. In this executive management role, Cofran has developed, and managed with unparalleled success cutting edge technology that is focused on enhancing quality, improving safety, reducing costs and increasing efficiency across the healthcare system.

As the national conversation turns to using technology to solve the challenges of improving health care outcomes, providing a 360 degree patient experience and driving down escalating costs Ms. Cofran's innovative, collaborative and “out-of-the-box� approach has set Century Health Systems and its affiliates apart from the crowd. In 2012 she developed and launched a Referral Management application wholly built on the Salesforce platform. This application allows Century's Care Transition Coordinators to update critical referral information, track patients as they are cared for by the healthcare team, and work closely with family members on coordinating care for their loved ones.

Following her passion of identifying, developing and executing solutions that improve both patient and clinician experience, Ms. Cofran partnered with Natick VNA's EMR vendor, Brightree, LLC to launch the homecare industry's first disconnected iPad EMR application that allows clinicians to document care in the home regardless of the presence of an internet connection. This application increases clinical staff efficiency, provides more timely clinical documentation, and leads to improved patient outcomes and experience with the homecare agency. As the federal government moves to Value Based Payment for all health care providers, these positive results are also helping decrease the overall cost of providing care. These technology innovations, coupled with a strong Telehealth solution are major factors in Natick VNA continually achieving the homecare industry's coveted, double 5-star rating by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Natick VNA is one of only 30 Agencies in the country to receive the 5 Star rating for both Clinical Outcomes and Patient Satisfaction!

A frequent and engaging presenter at industry related conferences, Ms. Cofran's recent presentations include:

• CIOHEALTH Boston-A moderated health panel where select CIOs take a tell-all position on a panel that explores the direction of health IT, the successes, failures, and celebrations that defined their paths as ultimate IT leaders.
• Congressional Home Health Caucus-Innovations in Home Health Care
• SINC Health IT Leaders Forum-Technology Advancements for Improved Patient Outcomes
• Boston Premier CIO Forum-Disruptive Technologies: An Innovator's Dilemma
• Salesforce-HealthForce Boston -"Innovation in Post-Acute healthcare"
• Featured in the Remington Report

In addition to her day to day responsibilities Ms. Cofran serves in leadership roles in the following organizations:

• Visiting Nurse Association of New England (VNANE)-Technology consultant
• Brightree, LLC Executive Advisory Committee-Home care product consultant
• Providence College-A member of the Boston President's Council

Ms. Cofran is a graduate of Providence College holding a Bachelor of Arts degree in Social Science.

Jess Dalton is a seasoned acute and post-acute healthcare executive with expertise in cross-continuum operations, service line management, physician relations, business development, and financial advantage. As a strategic and operational leader, Jess has an impressive track-record in both acute and post-acute levels of care - with expertise in strategic ACO development and alignment, Episode & Alternative Payment Model development and implementation, translational care continuum/pathway development, episode of care efficiencies, safe and seamless patient transitions, value-based purchasing, and population health management. Jess is a highly visible leader, is people- and patient-centered, and outcomes-focused. Jess serves as Vice President, Post-Acute Continuum and Strategic Alignment with Ensign Services.

The Ensign Group, Inc.'s independent operating subsidiaries provide a broad spectrum of skilled nursing and assisted living services, physical, occupational and speech therapies, home health and hospice services and other rehabilitative and healthcare services at 222 healthcare facilities, 20 hospice agencies, 18 home health agencies and three home care businesses in California, Arizona, Texas, Washington, Utah, Idaho, Colorado, Nevada, Iowa, Nebraska, Oregon, Wisconsin, Kansas and South Carolina. More information about Ensign is available at http://www.ensigngroup.net.

Over her more than thirty years of experience in Home Health Care, Judy as held positions at the local, regional and national level for both for profit and non-profit corporations. She has extensive experience in quality and safety, performance improvement, regulatory and accreditation preparation and compliance across multiple health care domains including certified home health, infusion, respiratory, and durable medical equipment. In addition, she has been involved in consultation with international home care enterprises in the United Arab Emirates, QATAR and Egypt.

For almost fifteen years Judy Flynn has been the Vice President Patient Care Quality, Compliance Officer at Partners HealthCare at Home, part of the Partners Health Care system, founded by Massachusetts General and Brigham and Women’s Hospitals. In this role she has worked collaboratively with leadership within these flagships hospitals as well as the full spectrum of post acute care providers that are part of the Partners Health Care System. In her role she has oversight of patient care quality and safety, performance improvement, regulatory compliance and education for the company serving over 9,000 patients across its multiple service lines.

Prior to this role Judy was an Executive Consultant for The Corridor Group a national health care consulting firm. During her tenure Judy provided consultation on program development, regulatory compliance, Joint Commission survey preparation as well as leading several due diligence and merger and acquisition efforts. While she worked with agencies across the country her primary client was the largest VNA in the United States.

Prior to becoming a consultant Judy was Vice President of Clinical Operations for NMC Homecare, Inc. a national Home Health, Infusion, Respiratory and Durable Medical Equipment company. There she had oversight responsibility for development of local and national strategic plans for field operations, ensuring compliance with regulatory and Joint Commission accreditation requirements. In this role she led the development of several disease management programs, patient care pathways, national clinical, operations and finance audit tools, and policies.

Judy is a registered nurse who holds a Bachelors in Nursing, an MBA in Computer Science and is Certified in Healthcare Compliance. She has multiple publications and has presented at local and national venues. She has served on the Editorial board of Home Health Care nurse, and as Courtesy Faculty, Yale School of Nursing and Clinical Instructor for the MGH Institute of Health Professions.

Mark Green is currently Ochsner Health Systems Assistant Vise President of their Post-acute network, and Transitional Management division, including the Ochsner Care Coordination Center (C3). Mark is seen as industry expert in new and emerging Care Coordination efforts, and in developing leading edge transitional care models in our changing healthcare settings. In his previous roles Mark has held positions in the industry as a credentialed healthcare portfolio manager, and a practicing lean six sigma black belt.

Mark presents nationally on a variety of relevant healthcare topics including, building and scaling readmission reduction programs, optimizing care coordination / transition management efforts, defining social determinants role in new care management efforts.

• 2016 World Congress 2nd annual ACO summit
• 2016 AMGA Out of Chaos: Practical steps to mitigate gaps in care in an ever increasing complex world of care coordination
• 2015 Accountable Care & HIT Strategies Summit
• AMGA 2015 Look Both Ways before you treat (Care Coordination begins with knocking down silos)
• NACCOS 2015 Innovations in Risk Management in a MA population
• NACCOS 2015 Scaling Transition Management Programs
• Advisory Board 2015 (How to prevent an avoidable ED visit—with just one phone call)
• 2014 HIN webinar (Moving the Metrics: Financial and Quality Returns from System-wide Care Coordination and Risk Stratification)
• NAACOS 2014 conference Innovations in ACO's (using data for clinical interventions)

Other areas of expertise:

• Post-acute network development and optimization
• Social determinants role in patient care management
• Risk Stratification of acute and post acute populations
• Post Acute patient management through collaborative management arrangements
• Geo-mapping patient care segments
• New Care Model Development / Implementation

Chief Health Innovation Officer – Independent Health, Buffalo, NY Physician Entrepreneur – Provider, Payer, Community and Consumer Integration

Dr. Haughton is the CHIO/Quality Officer at Independent Health plan in Buffalo, NY and the Innovation Officer for the Chautauqua ACO. In both roles, he is responsible for leading integration, innovation and information for coordinated care. John has over twenty-five years of experience as a clinician and entrepreneur in health research, patient care, clinical workflow and informatics – pursuing a better, faster, easier and more satisfying healthcare system by integrating information-supported team based care across place, time and organization. Past work and research initiatives include clinical practice, running startups and leading teams pursing care management, evidence-based clinical measures, population analytics, and pay-for-performance activities. Results include driving sustained decrease in medical costs within 12 months of 6-10%/yr and sustained quality improvement from 15-50%.

Background: Prior to founding CogniMed and DocSite in the ‘90s and ‘00s (first cloud-native patient registry/care coordination/longitudinal record system – improved chronic disease care 25-50% in 3 to 6 months; cut medical cost by 6-10%), Haughton was CMO and senior vice president for product for the company that created HCC risk adjustment - DxCG, Inc; senior vice president of Clinical Integration and Product Development with ActiveHealth Management, Inc; and vice president of Medical Affairs and practicing rehab physician in a New England-based integrated post-acute provider focusing on inpatient and outpatient geriatric rehabilitation. Dr. Haughton earned his MD and BS in Electrical Engineering from the University of Michigan and finished his training at the University of Washington as Chief Resident in his PM&R; residency and there pursued an MS in Rehabilitation Medicine Research.

Personal: Married to Jennifer, blessed with three wonderful daughters – Sammie, Maddie & Lindsey Interests: Sailing, Learning, Fixing, Friends, Chautauqua, Developing Community

Advisory/Boards: Patient Advisory Committee, NIH. Chautauqua Institution Trustee.

Dr. Lissy Hu works with leading health systems and accountable care organizations to optimize post-acute care outcomes. She serves as the CEO and Founder of CarePort Health which enables healthcare providers to enhance post-acute outcomes and costs by guiding patients across the care continuum and tracking their recovery in real-time. In 2016 CarePort was acquired by Allscripts to extend its breadth as the largest connected acute and post-acute provider network in the industry.

Dr. Hu, an in-demand speaker and thought leader, has previously led sessions at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, Harvard Business School, Case Management Society of America, HIMSS Population Health, Medical Group Management Association, Cleveland Clinic Innovation Summit, and SXSW among many others. She is a graduate of Harvard Medical School and Harvard Business School, and holds a BS from Columbia University.

Kristie Kulinski oversees the Administration for Community Living’s (ACL) chronic disease self-management education (CDSME) initiative. This initiative provides funding via competitive grants (approximately $6.4 million in FY 2017) to organizations across the country to support the implementation and sustainability of proven CDSME interventions. Her portfolio also includes advancing the business acumen of community-based organizations to enable them to more effectively partner with health care organizations.

Prior to joining ACL, Kristie held positions with the National Council on Aging and Partners in Care Foundation. Her experience has focused on providing expertise, technical assistance, and other support to state and community-level aging services and public health organizations on the topics of CDSME and other evidence-based health promotion programs. She is passionate about advancing the availability and sustainability of proven programs for older adults and adults with disabilities. She has a B.S. in Human Development and Family Studies from the Pennsylvania State University and a Master of Social Work from California State University, Northridge.

Sue Lachenmayr, MPH, CHES, is the State Program Coordinator for MAC, Inc. Living Well Center of Excellence (LWCE). She has 25 years of knowledge and expertise in training, implementing, evaluating and sustaining evidence-based healthy aging/self-management programs. As State Program Coordinator, she was worked to establish partnerships between healthcare entities and community-based organizations to expand access and sustainability of these programs across the State of Maryland. Previously, she served as Senior Director of the National Council on Aging (NCOA) Center for Healthy Aging Technical Assistance Center. Prior to that, Sue oversaw evidence-based program implementation across New Jersey for the Department of Health and Senior Services.

Katherine Major MSN, RN has worked in the healthcare industry for over twenty years in various roles in the inpatient, outpatient and home care settings. Katherine has worked for Penn Medicine since 2004 and is currently the director of Caring Way for Penn Home Care and Hospice Services. Katherine is an alumna of Gwynedd Mercy University and University of Pennsylvania.

Akil McClay is a System Director of APM Operations at Trinity Health. In this role, Akil is responsible for the implementation, deployment and operational CIN/ACO/APM activities across 7 states (Michigan, Delaware, Massachusetts, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and New York) with approximately 500,000 covered lives. Additionally, Akil serves as a lead for the Trinity Health Integrated Care MSSP Track 3 ACO. In Akil's prior role, he served as the System Director of Value?Based Care & Payment for SSM Health. Akil led operational oversight and implementation of population health initiatives across 4 states (Missouri, Illinois, Oklahoma and Wisconsin) and served as the lead for ACO and CIN operations. Some of Akil's experience includes the successful development and deployment of employee onsite clinics, primary care telehealth, ACO operations and CIN payer contract negotiations.

Prior to joining SSM Health, Akil served as the Administrative Officer of Research & Development for the VA St. Louis Healthcare System. In this role, Akil managed the daily operations of the Research & Development Department and Clinical Epidemiology Center. Akil was responsible for the budget, department operations, management of human research studies, animal protocols, and basic science studies as well as departmental standard operating procedures and personnel contracts. Akil also served the VA St. Louis Healthcare System in Extended Care and Rehabilitation Service, Budget Analytics, and Executive Office roles.

Akil holds a B.S. in Psychology from Southern University, a M.S. in Neuroscience from Tulane University, and a M.H.A from the School of Health Management and Informatics at the University of Missouri.

As the Senior Director for Care Continuum at Mount Sinai Health System, Esther is responsible for the health system's post-acute care strategy and operations. She engages skilled nursing facilities, home care agencies, and hospices to participate in network development and performance improvement collaborations. Esther leads a team of nurses, who manages patient care in the post-acute care setting. This team focuses on quality, outcomes and utilization.

She has spent 10 years in post-acute care operations, where she was a Regional Director and an Administrator for a Certified and Licensed care agency. Prior to joining Mount Sinai Health System, she was a Director at ArchCare, the post-acute care continuum for the Arch Diocese of New York, which has 5 Skilled Nursing Facilities, a Certified Home Health Agency, Licensed Home Care Service Agency, a PACE, an MLTC, and a Medicare Advantage. Esther received her nursing degree and Masters of Science from NYU. She is LEAN Six Sigma Green Belt Certified.

Amy Mullins, MD, CPE, FAAFP, currently serves as the Medical Director for Quality Improvement for the American Academy of Family Physicians. She most recently served as both a practicing family physician and as medical director at Trinity Clinic in Whitehouse, Texas, where she worked from 2002 to 2013. Current responsibilities with the AAFP include liaison work with other national organizations in the quality arena, as well as national-level policy and advocacy work regarding payment reform. A native of Texas, she is a graduate of Abilene Christian University and The University of Texas Medical Branch.

Matt Murphy is currently President and CEO at Griswold Home Care, one of the nation's oldest homecare franchise brands. Griswold operates over 200 locations in 32 states. Prior to Griswold, Matt was CEO of FHS, a revenue cycle management business that services the senior care market.

Prior to FHS, Matt held sales and operations leadership positions with several business services companies. He was also an attorney for the University of Pennsylvania Health System, and he began his career as a Naval Officer.

Matt holds a B.S. from Rochester Institute of Technology, and a J.D. from the State University of New York at Buffalo.

Sneha is a Senior Health Program Planner in the Office of Policy and Planning at the San Francisco Department of Public Health. Her work focuses on citywide health planning, policy development, policy analysis, and research to improve access to health care for persons who are low-income, including seniors and persons with disabilities. Sneha received her Master in Public Health from Columbia University. Prior to working at the San Francisco Department of Public Health, Sneha worked for the NYC Department of Public Health, the American Geriatrics Society, and University of California San Francisco Division of Geriatrics. She received her undergraduate degree from University of California, Berkeley. In 2016, Sneha co-authored the report Framing San Francisco's Post-Acute Care Challenge which identities several local post-acute care challenges including San Francisco's declining skilled nursing bed supply and barriers to patient access.

Crystal Pike RN, MSN is the Manager for Quality Performance and Clinical Informatics, of Triad Healthcare Network (NextGen ACO). Her team is responsible for quality metric outcomes for all ACO Medicare Advantage risk contracts, the ACO NextGen population of Medicare, and coding related to Risk Adjustment Factor (RAF). Her team also works with ambulatory practices regarding EMR (44) connectivity, workflows, processes, and development and deployment of web based quality tools for providers to utilize for quality outcome improvements and population health.

Crystal is a Registered Nurse and holds her Masters of Science in Nursing- Education from Grantham University in Missouri. Crystal has more than 21 years’ experience as a nurse. Prior to holding her current position, her career has consisted of providing patient care and management in multiple settings (inpatient and outpatient), and progressive leadership/management in hospice care.

Crystal provides education, monitoring, team building, and serves as a resource for multiple physician practices.

Christine Samples BSN, RN, CCM is the Manager of Telephonic Case Management at Signature Medical Group, the largest convener of orthopedic episodes under CMMI’s BPCI initiative. Christine has been with signature since the initiation of this program in 2014. She oversees a team of Telephonic Case Managers, is an integral member of the Software development team, and leads regular monthly educational webinars, and Case Management orientation sessions on Care Redesign, and Case Management in BPCI.

Caroline Rossi Steinberg joined the Network for Excellence in Health Innovation as the Vice President for Programs in October of 2016. Prior to this position, she served as the Vice President for Trends Analysis at the American Hospital Association (AHA) for 14 years. In this role, Ms. Steinberg oversaw teams of researchers, data analysts and consultants in conducting policy research, trends analysis and data analytics to support AHA’s advocacy needs broadly defined to include regulatory, legislative, legal and public/media relations activities. Prior to moving to the AHA, Ms. Steinberg was a vice president at The Lewin Group, where she spent nine years working with both public and private provider organizations to develop strategies to confront changes in the health care environment. She also led the intensive site visit component of the Community Tracking Study under contract with the Center for Studying Health System Change. In prior consulting positions, she has worked to improve the operations of hospitals and health systems and conducted data-driven redesign of the health care benefit packages for unionized workers for a Fortune 500 company. She holds a masters of business administration (MBA) from the Tuck School at Dartmouth College where she was named an Edward Tuck Scholar and a bachelor’s degree from Harvard University.

Carol Vargo is Director of Physician Practice Sustainability in the AMA Physician Satisfaction and Practice Sustainability Strategic Initiative Group. In this role, Carol directs AMA development of resources to support sustainable physician payment and delivery reforms. She also develops external partnerships with hospitals, health systems, commercial payers, technology vendors and other key stakeholders to advance the AMA strategic agenda on implementation and adoption of new federal, state and commercial payment and delivery models, including the new Medicare Quality Payment Program.

Prior to this position, Carol worked at the AMA as an Assistant Director of Federal Affairs and Outreach, Advocacy Group. In this role, she developed and implemented internal and external policies and strategies to advance the AMA’s priorities with the Federal Executive Branch, including the White House, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the Department of Justice (DOJ), the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the CMS Innovation Center, and the Office of Health Reform at the Department of Health and Human Service (HHS). She began her career in federal policymaking as a Legislative Assistant to U.S. Representative Jim McDermott (D-WA). Carol is a graduate of Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, with a B.A. in Communications, and a recipient of a Masters in Health Sciences in health policy and administration from the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, in Baltimore, Maryland. She and her husband, Robert Blanchard, an electrical engineer and VP of Sales at Cisco Systems, have two sons, Gray, age 17, and Henry, age 11, and reside in the Roland Park neighborhood of Baltimore.

Susan C. Westgate, MBA, MSW, LCSW-C is a board approved clinical supervisor in the state of Maryland. She obtained her Masters in Social Work at the University of Maryland, School of Social Work and a Masters in Business Administration with a focus on Leadership and Management at the University of Baltimore. She is currently employed as a full time Clinical Instructor at the University of Maryland, School of Social Work. She also currently serves the Director of Community Care Coordination at LifeBridge Health. Prior to this current position she was instrumental in assisting with Quality and Post-Acute Initiatives in LifeBridge's Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) Collaborative. Prior to her current work, she served as an Inpatient Social Worker at LifeBridge and developed expertise in critical care, oncology, hospice and palliative care, and trauma. Teaching is of central importance to Susan and she has taught and has forthcoming lectures on a variety of topics in professional development venues on subjects such as: healthcare forecasting, end of life care, supporting oncology patients and their families, industry and institutional challenges to hospital care, Emergency Department diversion programs, Population Health Management, and vicarious trauma. As a faculty member in the University of MD, School of Social Work’s graduate program she has received numerous teaching awards including the of the Exemplary Faculty Member of the Year Award along with the Dean’s Teaching Award for several consecutive semesters. She has been published in The New Social Worker, The Journal of Employee Assistance, Infusion Magazine, Provider Magazine, and Social Work Today.