2019 Speaking Faculty

Grace Bell is the Director of Strategic Initiatives and Specialty Operations at CareMore Health, a fully owned subsidiary at Anthem, Inc. In this role, Grace leads the strategy and operations across Specialty Care delivery across CareMore’s 11 state footprint. CareMore Health is a care delivery system focused on providing integrated care delivery for high risk patient care in Medicare and Medicaid populations.

Grace has worked with clinician leaders at CareMore to transition from an organization with co-located behavioral health care to integrated behavioral health care. CareMore Health believes strongly in whole patient care for medical, social, and psychological issues. Grace has worked to build a system where all CareMore providers are comfortable and competent addressing behavioral needs of medical patients through a collaborative system. The BH team collaborates with physical health to support the needs of a panel of a complex population, and will provide oversight and clinical guidance to the inter-professional care team.

Prior to CareMore, Grace has consistently worked at the intersection of business and healthcare delivery. She has worked in venture capital investing at Rittenhouse Ventures, a small seed and series A technology fund, focused on their healthcare technology portfolio and investments. Grace worked at the New York City Department of Health & Mental Hygiene where she collaborated with physicians throughout New York City to implement over 80 distinct Electronic Health Records platforms. After implementing the EHRs, Grace led a team to transition the providers from utilizing the technology for basic use to leveraging the technology for chronic disease management. Grace also worked at Huron Consulting Group, in clinical operations consulting at large Academic Medical Centers.

Grace has an MBA in Health Care Management from the Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania. She also as a BS in Management and Health Finance from Case Western Reserve University.

Amy-Erin Blakely is the Vice President of Behavioral Health for IMPOWER. She is also President/Owner of Blakely & Associates, LLC, an emerging business investment and consulting firm based in Orlando, FL. Ms. Blakely has over 25 years of experience in psychiatric, mental health and substance misuse treatment as well as services for the intellectually and developmentally delayed. Ms. Blakely has vast experience in healthcare operations and business start up and has managed budgets in excess of $75 million with 900 employees, including the oversight of psychiatric hospitals. Ms. Blakely is recognized for her leadership and keen business skills and specializes in turning around poorly performing businesses and building stronger operational models to ensure the sustainability of organizations. Ms. Blakely is an expert in telehealth systems and has researched and participated in telehealth program design at a national level. Ms. Blakely has led IMPOWER in becoming Florida’s premier provider of telepsychiatry and telebehavioral health, operating all provider services virtually. Through her efforts in telehealth project design, IMPOWER has provided over 200,000 telehealth services. Ms. Blakely holds a BA in Psychology from Stetson University and a Masters in Business Administration specializing in Health Care Management from The University of Phoenix.

Dr. Boger joined Hunter Health in March 2017 and quickly transformed the organization’s behavioral health service to a highly integrated, holistic model of care. Dr. Boger has experience with diverse populations including internships in an underserved school, an HIV testing and needle exchange center, and a social cognition research lab. Dr. Boger’s career experience includes working in the largest Community Mental Health Center in Kansas as a risk and utilization coordinator, ensuring compliance to regulations and ensuring quality patient experience. Dr. Boger also has experience working in a behavioral health crisis center, specializing in crisis patients and severe behavioral health. Dr. Boger graduated with a Bachelor of Science in psychology with a minor in religion and studied abroad in Wales and England, allowing her the opportunity to experience other cultures first-hand. During graduate school, Dr. Boger worked with The Center for Community Support and Research to provide consultation for trauma-informed care organization transformation, leadership skills, and behavioral health care provision. Dr. Boger obtained her Doctor of Education from Fielding Graduate University. Dr. Boger’s recent accomplishments include presenting at the 2018 American Indian and Alaska Native National Behavioral Health Conference and working with SAMSHA/HRSA as a trauma-informed care innovation community.

Jennifer Goldman, DO is a Board Certified Family Physician and the Medical Director of Memorial Healthcare System’s Primary Care program known as South Broward Community Health Services (SBCHS). SBCHS has multiple primary care practices across South Broward County, all of which are NCQA Level 3 Certified Patient Centered Medical Homes. Memorial Healthcare System (MHS) is one of the largest public healthcare systems in the country and a national leader in quality care and patient satisfaction.

Dr. Goldman has worked in community medicine for over a decade. She is passionate about providing equal access to healthcare for all patients, regardless of ability to pay, and has been working to improve care coordination and decrease unnecessary ED visits and hospitalizations for all primary care patients. Dr. Goldman’s primary care team manages over 25,000 lives and is part of the Broward Guardian ACO as well as the Memorial Health Network’s Clinically Integrated Network.

Dr. Goldman is fluent in three languages (English, Spanish, and Creole) and earned her medical degree from the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine in 2004. Her internship and residency in family medicine were completed in South Florida in affiliation with Nova Southeastern University.

Matthew O. Hurford, M.D. is Chief Medical Officer for Community Care Behavioral Health Organization part of the UPMC Insurance Services Division and one of the country’s largest not-for-profit behavioral health managed care organizations. Headquartered in Pittsburgh, Community Care serves over one million Medicaid beneficiaries across Pennsylvania by facilitating the ongoing evolution of the behavioral health system toward one that embraces the journey of healing, transformation, and empowerment.

As Chief Medical Officer at Community Care, Dr. Hurford is responsible for the clinical and quality operations of Community Care through oversight of the departments of Clinical Management, Psychiatry, Psychology, and Quality Management. He also provides executive leadership for new business opportunities and program development in areas including physical health/behavioral health integration and innovative healthcare payment models.

Prior to joining Community Care, Dr. Hurford served as the Chief Medical Officer of the City of Philadelphia’s Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual Disability Services (DBHIDS). He has held leadership positions in academic medicine, community mental health and managed care.

Dr. Hurford graduated from Swarthmore College and received his medical degree from Temple University School of Medicine where he was elected into the Alpha Omega Alpha National Honor Medical Society. Following graduation, Dr. Hurford completed his internship and residency in psychiatry at The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania where he was named Chief Resident. He is currently a Clinical Associate at the University of Pennsylvania Department of Psychiatry's Center for Mental Health Policy and Services Research. His research interests focus on the interface of physical and mental illness as well as the implementation of evidence-based practices.

Dr. Hurford lives in Philadelphia with his wife and four children.

As the Executive Director for CTC-RI, Debra Hurwitz provides program administration, contract development and strategic planning for the Initiative, working closely with project leaders and key stakeholders to improve the Patient-Centered Medical Home Model within the existing practices and to develop plans to expand and spread the model throughout Rhode Island. She works closely with Dr. Yeracaris, Chief Clinical Strategist in supporting the practices and leads the nurse care manager best practice learning collaborative.

Ms. Hurwitz is a graduate of the UMass Dartmouth School of Nursing and University of Rhode Island MBA program. Her career includes work for the Hospital Association of RI as a Senior Management Systems Engineer and Nurse Consultant providing consultation on nurse staffing and quality improvement to member hospitals throughout New England. She later worked in hospital administration and served as the Executive Director/CEO of a non-profit disability management company spinoff which provided care management services for self-insured employers in the area.

As the Director of State Health Policy Analysis for the UMass Center for Health Policy and Research, Ms. Hurwitz led an 11-person team that provided policy analyses, program evaluations and strategic planning for Medicaid and Department of Mental Health (DMH) in Massachusetts. While at the Center, she served as a Senior Director of several large, multi-year CMS grants including the Medicaid Infrastructure Grant and the Real Choices System Change grant. In addition, Ms. Hurwitz served as the Principal Investigator for the Mental Health Systems Transformation Grant working with DMH and a large and diverse group of stakeholders to promote recovery-oriented mental health programs and services in Massachusetts. In addition, she led a large and complex stakeholder group in the development of a strategic plan to promote competitive employment for people with disabilities.

Ms. Hurwitz serves as a faculty member of the UMass Medical School, Department of Family and Community Medicine and the Graduate School of Nursing and as an instructor for Brown University Department of Family Medicine.

Chris Molaro, named a top 10 transformational leader of healthcare in 2018, is the CEO and Co-Founder of NeuroFlow. Chris is an accomplished military veteran - earning a Bronze Star after serving five years as a Field Artillery Army Officer - a serial entrepreneur, and public speaker. While witnessing firsthand the devastating toll of an error-prone and inefficient mental health system in the United States, he channeled his passion and energy into launching and running the Veteran literacy non-profit Things We Read. Afterwards, Chris went on to complete his MBA at The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and subsequently launch NeuroFlow after graduating.

Jennifer L. Murphy, PhD, is a national leader in developing and implementing evidence-based behavioral interventions for chronic pain across health care systems. She serves as the lead manual author, master trainer and subject matter expert for the Department of Veterans Affairs Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Chronic Pain (CBT-CP) treatment initiative. Dr. Murphy is co-investigator on numerous funded research trials focusing on applications and outcomes of CBT-CP, including its use as a treatment aid for those tapering from opioid analgesics. She is on the editorial board of Pain Medicine and frequently speaks on the role of nonpharmacological treatments for chronic pain.

James O’Dea is a clinical psychologist and has been employed at Hartford HealthCare since 1989. He holds a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the California School of Professional Psychology and an MBA from the University of New Haven. A collegiate graduate of Rutgers University, he earned both a Bachelor’s degree in Arts in Psychology and a Bachelor’s degree of Science in Microbiology/Immunology in 1982. Dr. O’Dea has extensive background in healthcare administration, including operational activities in multiple clinical service lines and program development in psychiatry, cardiology, neurology and oncology services. More recently, Dr. O’Dea was named Regional Vice President of Operations for the Hartford HealthCare Behavioral Health Network, the largest integrated behavioral health network in Connecticut. The network includes the Institute of Living, Rushford Center, Natchaug Hospital and its many ambulatory locations, and the behavioral health services at Backus Hospital, Windham Hospital, The Hospital of Central Connecticut, MidState Medical Center and Charlotte Hungerford Hospital.

Andrew C. Philip, PhD is a clinical health psychologist and the Deputy Director of the SAMHSA-HRSA Center for Integrated Health Solutions at the National Council for Behavioral Health. He has a clinical background as a psychologist in primary care, and has assisted with large-scale training and integration efforts in federal healthcare. Dr. Philip has experience integrating behavioral health within numerous medical settings including acute trauma and intensive care, burn, neurology, palliative care, psychiatry, infectious disease, and primary care. Dr. Philip has emphasized improving care for diverse groups such as LGBTQ and veteran populations. In his work at the National Council, Dr. Philip assists in driving local and national initiatives aimed at improving patient care and promoting innovation in the field of integrated health. He speaks nationally on integration, improving patient care, and combating the opioid epidemic, and is also involved in research to further our understanding of integrated care and consultation.

Brie Reimann is an expert in providing technical assistance, training and support to primary care and behavioral health providers on integrated care initiatives. As the Director for the National Council’s Center for Integrated health Solutions, (CIHS), Ms. Reimann provides leadership, content expertise, and project management to inform the training and technical assistance provided to community-based behavioral and primary care organizations. Prior to joining the National Council, Ms. Reimann directed the SBIRT Colorado initiative and provided leadership to the University of Colorado on the Health Professional training grant with the aim to develop curriculum for nursing students and preceptors. A leader in integrating routine screening and brief intervention services into a variety of settings and on impacting policies to support sustainability, Ms. Reimann has partnered with hospitals, HIV prevention and care settings, military, primary care, and behavioral health organizations to train providers on population health management strategies to improve health outcomes. Ms. Reimann is successful in working with public and private payers, businesses, public health agencies, and policy makers to affect system level changes necessary to achieve long term success.

April Rhodes is the Chief Executive Officer of Spectrum Healthcare Group. Spectrum is one of the first providers in the state of Arizona to bring fully integrated care to its community members.

April has served at the forefront of healthcare and human services management for nearly two decades. Her unique brand of leadership has successfully launched Spectrum Healthcare Group into new heights of innovation, integration, and cohesion. While in the office of CEO, she draws on skillsets of therapy, open communication, and business-mindedness, while balancing vision and risk in this ever-changing healthcare landscape.

April attended Arizona State University and received a Bachelor of Science in Family and Human Development in 2009 and a Master of Advanced Study in Marriage and Family Therapy in 2012 with a strong focus on systemic theories and practices. April is a Licensed Associate Marriage and Family Therapist. She is impassioned by seeing people gain access to the healthcare they need, and her contagious vision has altered the trajectory of Spectrum Healthcare Group.

April Rhodes serves on the Yavapai County Board of Health and the Board of Directors for The Arizona Council of Human Service Providers. April is considered a subject matter expert on topics relating to integrated healthcare, value-based purchasing, access to care, and community-based services.

As Chief Science Officer at SilverCloud health, I am part of the executive team that decides on the strategic direction of the company and the execution of the strategic objectives for success. Over the past years, we have built a successful enterprise and have gained significant market traction. Our success is built on our robust empirical research base. As Chief Science Officer, I know that a central aspect of where we are going is the continued attention to research. We have a vigorous research strategy that supports the commercial strategy that we are committed to successfully realizing. As Director of the e-mental health group at the School of Psychology, Trinity College Dublin, I am involved in understanding how we can leverage technologies to benefit mental health, health in general and our wellbeing. Digital health’s contribution to mental and behavioural healthcare has been significant, but we also know that we have most likely only begun to scratch the surface of the potential that current and emerging technologies can offer. It is a fascinating and innovative time for psychological science as it embraces technology to support the dissemination and greater access and reach to evidence-based treatments, preventative programmes and for the first time the potential to globalise these efforts. In collaboration with our partners, we are exploring many new avenues of implementation and research using online delivered interventions.

Staci Swenson is the Integrated Care Manager for PrimaryOne Health, a 10-site federally qualified health center system located in Central Ohio. Her passion for reducing barriers to underserved populations receiving high quality behavioral health care has lead her to practice as an administrator, social worker, therapist, educator, and trainer spanning over 15 years. She specializes in behavioral health integration in the primary care setting, crisis intervention, motivational interviewing, and trauma-informed care. Further, she is a community lecturer in the College of Social Work at The Ohio State University and is the education coordinator for PrimaryOne Health which collaborates with the Integrated and Culturally Relevant Care model of field education with the College providing intensive training for over 25 graduate students a year.

Originally from Moscow Russia, Dr. Tolchinsky grew up and received all of his training in the southern Michigan area. He is a fellowship trained clinical health psychologist with a specialization in medical education and Integrated Primary Care. He contributes to medical and mental health training along with developing innovative new behavioral health models within Ascension Providence medical system in the greater Detroit area.

Deborah Weidner, M.D., M.B.A. started her career caring for adolescents on the inpatient unit at the Cambridge Health Alliance, Cambridge, MA. She was later appointed as Director of the Child and Adolescent Outpatient Programs where she remained for seven years. In 2009, Dr. Weidner moved to Connecticut to join Hartford HealthCare’s (HHC) Natchaug Hospital as its Chief Medical Officer. In 2015, Dr. Weidner’s role expanded to include oversight of the east region behavioral health services of HHC as its Regional Medical Director.

Dr. Weidner has a special interest in quality improvement and has participated in QI committees and efforts at each organization where she has worked driving excellence including renovating the patient environment, restraint reduction, improved communication with primary care providers, improving access, patient experience, and peer review processes. Her passion for quality improvement led to her appointment in 2013 as Vice President of Patient Safety and Quality for the Behavioral Health Network at HHC.

Dr. Weidner also plays a significant role in HHC’s efforts around primary care behavioral health integration as the medical director. She led similar efforts between child behavioral health services and pediatrics at the Cambridge health Alliance resulting in several publications including in the journal Pediatrics.

Dr Weidner is double board certified in general psychiatry and child and adolescent psychiatry. She completed her general psychiatry residency at the University of Pennsylvania and her child and adolescent fellowship at Harvard Medical School at the Children’s Hospital of Boston. Dr. Weidner earned her medical doctorate at Ross University School of Medicine, Dominica, WI. In 2006, Dr. Weidner received an M.B.A from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Sloan School of Management.

CAPT Jason Woo, MD, MPH, FACOG is the Senior Medical Officer in the Office of Generic Drugs, Center for Drug Evaluation, U.S. Food and Drug Administration. As a board-certified obstetrician/gynecologist, Dr. Woo has over 30 years in multiple leadership roles as a Commissioned Corps officer of the U.S. Public Health Service. His leadership and senior executive experience covers the spectrum of roles as a hospital and clinic provider, director, and administrator, and public health leadership roles in research, education, regulation, emergency response and in leading direct patient care, process improvement, staff development and infrastructure initiatives.

Dr. Woo became a student of leadership and systems change when studying economic development at the London School of Economics. His understanding of the failures of so many of the first world and second world approaches to third world problems ingrained the need for a systems thinking and wholistic perspective to implement lasting change. Throughout his career he has utilized this perspective to initiate change, process improvement, and team and individual growth and development.

Dr. Woo received a BA in Economics/Chemistry from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He studied Economic Development at the London School of Economics. He received his medical degree from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences and completed a residency in Obstetrics/Gynecology at the Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, D.C.

He has held leadership roles and responsibilities throughout his career. In served the Phoenix Indian Medical Center as the Director for Gynecologic Services, Director of the Native American Women’s Health Clinic, and Deputy Chief of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. His administrative leadership roles included being the Phoenix Area Indian Health Service Maternal-Child Health Consultant and Telemedicine Programs Director, as well as serving a detail as the Clinical Director for the Elko Service Unit for their JCAHO accreditation. His research and academic interests have been around contraceptive products development, overseeing clinical trial networks and research portfolios with the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development’s Contraceptive Development Branch. His broad regulatory experience includes overseeing clinical review of dietary supplements, medical foods, and drugs and serving in senior executive roles for major organizational change efforts in the Office of Compliance and the Office of Generic Drugs for the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research at the Food and Drug Administration. Dr. Woo has published multiple articles and contributed chapters on clinical and regulatory topics. CAPT Woo has had multiple emergency response deployment roles in his career for the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, including as a Team Leader for the Operation Lone Star Border Response mission. He maintains his clinical and teaching role with hospitals and clinics in the Washington, DC area.