Tammea has spent twenty-seven years as an operations and program leader utilizing an anti-oppression, racial equity, and feminist lens. Most recently, she served as the Chief Executive Officer at Global Foundation for Girls, a Birth and Health equity global foundation focused on girls, gender-fluid youth and birthing persons of color. Before this she held executive-level roles for several national social justice foundations and reproductive and birth justice organizations; before that, as the chief operations officer of strategic development for a national intervention organization for women of African descent facing reproductive injustice, birth injustice, and sexual violence. She has worked for almost 3 decades in community health, leading health equity and health allied projects.

One of Tammea’s proudest achievements includes a partnership with the Commission on Human Rights, where she commemorated the 50th anniversary of Brown vs. Board of Education, receiving recognition from Community Counseling and Mediation. Another cornerstone of her experience includes partnering with the Obama Administration on two projects, most notably a racial equity project between the United States and South Africa.

An educator by nature, Tammea has taught at the university level for over 10 years, covering topics around women, children, health equity and gender. Her credentials include a BA in education with a concentration in children’s rights and a master’s in social work, where she graduated cum laude with a concentration on community organizing. Tammea also earned a specialization certificate in global social work with a concentration on trauma and sexual violence. In addition, she has her MBA with a concentration in international business and is a Doctoral candidate focused on Health Equity & Maternal Health in communities of color.

Tammea is a trained birth and postpartum doula and birth justice activist. Offering her services in Black and brown communities grounds her and centers her practice as a somatic practitioner. She is one of 10 members in the country, sitting on the Funders for Birth Equity council, and she is an established public speaker and community birth justice educator.

As Chief Experience Officer, Shannon works to ensure CHI provides high quality experiences and support to our healthcare partners so they have everything they need to implement and expand access to Centering care. Her primary area of responsibility is to oversee the implementation, training and support services offered by CHI. Since joining the organization in 2015, Shannon has continuously worked to enhance the quality of services offered, evolve CHI's service delivery workforce structure and capacity and build new workstreams to complement standard service offerings. Early in her career, Shannon was inspired by her opportunity to work as a Centering Coordinator in a New York City health center and experienced first hand the impact Centering can have in participants' lives. Working at CHI brings Shannon's passions for maternal and child health and health equity full circle.

With 20 years of experience in nonprofit leadership, fundraising, marketing and board management, Qiana has successfully led high-performing revenue-driving teams, built thriving strategic partnerships with healthcare systems and clinical practices at national and local levels. She will oversee Business Development, Marketing, Communications & External Engagement, and Philanthropic Development. She is passionate about improving health and transforming care as CHI aims to expand the impact of CenteringPregnancy to create child health outcomes that are strengthened nation-wide, where disparities in outcomes (particularly by race) are greatly reduced, and where all mothers and birthing people have access to prenatal care that is sustainably and equitably improved.

Oluwabusola is an Associate Centering Advisor who collaborates closely with the Director of Facilitation Services and Director of Consultation Services to offer essential administrative support to the Centering Advisor team. She is a dedicated public health professional driven by a profound commitment to maternal health and addressing racial disparities. Graduating with a degree in Public Health Science from the University of Maryland, College Park, she possesses valuable experience across customer service and healthcare domains, coupled with specialized skills in project planning and coordination.

As a Centering Advisor, Christina works directly with clinics to implement the Centering model through facilitation training and consultation services. Christina comes to Centering with over two decades of experience in building and implementing various programs aimed at systems change toward greater equity.

A member of the Human Resources team, Gisely provides support and assists with recruitment, maintaining employee records and on-boarding new staff. In her role, she is also responsible for managing print and material vendor relationships and supports inventory monitoring activities. With an education in HR management, Gisely comes to CHI with experience in administration. 

Jessica works collaboratively with healthcare organizations to build sustainable Centering models with a focus on patient-centered care. She comes to CHI with over 15 years of experience in Prenatal & Childbirth education, Centering facilitation and coordination in a FQHC community clinic setting. Her experience in Women’s Health and Family Practice drew her to CHI. She is dedicated to health equity efforts by supporting healthcare organizations to build a solid Centering foundation to address healthcare disparities in vulnerable communities.

As a member of the Practice Transformation Team, LaShonda is responsible for providing the best customer service possible. She holds a degree in Business Administration. Also, she has a background in customer service within the military and office administrative work. Her big passion is to help others and strives to leave smiles on the faces of everyone who contacts CHI. She believes that smiling is good for the heart!

Chiquita Brake, RHIT,CPC, AHIMA Approved ICD 10-CM/PCS Trainer, is the Billing and Coding manager at Centering Healthcare Institute (CHI). She is proudly the first Black woman to lead a group of the Raleigh North Carolina Coding Chapter 2010 and 2011 as the VP and President. With 20 years of experience in the Health Information Management field from working claims, denials, billing, practice management, medical office administration, implementation of ICD-10-CM, revenue cycle management, auditing and educating providers and local community college students, and coding multiple specialties; 17 years on the provider side and 3 years on the payors.

She is committed to helping CenteringPregnancy sites to navigate successfully on increasing reimbursement for Alternative Payment Models (APM) along with educating providers and medical coders on the requirements.

Kennedy provides day-to-day executive support and serves as the primary point of contact for internal and external constituencies on all matters pertaining to the office of the CEO. Initially a member of the Practice Transformation team, she moved into a more operational and administrative role in early 2020. Kennedy comes to CHI with sales and customer service experience. 

With 8 years of expertise in the IT field, Ashley has cultivated her skills while predominantly focusing on the healthcare and construction sectors. As an IT Coordinator, she holds the responsibility of extending support to the organization's technology department, covering tasks related to maintenance, documentation, and assisting end-users.

Amanda provides consultation services and facilitation training to staff at healthcare practices to support the successful implementation of the Centering model. A Public Health Social Worker with expertise in mitigating the health effects of psychological trauma through social cohesion, she has over a decade of experience in group dynamics and facilitation with a passion for social justice and community building. As a Centering Advisor, she is energized by the process of consulting with new Centering sites to create thriving and dynamic programs that meet the needs of diverse communities.

In her role, Gianna provides support to the Practice Transformation team through administrative, organizational and communication contributions. She has worked in both non-profit and healthcare practice settings with experience in data entry, multi-department collaborations, schedule management and customer assistance. Her fluency in Spanish has helped her become an advocate for those with language barriers.

As the Director of Business Development for Centering Healthcare Institute, Mary is responsible for leading the growth and expansion of Centering, with a particular focus on New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Michigan, Ohio, and Unified Women's Healthcare affiliates through collaborations with healthcare providers and systems, funders and government agencies. She is the lead on a number of key Centering initiatives. Her journey with Centering started as a provider facilitator, coordinator and in-house trainer of at a large hospital outpatient clinic in North Carolina. A Certified Nurse-Midwife, Mary comes to CHI with over 25 years of healthcare experience and is passionate about providing care for the whole person and improving health outcomes with the Centering model. She completed her Bachelor's degree in nursing at Boston College, and her Master's degree in nursing at the University of Rhode Island, and her office is based in Massachusetts. Mary is a member of the American College of Nurse-Midwives, an affiliate member of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and has been inducted in Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing.

Please reach out to Mary directly at mfitzmaurice@centeringhealthcare.org or schedule a meeting or webinar on her calendar.

As a member of the Practice Transformation team, Makeda is responsible for organizing engagements that play a role in bringing about the Centering practice site implementation to fruition. She administers correspondence to achieve excellent client satisfaction. Makeda comes to CHI with experience in customer service and working with non-profit organizations in New York City.

As Senior Director of Information Technology, Jon is responsible for CHI's IT infrastructure and staff and has been with the organization since 2015. He brings over 15 years of experience in the Information Technology field, focusing largely on enterprise CRM and ERP application management. Outside of the office, Jon enjoys time with his wife Kim and their daughter Lily.

John is the Salesforce / IT administrator at CHI. He has over ten years experience in IT systems and infrastructure management with a specific focus on Salesforce CRM implementation, integration and administration.

In his role as Accounting Manager, Deus assists the Director of Finance with daily operations of the accounting department. He has a strong background in accounting and financial management with over 15 years of experience working as a public accountant.

Cherelle comes to CHI with over 7 years of experience in varying aspects of human resource management. As the Director, of Human Resources for CHI, Cherelle plans and coordinates all administrative functions of our organization. Serving as the link between staff and managers, she enhances human resources by planning, implementing and evaluating employee relations and human resources policies, programs and practices.

Katherine is responsible for ensuring effective delivery of CHI's facilitation services and co-manages the Implementation Advisor team. She has spent the last years working at the intersections of public health, social work and social change. She has worked on a variety of issues on the program and policy sides, including reproductive and sexual health, immunizations, domestic and sexual violence prevention, and abortion access. Having grown up in South and Central America, Katherine moved to the United States as an adolescent and currently lives in Portland, Oregon.

Mary is a social worker and public health professional with over 15 years of experience implementing evidence-based reproductive health programs. She has extensive experience as an instructional designer and trainer and has trained hundreds of clinicians, public health professionals, social workers, and other helping professionals across the country. As a doula and childbirth educator as well, Mary's passion is changing communities to better support children and families and to improve health equity. Outside of work, Mary enjoys spending time with her family on her small farm in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

Jessica brings 20 years of customer service experience to Centering Healthcare Institute as the Senior Client Relations Manager. In her role, she oversees the Client Relations team, with the goal of ensuring that people contacting CHI get their questions answered and needs met. Jessica brings her excitement around quality improvement and quality assurance to her team, the Practice Transformation Department, and the whole of CHI. Outside of work, she loves being a mom to a budding soccer player, going to concerts and binge watching true crime.

As Director of Special Initiatives, Tanya provides leadership to the Implementation Awards Initiative. With over 10 years of experience at CHI, Tanya has been instrumental in providing direction for developing quality and improvement processes at the organization. She has led the charge on data and outcomes management including developing processes for data collection and evaluation, site readiness assessing, Site Accreditation and consortium-building. Prior to CHI, Tanya was the Manager of Chapter Grants at the March of Dimes National Office. She also established the Office of Global Health Education & Training at Columbia University Medical Center in 2003 and was the administrative director for a post-graduate program at Central European University in Budapest, Hungary.

In her role, Anna provides support and technical assistance to Centering practices in the Midwest and Southeast regions. She was introduced to the Centering model as pregnancy care manager in the health department and Federally Qualified Health Center settings, while working primarily with immigrant populations. Anna is proud of her two decades’ commitment to maternal and child health, during which she has contributed to state and national non-profits, led grassroots organizations and sat on multiple boards. Anna is bilingual, a trained birth and full spectrum doula and a returned WorldTeach volunteer, having served two years in Costa Rica.

Surendra Pokharel joined CHI in 2016 bringing his versatile experience in accounting and finance, encompassing banking, distribution, auditing, financial management, book-keeping, accounting, and compliance services. His positive attitude not only brings warmth to our office but has also resulted in his successful team building, innovative solutions, and the organizational capacity to maintain quality service, even during periods of internal consolidation and rapid business growth. When not in the office, Surendra enjoys meditation, sports and spending time with his family and friends.

As the Director of Business Development, Lisa is responsible for leading the growth and expansion of Centering across seven states through collaborations with healthcare providers, payers and government agencies. Lisa comes to CHI with over 33 years of experience in healthcare working with primarily independent physician practices, hospitals and health insurance payers. She has a strong background and understanding of revenue cycle management, merit-based incentive payments systems' reporting and outcome measures, with an emphasis on technology and Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements.

Liz is a public health professional with extensive experience in program management, training, and working with clinic leadership on systems change and population health initiatives. She has an MPH in health behavior and health education and has focused much of her career on intimate partner violence. Liz loves leading workshops and group facilitation. She finds it fun, engaging and exhilarating. She joined CHI in 2017 as a consultant because she is passionate about increasing Centering into our healthcare system.

As CHI's Director of Implementation Services, Deanna is an expert in the clinical implementation of the Centering model and manages a team of consultants. Her education in business administration and previous experience in international business has provided Deanna with the keen eye to evaluate implementation processes at a macro level to showcase the impact the Centering model can make. Her responsibilities also include managing initiatives and collaborations with healthcare providers, public health advocates and organizations to improve maternal health. With a strong background in maternal and child health and a passion to promote birth equity, Deanna brings over a decade of experience as a Doula, Certified Lactation Counselor, Childbirth Educator and reproductive activist to CHI. She has been teaching mindfulness and yoga for more than 20 years.

As part of the Practice Transformation team, Rachel is dedicated to supporting Centering site partners as they adopt and implement evidence-based group care. She brings over six years of experience as a Doula and Childbirth Educator in the San Antonio, Texas area and has also worked towards expanding the reach of group prenatal care since 2019. Rachel is passionate about reshaping healthcare experiences for all families in an effort to promote health equity and cultivate communities where individuals have an equitable opportunity to thrive.

As a Senior Policy Analyst, Disha will aid in the development and implementation of CHI's policy strategy at state and federal levels. She is excited to bring her six years of experience in policy development, program implementation, and advocacy for value-based payment programs to CHI to support the Centering model and improve maternal health outcomes.

Stefanie has been involved with many projects that promote systems change in healthcare and public health. She was a full spectrum doula for 14 years and taught childbirth education, newborn care and breastfeeding classes in Eastern Kansas and the Kansas City area.

Stefanie has worked in public health, facilitating community coalitions that were implementing strategies to reduce sexual violence in Kansas. While at the state health department in Kansas, she led the Community Health Worker section, integrating CHWs into healthcare systems throughout the state and collaborating with stakeholders on CHW workforce development. Most recently, Stefanie has been focused on national initiatives to reduce maternal mortality and morbidity by improving 4th-trimester care.

As a Centering Advisor, Nephtalie collaborates directly with clinics to introduce the Centering model by providing consultation services and facilitating training sessions. With a background in public health and healthcare quality improvement, Nephtalie brings a wealth of experience in designing, implementing and evaluating programs aimed at supporting underrepresented minority groups.Nephtalie is deeply committed to reshaping the healthcare landscape to enhance patient experiences and elevate outcomes. By emphasizing social determinants of health, embracing a patient-centered care model and improving healthcare delivery processes, we can work towards a future where every individual has equitable access to a fulfilling and healthy life.Apart from her professional endeavors, Nephtalie finds joy in exploring different cultures through travel, practicing yoga, immersing herself in captivating literature and attending live music events with her dear ones.

Brian joins CHI as the Vice President of Finance with 18 years of finance and operations experience in the non-profit and public education sectors. Prior to joining CHI, Brian was the Vice President of Financial Planning & Analysis at the KIPP Foundation, where he managed a team of 4 and was responsible for annual and long term financial planning (with an annual budget of $100 million), financial reporting, grants management, and grants accounting. At KIPP, Brian led the organization through a 3-year period of significant growth, during which the annual budget increased from $65 million to $95 million. Other responsibilities and successes include timely and accurate audit and 990 preparations; org-wide cross-functional process improvements with talent, development, and operations teams; and leading successful financial system implementations and enhancements.

He obtained his MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. Brian was born and raised on the south side of Chicago, and currently resides there. Brian identifies as gay, Latino (of Mexican ancestry), cisgender male, and uses he/him pronouns.

As part of the Practice Transformation team, Denise is excited to support our Centering Community Partners in implementing the Centering model within their healthcare systems.

Denise has experience in the group model of care and has worked across both public and private healthcare systems. Denise is passionate about birth equity and equality and is dedicated to improving the quality of care patients receive across the country.

Dr. Darby-Stewart is an experienced clinician-leader with skills in transformational healthcare redesign, primary care/specialty integration, and medical education. She is currently Associate Program Director at HonorHealth Family Medicine Residency in Scottsdale, Arizona, and recently served as Clinical Department Chair of Family Medicine and Medical Director for Chronic Care TTRIaD at Banner Health. Dr. Darby-Stewart brings a skill for connecting population health management with personalized healthcare to the Centering Healthcare Board. She has a true passion for excellence in patient care and medical education.

As the eldest child of retired physicians, it is no accident that Arianne Graham has spent her entire career in healthcare. She is currently Director of Innovation for Healthworx, the innovation and investment arm of CareFirst BlueCross Blue Shield. In this role, she and her team aim to solve the most pressing problems in the sector while expanding and transforming CareFirst's core health insurance business. Prior to Healthworx, Arianne held numerous strategy and commercial leadership roles spanning the non-profit and for-profit sector, including positions at March of Dimes, Peer Health Exchange, Quartet Health, Kyruus, and patientslikeme. She has co-founded nonprofits Not One More Life and Samara Collective, a worker-owned consultancy that specializes in empowering organizations and movements such as labor unions and progressive community coalitions through digital organizing, web development, press and training.

Eva is the Chief Financial Officer for GLAD (Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders) a non-profit legal organization and is responsible for operations and finance. She has over 25 years of combined experience in public accounting and non-profit management in wide-ranging capacities including: CFO, controller, treasurer, consultant, auditor, trainer, manager and coach. Eva is a Rockwood Leadership alumnus and participated in the inaugural cohort of the 21st Century Pipeline project; a year-long leadership training program designed to retain & support leaders of color in the LGBT movement. She has also served as a volunteer board member of the Provincetown Film Society, The Theatre Offensive, Elizabeth Stone House, Victory Programs, and Casa Myrna Vasquez.

Piia Hanson has over 20 years’ experience working with academic institutions, non-profits, corporations, and local, state, and federal public health programs. Her past roles include Medicaid Chief of Quality for the Louisiana Department of Health, Chief of Perinatal and Infant Health at the Washington DC Department of Health, Senior Program Manager at AMCHP, and Program Analyst for the Metro Nashville/Davidson County Public Health Department. She is currently the principal consultant for Ph Solutions, a boutique public health consulting firm, and adjunct faculty at George Mason University and Lamar University. She has been recognized for her efforts to make a lasting impact in Maternal and Child Health, including the APHA MCH Young Professional of the Year award, the Xavier University 40 Under 40 award and a successful fellowship with the prestigious Maternal Child Health Public Health Leadership Institute at the University of North Carolina. Additionally, is a co-author in the newly-published, 4th edition of Kotch's Maternal and Child Health: Problems, Programs, and Policy in Public Health.

Dr. Strickland is an Associate Professor at Wake Forest Department of Family and Community Medicine where she practices the full scope of family medicine including both inpatient and maternity care. She earned a Master’s of Public Health degree from UNC-Chapel Hill and is an active member of the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine. She has been a long time advocate of Centering, joining the CHI Board of Directors in 2008. She has experience as a Centering provider and has implemented group visit programs in several residency programs. Locally, Dr. Strickland leads the North Carolina CenteringPregnancy Consortium in partnership with Northwest Community Care Network of Community Care of North Carolina.

Dr. Larkins-Pettigrew, is a Senior Vice President and the Chief Clinical Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer for Allegheny Health Network. An internationally respected expert in cultural competency within the health care field, she has spent her career engaging marginalized communities and building programs that focus on promoting outcomes equity for vulnerable patients and mitigating socio-political barriers to care. She has a special interest in educating and empowering women, especially those pursuing careers in medicine. Dr. Larkins-Pettigrew’s clinical practice focuses on providing care to women living in low- to middle-resource communities, with a clinical focus in the care of women living with HIV. She also served as Chair & Director of the Center for Clinical Excellence and Diversity at University Hospitals as well as Dean of Students for Case Western Reserve University. Dr. Larkins-Pettigrew is the founder of W.O.N.D.O.O.R. (one door), Women and Newborns, Diversity, Outreach, Opportunity and Research, a program that aims to educate global medical providers through local and international health care collaborations. She lectures frequently, regionally and internationally, on health issues relating to the wellness of women. She is also the author of “The Colors of My Heart: Embracing My Blackness with History, Family, Fear and Faith,” a recently published autobiography. 

Michelle Proser is currently Vice President of Research, Quality and Performance at Medicaid Health Plans of America, where she is responsible for developing, overseeing, and implementing MHPA’s research and analytics strategy to inform policy and drive quality. Previously, Michelle worked at the Financial Health Network, where she worked with payers, providers, and financial services partners to improve health by improving financial wellbeing. As part of her role, she provided subject matter expertise in social drivers of health and cross sector collaboration. Michelle also worked at National Association of Community Health Centers where she was Director of Research and the National Project Director for PRAPARE, a multi-organization effort to implement and scale social risk screening for action. She earned both a Doctorate and a Master of Public Policy degree in health policy from The George Washington University.

Crysta Meekins is a Program Manager for the Institute for Diversity and Health Equity (IFDHE) at the American Hospital Association (AHA), where she supports hospitals and health systems at the national level on their health equity journey. She earned a Master of Public Health in Maternal and Child Health from Tulane University and is currently a Doctoral Candidate in Mercer University’s DrPH program, with a concentration in Diverse Populations & Health Equity. Her public health interests include maternal and infant mortality, reproductive health, and health equity. Her future aspirations are to contribute to existing work to dismantle the structural and institutional barriers contributing to the ongoing maternal health crisis.

LaTese Briggs, Ph.D., is the chief philanthropy officer of The Raben Group, where she brings her analytical thinking and rigorous methodology to the world of philanthropy to create strategic,effective, and sustainable giving strategies.

LaTese has served as a trusted advisor to an array of philanthropists and foundations and has helped partners channel their wealth, talent, network and influence to create positive social impact. She began her career as a leading scientist at the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT. LaTese then co-founded a highly successful philanthropic advising practice at the Milken Institute, which later became the Milken Institute Center for Strategic Philanthropy (CSP). For over eight years, she managed CSP’s overall growth, operations, strategic direction, and human talent. LaTese also led the expansion of CSP’s consulting services and expertise to markets in the Middle East, Asia and Europe.

After earning her doctorate in Biochemistry and Structural Biology at the University of Maryland Baltimore County, LaTese completed her postdoctoral training at Harvard University, where her work focused on early drug discovery.

Jen is a non-profit leader and strategic innovator for NGO’s, start-ups and banks. She has a progressive background in business, financial management, human relations and information technology systems.

A take-charge, action-oriented team leader strong in community relations, inspiring others to seeher point of view. A financial and investment manager specializing in organizational performance for over 25 years. During the last several years, she has implemented various systems to streamline financial reporting to comply with regulators directives and has served in various Finance and Accounting-related roles.

Christine's work experience has mainly been derived within the higher education sector and for mission-based organizations throughout her career. With over twenty years of extensive anddiverse business administration, management, finance, and accounting experience, she has leveraged this experience to aid organizations through change and transformation. Distinct expertise includes strategic planning, leadership development, process improvement, team building, and change management. Additional expertise includes financial oversight and analysis, budgeting and forecasting, management of grants and contracts, compliance, andprofessional education program design and development.

She has experience analyzing and assessing departmental workflow designs and assisting with programming software and systems to ensure efficiency. She has supported team direction during programmatic and technology rollouts and engaged in training design and development. She has assisted in data-driven decision-making through systems, processes and metrics to support planning, forecasting, reporting, evaluation and assessment.

Christine is passionate about serving and supporting the growth of all individuals by creating opportunities for dialogue. Her experience in leading interventions to support organizational alignment has expanded her philosophy and methodologies for aiding organizations in reaching their goals. She respects the need for diverse thought and is skilled in conflict resolution. Christine plans to continue researching and pursuing different techniques and models to support organizational alignment and cohesion. In addition, seeking new ways to engage with conflict and friction.

In 2021, Christine started Farmstead Heights, LLC. because she is passionate about the future of our survival and understands that agriculture and food systems play a significant role in sustaining and growing our communities. Her organization's mission is to support BIPOC farmers and individuals in urban, suburban, and rural spaces through outreach, education, awareness and consultation.

Sonya Williams-Stanton is a finance professional with over 25 years of experience in the private sector and higher education. She currently serves as a teaching professor at Villanova University where she teaches Corporate Finance to both undergraduate and graduate students and sits on the University’s Budget Committee.

She also serves as a consultant to small businesses and nonprofits. Previously she studied the impact of bank regulation on bank lending policies, consulted with the International Monetary Fund, and served on the audit committee of a credit card bank. Her finance career started in commercial lending in NYC. She first joined CHI as a member of the Finance Committee.

Dr. Williams-Stanton earned her bachelor’s degree from Brown University in Mathematical Economics and MBA and PhD from the University of Michigan.

Tracy I. Wang, MPH serves as Digital Solutions Director for Enterprise Data and Analytics of Carelon Digital Platforms at Elevance Health. In this role, she is responsible for the delivery of whole health management analytics that aggregate public and member data to provide insights on members’ clinical risks and health-related social needs, as well as the community they live in, to inform health disparities. Prior to her current role, Tracy served as Clinical Programs Director for Clinical Quality Strategy, where she was responsible for directing member and community health programs that measure and improve patient safety and population health. She works closely with key business units and collaborates with industry leaders to advance healthcare initiatives, including award-winning Patient Safety First, a California Partnership for Health program.

Evelyn Gallego, MBA, MPH, CPHIMS, is the CEO and Founder of EMI Advisors LLC, an 8(a) certified Small Minority-Owned Business dedicated to human-centered digital transformation across the government and commercial sectors. Evelyn launched EMI to deliver innovative and value-driven advisory services in digital health interoperability and health IT policy.

Evelyn brings specialized expertise in aligning regulatory, technical, and business requirements to facilitate the effective adoption and utilization of cutting-edge technology. She is a recognized thought leader in critical domains such as care coordination, social care integration, health IT policy analysis and development, health information exchange, interoperability, and standards development.

Evelyn co-founded the Gravity Project, a leading national public collaborative focused on developing data standards for Social Determinants of Health (SDoH). She also serves as a Subject Matter Expert on numerous national and state-level data interoperability initiatives, contributing her insights and leadership to advance health IT. Evelyn’s commitment to driving systemic change extends to her volunteer leadership in mission-driven, non-profit organizations, including IHE USA, United Community, and the Centering Healthcare Institute. Evelyn holds a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the Schulich School of Business and a Master in Public Health (MPH) from George Washington University.

Eric Hicks is a digital product and technology leader with a strong track record in driving enterprise transformation at organizations such as AARP, Fannie Mae and CareFirst Blue Shield Blue Cross. He has a proven ability to translate complex business strategies into clear product visions and has been instrumental in creating revenue-generating products and digital transformations. His expertise in Lean Product Management and SAFe agile practices has driven significant improvements and digitalization efforts. Additionally, his servant leadership approach has enabled him to build high-caliber teams and foster collaboration among diverse stakeholders to achieve enterprise-level transformation goals.

Eric's achievements are underpinned by a Master of Science in Innovation and Technology Management from Temple University and Aresty Scholar status by the Wharton School of the University of Pennyslvania. Other designations include Project Management Professional (PMP), Certified Scrum Master, SAFe Agilist and master-level certifications in Digital Transformation and AI Business Strategy.