Speakers

Dr. Nicole M. Cooper serves as Vice President of Social Responsibility at UnitedHealthcare, where she leads national signature partnerships and local social investment strategies to bolster UnitedHealthcare’s social impact across the US. Reporting to the UnitedHealthcare Chief Communications Officer, among other responsibilities, Dr. Cooper leads national corporate philanthropic grant-making efforts and employee volunteer programs that are focused on addressing basic access to care and the social determinants of health for underserved communities. She is also a member of the executive UnitedHealthcare Inclusion and Diversity Council.

Prior to joining UnitedHealthcare, Dr. Cooper was an Obama administration political appointee and part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services team responsible for implementation of the Affordable Care Act. At the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Dr. Cooper served as a policy advisor to key leaders in the agency, including the Chief of Staff at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Minority Health. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Spelman College, a master of public health (MPH) degree from the University of Michigan and a doctor of public health (DrPH) degree from Harvard University.

David Green has worked with many organizations to make medical technology and health care services sustainable, affordable and accessible to all. He is a MacArthur Fellow, Ashoka Fellow and is recognized by Schwab Foundation as a leading social entrepreneur. David directed the establishment of Aurolab (India), to produce affordable intraocular lenses. Aurolab has 10% of the global market share; 30 million lenses have been implanted to date. He also set up Aurolab suture manufacturing. He has developed high-volume, quality eye care programs that are affordable to the poor and self-sustaining from user fees, including Aravind Eye Hospital in India - which performs 500,000 surgeries per year - 50 percent of the care is provided free of charge or below - cost. He has played a key role in developing major eye care programs and training centers in China, India, Nepal, Egypt, Tanzania, Nigeria, Bangladesh, Mexico, Vietnam and Guatemala. He co-founded Sound World Solutions to make affordable hearing aids fitted with a smart phone; and the Eye Fund, a $15M social investing fund in collaboration with Ashoka and International Agency for Prevention of Blindness. He is on the faculty of Johns Hopkins Wilmer Eye Institute; is a recipient of 2009 “Spirit of Helen Keller” award for humanitarian efforts in blindness prevention; was awarded 2009 University of Michigan Humanitarian Service Award; and was selected by University of Michigan Engineering students as a leading social entrepreneur alumnus. He graduated from the University of Michigan with a Bachelor in General Studies (1978) and a Masters degree in Public Health (1982).

Emmarie Huetteman is the policy and politics correspondent for Kaiser Health News, a non-profit, national news service dedicated to in-depth health care reporting. She came to KHN from The New York Times, where she covered Congress. In 2015, she reported from the front lines of the nascent refugee crisis in Germany as part of the International Center for Journalists’ Arthur F. Burns Fellowship.

Emmarie holds a master’s degree in public affairs reporting from Northwestern University’s Medill School. But her heart will always be in Ann Arbor, where she graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree in political science and anthropology -- and spent most of her time at The Michigan Daily and with her a cappella group. Go Blue!

Rick Jelinek is an executive vice president at CVS Health. Mr. Jelinek leads integration efforts related to the CVS Health and Aetna merger with a focus on achieving deal goals, driving profitable growth, and transforming the consumer health experience.

 

Mr. Jelinek began his career more than 30 years ago and has held senior roles with payors, providers and private equity organizations. Previously, he served as executive vice president of enterprise strategy and head of markets at Aetna. For 19 years of his career, he served in a variety of executive leadership roles at UnitedHealth Group, including CEO of OptumHealth.

Mr. Jelinek is a member of the Young Presidents’ Organization and a founding advisory board member for the Griffith Leadership Center at the University of Michigan School of Public Health. He currently is a member of the board of directors of HealthEdge and previously served on the board of directors of Sutter Health, Redbrick Health, the Minnesota Children’s Museum and Cotiviti.

 

He holds a master’s degree in health services administration and a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Michigan, as well as a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Southern California.

Joneigh S. Khaldun, MD, MPH, FACEP is the Chief Medical Executive and Chief Deputy Director for Health in the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS). In those roles, she provides overall medical guidance for the State of Michigan, and oversees public health, Medicaid, behavioral health, public hospitals, and aging services for MDHHS. Prior to her role at MDHHS, she was the Director and Health Officer for the Detroit Health Department, where she oversaw a robust community driven community health assessment, established a comprehensive reproductive health network, spear-headed new community-based human service efforts, and led Detroit’s response to the Hepatitis A outbreak.

Previously, Dr. Khaldun was the Baltimore City Health Department’s Chief Medical Officer, where she oversaw 7 clinics, a laboratory, and led efforts to address the opioid epidemic. She has held several local and national leadership positions, including Director of the Center for Injury Prevention and Control at George Washington University, Founder and Director of the Fellowship in Health Policy in the University of Maryland Department of Emergency Medicine, and Fellow in the Obama administration’s Office of Health Reform. She’s served on several national and local boards and committees, including the Commission on Health in Montgomery County, Maryland; Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metropolitan Detroit; the Detroit Urban Research Collaborative; the governor-appointed Michigan Public Health Advisory Council; and the CDC Health Disparities Advisory Committee. She was recently appointed to the National Advisory Board for the Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation at the University of Michigan.

In 2018, Dr. Khaldun was selected for the 40 Under 40 Leaders in Minority Health Award by the National Minority Quality Forum. She also received the deBeaumont Foundation 40 Under 40 Leaders in Public Health award in 2019. Dr. Khaldun obtained her undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan, medical degree from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, MPH in Health Policy from George Washington University, and completed residency in emergency medicine at Kings County Hospital Center in Brooklyn, NY, where she served as chief resident in her final year. She is a board-certified emergency medicine physician and practices part-time at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit.

Dr. Lanham completed his medical school, residency, and fellowship training in Obstetrics and Gynecology and Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility at the University of Michigan. He is also board-certified in Clinical Informatics. His academic interests include the interface and interaction of usability, information systems, quality of care, and clinician burnout. He serves as the Associate Chief Medical Information Officer for Provider Builders and Custom Workflows/Programming at Michigan Medicine. Nationally, he serves as a reviewer for the International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, as the chair for the Epic REI Steering Board, and as a member of the ASRM Technology Committee. He has invented and developed software to assist infertility patients with their medication inventory and administration management during complex fertility treatment, which is currently being studied in a multi-site trial. He enjoys living in Ann Arbor and being active outdoors with his husband and two sons.

Paula Lantz, PhD, MS is Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and James B. Hudak Professor of Health Policy at the Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan. She is also a professor in the department of Health Management and Policy in the U-M School of Public Health, serving as department chair from 2005-2011. Trained in social demography and epidemiology, Professor Lantz has over 25 years of experience teaching and conducting research related to public health and health care policy, including as a research and policy analyst for county government, state government and a large health care system. Professor Lantz is particularly interested in the role of health care versus broad social policy aimed at social determinants of health in improving population health and reducing health disparities. Professor Lantz is an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine and the National Academy of Social Insurance.

Ellen Lukens is the Division Director for Ambulatory Payment Models at the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI), within the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. In this role, Ms. Lukens leads CMS’ efforts on ambulatory episode-based payment systems, including physician specialty models, such as the Oncology Care Model. Prior to joining CMS, Ms. Lukens led the Provider Practice at Avalere Health, where she worked with hospitals, physician groups, and post-acute care providers on many issues, including participation in CMMI models. Prior to Avalere, Ms. Lukens held policy roles in hospital associations. Ms. Lukens began her health policy career as Presidential Management Fellow at CMS. Ms. Lukens has an M.P.H. from the University of Michigan and a B.A. from Northwestern University.

Dr. Makary is a New York Times bestselling author and Johns Hopkins surgeon. His book, The Price We Pay, has been described as “a must-read for every American” by Steve Forbes and “a deep dive into the real issues driving up the price of health care” by Don Berwick. Makary, a leading voice for physicians, is a frequent medical expert on NBC and FOX News, and he also writes for The Wall Street Journal and USA Today.

Dr. Makary was the lead author of the first publications on The Surgical Checklist and later served in leadership with Atul Gawande on the World Health Organization Surgery Checklist project. He has published over 250 scientific articles, including articles on organizational culture, vulnerable populations, and opioid prescribing guidelines. As a gastrointestinal surgeon, Dr. Makary is also an advocate for healthy foods and lifestyle medicine.

Dr. Makary has been elected to the National Academy of Medicine and named one of America’s 20 most influential people in health care by Health Leaders Magazine. He speaks frequently on the future of health care and what it means for everyday Americans, business leaders, and health care professionals. His current research focuses on the appropriateness of medical care, health care costs, drug prices and low-income populations. Dr. Makary’s book, Unaccountable, was turned into the hit TV medical series The Resident, and his newest book, The Price We Pay, tells the stories of health care’s disruptive innovators and the new movement to restore medicine to its mission.

Rose Marie Martinez, Sc.D. is Senior Board Director, Board on Population Health and Public Health Practice, in the Health and Medicine Division of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) (formerly the Institute of Medicine) (1999-present). The Board has a vibrant portfolio of studies that address high profile and cutting edge issues that affect population health. The Board addresses the science base for population health and public health interventions and examines the capacity of the health system, particularly the public health infrastructure, to support disease prevention and health promotion activities, including the education and supply of health professionals necessary for carrying them out. The Board has examined such topics as the safety of childhood vaccines and other drugs; systems for evaluating and ensuring drug safety post-marketing; non-communicable disease prevention; infectious disease prevention strategies; the health effects of cannabis and cannabinoids; tobacco control strategies and the health effect of e-cigarettes; health effects of environmental exposures; women’s health services; health disparities; health literacy; and other topics. Dr. Martinez was awarded the 2010 Institute of Medicine Research Cecil Award for significant contributions to Institute of Medicine reports of exceptional quality and influence.

Prior to joining the NASEM, Dr. Martinez was a Senior Health Researcher at Mathematica Policy Research (1995-1999) where she conducted research on the impact of health system change on the public health infrastructure, access to care for vulnerable populations, managed care, and the health care workforce.

Dr. Martinez is a former Assistant Director for Health Financing and Policy with the U.S. General Accounting Office (now U.S. General Accountability Office) where she directed evaluations and policy analysis in the area of national and public health issues (1988-1995). Her experience also includes six years directing research studies for the Regional Health Ministry of Madrid, Spain (1982-1988).

Dr. Martinez is past President of the Council on Education for Public Health, the accreditation body for schools of public health and public health programs.

Dr. Martinez received the degree of Doctor of Science from the Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health (now Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health).

Kaveh Safavi, M.D., J.D. is the senior managing director for Accenture’s global healthcare business. Dr. Safavi is responsible for developing and driving a growth strategy that differentiates Accenture’s offerings for providers, health insurers and public and private health systems across the globe. Dr. Safavi joined Accenture from Cisco, in 2011, where he led the global healthcare practice. Prior to that, he was Thompson Reuter’s chief medical officer of its Health Businesses and United Healthcare’s vice president of medical affairs. He also has served in leadership roles at HealthSpring and Humana. As a seasoned executive, Dr. Safavi brings more than three decades of leadership experience to Accenture Health including such accomplishments as establishing one of the Midwest’s first electronic health record-enabled primary care practices. He has published numerous papers and is quoted on healthcare issues in various media publications, including the Wall Street Journal, BBC, New York Times, US News and World Report, Harvard Business Review and the Economist.

Dr. Safavi serves as a member of the board of directors for Xcertia, an organization that supports industry guidelines for safe and effective mobile health apps. He’s also serves on the advisory committee of the Buck Institute for Research on Aging.

Dr. Safavi has earned the distinction of both medical and law degrees, an M.D. from Loyola University School of Medicine and a J.D. from DePaul University College of Law. He is board-certified in internal medicine and pediatrics and completed his residency at the University of Michigan Medical Center.

Heather’s expertise spans across the healthcare continuum with a focus on design, implementation and execution of hospital and health system strategies that improve patient care. Heather has a 20-year plus career where she held positions of significant responsibility for strategy, operations and finance, including various roles in hospital management, quality, strategy and high-value health care delivery.

Prior to joining Civica, Heather worked at Intermountain Healthcare as an Enterprise Initiative Partner and was responsible for driving forward Intermountain’s key strategic initiatives. Before this position, Heather was the Operations Officer for Intermountain Healthcare’s LDS Hospital, with accountability for hospital-wide operations, strategic growth and high-value healthcare delivery.

Before joining Intermountain in 2008, Heather was the President / Managing Partner of Tesaris Corporation, a healthcare consulting and technology company. In this position, Heather designed and optimized strategy and operational efficiency for hospitals, ranging in size from critical access facilities to academic medical centers.

Heather received her Masters of Business Administration from Arizona State University and her Bachelor of Science in management from Brigham Young University.