Speakers & Faculty

Mr. Bronson is the Vice-President of Information Services for Mental Health Partners. He graduated from University of New Hampshire with a degree in Electrical Engineering Systems. He has over 25 years of experience within software engineering, infrastructure and client management.

Kristi Daugherty, CEO for Emergence Health Network, has over twenty years of experience in the behavioral health arena.  As chief executive officer for El Paso County’s Mental Health/Intellectual Disabilities Authority for El Paso County, Ms. Daugherty is responsible for all clinical and oversight services delegated through performance contracts with Texas Health & Human Services.

During her tenure as CEO, Ms. Daugherty spearheaded several key initiatives that have significantly increased scope of services offered to the El Paso community.  As a result of her leadership, jail-based mental health services are now offered to justice involved patients and crisis intervention teams now partner especially trained police officers with behavioral health clinicians during crisis response. 

During this time, Emergence Health Network added key components the system of care such as extended observation unit services and Multi-Systemic Therapy for at-risk adolescents and their families.  Ms. Daugherty also orchestrated operational turnaround resulting in significantly improved financial indicators, enhanced quality measures and an emphasis on patient data analytics to improve overall health.  These efforts resulted in Emergence Health Network receiving Joint Commission accreditation– a distinction held by only a handful of community centers in the State of Texas.   Most recently, EHN also achieved Certified Community Behavioral Health Center (CCBHC) designation, which will help the organization focus on addressing social determinants of health with a behavioral health focus.

Ms. Daugherty has led efforts to form critical community collaborations that have resulted in expanding access points to behavioral health services and expansion of services.  Outside the area of crisis services, EHN has developed services in local school districts to include school-based clinics.  A strong partnership with the local housing authority has resulted in work on a therapeutic community for individuals that have mental illness and are at risk of homelessness. 

As El Paso has recently faced several challenges directly impacting community mental health, and Ms. Daugherty has ensured that EHN has led in crisis behavioral health response. In the aftermath of the August 3^rd Walmart shooting, EHN provided a myriad of supports and services to victims, families and the entire community.  Similarly, Emergence Health Network’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a strong emphasis on mental health supports.

Ms. Daugherty is a Licensed Clinical Social Work Supervisor in the State of Texas and a Licensed Independent Social Work Supervisor in the State of New Mexico.  She has a Master’s Degree in Social Work from New Mexico State University and is a graduate of the Executive MBA Program at the University of Texas at El Paso.

As Chief Operating Officer, Kim oversees the operations and administration of the Cohen Veterans Network and all of its programs and initiatives.

Prior to joining the Cohen Veterans Network, she was the Director of Operations at the Center for Innovation and Research on Veterans & Military Families (CIR) at the University of Southern California School of Social Work. Kim oversaw the day-to-day operation of CIR and managed several large research projects funded by the Department of Defense to enhance the competence and capacity of civilian behavioral health care providers working with military populations. Kim also led the development of numerous cutting-edge programs such as an online training platform for behavioral health professionals, virtual avatar trainers for evidence-based practice and clinical skill, observed structured video examination (OSVE) for military clinical skill assessment, and inter-professional education using military-focused standardized patients. Throughout her career, she has worked for numerous major research initiatives focused on behavioral health care, community development, social welfare, and education. Kim received her BA from the University of Chicago and her MA from the University of Chicago, School of Social Service Administration.

As the National Medical Director for Virtual Care Dr. Will Lopez is the clinical leader in the implementation of Evernorth and Cigna Healthcare’s national virtual care strategy. In this role he is directly involved in coverage policy development, reimbursement, government affairs issues, and assessing new technologies coming to market. In addition he oversees a medical director’s team responsible for medical necessity reviews, case management, and claims activities.  He provides clinical expertise to Cigna’s sales and marketing teams during client and stakeholder meetings.

Prior to joining Cigna in 2006, Dr. Lopez was a staff psychiatrist and Medical Director for psychiatric services at Snowden at Fredericksburg, a private behavioral health center in Virginia.  Dr. Lopez was a captain in the U.S. Air Force where he practiced aerospace medicine.  As a veteran of operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, he is passionate about supporting and leading veteran related initiatives.

Dr. Lopez lives in Asheville, NC with his wife and youngest daughter who is a junior at NC State University. When not at work, he enjoys outdoor activities including hiking, bicycling, and whitewater rafting.

Sandra Stein, M.D. is the Chief Medical Director of Banner University Health Plans since December of 2020. Previously, she was the Medical Director of Care Integration of Banner Health Network from Oct. 2017-Dec. 2020. From Oct. 2015-Sept. 2017 Sandra served as the Chief Medical Officer for Intermountain Centers in Arizona. From March- September 2015 Sandra served as the Behavioral Medical Director for the Arizona Comprehensive Medical Dental Program (CMDP)/State of Arizona Department of Child Safety (DCS). From July 1997-March of 2015 Dr. Stein served as a Medical Director for the Community Partnership of Southern Arizona (CPSA), the Regional Behavioral Health Authority (RBHA). Dr. Stein has a double board certified in general and child and adolescent psychiatry. Sandra Stein, M.D graduated from Albany Medical College in Albany, NY in 1992 and did an internship, general psychiatry residency and child psychiatry fellowship which were completed in 1997 at University of Arizona Health Sciences Center in Tucson, Arizona.

Dr. Carol Clayton is a licensed, psychologist with 30 years of health care experience in the public and private sector, including non-profit and private practice work. Prior to joining OPEN MINDS as a Senior Consultant, she retired as the Translational Neuroscientist for Relias, where she specialized in health care solutions targeting workforce development and population health outcome improvement. Before joining Relias, Dr. Clayton was the CEO of Care Management Technologies, a health IT data analytics company. She also served as the Executive Director of the NC Council of Community Programs from 2000-2006. The NC Council is the predecessor organization to i2i.

Emily Del Vecchio brings over 14 years of experience in strategic, customer-focused, and results-driven marketing in retail and the behavioral health field. Ms. Del Vecchio is currently the Executive Vice President, Partnerships for OPEN MINDS.

Previously, Ms. Del Vecchio was the Marketing and Communications Manager II for Cleveland Clinic. As Cleveland Clinic’s global interests grew, Ms. Del Vecchio was promoted to manage international marketing and support for International Operations, Global Patient Services, international business development, and global expansion efforts. She was instrumental in setting up the London Marketing and Communications function ensuring the UK-based team was connected to US resources and providing corporate oversight for all foundational marketing elements including recruitment advertising campaigns, grand opening promotional strategy and events, and the creation of a localized website and online tools for patients and referring doctors. She also served as a senior member of the cross-departmental “Digital Optimization Team” that was responsible for strategic oversight of all digital lead generation campaigns, designing, executing, and analyzing testing strategies to roll out scalable programs; and managed day-to-day relationship with digital agency and marketing automation partners.

Prior to Cleveland Clinic, Ms. Del Vecchio was Senior Manager, Affiliate Marketing for Gen3 Marketing. Ms. Del Vecchio led the day-to-day management and strategic development of affiliate marketing programs for some of Gen3’s highest-profile clients ranging from financial services to high-end, luxury retail. She operated as an extension of the client’s internal marketing team to support key initiatives, drive increased sales and maintain set budgets. Ms. Del Vecchio established strong relationships with publishers and network teams on behalf of clients to effectively structure and negotiate terms, secure paid placements, and ensure overall brand presence across affiliate sites. She tracked campaign performance, identified trends and growth opportunities, and analyzed key metrics.

Before Gen3, Ms. Del Vecchio advanced to Online Marketing Specialist, Affiliate Marketing for QVC, Inc. Here she managed QVC’s affiliate marketing program, which had 1K+ publisher partners and generated over $200M in annual revenue. She oversaw daily program activities, implemented strategic plans and offer strategies, managed a multi-million dollar budget, and exceeded aggressive revenue goals. Ms. Del Vecchio ran QVC’s most successful publisher optimization campaign at the time, which generated $300K+ in incremental sales among mid-tier publishers in one month. Ms. Del Vecchio and her team provided creative briefs for print and television, attended photo and video shoots, and oversaw projects from concept to execution. 

Ms. Del Vecchio received her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration for Marketing at Elon University, Elon, NC.

Lauren Evangelist brings more than 15 years of experience in marketing and business strategy, brand development, product launch and digital marketing to OPEN MINDS. Ms. Evangelist currently serves as the Executive Vice President of Partnerships

Prior to joining OPEN MINDS, Ms. Evangelist was the Vice President of Marketing & Public Relations for Tridiuum, where she developed and implemented the company’s new go-to-market sales and marketing strategy. Ms. Evangelist also developed and launched Tridiuum’s provider recruitment program in partnership with New Directions Behavioral Health (NDBH). She created the program’s acquisition strategy, marketing collateral and recruited behavioral health providers to accelerate access to care for 4M NDBH members. NDBH acquired Tridiuum based on program’s immediate impact and success.

Previously, Ms Evangelist, served as Vice President of Partnership & Loyalty Marketing with OneMain Financial in Wilmington, DE. In this role, she launched OneMain’s strategic partnerships and customer loyalty programs to generate demand for loan products, provide financial literacy, create customer engagement and enhance the OneMain customer experience.

Prior to her role at OneMain Financial, Ms. Evangelist was Senior Manager of Strategic Partnership Marketing for ShopRunner in Conshohocken, PA. In this role, she developed and executed strategic marketing programs with corporate partners like American Express, Mastercard and PayPal to acquire new ShopRunner members and drive member activation within the ShopRunner network.

Previously, Ms. Evangelist was at QVC (Qurate Retail Group) in West Chester, PA for 12 years, where she held several instrumental roles within Marketing and eCommerce. In her last role as Manager of Partner Marketing, she piloted and launched QVC’s first Co-Op Marketing program, which accounted for over $2M in incremental marketing contributions from national retailer partners like Dell, Dooney & Bourke and Vera Bradley.

Ms. Evangelist received her Bachelor of Arts in Commercial Design from Lycoming College, Williamsport, PA. She has also been a member of the Lycoming College Athletics Advisory Board since 2018.

Richard Louis, III, brings extensive experience in public and for-profit behavioral healthcare administration and business development to the OPEN MINDS team. Mr. Louis was formerly the Executive Director of Strategic Development and Planning, Pacific Region, for Providence Service Corporation.

Prior to OPEN MINDS, Mr. Louis served as the Assistant Director of the San Bernardino County Department of Behavioral Health, the 4th largest county behavioral health system in California, where he was responsible for day-to-day operations of a system serving over 50,000 unduplicated consumers annually through 31 county-operated facilities and 60 contract provider organizations.

Prior to his work with San Bernardino County, Mr. Louis was the Vice President of Government Operations for College Health Enterprises. In this role, he pioneered the development of public sector partnerships, contracts, and community mental health system joint ventures in California by creating some of the first inpatient psychiatric hospital-based, outpatient, day treatment, and institutional specialty treatment programs for county, state, and federal government agencies including L.A. County Department of Mental Health, L.A. County Probation Department, California Youth Authority, California Department of Developmental Disabilities, California Department of Corrections & Rehabilitation, and U.S. Immigration Customs Enforcement/Homeland Security.

Mr. Louis has served in a number of leadership roles with several organizations in the community including: the California Hospital Association – Center for Behavioral Health, Advisory Board, and SCAN Health Plan – Advisory Board; the Board of Directors of the Forensic Mental Health Association of California, College Hospitals, and the Intercommunity Child Guidance Center of Whittier; and testified on behalf of the National Association of Psychiatric Healthcare Systems before President Bush’s New Freedom Commission on Mental Health. Mr. Louis is currently a volunteer police officer with the City of Monterey Park Police Department in East Los Angeles serving since 1987 and currently holds the rank of Captain. Mr. Louis was recently appointed to the City of Claremont Police Commission in Los Angeles County.

He is a graduate of Whittier College and of the Police Academy of Rio Hondo College.

Nancy Martin brings 25 years of experience in the behavioral health field to OPEN MINDS.  Ms. Martin currently serves as a Senior Associate on the OPEN MINDS Consulting team.

Previously, Ms. Martin was the AVP, Risk Adjustment for Molina Healthcare, Inc, where she was responsible for establishing strategy and managing operations for the company’s risk adjustment operations across 18 states. This included developing and implementing strategies for member engagement, provider engagement, value-based contracting models and population health, that served to optimize the quality of care delivered to Molina Healthcare members in Medicaid, Medicare and ACA products. 

Prior to her work at Molina, Ms. Martin served as the Senior Corporate Advisor for Population Health Strategy and Solutions at EVI-BASE, LLC, an organization that offers evidence-based programs to people with chronic disease that improves their health and quality of life.

Ms. Martin also served as the Senior Director, Value-Based Contracting and Network Development for Lumeris, where she was responsible for value-based contracting and network development for Lumeris clients’ Medicare markets.

As the Vice President, Quality and Population Health for Medical Mutual of Ohio, Ms. Martin was responsible for Medicare Stars, risk adjustment, quality, disease management, and population health for all lines of business at Ohio’s largest mutual health insurance company. She had oversight of all aspects of Quality for the organization including HEDIS, Medicare Stars, CAHPS, Accreditation and value-based networks. She managed risk adjustment programs for both Medicare and ACA lines of business, including data analytics, vendor management, clinical care home visits, provider programs, member incentives, coding and all aspects related to revenue enhancement for the government’s risk adjustment programs. In addition, she was responsible for value-based network strategy including mapping data analytics to contract methodology, negotiation strategy and tactics, and staff oversight.

Prior to her role at Medical Mutual of Ohio, Ms. Martin served as Senior Vice President, Network Services for ValueOptions, the nation’s largest independent behavioral health care and wellness company. In this role, she oversaw national network strategy and services to a network of 70,000 providers to incorporate progressive contracting models such as Centers of Excellence, telehealth, and value-based contracting.

Ms. Martin received her Bachelor of Arts in French from the University of Kansas and her Masters’ Degree in International Management/MBA with an emphasis in Finance and Accounting from the American Graduate School of International Management.

Joseph P. Naughton-Travers, EdM, Senior Associate, has more than 30 years of experience in the health and human service field. In this tenure as senior associate with OPEN MINDS since 1998, he has served as lead of dozens of client initiatives, served as editor of OPEN MINDS publications, and is the author of many groundbreaking articles and presentations.

Mr. Naughton-Travers brings to OPEN MINDS a broad range of experiences in private and public sector delivery of behavioral health and social services. He started his career as a behavioral health clinician, working in both child welfare and community mental health clinic settings. Subsequently, Mr. Naughton-Travers held a senior business operations management position for a psychiatric hospital system and its community mental health clinics.  Later, he was vice president of a firm specializing in information systems and billing and receivables management for community-based mental health programs.

Since joining OPEN MINDS, Mr. Naughton-Travers has developed business solutions for provider and professional organizations, state and county government, technology companies, and venture capital firms. His primary areas of expertise include strategic planning and metrics-based management, electronic health record (EHR) and technology selection and implementation, operations improvement, and corporate compliance. For the past decade, over half his consulting practice has focused on aiding organizations in technology selection and implementation, including all aspects of strategic technology planning, functional specifications development, request for proposal development, vendor selection, and contracting.

He has written numerous articles, including “Winning the Human Resource Wars: Tried, True and New Strategies for Behavioral Health and Social Service Organizations,” “Five Pillars of Management Competency,” “Data Driven Decision Making: Moving to an Organizational Measurement Culture,” “Survival of the Smartest: What is Your Organization’s Information Literacy IQ?,” and “Strategic Human Resource Management: Aligning Compensation with Employee Performance and Organizational Strategy.” Mr. Naughton-Travers is also a nationally recognized speaker, having conducted hundreds of executive and professional executive training events around the nation.

Mr. Naughton-Travers received his Bachelor’s degree from Miami University of Ohio and his Masters’ of Education in Counseling Psychology from Boston University.

Monica E. Oss, M.S., Chief Executive Officer and Senior Associate, is the founder of OPEN MINDS. For the past three decades, Ms. Oss has led the OPEN MINDS team and its research on health and human service market trends and its national consulting practice. Ms. Oss is well known for her numerous books and articles focused on the strategic and marketing implications of the evolving health and human service field. She has unique expertise in payer financing models, provider rate setting, and service pricing. She has led numerous engagements with state Medicaid plans, county governments, private insurers, managed care programs, service provider organizations, technology vendors, neurotechnology and pharmaceutical organizations, and investment banking firms – with a focus on the implications of financing changes on delivery system design.