Speakers & Faculty

Kate Benedetto is an IS Business Analyst at Mental Health Partners. She has been with the Boulder, CO-based nonprofit agency since 2015, where she has facilitated SmartCare implementation and managed both the EHR and Office 365 stack. She is a graduate of the City University of New York’s John Jay College of Criminal Justice and has nearly 15 years of experience in behavioral health, including mental health and substance use direct client care, revenue cycle support, and strategic planning.

Erin Boyd is Talkspace’s Chief Growth Officer, Enterprise. A proven leader in the healthcare industry, Erin brings a successful 25-year track record of managing sales operations, business development, strategy and marketing. Erin is responsible for driving growth and delivering differentiated solutions and capabilities to Talkspace’s Enterprise customers.

Prior to joining Talkspace, Boyd led Cigna’s behavioral network strategy, ensuring that customers had affordable, high-quality options when receiving behavioral health and substance abuse care. During her tenure at Cigna, she oversaw network programs and solutions that drove innovation, delivered cost-savings and improved outcomes to advance behavioral health access. Prior to Cigna, Boyd held a leadership position in business development and marketing for Aurora Behavioral Health System, a preeminent psychiatric hospital system.

Troy L. Brindle, LCSW served as Co-Owner & Vice-President for Springfield Psychological, helping the company grow to the largest outpatient practice in Pennsylvania. Troy is currently providing consultation services for Refresh Mental Health to expand his Behavioral Health Integration services nationally and is their corporate Vice President of Behavioral Health Integration. Troy received his BSW from Cairn University and his Master’s in Social Work from Rutgers University where he was inducted into the Alpha Delta Mu National Honor Society.

Troy has served on the NASW-PA board of directors since 2011 in a variety of capacities including President, and currently as Chair for the Clinical Care Committee. Troy is a founding member of the steering committee, in addition to serving as Chair of the Service Innovation task force for the Coalition for the Commonhealth. Additionally, Troy serves on the National Board of Directors for the National Association of Social Workers in Washington D.C. Troy served on the Access Services Board of Directors from 2017-2018.

In 2015, Troy received the Alumni Recognition Award from Cairn University. In January of 2018, Troy was featured on the nationally televised Informed Series with Rob Lowe for his pioneering work in founding, integrating, and directing behavioral health services within over 78 primary care and medical specialty settings in southeastern PA and NJ. In May of 2018, Troy was recognized by the International Association of Healthcare Professionals for his cutting-edge work in the field of Integrated Behavioral Healthcare. In September 2019, he was the recipient of the Rehabilitation and Community Provider Association (RCPA) “Innovation Award” for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for his pioneering work in Behavioral Health Integration.

Troy is a highly sought after speaker for local, state and national conferences and has contributed to several publications and professional articles on a variety of clinical topics over the past twenty years. He enjoys spending time with his wife Suzanne and two daughters Brianna and Kyra, serving as president of the Haverford Township Softball League, coaching softball, serving in his local church, teaching undergraduate courses, and enjoying the outdoors.

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.

Eleanor Castillo Sumi, Ph.D., is senior vice president of strategy, innovation and growth. In this capacity, Castillo Sumi is responsible for developing new partnerships and programs to support the agency’s growth and commitment to communities across the state. A licensed psychologist, Castillo Sumi has published articles in the American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, among other publications. Additionally, she has spoken at various conferences, including Open Minds and California Alliance for Children and Family Services. She is a member of the Research and Evaluation Subcommittee for California’s Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission. Castillo Sumi is a Board Certified Behavioral Analyst-Doctoral (BCBA-D) and has a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Pacific Graduate School of Psychology at Palo Alto University, where she was awarded Dissertation of the Year.

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.

Mr. Falsetti is currently the Chief Information Officer for Maryville Academy. A child welfare agency based in Des Plaines, Illinois. John brings over 25 years of information services management experience in the health and human services field to the OPEN MINDS team. His areas of expertise include managing all areas of technology and information services, IT strategic planning, staff development, database development and warehousing, electronic health record (EHR) development and implementation, voice/data infrastructures, helpdesk and user training, business intelligence, and process re-engineering.

Walter Greenleaf, Ph.D. is a neuroscientist and a medical technology developer working at Stanford University. With over three decades of research and product development experience, Walter is considered a leading authority in digital medicine and medical virtual reality technology.

Walter is a Visiting Scholar at Stanford University’s Virtual Human Interaction Lab and the Director of Technology Strategy at the University of Colorado National Mental Health Innovation Center. He serves on the Science Advisory Board for healthcare companies such as Abbott, Biogen, United Health Group, Penumbra, and Interaxon.  He also is a neuroscience and technology advisor to early-stage medical product companies and venture capital investment groups.

A self-starter with efficient knowledge of NY State Healthcare initiatives. Naturally facilitates and engages stakeholders through health information technology to enhance workflows and improve quality. Recognized for creatively developing and monitoring milestone based programs that help strengthen integrated care delivery systems.

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.

Dr. Victoria Pham is a double-boarded physician who implements mission-driven improvements and evidence-based integrated care at the population level. In her experience as the Chief Medical Officer at Institute for Community Living, Whole Health is at the core of our 100 programs and services. Integrated medical and behavioral health services are components of treatment plans; however, transportation, food, shelters, family support, etc, are equally important and most impactful. As a consultant at Change Healthcare, she collaborates with hundreds of payers and hospital systems to solve systemic issues, particularly through utilization management, care coordination, claim analysis, behavioral health technology, and consulting engagements. In addition, she is also currently the President of Metalyst Health, an Assistant Professor at Columbia University, a consultant to the Office of Mental Health of New York State, and a peer reviewer at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). Dr. Pham is board certified in Child & Adolescent Psychiatry and General Adult Psychiatry. She holds a medical degree from the Western University of Health Sciences and an MBA from Yale University.

Dr. Matthew Ruble is the Chief Medical Officer of Discovery Behavioral Health. Dr. Ruble has a deep passion for advancing the behavioral health industry through training, publication, innovation, payer relations and collaboration. He spent 20 years of his career working with the Cambridge Health Alliance, a health system affiliated with Harvard Medical School. Dr. Ruble was the Associate Training Director for the Adult Psychiatry residency training program, Director of Psychopharmacology for the Behavioral Health service and was responsible for training clinicians, residents and medical staff in core evidence-based practices including:

• Integrated behavioral and physical health care delivery
• Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)
• Psychiatric curriculum development
• Research
• Publications
• Speaking nationally on evidence-based practices

As Lead Medical Director overseeing Clinical Behavioral Health Strategy, Operations and Utilization for Humana, he was part of the team that reviewed and advised on all behavioral health technology innovations for investment and implementation. His expertise spans consistent delivery of innovative and value-based, industry-leading, and integrated behavioral health programs and services. He developed, operationalized and managed the Integrated Primary Care (PC) and Behavioral Health (BH) service for Humana’s Primary Care practices and directed a course on BH in PC for the Primary Care providers.

Dr. Ruble earned his Bachelor of Science degree from Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa. From there, he attended the Carver School of Medicine at the University of Iowa, earning his Doctor of Medicine degree. He then attended Harvard Medical School in Boston to intern at the Department of Medicine and became a resident at the Department of Psychiatry. Dr. Ruble became Chief Resident of the Psychopharmacology at Cambridge Health Alliance as well as a physician educator at the Academy at Harvard Medical School.
As Discovery Behavioral Health’s CMO, he is elevating the voice of the patient and provider to the CEO. He is also ensuring the quality of the clinical services are superior, evidenced based, measurement based, value based and Triple Aim consistent. He will direct the Physicians Advisory Committee, participate in the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion optimization and partner with an academic medical center to validate and innovate the clinical “real world” research in BH outcomes.

John joined Mind Springs Health and West Springs Hospital as Chief Executive Officer in August of 2022, bringing with him more than 25 years of experience within the behavioral health field.

Having started his career as a Mental Health Tech and working his way up through various management and executive level positions, John has vast knowledge of the healthcare industry and the importance of behavioral health as a key component of the healthcare system.  John has executive experience with various aspects of mental health organizations and has been particularly innovative in the areas of inpatient care and telehealth integration.

Prior to joining Mind Springs Health, John led one of the oldest Health Information Exchanges (HIE) in the country, the Rochester RHIO, where he and his team helped re-design the value-based health care system in anticipation of being awarded one of the largest 1115 waivers ever granted by the Federal Government.

For seven years, John served as the CEO of Harbor Toledo, one of the largest behavioral health providers in the Midwest, with 30+ treatment locations in Ohio, Michigan, and Virginia. Prior to his time at Harbor Toledo, John was the Vice President of Behavioral Health Services for BayCare Health System based in Clearwater, Florida, the largest non-profit private provider of inpatient care in the State of Florida.

John’s Mentor is Frank Murphy, the founding CEO of BayCare and a life-long advocate for mental health and its integration into the healthcare system.

As General Manager of Integrated Care, Neal Tilghman endorses a client focused and strategic market model around Netsmart’s solutions with a keen awareness of the current state of behavioral health, addictions treatment and physical health, while maintaining a forward-looking approach as to where our clients need to be and how we get them there with the appropriate technology. As an advocate of integrated care and its inclusion of addictions, Neal promotes whole-person care as the best means to improve patient care, achieve better outcomes and reduce costs. Neal completed his graduated studies at East Carolina University and has 30 years of experience in behavioral health.

Elizabeth Cuervo Tilson serves North Carolina as the State Health Director and the Chief Medical Officer for the Department of Health and Human Services.  In this role, she promotes public health and prevention activities, as well as provides guidance and oversight on a variety of cross-Departmental issues including the COVID-19 Pandemic Response, the Opioid Epidemic, Early Childhood, Medicaid Transformation, and addressing Social Drivers of Health.

Prior roles include serving as the Medical Director of Community Care of Wake and Johnston Counties, Chief Network Medical Director for Community Care of North Carolina, and Assistant Consulting Professor and Cancer Control Specialist with Duke University Medical Center. Dr. Tilson practiced primary care pediatrics for 26 years and has been active in leadership roles in many local, state, and national pediatric, public health and preventive medicine organizations. 

Dr. Tilson is a graduate of Dartmouth College (BA), Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (MD), and the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill (MPH).  She completed Residencies and is board certified in both Pediatrics and General Preventive Medicine/Public Health.

Jacquelyn H. Torres is the Executive Director of New Business at Pacific Clinics. In this capacity, she is responsible for implementing new and innovative programs that expand Pacific Clinics’ work and commitment to wellness in communities. Jacquelyn currently supports the operational installation of Pacific Clinics’ CalAIM services, including delivery of Enhanced Care Management (ECM) and Community Supports (CS). Jacquelyn is experienced in the complex impact of trauma on youth and families and has a passion for working with the healthcare and education systems. Having worked at the agency since 2008, Jacquelyn has held various roles, including Senior Clinical Director where she provided behavioral health care to support individuals in crisis, including unhoused families and children impacted by multiple social determinates of health. Jacquelyn’s background includes expertise in school-based mental health, including MTSS implementation, as well as Behavioral Health Integration (BHI) in the primary care setting. A Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT), Jacquelyn has a master’s degree in Clinical Psychology from San Jose State University.

Garret Zabel is the Director of Healthcare Business at Pacific Clinics, a multi-service non-profit agency in California. In this role, he is responsible for expanding new business lines with health plans and implementing the organization’s strategic plan for the direction, growth, and diversity of revenue and services. Garret has oversight of health plan business development efforts and business process implementation, ensuring alignment of mission and operations across functional areas.

Prior to joining the behavioral health sector, Garret worked for a social enterprise in rural Northwest Vietnam and The University of Sydney Business School. He graduated with honors from The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and earned his master’s degree in social entrepreneurship & sustainability from the University of Sydney, Australia.

Kimberly Bond, MS, LMFT, brings over thirty years of experience providing behavioral health treatment in the public and community settings to the OPEN MINDS team. She currently serves as the Executive Vice President of Business Development. In this role, Ms. Bond focuses on growing the OPEN MINDS client portfolio across all nine verticals of OPEN MINDS business.

Prior to joining OPEN MINDS, Ms. Bond served concurrently as a Program Coordinator III and Clinical Manager of Adult Services and a Program Coordinator II and Clinical Manager of Recovery Services for the Ozark Guidance Center. In these roles, Ms. Bond was responsible for the administrative and clinical oversight of the adult outpatient and adult intensive mental health services on the Springdale Campus as well as the adult recovery/co-occurring services, including domestic violence and anger management treatment.

Prior to joining the Ozark Guidance Center, Ms. Bond served as the Executive Vice President of Center Point, Inc, a large substance abuse provider agency in California. In this role, Ms. Bond was responsible for the clinical and administrative supervision of all community-based programs as well as the women and children residential programs. In addition, Ms. Bond also managed budgets, interacted with funding agencies, and built positive relationships with all stakeholders. Ms. Bond was also in charge of proposal and grant writing, staff management, and training, facilities’ licensing and certifications renewals.  Additionally, she prepared and submitted monthly, quarterly, semi-annual, and annual reports to various funders.

Previously, Ms. Bond served as the President and CEO of Mental Health Systems, Inc. Ms. Bond was very instrumental in growing the agency from $12M in annual revenue to over $100M and becoming one of the largest providers of behavioral health services in California. In this role, Bond was responsible for the strategic, clinical, financial, and administrative health of the agency, including direct supervision of Senior Executive Staff. In addition, Bond ensured contract compliance of the agency’s 125 different contracts across federal and state agencies and eight counties.

Ms. Bond received her bachelor’s degree in psychology, with honors, and her master’s degree in counseling education from San Diego State University. She is licensed as a Marriage and Family Therapist in both California and Arkansas.

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.

Deanne Cornette, MHA, GPC, brings over 20 years of experience in the behavioral health field.  Ms.Cornette currently serves as a Senior Associate for OPEN MINDS and brings to the OPEN MINDS team noted expertise in strategic planning, grant writing and revenue development.

Previously, Ms. Cornette was the Vice President of Strategic Development for Tampa Family Health Centers, a Federally Qualified Healthcare Center. In this role, she managed grants, contracts, front desk operations, training, quality assurance special assignments (risk assessments and responses to complaints), credentialing and billing functions.  In a very short time period, she successfully procured funding to integrate behavioral health services, brought a system of processes to track health indicators and improve value-based care payment and service and became proficient in utilizing HRSA’s reporting portals.

As Counsel for Strategic Development at Agency for Community Treatment Services, Inc. (ACTS) and Vice President of Business Development for Gracepoint (merger), Ms. Cornette directed strategic development, contract negotiations, revenue development, marketing and grants.  In this capacity, she targeted funding sources and built a lucrative cash flow that provided needed services to vulnerable populations in need of behavioral health treatment.

Some of her most successful negotiations created best practice services for veteran’s programs, women’s services, as well those involved with the criminal justice system. Her portfolio includes a wide array of awards from a multitude of agencies including, but not limited to: SAMHSA, HUD, Centers for Medicaid, and the Department of Transportation and collaborations with private, non-profit and government entities.  Most recently, she worked with Gracepoint to develop Hillsborough’s Centralized Receiving Facility, one of the first funded in the State of Florida.  From a system of care for jail diversion to evidence based practices for individuals who are homeless with behavioral health needs, her awards have netted over $80 million dollars to our community.

In addition, Ms. Cornette served as the Vice President for the National Contract Management Association Suncoast Chapter, Vice President of ACTS Affordable Housing Board of Directors, Vice President of ACTS Foundation Board of Directors, and was a member of Hillsborough County Health Care Advisory Board.​ She is the recipient of University of South Florida’s 2018 Florida Outstanding Women of the Year in Public Health. Her Centralized Receiving Facility collaborative won a 2018 WEDU PBS Be Brilliant / Innovation Award.  Her concept of Housing, Engagement and Retention Tenancy (HEART) program won the 2018 Heart for Homeless award through the Housing and Education Alliance.

Ms. Cornette received her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and her Masters Degree in Health Administration from the University of South Florida.

Joseph M. Costa brings over 30 years of experience in the health and human services industry to the OPEN MINDS team, with expertise in strategic positioning, development of organizational structure, mergers and acquisitions, and fund development.

Prior to his work with OPEN MINDS, Mr. Costa served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Hillsides in Los Angeles, California. Hillsides is a non-profit premier provider organization that serves 17,000 children, youth and families throughout the greater Los Angeles County. Under Mr. Costa’s direction, Hillsides successfully completed an $18 million capital improvement project in 2019 to enhance its main campus in Pasadena. In 2016, Mr. Costa oversaw Hillsides’ affiliation with Bienvenidos, which allowed for an increased presence in East Los Angeles and the addition of foster care and adoption programs. Mr. Costa further helped Hillsides achieve national accreditation through the Council on Accreditation and recognition as a trauma informed organization by the National Council for Behavioral Health in 2013.

Prior to his role at Hillsides, Mr. Costa served as the Chief Executive Officer of Side by Side, formerly Sunny Hills, in San Anselmo, California. In this role, Mr. Costa completed the merger of Sunny Hills and Children’s Garden, an initiative to consolidate residential services in Marin County. Mr. Costa helped Sunny Hills evolve from being a local residential services provider to a community-based provider of mental health services with a presence in multiple counties.

Prior to his role at Side by Side, Mr. Costa served as the Chief Operations Officer for Para Los Niños, where he led the organization through its initial accreditation process, developed the mental health services, inaugurated an additional early childhood center, and secured a grant to develop a charter school.

Mr. Costa is a known leader in the child welfare field, serving as Chair of Child Welfare League of America from 2014 until 2017. Mr. Costa continues to serves on the governing body of the Child Welfare League of America as well as the California Alliance for Child and Family Services Board of Directors until 2020.

Mr. Costa earned a Masters degree in Divinity from St. Johns Seminary, School of Theology and a Masters in Social Work from Boston College Graduate School of Social Work.

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.

Beth Klawitter brings over 25 years of experience in the behavioral health care management and consulting industries, with expertise in managed care contracting, payor relations, value-based reimbursement, population health strategies and business development.  Ms. Klawitter currently serves as a Senior Associate on the OPEN MINDS Consulting team.

Previously, Ms. Klawitter was the Vice President of Payor Relations at Strategic Behavioral Health where she installed an enterprise model to negotiate and manage managed care contracts and payer relationships with 400+ contracts across ten hospitals located in seven states. In addition, she closed 36 negotiations/renegotiations of payor contracts in the first 12 months of her employment, producing $6.7 million net revenue, and crafted and implemented payor strategy for 5 new hospitals in different markets, negotiating and closing all targeted payor contracts (20+ per facility).

Prior to that, Ms. Klawitter served as the Vice President of Business Development at The Cawley Johnson Group, where she conducted provider operational and strategic assessments for a three hospital, 275+ bed system and a multi-state health care network ($3.9B operating revenue and 5788 beds). During this time she generated $200k+ in new business income, a 100% increase over her predecessor, in less than 10 months.  She also redesigned outcomes measurement processes, permitting benchmarking of clinical and financial data form 10 client facilities.

Prior to that, Ms. Klawitter served as the Corporate Director of Business Development for Diamond Healthcare Corporation, where she oversaw project management, analytics and financial pro forma development for county, state, federal and private community providers, to assess and recommend the “best practice” integrated care models of care. During this time she designed a unique behavioral health integration screening, care navigation and outcomes measurement models/systems for eight health care systems, along with detailed plans for implementation.

Ms. Klawitter received her Bachelor of Science in Public Health from West Chester University and her Masters’ Degree in Health Administration from the University of Massachusetts/Amherst. She is a Charter Member of the National Association of Behavioral Health’s Managed Care Committee, and a member of the Virginia Health Innovation Network.

Allegra Landers brings over 18 years of experience in strategic healthcare marketing to OPEN MINDS. Ms. Landers is a team builder and revenue-oriented marketer recognized in Becker’s Hospitals Women in Health IT to Watch in 2022. Ms. Landers currently serves as a Senior Associate for OPEN MINDS. 

Before joining OPEN MINDS, Ms. Landers was the Chief Marketing Officerfor Concord Technologies. She served as a member of the executive team, responsible for a 5 million dollar budget, strategy development, and execution to deliver engagement and pipeline creation necessary to deliver desired revenue at a targeted EBITDA.

Previously, Ms. Landers served as Director of Marketingfor Qualifacts Systems, Inc., a technology and services company serving the behavioral health and human services market. In this position, Ms. Landers led a marketing organization responsible for brand and marketing strategy, go-to-market planning, sales enablement, and multi-channel demand generation programming that consistently delivered year-over-year growth. 

Prior to joining Qualifacts, Ms. Landers served as Marketing Directorfor HealthTeacher, Inc, a leading interactive provider of healthy activities that improve children’s lives. As the marketing director, Ms. Landers led the complete life-cycle of the national marketing strategy for all customer acquisition and retention initiatives. In addition, she was responsible for strategic planning, budget creation, market analysis, product positioning, branding, sales tool creation, campaign development, execution, and measurement.

Previously, Ms. Landers served as Senior Marketing Managerfor Quorum Health Resources, hospital management and consulting company, responsible for strategic planning, coordination, and execution of all marketing for the QHR Learning Institute.

Ms. Landers served as Marketing Directorto Connective Health, a healthcare technology startup serving physicians, hospitals and health systems, and educators, and as Interim Marketing Directorfor Stinger Medical, a point-of-care technology company. 

Ms. Landers received her Bachelor of Science with Double Major in Cognitive Studies and Music and is currently pursuing her MBA at Middle Tennessee State University. 

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.

Raymond “Ray” Wolfe, J.D. brings over 40 years of experience in the health and human services sector to the OPEN MINDS team. Mr. Wolfe currently serves as a Senior Associate, a position in which he utilizes his expertise to successfully lead varying projects for OPEN MINDS. His areas of expertise include financial analysis and management, mergers and acquisitions, performance improvement, and strategic planning.

Before joining OPEN MINDS, Mr. Wolfe served in a 22 year tenure with Pittsburgh Mercy Health System in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Most recently, Mr. Wolfe served as the organization’s Chief Operating Officer (COO) where he was responsible for oversight of all system operations, strategic planning, and performance management. Under his direction Pittsburgh Mercy achieved over $850K in value-based reimbursement contract quality bonus awards, integrated three organizations through merger/acquisition, and adopted a new performance management program for managers.

Before acting as Pittsburgh Mercy’s COO, Mr. Wolfe served as the organization’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and was responsible for the development of internal costing methodologies, contract rate negotiations, and financial forecasting activities. In addition, he coordinated an integrated care program with local partner hospitals to develop a series of diversion and respite programs, as well as, specialized primary care, integrated care management and high utilizer teams, while maintaining 15 straight years profitability.

Mr. Wolfe was promoted to CFO after serving as the Director of Fiscal and Information Security/Compliance for the health system. In this role, he was responsible for managing the transition of service contracts from fee-for-service (FFS), leading all compliance activities, and implementing a next generation electronic health record (EHR) system.

Prior to his time at Pittsburgh Mercy Health System, Mr. Wolfe served as Chief Fiscal Officer with the Summit Center for Human Development in Clarksburg, West Virginia, where he was responsible for reporting and budgeting functions and preparing Summit Center’s programs for FFS billing.

Previously, Mr. Wolfe served in billing and collections for two Pennsylvania-based hospitals. First, as an Accounts Receivables Manager for Brownsville General Hospital in Brownsville, PA, where he managed the accounting and billing system transition systems. Later as a Patient Account Manager for St. Francis Medical Center in Pittsburgh, PA, where he improved collections to hit 95% rate through the implementation of new billing software and department reorganization.

Prior to working in the health and human services market, Mr. Wolfe spent five years practicing as a Lawyer with at Law Offices of Arch A. Moore in Moundsville, WV. In this role he provided general legal practice, created and established bylaws for multiple corporation, and handled West Virginia licensing of first vision insurance plan.

Mr. Wolfe earned his Juris Doctor from the West Virginia University School of Law in Morgantown, WV and his Bachelor’s degree with a focus in Political Science and Sociology from West Liberty University, in Wheeling, WV, where he graduated Magna Cum Laude.