Marianne Fazen is President and CEO of the Texas Business Group on Health, a statewide coalition representing the interests of Texas employers in healthcare purchasing and policy issues. She also serves as Executive Director of the Dallas-Fort Worth Business Group on Health, a regional employer-led coalition of 155 employers and other healthcare stakeholders committed to improving healthcare quality, efficiency, and patient outcomes in North Texas. Both coalitions advocate a value-driven approach to employer-sponsored healthcare and rapid transformation of the fragmented healthcare delivery system into integrated and accountable, patient-centered systems of care.

Ms. Fazen also serves on the Board of Directors (Past Chair) of URAC, a national managed care accreditation organization, and on the Executive Committee of the North Texas Accountable Healthcare Partnership, a regional multi-stakeholder collaborative initiative focused on healthcare system transformation in North Texas. She served for 17 years (1998-2015) on the Board of Governors of the National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions representing 50 regional employer coalitions across the country, including a term as Board Chair from 2004 to 2006.

Ms. Fazen has an undergraduate degree in Medical Technology from University of Wisconsin and a Doctorate in Communications Science & Human Development from University of Texas at Dallas.

Jason Parrott is Senior Manager of Global Healthcare & Well Being Strategy of The Boeing Company. Jason oversees the healthcare strategic direction of the Chicago-based $101.1 billion aerospace company. With roughly 150,000 employees across the United States and in more than 65 countries, Boeing is the world’s largest aerospace company and top U.S. exporter. It is the leading manufacturer of commercial airplanes, military aircraft, and space and security systems, and a provider of global services; it supports airlines, U.S. and allied government customers in more than 150 nations.

Jason joined Boeing in October 2012. Before that, Jason joined AT&T in 1994, and held progressive roles over 18 years in Human Resources. He is Chairman of the Board for Midwest Business Group on Health, and board member of Employer Health Innovation Roundtable, Integrated Benefits Institute, and Pharmacy Benefit Management Institute. Jason earned an M.B.A. and M.S. in Management and Organizational Behavior from Benedictine University, and Bachelor of Science degree from Illinois State University.

An Actuary by trade, Riddhi has eight years of pension and international benefits consulting experience that she brought to AT&T in December 2015. Using the communication, analytical and client services experience from consulting, she’s applied those skills in developing new health & welfare benefits proposals, including accompanying financial analysis, that support corporate and business unit strategies and delivering those proposals to leadership, that touch AT&T’s one million employees, retirees and their dependents.

Riddhi graduated from the University of Texas in Austin with bachelor’s degrees in both mathematics and economics. She is an Associate of the Society of Actuaries (ASA) and an Enrolled Actuary (EA).

Riddhi resides in Dallas, and enjoys traveling, exploring new cities both inside and outside the US. At home, she enjoys practicing yoga, volunteering and trying new restaurants.

Tom Sondergeld, CHRP is currently the Vice President of Global HRIS, Benefits & Mobility for Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA). Tom has directed employee benefits for over 20 years. He led a successful implementation of both Hewitt Associates/Aon Corporation and Northwestern Memorial Hospital’s wellness programs and on site Health Centers/Services. His role at Aon Corporation also included the first successful roll out of a Corporate Private Exchange to company employees and the opening of four (4) on-site health clinics. In his current role at WBA, he is responsible for the overall HRIS Technology, healthcare & global mobility strategy for the over 357,000 global team members. He is also charged with developing an integrated disability model for the organization. Tom has spoken at many local and national events on topics ranging from HR Software solutions, Human Resources process improvement, benefit outsourcing, benefit plan design, wellness integration, and on-site health centers in the workplace. Tom holds a Bachelor in Psychology and a Masters in Healthcare Administration. He is an active member of many HR groups with SHRM, HRMAC and SHRP among them and serves on the Board of Directors for Midwest Business Group on Health (MBGH).

Mary is the founding President of Vital Incite. Her role is to help employers understand how to leverage a variety of solutions to provide meaningful healthcare coverage, promote wellbeing and mitigate cost. Mary is motivated by a genuine desire to make a lasting difference in the evolving world of healthcare. Having spent 23 years on the provider side of the healthcare industry, Mary has the unique ability to see the big picture in healthcare and develop outside-the-box strategies and solutions. She has specific expertise in wellness solutions, onsite clinic integration, disease and utilization management and the medical home model of patient care.

Before launching Vital Incite, Mary held a number of leadership roles in healthcare. Those other positions include CEO of Innovative Therapy Services; Regional Director of Rehab at Stryker Corporation; and President of Innovative Medical Management, a consulting company that served a variety of physician groups, including urgent care centers, specialty practices, and primary care providers. Also, she served as the Director of Employee Health Management for American Health Network, a physician practice with more than 250 providers in two states.

Mary serves on several boards and is involved with many organizations including the American Diabetes Association, National Wellness Institute, The Institute for Healthcare Improvement, the Patient Centered Primary Care Collaborative (PCPCC), American College of Preventative Medicine, American College of Lifestyle Medicine, and the Indiana Employer’s Forum.

In her current role at Vital Incite, Mary is focused on delivering data-driven strategies to employers, designed to decrease medical spend waste and efficiently guide the reinvestment of those resources into meaningful programs that ultimately result in improved employee health. Mary and the Vital Incite team currently manage population health programs for more than 140 employers throughout the US, from Alaska to Florida, providing strategies covering more than 250,000 employee lives.

Mary received her bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of Michigan and her MS in Physical Therapy from the University of Indianapolis.

Roger McMichael currently serves as the Associate Superintendent for Business Affairs for Carmel Clay Schools, in Carmel, Indiana. He has 45 years of experience working within public education, 25 of those years being at Carmel Clay Schools. He began his career in education teaching art and moved into business administration after completing his MBA. As Associate Superintendent, Mr. McMichael is responsible for all aspects of the district’s Business Affairs including Finance, Human Resources, Benefits, Facilities, Transportation, Technology, and Food Services. Mr. McMichael graduated with both his Bachelor of Science degree in Education and MBA from Indiana University. He is married and has four children.

Richard is a graduate of Ball State University where he was president of his fraternity and the Student Governing Board. He began his benefit career with Blue Cross Blue Shield and left there after ten years to forge a business in the consulting arena. Richard has specialized in doing business with Indiana public school corporations, public libraries and other public employee groups, and counts a considerable number of those as long-term clients. His community work includes membership on the School Board of Trustees at Brownsburg Community School Corporation and service on a number of other business advisory boards.

Jesse Gavin serves as the Wellness Team Lead for Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) in Houston, TX. Since the implementation of the full program in 2014, BCM has won numerous awards including being named the nation’s 5th Healthiest Employer by Healthiest Employers LLC in 2016 and a 2018 WELCOA Well Workplace - Silver award winner.

Aside from his role at Baylor College of Medicine Jesse volunteers his time in the community for both the wellness sector and different organizations. He served as Co-Chair for the Houston Corporate Wellness Group in 2015 and routinely works with the American Heart Association, MS Society and Houston Business Group on Health. Jesse is also very involved with the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, Pasadena Livestock Show and Rodeo, Vice President of the Come and Taste It Cooking Team.

Over the years, Jesse has had the privilege of speaking at multiple conferences. The main scope of Jesse’s speaking engagements involve creating healthy workplace cultures and creating programs for the new workforce, which includes millennials. Jesse’s current research interests are the changes in corporate structure to fit a modern lifestyle, millennials, and engagement.

Responsibility for the Disability Department, and in house claim management, STD, LTD ADA and FMLA, and Workers Compensation claims oversite, for 10,000 US employees In addition, she has strategic input for Canadian disability programs. Hilary also manages 5 employee medical clinics in the US, with 30,000 encounters annually. Additional, she manages the US EAP program, and is a member of the Prevention of Critical Incident Team, where she serves as the medical consultant. At Pitney Bowes, Hilary has been the Director, Employee HR Service Center, and the Director, Voluntary Benefits.

Prior to joining Pitney Bowes in late 1999, Hilary was with Physicians Health Services, then Health Net, now United Healthcare, in Shelton, CT, since 1985. During her 14 years at PHS, Hilary had a series of management responsibilities for the greater Stamford area. As General Manager of the Stamford office, Hilary supervised the staff providing physician service and recruiting new doctors to the PHS network. In PHS’ corporate headquarters in Shelton, CT Hilary served as Director of Health Promotion and Disease Management. In addition, she played a key role in product development and was a Senior National Accounts Manager. Prior to PHS, Hilary worked in the clinical arena at CT hospitals.

Hilary received her bachelor’s degree in nursing with a minor in psychology from Mount Saint Mary College and her master’s degree in health care services from Iona College. She is also a graduate of the University of Missouri, Kansas City, HMO Executive Program. Most recently she completed MBA at Quinnipiac University in Hamden Connecticut, where she received the award for the highest achievement in health care management.

As the Director of Employee Health and Wellness for Quest Diagnostics, Thomas Pela is responsible for the strategy and administration for Quest’s 61,000-member group health plan. With the goal of improving population health, simplifying member experience, and reducing waste in the healthcare system, Tom has executed many best-in-class programs in support of these goals. In 2017, the trend for the Quest health plan was – 1%, and Tom and team continue to pilot innovative ways to engage its members around their health.

Thomas earned a BA degree in psychology from Montclair State University, and has spent 20 years in human resources and employee benefits related roles.

Dr. Short is the National Clinical Leader for Strategic Benefit Advisors (SBA) and Brown & Brown. Her passion and her focus is working with employers to develop innovative strategies and solutions that engage and support employees and their families in making good choices to avoid the cost and consequences of poor health. She founded and runs the Innovation Hub at Brown and Brown which is focused on the application of digital health and other innovative solutions to improving health outcomes and healthcare costs, as well as improving human performance. Dr. Short has a focus on making the healthcare system work better, and has relationships with as well as in depth knowledge of many of the innovative health companies in the marketplace that are trying to solve key issues facing employers and members. She is also a member of the National Business Group on Health (NBGH) Innovation Forum.

Dr. Short has a background in internal medicine, occupational and preventive medicine, and 25 years of experience providing clinical leadership in designing, implementing and measuring population health programs and strategies. Previous to Brown and Brown Dr. Short was a partner at Mercer where she built the population health practice for the South and spent six years consulting to national and global employers on strategies to improve population health including evaluating, implementing, and measuring the impact of network strategies such as Centers of Excellence and direct contracting. She has worked with many jumbo employers including Lowe’s, Bank of New York Mellon, Dollar General, and PepsiCo. Her expertise also includes analytics, epidemiology, managed care plan administration and medical management, clinical and behavioral health strategy and program management, and outcomes measurement strategy and execution.

Prior to Mercer, Dr. Short worked at Healthways (now Sharecare), and previously spent over thirteen years working as a medical director for both UnitedHealthcare and Anthem, including serving as Corporate Medical Director for BCBSGA, a 2.5 million member plan. Previously, Dr. Short was an epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and in clinical practice. Dr. Short has been involved in several studies related to quality and cost of care in areas including disparities of care, performance of centers of excellence networks, and drug safety and has published previously in journals such as Cancer and JAMA.

Dr. Short earned her undergraduate degree at Harvard, her MD from Tufts University School of Medicine, did her internal medicine residency at Yale-New Haven Hospital, and trained in occupational and preventive medicine at Mt. Sinai School of Medicine in New York City where she also received a Master’s degree in Community Medicine.

John is the Vice President, Human Resources & Learning for BioBridge Global. BioBridge Global (BBG) is a nonprofit company that oversees and supports the South Texas Blood & Tissue Center, QualTex Laboratories, GenCure, and The Blood and Tissue Center Foundation. In his role, John has responsibility for Human Resources, Learning & Development, and enterprise strategy development and coordination. Under his leadership, BioBridge Global was named as one of four finalists for the 2019 Plan Sponsor of the Year award through PLANSPONSOR magazine reflective of the substitution of outdated 403(b) and 401(a) plans and implementation of a new 401(k) retirement plan.

He also owns an HR software design firm and in the course of his work, two patent applications for software programs have been filed. Prior to his work with BBG, he held senior management positions in operations and human resources at several firms including Texas Biomedical Research Institute, Accenture and ILEX Oncology, Inc. (since acquired by Sanofi, a diversified global healthcare leader).

He is active with the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and is a member of the San Antonio Human Resource Management Association where he served as the president of the Association in 1990. He is a member of Kappa Gamma Pi, the National Catholic College Graduate Honor Society, Delta Mu Delta, a National Business Administration Honor Society and Delta Sigma Pi, a National Professional Business Fraternity. John is a Rotary Paul Harris Fellow and an Eagle Scout. He has served as a volunteer for numerous community organizations including serving as a member of the Board of Trustees for the Montessori School of San Antonio and Scoutmaster for a local Boy Scout troop. John is a graduate of the FBI Citizen’s Academy and is a member of InfraGard, a public-private partnership between U.S. businesses and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

John earned an Associate of Arts degree from New Mexico Military Institute, a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from New Mexico State University, and a Master of Business Administration degree with highest honors from Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio.

Allison founded De Paoli Professional Services in 2015 to provide outstanding enrollment communication solutions to small and midsize businesses by utilizing best in class technology alongside best in class people to help ensure that employees receive information in the best manner for them.

De Paoli began her insurance career in the Greater Washington DC area and shortly thereafter moved to Florida to work in the family benefits business as Vice President of Operations. After moving to San Antonio in 2000, she began working as an Aflac associate quickly becoming a top 1% sales producer.

After a successful career as an associate and producer, Allison decided to put her knowledge and expertise to work with her own firm, De Paoli Professional Services, allowing her to deliver first class enhanced benefits as well as effective enrollment, implementation and communication strategies.

Todd Whitthorne is Chief Inspiration Officer of Naturally Slim, a company committed to dramatically improving the healthcare trends of individuals and employers nationally. In this role, he guides the company’s product development, marketing and sales, and client consulting strategies in health and corporate wellness. Todd is a nationally recognized health and wellness speaker who routinely delivers keynote presentations on a variety of topics to audiences of all sizes. He is also the author of Fit Happens!...Simple Steps for a Healthier, More Productive Life!

After graduating from UCLA with a BS in Kinesiology with an emphasis in exercise physiology, Todd began a broadcasting career that took him from Washington DC to Phoenix and Dallas. He has won both Emmy and Katie awards, and since 2005 has served as the television host for the Dallas Marathon. Prior to joining Naturally Slim, Todd spent 14 years as President and CEO of Cooper Concepts, a division of The Cooper Aerobics Center where he assisted organizations in developing strategies to improve health and productivity and decrease healthcare related costs.

Todd has run the Boston Marathon, rafted Class V rapids in Costa Rica and reached the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. He and his wife Kathy have two grown children, Lauren and Andrew, along with twin grandsons, Henry and Hudson.

Ryan Sledge has a passion for improving the health of individuals and populations. He currently serves as Director of Corporate Onsite and Wellness Operations for OhioHealth Employer Services, a division of OhioHealth, the largest healthcare system in Central Ohio. In this capacity, Ryan is responsible for providing operational leadership and strategic direction of employer-facing wellness offerings, onsite medical clinic practices, campus student health centers, and other services in Columbus, Ohio and surrounding regions. During his tenure at OhioHealth, Ryan has also been responsible for creating a sustainable culture of health for OhioHealth’s own 30,000 associates, physicians, and volunteers.

Ryan has over 13 years of experience in healthcare, public health and health promotion, working with employer and community populations. He is dedicated to finding creative solutions promoting better health for all.

Ryan’s academic background includes a Bachelor of Science degree in Exercise Science, a Master of Public Health degree from Michigan State University, and a Master of Business Administration degree from University of Michigan.

Glenn Williams, Jr. MD is the Medical Director of Corporate Onsite and Wellness for OhioHealth Employer Services. In this role he helps employers develop and sustain onsite clinics and wellness programs best suited for their employee population. Prior to this role he was the Medical Director of the OhioHealth Urgent Care network for three years. He is a Family Physician by training and worked in a primary care setting for ten years prior to moving to urgent care. He graduated from The Ohio State University with both his medical degree and a degree in Nutrition. He has a special interest and passion for health, nutrition and fitness.

Larry Boress is President and CEO of the Midwest Business Group on Health, one of the nation’s leading non-profit business coalitions. MBGH serves as a resource for employers seeking to get more value from their health benefit dollars and greater engagement of their workforces in improving their own health. He joined the coalition in 1991 and became its president in 2006. Founded in 1980, the Chicago-based MBGH is composed of over 100 major, self-funded, public and private employers having headquarters or employee populations in the Chicago metropolitan area.

Mr. Boress leads a number of community health improvement initiatives, including those on patient safety, to reduce unnecessary early deliveries, smoking cessation and helping patients avoid adverse events.

Prior to joining MBGH in 1991, he spent 17 years at the Illinois State Medical Society. During that time, he assisted physicians in their practices and represented the medical profession in its relationships with hospitals, regulatory agencies and affiliated professional organizations.

As Director of Operations, Tom is responsible for expanding the SkyMedicus network of healthcare providers and facilities internationally, as well as developing a domestic network. Additionally he is working with healthcare brokers, third party administrators, major corporations and employer coalitions to enable their clients to take advantage of the high quality, cost efficient healthcare services on a global scale.

His career began, at Grady Memorial Hospital, a 1,000 bed tertiary teaching hospital affiliated with Emory University School of Medicine, where he served 14 years as its Associate Executive Director. Following Grady, he was Executive Director at R.T. Jones Medical Center in Canton, GA, a rural hospital that was struggling financially. He successfully moved the hospital to a sound financial footing, completed an eight million dollar renovation/expansion of the facility, and recruited needed physicians to the community; he left the facility well funded and respected in the community.

He was recruited by Blue Cross Blue Shield Georgia to develop HMO Georgia, a for profit, managed care subsidiary of Blue Cross Blue Shield Georgia, serving as its Chief Operating Officer, he secured the Certificate of Authority, developed the provider network throughout Georgia and established the marketing/sales plan. HMO Georgia ramped up rapidly and moved to a profitable status over a short number of years. He went on after this to develop and operate other managed care organizations in Georgia.

He was also a Partner and CEO of Prime Living, Inc., a real estate development company, developing and managing assisted living communities in Georgia, Florida, and Tennessee.

Tom holds a degree in Business Administration from Georgia Southern College and a Masters in Health Administration from Georgia State University. Tom served his administrative residency at Rush Presbyterian St. Luke’s Medical Center, in Chicago, Illinois.

Suzannah Gill brings a breadth of benefits consulting experience to EPIC’s Atlanta Employee Benefits Consulting team in her role as Benefits Strategy Consultant. With a background as an ERISA attorney at a prominent Atlanta law firm, representing clients in Employee Benefits, she has unique expertise and industry perspective. In her role as a benefits consultant, she has worked with employers across a broad spectrum of sizes and industries, serving as Vice President of Benefits at a boutique consulting firm and Senior Benefits Consultant for Mercer Health & Benefits prior to joining EPIC.

As a Benefits Strategy Consultant, Suzannah provides client service leadership, including overall strategy and relationship management, delivering meaningful economic impact and sustainable solutions that best meet her clients’ needs. She is responsive and results-oriented, and strives to help her clients navigate through the complexities of employee benefits, so they can focus on managing and growing their businesses.

In 2018, Suzannah was named one of Employee Benefit Advisor’s 20 Rising Stars in Benefits Advising, featured in BenefitsPro Magazine as a “Face of Change” in the industry, and selected as a member of the prestigious Health Rosetta Advisor program. She is a regular writer and speaker in industry publications and conferences, including the International Symposium of Certified Employee Benefits Specialists, SHRM, the Institute for Healthcare Consumerism, NAAAHR, EBA’s Workplace Renaissance, BenefitsPro Magazine, Employee Benefits Advisor, and Employee Benefits News.

David Mair is the newest member of the International Hospital Corporation executive team, joining the company as Senior Vice President responsible for business development and international patient programs in 2018. He brings a rich experience to IHC from more than 30 years working with people seeking medical care solutions outside their home communities.

David is a recognized international health medical care risk management, benefits and insurance executive. He is the founding partner of Soter Healthcare, Inc., a global health care firm that designs and delivers global medical care, risk management and insurance solutions for individuals and organizations. At Soter Healthcare, David designed benefit plans and direct contract arrangements for employer groups taking advantage of a global network of hospitals. He brings the blend of international destination healthcare experience, cost control, financial relief, and access to medical centers of excellence to his current role with IHC.

David Mair has a deep background in international risk management, benefits and insurance. He began his executive career with the United States Olympic Committee, where he designed and directed of the USOC’s health insurance program for America’s Olympic athletes for more than a decade. During his tenure, he was responsible for assisting athletes locate and access medical care around the world. He was involved with the insurance plan for athletes in seven Olympic Games and more than 100 international championship events.

Following his departure from the USOC in July 2002, Mr. Mair was President of Risk Excellence, a strategic risk and leadership consultancy with an emphasis on governmental and nonprofit entities, and later Area Vice President at Arthur J. Gallagher & Company. Prior to forming Soter Healthcare, he served as Director of Client Relations and Chief of Operations for MEDEX Global Group (now United Healthcare International).

David Mair is a Former President of the Risk and Insurance Management Society and served five years on its Executive Council. He also served two terms as president and 7 years on the Board of Directors of the Nonprofit Risk Management Center (NORMAC). NORMAC, located in Washington, DC, provides risk management education and support services to over 20,000 nonprofit and small public entities nationwide.

Mr. Mair is a widely sought out speaker and trainer, as well as a published author. He has testified before Congress, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and over a dozen state legislatures, and his comments have appeared in the New York Times, Washington Post, Business Insurance, Forbes, CFO Magazine, the Christian Science Monitor, and on National Public Radio. He has spoken in over two dozen countries and to on risk management issues.

Mr. Mair received a Bachelor of Arts degree, with honors, from Oklahoma Baptist University in 1980 and a Master of Science degree in Sports Administration from the University of Oklahoma in 1987. He currently resides in Frisco, TX.

Creagh Milford, DO MPH, FACOI is a physician executive who serves as the Chief Medical Officer for Healthcare Highways, a healthcare innovation company based in Dallas, Texas. He has a passion for improving healthcare, specializing in population health management, healthcare informatics, analytics, and innovation.

Dr. Milford has held several C-suite positions. Recently, he served as the Chief Executive Officer of FullWell, a population health management services company, which was sold in 2017. Previously, Dr. Milford served as the system-wide division president of population health services of Mercy Health. He served as Assistant Chief Medical Information Officer for Massachusetts General Physician Organization (MGPO) and Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), a Harvard teaching hospital. He also served as Associate Medical Director for Population Health Management at Partners Healthcare, a Boston-based health system founded by MGH and Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

Dr. Milford remains engaged in national health policy. He was nominated as a Fellow of the National Academies of Medicine, where he participated on the Board on Population Health. He has also held positions within the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Department of Health and Human Services Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT, focusing on federal policy for value-based purchasing and health IT.

He earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Colorado at Boulder and his D.O. degree from the Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine at Midwestern University. Following a residency at the University of Chicago-North Shore and a fellowship in Health Management and Policy at Massachusetts General Hospital, he earned a master’s degree in Health Management and Policy from the Harvard School of Public Health, where he continues to serve as a guest lecturer.

Nicole Stec is the Senior Well-Being Manager for Banner Health and a national speaker on employer well-being strategy, on-site clinics and wellness programs. For the past ten years, Nicole has worked in community and corporate health settings, designing and implementing population health management strategies for organizations, including healthcare systems, small businesses, the U.S. military and local governments. Nicole previously led the expansion and success of the City of Mesa’s (Arizona) award-winning wellness strategy that increased healthy behaviors of City employees from 36% to 60%, had a 93% satisfaction rate and achieved cost savings of $2.1M over three years.

In her current role, Nicole is responsible for designing and implementing Banner Health’s new employee well-being strategy, moving the organization from their historical annual biometric screening activity to a holistic program that includes programming and services addressing physical, emotional, social and financial health. In the development of this strategy, Nicole is implementing a high-tech wellness platform and an enhanced incentive strategy to engage Banner team members.

Nicole is a graduate of the University of Southern California (B.S.), the University of Phoenix (MBA) and is currently completing her Master of Public Health (MPH) with the University of South Florida. She also holds many certifications, including being a Certified Wellness Practitioner (National Wellness Institute) and a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (National Strength and Conditioning Association).

Marilyn earned a bachelor’s degree in education from the University of Nevada (Reno), and taught high school for one year, an experience that sent her promptly back to school to complete the Accounting/Finance program at Montana State University (Billings). She then became a Certified Public Accountant, and followed that with the CMA, CGMA, and CFM designations.

Upon earning her CPA, Marilyn turned immediately to the business world and held financial management positions for a utility company, gold mining company and a public accounting firm. In 2001, she narrowed her focus to health care financial management, becoming Controller for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Montana. In 2007, Marilyn became the CFO for EBMS, a regional TPA focusing on self-funded plans.

In late 2014, Marilyn became the Administrator of the State of Montana Employee Group Health Plan, when actuarial projections showed health plan reserves would be -$9 million by December 2017. Marilyn and her team implemented Reference Based Contracting with all the Montana hospitals; negotiated a transparent pass-through pharmacy benefit; and managed vendors for improved performance. In December 2017, plan reserves were at $112 million.

In July 2018, Marilyn left the state plan and took over as Special Projects Coordinator for State Insurance Commissioner, with the goal of peeling back the cloak of secrecy covering the never-ending, inexplicable costs of prescription pharmaceuticals. To date legislation and lawsuits have followed her research and data analysis with more to come.