February 10, 2021 • 12:00 PM - 2:00 PM ET

Mr. Neil Goldfarb is President and CEO of the Greater Philadelphia Business Coalition on Health (GPBCH, www.gpbch.org), which brings together employers in Southeastern Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Southern New Jersey who are committed to improving the health of their employees and the safety, quality and value delivered by the healthcare system. GPBCH represents over 1.5 million covered lives nationally. Before founding GPBCH in 2012, Mr. Goldfarb spent over 30 years in healthcare research, quality improvement, and management positions. As Associate Dean for Research in the Jefferson College of Population Health, he was responsible for leading the school’s research agenda, while concurrently serving as Director of Ambulatory Care Performance Improvement for Thomas Jefferson University’s faculty practice plan. His previous positions include Executive Director of a quality improvement consulting firm, and Vice President of Health Services for the Philadelphia region’s first Medicaid managed care plan. Mr. Goldfarb has authored over 60 articles in the peer-reviewed literature. Mr. Goldfarb is active in the governance of the National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions, and founding co-Director of the College for Value-based Purchasing of Health Benefits.

Benjamin Hagan, first and foremost, is a father of two children, Annie (age 8) and Everett (age 5). He is also an avid runner and cyclist. Professionally, Ben is a Director, Benefits at AT&T. His team has responsibility for governance and compliance for global benefits and provides governance oversight for all suppliers across human resources. Previously he had responsibilities at AT&T that included contracting, implementation, and vendor management of medical, Rx and behavioral health benefits vendors and solutions for the over 1 million employees and retirees and their dependents that AT&T covers under its health and welfare programs. He has also experience creating the strategic designs of the health and welfare plan offerings, including changing and enhancing current offerings and researching and recommending new solutions and vendor partners.

Prior to AT&T, Ben was a Principal at Mercer for two years, with a focus on retirement plan consulting. There he managed a book of business that included client with pension and retiree medical plans ranging in size from tens of billions of dollars to millions of dollars. Additionally, he worked at Willis Towers Watson, prior to the Willis merger, for 11 years with a similar focus on pension and retiree medical plan consulting and book of business management. Though these consulting roles, he helped clients through a range of consulting issues including plan design, termination and risk transfer. He also facilitated corporate trainings as well as managed employees. He also served as a technical resource for his peers, a mentor, and a sales initiative leader.

He has a Masters in Business Administration, is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries, and is an Enrolled Actuary. He did his undergraduate work at the University of Texas concluding with a mathematics degree with an actuarial science focus.

David’s career started at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee in claim’s management. He went on to serve as the Director of Operations for the State of Tennessee Employee Health Plans; Benefit Manager for Nissan Motor Manufacturing; benefits consultant; Insurance Director for Rutherford County, TN and now as Executive Director of Benefits for Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS).

While at MNPS he established a network of primary care clinics to serve their employees, retirees and their dependents. These clinics, staffed by Family Nurse Practitioners are Medical Homes and serve as the main conduit for medical interventions with our covered population. In 2017, he opened MNPS’ first integrated health and wellness facility, combining primary care, behavioral health, health coaching, fitness, physical therapy, chiropractic, acupuncture and pharmacy. This facility also includes a café and conference area and is designed to be a community center for educators, assisting them to develop professionally and personally. In addition, to help drive individual and group health improvements, he implemented a data warehouse that combines medical, pharmacy, dental and vision claims, medical records, payroll, health risk assessments and evaluation data.

Recently David was recognized by Employee Benefit News with the Benny Award for Benefits Leadership in Healthcare. Also Resulting from their work in improving population health, the MNPS team has earned numerous recognitions including: Health Value Award; C. Everett Koop National Health Award (honorable mention); American Heart Association Gold Workplace Achievement; Cigna Well Being Award and others.

David serves on the boards of Healthcare21, the State and Local Government Benefit Association and the National Association of Worksite Health Centers.

Kirsten currently works with benefits design and strategy for the health benefit plans for the TD active colleagues and retiree populations. Those plans span medical, dental, vision, and live insurance for approximately 30,000 active colleagues.

Kirsten was a Benefit Strategy, Sr Advisor for CVS Caremark from 2009 through 2019 where she worked on managing several complex vendors, led benefits-related mergers and acquisition activity for several deals ranging in size from several hundred to thousands, acted as lead for the Open Enrollment activities, and the benefits lead for the implementation of a new benefits administration system.

Prior to working with CVS Caremark, Kirsten was a Benefits Manager for a small company and spent some time with Cigna Healthcare where she built her foundational knowledge for healthcare and the healthcare system. In each of her roles, she has demonstrated her broad experience in health and welfare benefits management, policy development, training, and benefits harmonization.

Kirsten is passionate about her family, she is married with two children and several pets. She loves traveling and outdoor activities but when she is not working, she can most likely be found on a sports field watching her boys.

Gina Ross Murdoch is a seasoned executive with over 20 years of non-profit experience. Currently, she serves as President and CEO of the Multiple Sclerosis Association of America (MSAA), a national nonprofit organization dedicated to improving lives today for the MS community through education, direct impact and empowerment. Her career includes leadership positions with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, the American Diabetes Association and the National Multiple Sclerosis Society leading explosive growth initiatives and ground-breaking strategic projects. Ms. Murdoch currently also serves as Treasurer of the Multiple Sclerosis Coalition (MSC), a group of nine separate organizations dedicated to supporting the MS community. She recently co-chaired the first ever national patient program, the MS Summit, engaging all MSC member organizations into a single initiative. Ms. Murdoch is a Board Member for the Greater Philadelphia Business Coalition on Health and speaks across the country on critical healthcare topics such as co-pay accumulators, employment issues surrounding living with a chronic disease and the unique journey of the MS patient.

An active member of the community, Ms. Murdoch has held several elected positions in her town and volunteers for her college alma mater, Drew University, as a student mentor.

Brian Gifford is the Director of Research and Analytics at the Integrated Benefits Institute.

Brian joined IBI in September 2008 and is responsible for a variety of research and analytic programs focused on the investment value of a healthy, high-performing workforce. Brian came to IBI from the RAND Corporation, where his research focused primarily on workforce recruitment, training, performance and retention. Prior to RAND, he was a postdoctoral fellow in the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Scholars in Health Policy Research Program at the University of California, Berkeley. He has additional expertise in the sociology of organizations.

He received his bachelor’s degree in sociology from the University of California, Berkeley, and his Ph.D. in sociology from New York University. His Ph.D. dissertation on institutional determinants of public social welfare spending received the American Sociological Association’s annual Dissertation Award in 2004.

Dr. Sell is a Medical Outcomes Specialist for Pfizer Pharmaceuticals. She collaborates with employer stakeholders on population health initiatives by providing clinical education and supporting real world clinical and pharmaco-economic analyses.

Dr. Sell earned her Bachelor of Science and Doctor of Pharmacy degrees at Purdue University. Her post-doctorate training included a Pharmacy Practice Residency at Rush Medical Center in Chicago, followed by a Specialized Residency in Drug Policy and Pharmacoeconomics at the University of Wisconsin. Before joining Pfizer, she served as the Clinical Coordinator and Pharmacy Practice Residency Director at Mercy Hospital in Chicago, Director of Clinical Consulting for Broadlane, and held academic appointments at the University of Florida and Purdue University. She is Board Certified in Pharmacotherapy and holds certifications in Real World Evidence Analysis by the University of Texas and Tobacco Cessation from the University of Arizona.

Tom Sondergeld is a revolutionary global executive with proven success transforming the program structure, strategy, and distribution mechanisms with operational excellence at Walgreens, a top 50 employer in the world. In his current role, Tom is the VP Enterprise Growth Strategy at Carrot Co and their Pivot Tobacco Cessation program. Broadly networked to the nation’s largest insurance/TPA organizations, employer coalitions (EHIR, NBGH, HTA), large and mid-sized employers, and healthcare solution innovators. A financially astute leader that has consistently demonstrated the ability to save hundreds of millions of dollars while avoiding increased member costs. Known for boosting the ROI of innovative and cutting-edge solutions. A leader not afraid to step into new space and lead.