Institute Agenda

Monica E. Oss

Chief Executive Officer, OPEN MINDS

Monica E. Oss, M.S., Chief Executive Officer and Senior Associate, is the founder of OPEN MINDS. For the past two 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.

William Lopez, M.D., CPE

Senior Medical Director-Behavioral Health, Cigna Behavioral Health

Dr. William Lopez is a Lead Medical Director for Cigna Behavioral Health and manages a team of doctors responsible for medical necessity reviews, case management and claims activities. He also oversees the revision of CBH’s Medical Necessity Criteria, has a leading role in the integration of behavioral health services into Cigna's collaborative accountable care programs, and represents behavioral health on a companywide task force that is currently implementing a national tele-health strategy.

Prior to joining Cigna in 2006, Dr. Lopez was a staff psychiatrist and then Medical Director for psychiatry at Snowden at Fredericksburg, a private behavioral health center in Virginia, and staff psychiatrist and medical director at Memorial Healthcare System in Michigan. Dr. Lopez was a captain in the U.S. Air Force, where he practiced aerospace medicine, and is a veteran of operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm.

Dr. Lopez holds a bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of Puerto Rico and a medical degree from the Ponce School of Medicine in Ponce, Puerto Rico. After completing an internship in internal medicine at Western Reserve Care System in Ohio, he completed a residency in psychiatry and a fellowship in geriatric psychiatry at the University of California San Diego.

Dr. Lopez is a certified physician executive through the Certifying Commission in Medical Management, is board certified in psychiatry, and is licensed in Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. Dr. Lopez is a member of the American Medical Association, the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry, the American College of Physician Executives and the National Hispanic Medical Association.

Annie Medina, MBA, ACNP-BC

Senior Associate, OPEN MINDS

Annie Medina, MBA, ACNP-BC, brings over ten years of experience in the health and human services industry to the OPEN MINDS team. Her expertise spans both clinical and operational functions and is focused in business operations, strategic planning, project management, training and curriculum development, and policy and procedure design. Ms. Medina currently serves as OPEN MINDS Executive Vice President of the Consulting Practice. In addition to her work with OPEN MINDS, Ms. Medina is a Hospice Nurse Practitioner for Crater Community Hospice.

Prior to joining the OPEN MINDS team, Ms. Medina was the Chief Operating Officer for Poplar Springs Hospital, a member of Universal Health Services, based in Petersburg, Virginia. In this role, she was responsible for performance improvement, policy and procedure creation, and strategy development and implementation for the hospital’s Joint Commission and CMS regulatory surveys. Prior to this role, Ms. Medina was a MBA intern for the Popular Springs CEO where she focused on business development, process improvement, training tool development and evaluation of newly offered programs.

Previously, Ms. Medina served as a Nurse Practitioner (NP) for both Hospitalist Consultants, Inc. and for VCU Health System. At Hospitalist Consultants, she was an Internal Medicine NP. As a hospitalist, she provided medical care to patients in Tucker’s Psychiatric Hospital and educated psychiatric nurses regarding the patients’ diagnoses and medical needs. At VCU, Ms. Medina was an Emergency Department NP, where she provided care to patients at a Level I Trauma Center. Additionally, she was a provider in the observation unit, a 10-bed patient unit attached to the Emergency Department, and coordinated clinical care for patients who would otherwise be medical inpatients.

Complementing her past experience, Ms. Medina remains highly involved in professional organizations and is currently a member of the Virginia Council of Nurse Practitioners, Sigma Theta Tau Honors Society of Nursing, and American College of Healthcare Executives. She was recognized in the 2011 cohort of “40 under 40” by the Virginia Nurses Foundation for activities that support her profession and community.

Ms. Medina earned her Master of Business Administration focused in Health Sector Management and Bachelor of Science in Psychology from College of William & Mary. She also earned a Master of Science in Nursing (Acute Care Advanced Practice) and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Virginia Commonwealth University, and later went on to teach both nursing students and medical students at the school. Ms. Medina is a registered nurse (RN) in Virginia with multistate authority and is a registered acute care nurse practitioner (ACNP-BC) in Virginia.

George Braunstein, RN, FACHE

Senior Associate, OPEN MINDS

Howard Shiffman

Senior Associate, OPEN MINDS

Mr. Shiffman has over 30 years of successful organizational and business experience in human service fields including expertise in executive management, strategic planning, business development, finance, marketing, market intelligence research, fundraising, and board development. He has hands-on expertise that comes from successful management and consulting with a number of programs. Prior to joining OPEN MINDS Mr. Shiffman served as Chief Executive Officer of Griffith Centers for Children, a COA-accredited, full-service treatment program for severely troubled youth and their families. He also developed one of the first offense-specific sex offender program in the United States.

Paul Neitman, LMSW

Senior Associate, OPEN MINDS

Paul Neitman, LMSW has over 35 years of experience in the health and human service field, most recently as chief operating officer of Holy Cross Children’s Services in Michigan. Throughout his career at Holy Cross, where he started as a treatment specialist, Mr. Neitman served in both clinical and business leadership positions. This included executive responsibilities for two acquisitions — an inpatient substance abuse treatment organization and a counseling organization. During these acquisition activities, he served on the due diligence committee and lead the initiative to integrate the organizations into Holy Cross.

In a concurrent position contracted with Holy Cross, Mr. Neitman became acting Chief Executive Officer for Catholic Charities of Monroe County (Michigan). Part of his duties included over seeing all clinical programs (including a $2.5 million Head Start grant), payer relationships, and community relations and development.

Mr. Neitman also led a multi-year initiative to create the Samaritan Center — a one-stop human service center in Detroit. The Samaritan Center, which opened in 2001 on the site of a closed hospital, now provides a variety of services to the neighborhood — urgent care, health care, dental services, behavioral health, skilled nursing services, job training, an alternative high school, and more — through collaborations with 80 other local health and human service organizations. He continues to serve on the organization’s board of directors and has been part of a team building the center to an operation with $100 million operating budget and more than 1,000 employees within the center.

In his work with Holy Cross, Mr. Neitman was instrumental in setting up the organization’s first foundation in 2009 and enhancing its ability to raise funds to serve the community. His experience with board development and grant writing contributed to the success of the Holy Cross Foundation. Most recently, he wrote a proposal for Michigan’s first social impact bond initiative.

Throughout his career, Mr. Neitman has been involved with the design, funding, development, and operation of charter schools in both Michigan and Ohio that focused on the needs of at-risk youth. He has also lead the development of a college preparatory academy for foster care youth. In the on-going operation of these charter schools, Mr. Neitman has served in a number of governance and management roles, including board member and board chairman.

Mr. Neitman currently serves as a board member for the Samaritan Center, Inc., Holy Cross Youth & Family, and the Michigan Federation. He also served on the editorial board for Residential Treatment for Children and Youth. He has a Bachelor’s degree from Miami University of Ohio and a Masters’ of Social Work Administration from the University of Michigan.

Ken Carr

Senior Associate, OPEN MINDS

Robert Prosperi

Licensed Battlefield Guide, Gettysburg

Robert H. Prosperi is one of the foremost experts on the Battle of Gettysburg and the Civil War. He is a graduate of Indiana University of Pennsylvania and a U.S. Army veteran. He served for 17 years as one of the two historians at the Gettysburg National Military Park. During this time he served as a personal tour guide and battlefield escort for numerous dignitaries and celebrities. He had the distinct privilege of providing a personal tour for Presidents Carter and Sadat and Prime Minister Begin during the Camp David Summit.

William Lopez, M.D., CPE

Senior Medical Director-Behavioral Health, Cigna Behavioral Health

Dr. William Lopez is a Lead Medical Director for Cigna Behavioral Health and manages a team of doctors responsible for medical necessity reviews, case management and claims activities. He also oversees the revision of CBH’s Medical Necessity Criteria, has a leading role in the integration of behavioral health services into Cigna's collaborative accountable care programs, and represents behavioral health on a companywide task force that is currently implementing a national tele-health strategy.

Prior to joining Cigna in 2006, Dr. Lopez was a staff psychiatrist and then Medical Director for psychiatry at Snowden at Fredericksburg, a private behavioral health center in Virginia, and staff psychiatrist and medical director at Memorial Healthcare System in Michigan. Dr. Lopez was a captain in the U.S. Air Force, where he practiced aerospace medicine, and is a veteran of operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm.

Dr. Lopez holds a bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of Puerto Rico and a medical degree from the Ponce School of Medicine in Ponce, Puerto Rico. After completing an internship in internal medicine at Western Reserve Care System in Ohio, he completed a residency in psychiatry and a fellowship in geriatric psychiatry at the University of California San Diego.

Dr. Lopez is a certified physician executive through the Certifying Commission in Medical Management, is board certified in psychiatry, and is licensed in Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. Dr. Lopez is a member of the American Medical Association, the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry, the American College of Physician Executives and the National Hispanic Medical Association.

Monica E. Oss

Chief Executive Officer, OPEN MINDS

Monica E. Oss, M.S., Chief Executive Officer and Senior Associate, is the founder of OPEN MINDS. For the past two 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.

Joseph P. Naughton-Travers, EdM

Senior Associate, OPEN MINDS

Joseph P. Naughton-Travers, Ed.M., 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.

Sharon Hicks, MBA, MSW

Senior Associate, OPEN MINDS

Sharon Hicks, MBA, MSW, has more than 20 years of experience in the health and human service field. She has extensive expertise and a wide range of experience in health plan management, clinical operations management, and technology. A recognized thought leader among her peers, Ms. Hicks is a regular keynote speaker at industry conferences and association meetings, as well as an author of hundreds of articles and resources for professionals in both clinical and executive roles.

Prior to joining OPEN MINDS, Ms. Hicks spent two decades in a number of executive positions within the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) system. She served as the Chief Operating Officer for Community Care Behavioral Health, UPMC’s managed behavioral health organization responsible for $800 million in annual revenue. At Community Care, Ms. Hicks was responsible for all aspects of the organization’s operations, including fiscal, information systems, the claims processing department, and the design of clinical systems. She also managed the day-to-day operations of human resources, facilities, purchasing, and security.

Ms. Hicks also served in a variety of tech leadership roles for UPMC. In 2002, she was appointed as the Vice President of Technology Strategy for the UPMC Insurance Services Division before becoming the Chief Executive Officer of Askesis Development Group, a leading provider of electronic health record software for behavioral health and social service organizations. In this role, Ms. Hicks was responsible for the growth and profitability of the company and the direction of software development. In addition, Ms. Hicks was the President of U Squared Interactive, a UPMC-owned organization with the exclusive United States rights to Beating The Blues – the renowned computerized cognitive behavioral therapy solution for treating anxiety and depression.

Ms. Hicks started her impressive career as a psychiatric social worker and an Assistant Director of Social Work. Prior to her promotions, Ms. Hicks served as a Clinical Administrator for both Ambulatory Services and Emergency and Intake Services at the UPMC Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic. In this role, Ms. Hicks managed the behavioral health division, the budgets for all departments, and implemented new software replacing paper billing for clinical services.

Ms. Hicks received both her Masters of Business Administration and Masters of Social Work degrees from the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Before pursuing her graduate education, Ms. Hicks received her Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from Point Park College, Pittsburgh, PA.

Stacy DiStefano

Chief Operating Officer, OPEN MINDS

Bob Lincoln

Chief Executive Officer, County Social Services Mental Health & Disability Services Region

Bob has been a county mental health and disability services administrator for 28 years. In 2009 he formed Iowa’s first multi-county collaborative that was to become the template for Mental Health Redesign in 2013 creating 14 Mental Health and Disability Service Regions from 99 counties. In 2012 he facilitated the launch of Iowa’s first Crisis Stabilization Center and non-Sheriff transport of individuals under mental impairment civil commitment. He launched Iowa’s first START Team in 2015. This is a national program supported by the Center for START at the University of New Hampshire. It provides specialized mental health treatment and intervention to individuals with developmental disability and mental illness. Most recently he served on a state workgroup that lead to comprehensive mental health legislation that will establish a state-wide 24/7 crisis number, at least 6 Access Centers, 22 Assertive Community Treatment Teams and 120 specialized services for individuals with complex needs. Bob holds a Masters of Social Work License, MBA from Drake University and undergraduate in Industrial Psychology from Morningside University.

Jim Wallis

Corporate Director of Business Development & Public Affairs, Chestnut Health Systems

Bio coming soon!

Monica E. Oss

Chief Executive Officer, OPEN MINDS

Monica E. Oss, M.S., Chief Executive Officer and Senior Associate, is the founder of OPEN MINDS. For the past two 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.

Ken Carr

Senior Associate, OPEN MINDS

Robert Prosperi

Licensed Battlefield Guide, Gettysburg

Robert H. Prosperi is one of the foremost experts on the Battle of Gettysburg and the Civil War. He is a graduate of Indiana University of Pennsylvania and a U.S. Army veteran. He served for 17 years as one of the two historians at the Gettysburg National Military Park. During this time he served as a personal tour guide and battlefield escort for numerous dignitaries and celebrities. He had the distinct privilege of providing a personal tour for Presidents Carter and Sadat and Prime Minister Begin during the Camp David Summit.

Annie Medina, MBA, ACNP-BC

Senior Associate, OPEN MINDS

Annie Medina, MBA, ACNP-BC, brings over ten years of experience in the health and human services industry to the OPEN MINDS team. Her expertise spans both clinical and operational functions and is focused in business operations, strategic planning, project management, training and curriculum development, and policy and procedure design. Ms. Medina currently serves as OPEN MINDS Executive Vice President of the Consulting Practice. In addition to her work with OPEN MINDS, Ms. Medina is a Hospice Nurse Practitioner for Crater Community Hospice.

Prior to joining the OPEN MINDS team, Ms. Medina was the Chief Operating Officer for Poplar Springs Hospital, a member of Universal Health Services, based in Petersburg, Virginia. In this role, she was responsible for performance improvement, policy and procedure creation, and strategy development and implementation for the hospital’s Joint Commission and CMS regulatory surveys. Prior to this role, Ms. Medina was a MBA intern for the Popular Springs CEO where she focused on business development, process improvement, training tool development and evaluation of newly offered programs.

Previously, Ms. Medina served as a Nurse Practitioner (NP) for both Hospitalist Consultants, Inc. and for VCU Health System. At Hospitalist Consultants, she was an Internal Medicine NP. As a hospitalist, she provided medical care to patients in Tucker’s Psychiatric Hospital and educated psychiatric nurses regarding the patients’ diagnoses and medical needs. At VCU, Ms. Medina was an Emergency Department NP, where she provided care to patients at a Level I Trauma Center. Additionally, she was a provider in the observation unit, a 10-bed patient unit attached to the Emergency Department, and coordinated clinical care for patients who would otherwise be medical inpatients.

Complementing her past experience, Ms. Medina remains highly involved in professional organizations and is currently a member of the Virginia Council of Nurse Practitioners, Sigma Theta Tau Honors Society of Nursing, and American College of Healthcare Executives. She was recognized in the 2011 cohort of “40 under 40” by the Virginia Nurses Foundation for activities that support her profession and community.

Ms. Medina earned her Master of Business Administration focused in Health Sector Management and Bachelor of Science in Psychology from College of William & Mary. She also earned a Master of Science in Nursing (Acute Care Advanced Practice) and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Virginia Commonwealth University, and later went on to teach both nursing students and medical students at the school. Ms. Medina is a registered nurse (RN) in Virginia with multistate authority and is a registered acute care nurse practitioner (ACNP-BC) in Virginia.

Sarah C. Threnhauser, MPA

Executive Vice President, OPEN MINDS

Ms. Threnhauser has experience in all areas of health and human service management, including strategic planning, market research, and financial management. As Executive Vice President, Ms. Threnhauser develops and manages content for all of OPEN MINDS publications, including the OPEN MINDS Circle, the Weekly News Wire, the RFP HotLine, RFP Contact Awards Announcements, and the Monthly Management Newsletter, as well as all of OPEN MINDS education events.

Prior to her current position, Ms. Threnhauser worked with the Pennsylvania Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (OMHSAS), in the Bureau of Financial Operations. In that role, Ms. Threnhauser served as the liaison between the state government and local service providers and county administrators. She also analyzed and assessed the effects of fiscal regulation and policy on OMHSAS’ budget and assisted in the development and allocation of state community mental health funds and federal grants/appropriations.

Ms. Threnhauser earned her Master’s degree in Public Administration from Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania and her Bachelor’s degree in English from York College of Pennsylvania.

Sharon Hicks, MBA, MSW

Senior Associate, OPEN MINDS

Sharon Hicks, MBA, MSW, has more than 20 years of experience in the health and human service field. She has extensive expertise and a wide range of experience in health plan management, clinical operations management, and technology. A recognized thought leader among her peers, Ms. Hicks is a regular keynote speaker at industry conferences and association meetings, as well as an author of hundreds of articles and resources for professionals in both clinical and executive roles.

Prior to joining OPEN MINDS, Ms. Hicks spent two decades in a number of executive positions within the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) system. She served as the Chief Operating Officer for Community Care Behavioral Health, UPMC’s managed behavioral health organization responsible for $800 million in annual revenue. At Community Care, Ms. Hicks was responsible for all aspects of the organization’s operations, including fiscal, information systems, the claims processing department, and the design of clinical systems. She also managed the day-to-day operations of human resources, facilities, purchasing, and security.

Ms. Hicks also served in a variety of tech leadership roles for UPMC. In 2002, she was appointed as the Vice President of Technology Strategy for the UPMC Insurance Services Division before becoming the Chief Executive Officer of Askesis Development Group, a leading provider of electronic health record software for behavioral health and social service organizations. In this role, Ms. Hicks was responsible for the growth and profitability of the company and the direction of software development. In addition, Ms. Hicks was the President of U Squared Interactive, a UPMC-owned organization with the exclusive United States rights to Beating The Blues – the renowned computerized cognitive behavioral therapy solution for treating anxiety and depression.

Ms. Hicks started her impressive career as a psychiatric social worker and an Assistant Director of Social Work. Prior to her promotions, Ms. Hicks served as a Clinical Administrator for both Ambulatory Services and Emergency and Intake Services at the UPMC Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic. In this role, Ms. Hicks managed the behavioral health division, the budgets for all departments, and implemented new software replacing paper billing for clinical services.

Ms. Hicks received both her Masters of Business Administration and Masters of Social Work degrees from the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Before pursuing her graduate education, Ms. Hicks received her Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from Point Park College, Pittsburgh, PA.

Stacy DiStefano

Chief Operating Officer, OPEN MINDS

Richard Louis, III

Advisory Board Member, OPEN MINDS

George Braunstein, RN, FACHE

Senior Associate, OPEN MINDS

Howard Shiffman

Senior Associate, OPEN MINDS

Mr. Shiffman has over 30 years of successful organizational and business experience in human service fields including expertise in executive management, strategic planning, business development, finance, marketing, market intelligence research, fundraising, and board development. He has hands-on expertise that comes from successful management and consulting with a number of programs. Prior to joining OPEN MINDS Mr. Shiffman served as Chief Executive Officer of Griffith Centers for Children, a COA-accredited, full-service treatment program for severely troubled youth and their families. He also developed one of the first offense-specific sex offender program in the United States.

Paul Neitman, LMSW

Senior Associate, OPEN MINDS

Paul Neitman, LMSW has over 35 years of experience in the health and human service field, most recently as chief operating officer of Holy Cross Children’s Services in Michigan. Throughout his career at Holy Cross, where he started as a treatment specialist, Mr. Neitman served in both clinical and business leadership positions. This included executive responsibilities for two acquisitions — an inpatient substance abuse treatment organization and a counseling organization. During these acquisition activities, he served on the due diligence committee and lead the initiative to integrate the organizations into Holy Cross.

In a concurrent position contracted with Holy Cross, Mr. Neitman became acting Chief Executive Officer for Catholic Charities of Monroe County (Michigan). Part of his duties included over seeing all clinical programs (including a $2.5 million Head Start grant), payer relationships, and community relations and development.

Mr. Neitman also led a multi-year initiative to create the Samaritan Center — a one-stop human service center in Detroit. The Samaritan Center, which opened in 2001 on the site of a closed hospital, now provides a variety of services to the neighborhood — urgent care, health care, dental services, behavioral health, skilled nursing services, job training, an alternative high school, and more — through collaborations with 80 other local health and human service organizations. He continues to serve on the organization’s board of directors and has been part of a team building the center to an operation with $100 million operating budget and more than 1,000 employees within the center.

In his work with Holy Cross, Mr. Neitman was instrumental in setting up the organization’s first foundation in 2009 and enhancing its ability to raise funds to serve the community. His experience with board development and grant writing contributed to the success of the Holy Cross Foundation. Most recently, he wrote a proposal for Michigan’s first social impact bond initiative.

Throughout his career, Mr. Neitman has been involved with the design, funding, development, and operation of charter schools in both Michigan and Ohio that focused on the needs of at-risk youth. He has also lead the development of a college preparatory academy for foster care youth. In the on-going operation of these charter schools, Mr. Neitman has served in a number of governance and management roles, including board member and board chairman.

Mr. Neitman currently serves as a board member for the Samaritan Center, Inc., Holy Cross Youth & Family, and the Michigan Federation. He also served on the editorial board for Residential Treatment for Children and Youth. He has a Bachelor’s degree from Miami University of Ohio and a Masters’ of Social Work Administration from the University of Michigan.

Debra Smyers

Senior Vice President, Health Services, Sunshine Health

Ms. Smyers is Senior Vice President of Health Services, Sunshine Health and serves as the executive clinical leader for the utilization management, care management, quality and pharmacy programs to improve the cost and quality of care for multiple populations, including Medicaid, Child Welfare and Special Needs products. Ms. Smyers uses a population management strategy based on integration of physical and behavioral health needs in a holistic manner with measurable outcomes.

John F. Talbot, Ph.D.

Chief Strategy Officer, Jefferson Center for Mental Health, & Advisory Board Member, OPEN MINDS

John F. Talbot, Ph.D., Advisory Board Member, has more than 30 years of experience in all aspects of healthcare, including upper management, consultation, education, direct clinical work, and serving as the president of a non-profit board. Dr. Talbot has provided consultation, training and operational assistance to behavioral health providers, nonprofit organizations, and managed care organizations across the country. His areas of focus for consultation and training include strategic planning, the development of successful strategic alliances, board development, organizational reengineering, operations management, management and leadership development, and change management. He is currently Vice President of Integration Development at Jefferson Center for Mental Health in Denver, Colorado.

Prior to his current position, Dr. Talbot served as the President of a network of agencies providing care to children and families. The innovative work of Colorado Care Management received national recognition, including participation in a Federal IV-E waiver study that demonstrated measurable superior clinical outcomes. In his role with Colorado Care Management, Dr. Talbot also led the development of a coalition of Colorado business executives to address the issues of providing care to abused and neglected children, and the establishment of a nationwide purchasing cooperative for non-profits. Dr. Talbot’s previous experience included serving as the Director of the Master of Health Systems Program, and Associate Dean of University College at the University of Denver. He also held senior management positions at Mount Airy Psychiatric Center in Denver, Colorado.

Dr. Talbot has been a featured speaker at a number of national and state venues including the National Council Community Behavioral Health, Mental Health Corporations of America, the American Association of Residential Treatment Centers, the Medical Group Management Association, the Colorado Behavioral Health Council, the Mental Health Council of Arkansas, the New Jersey Association of Mental Health Agencies, and the Florida Behavioral Health Council.

Dr. Talbot is the former publisher and editor of Today’s Healthcare Manager, a newsletter focusing on leadership and management skills for healthcare managers, and has written numerous articles, manuals, and book chapters. His volunteer work includes serving as the President of the Board of Human Services Inc. in Colorado.

Linda Timmons

President & Chief Executive Officer, Mosaic

Linda's career began in high school working on the Bethphage campus at Axtell, Neb. Through the years she has held numerous positions in several states within the organization. When Mosaic was formed in 2003, Linda was named Senior Vice President of Program Services. In 2006, she was named President and Chief Operating Officer. She became Mosaic's President and Chief Executive Officer on July 1, 2008. She holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Nebraska at Kearney, and a Master of Arts from St. Edward's University in Austin, Texas.

Joseph P. Naughton-Travers, EdM

Senior Associate, OPEN MINDS

Joseph P. Naughton-Travers, Ed.M., 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.

Robert Prosperi

Licensed Battlefield Guide, Gettysburg

Robert H. Prosperi is one of the foremost experts on the Battle of Gettysburg and the Civil War. He is a graduate of Indiana University of Pennsylvania and a U.S. Army veteran. He served for 17 years as one of the two historians at the Gettysburg National Military Park. During this time he served as a personal tour guide and battlefield escort for numerous dignitaries and celebrities. He had the distinct privilege of providing a personal tour for Presidents Carter and Sadat and Prime Minister Begin during the Camp David Summit.

Debra Smyers

Senior Vice President, Health Services, Sunshine Health

Ms. Smyers is Senior Vice President of Health Services, Sunshine Health and serves as the executive clinical leader for the utilization management, care management, quality and pharmacy programs to improve the cost and quality of care for multiple populations, including Medicaid, Child Welfare and Special Needs products. Ms. Smyers uses a population management strategy based on integration of physical and behavioral health needs in a holistic manner with measurable outcomes.

Annie Medina, MBA, ACNP-BC

Senior Associate, OPEN MINDS

Annie Medina, MBA, ACNP-BC, brings over ten years of experience in the health and human services industry to the OPEN MINDS team. Her expertise spans both clinical and operational functions and is focused in business operations, strategic planning, project management, training and curriculum development, and policy and procedure design. Ms. Medina currently serves as OPEN MINDS Executive Vice President of the Consulting Practice. In addition to her work with OPEN MINDS, Ms. Medina is a Hospice Nurse Practitioner for Crater Community Hospice.

Prior to joining the OPEN MINDS team, Ms. Medina was the Chief Operating Officer for Poplar Springs Hospital, a member of Universal Health Services, based in Petersburg, Virginia. In this role, she was responsible for performance improvement, policy and procedure creation, and strategy development and implementation for the hospital’s Joint Commission and CMS regulatory surveys. Prior to this role, Ms. Medina was a MBA intern for the Popular Springs CEO where she focused on business development, process improvement, training tool development and evaluation of newly offered programs.

Previously, Ms. Medina served as a Nurse Practitioner (NP) for both Hospitalist Consultants, Inc. and for VCU Health System. At Hospitalist Consultants, she was an Internal Medicine NP. As a hospitalist, she provided medical care to patients in Tucker’s Psychiatric Hospital and educated psychiatric nurses regarding the patients’ diagnoses and medical needs. At VCU, Ms. Medina was an Emergency Department NP, where she provided care to patients at a Level I Trauma Center. Additionally, she was a provider in the observation unit, a 10-bed patient unit attached to the Emergency Department, and coordinated clinical care for patients who would otherwise be medical inpatients.

Complementing her past experience, Ms. Medina remains highly involved in professional organizations and is currently a member of the Virginia Council of Nurse Practitioners, Sigma Theta Tau Honors Society of Nursing, and American College of Healthcare Executives. She was recognized in the 2011 cohort of “40 under 40” by the Virginia Nurses Foundation for activities that support her profession and community.

Ms. Medina earned her Master of Business Administration focused in Health Sector Management and Bachelor of Science in Psychology from College of William & Mary. She also earned a Master of Science in Nursing (Acute Care Advanced Practice) and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Virginia Commonwealth University, and later went on to teach both nursing students and medical students at the school. Ms. Medina is a registered nurse (RN) in Virginia with multistate authority and is a registered acute care nurse practitioner (ACNP-BC) in Virginia.

Sharon Hicks, MBA, MSW

Senior Associate, OPEN MINDS

Sharon Hicks, MBA, MSW, has more than 20 years of experience in the health and human service field. She has extensive expertise and a wide range of experience in health plan management, clinical operations management, and technology. A recognized thought leader among her peers, Ms. Hicks is a regular keynote speaker at industry conferences and association meetings, as well as an author of hundreds of articles and resources for professionals in both clinical and executive roles.

Prior to joining OPEN MINDS, Ms. Hicks spent two decades in a number of executive positions within the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) system. She served as the Chief Operating Officer for Community Care Behavioral Health, UPMC’s managed behavioral health organization responsible for $800 million in annual revenue. At Community Care, Ms. Hicks was responsible for all aspects of the organization’s operations, including fiscal, information systems, the claims processing department, and the design of clinical systems. She also managed the day-to-day operations of human resources, facilities, purchasing, and security.

Ms. Hicks also served in a variety of tech leadership roles for UPMC. In 2002, she was appointed as the Vice President of Technology Strategy for the UPMC Insurance Services Division before becoming the Chief Executive Officer of Askesis Development Group, a leading provider of electronic health record software for behavioral health and social service organizations. In this role, Ms. Hicks was responsible for the growth and profitability of the company and the direction of software development. In addition, Ms. Hicks was the President of U Squared Interactive, a UPMC-owned organization with the exclusive United States rights to Beating The Blues – the renowned computerized cognitive behavioral therapy solution for treating anxiety and depression.

Ms. Hicks started her impressive career as a psychiatric social worker and an Assistant Director of Social Work. Prior to her promotions, Ms. Hicks served as a Clinical Administrator for both Ambulatory Services and Emergency and Intake Services at the UPMC Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic. In this role, Ms. Hicks managed the behavioral health division, the budgets for all departments, and implemented new software replacing paper billing for clinical services.

Ms. Hicks received both her Masters of Business Administration and Masters of Social Work degrees from the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Before pursuing her graduate education, Ms. Hicks received her Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from Point Park College, Pittsburgh, PA.

John F. Talbot, Ph.D.

Chief Strategy Officer, Jefferson Center for Mental Health, & Advisory Board Member, OPEN MINDS

John F. Talbot, Ph.D., Advisory Board Member, has more than 30 years of experience in all aspects of healthcare, including upper management, consultation, education, direct clinical work, and serving as the president of a non-profit board. Dr. Talbot has provided consultation, training and operational assistance to behavioral health providers, nonprofit organizations, and managed care organizations across the country. His areas of focus for consultation and training include strategic planning, the development of successful strategic alliances, board development, organizational reengineering, operations management, management and leadership development, and change management. He is currently Vice President of Integration Development at Jefferson Center for Mental Health in Denver, Colorado.

Prior to his current position, Dr. Talbot served as the President of a network of agencies providing care to children and families. The innovative work of Colorado Care Management received national recognition, including participation in a Federal IV-E waiver study that demonstrated measurable superior clinical outcomes. In his role with Colorado Care Management, Dr. Talbot also led the development of a coalition of Colorado business executives to address the issues of providing care to abused and neglected children, and the establishment of a nationwide purchasing cooperative for non-profits. Dr. Talbot’s previous experience included serving as the Director of the Master of Health Systems Program, and Associate Dean of University College at the University of Denver. He also held senior management positions at Mount Airy Psychiatric Center in Denver, Colorado.

Dr. Talbot has been a featured speaker at a number of national and state venues including the National Council Community Behavioral Health, Mental Health Corporations of America, the American Association of Residential Treatment Centers, the Medical Group Management Association, the Colorado Behavioral Health Council, the Mental Health Council of Arkansas, the New Jersey Association of Mental Health Agencies, and the Florida Behavioral Health Council.

Dr. Talbot is the former publisher and editor of Today’s Healthcare Manager, a newsletter focusing on leadership and management skills for healthcare managers, and has written numerous articles, manuals, and book chapters. His volunteer work includes serving as the President of the Board of Human Services Inc. in Colorado.

Neil Massey

Development Director of Dallas, Autism Treatment Center (ATC)

Neil Massey has been employed by the Autism Treatment Centers of Texas since 2008 where he currently serves as Deputy Director. Hired as Special Events Director, Neil has been promoted to several positions within the organization, including Development Director and his current position. Before entering the non-profit sector in 2005, Massey’s career had been in the political arena serving as a staff member to members of the Texas House of Representatives and the United States House of Representatives.

The Autism Treatment Centers of Texas is a nonprofit organization that provides services to children and adults with autism through programs located in Dallas, Fort Worth, and San Antonio. ATC serves over 650 individuals through autism-specific services, including Residential, Educational, Adult Services, and outpatient therapies (Speech, Occupational, Physical, Applied Behavior Analysis).

In 2016, Massey graduated with a Master’s Degree in Nonprofit Management from Regis University in Denver, Colorado. His graduate thesis focused on issues of change management as it relates to long-term sustainability of third sector organizations. Massey also received Nonprofit Leadership certification from CNM Connect and Southern Methodist University (SMU) in 2015. Massey also serves as a Board Member for Helping Agencies Serving Richardson, a collaborative partnership to coordinate health and human services in north Dallas.

Matthew E. Hanis

Executive Producer & Founder, Business of Healthcare

A business of healthcare national expert, Matthew Hanis works with healthcare providers and the innovators serving them. He hosts the Business of Healthcare (BOH) interview series focused on elevating healthcare Mission and Margin.

Hanis has worked for or advised organizations such as Mercy, Fortress Investment Group, Atrium Health, and Thomas Reuters.

BOH interviews feature innovations sustainably improving healthcare Mission & Margin. Each discussion includes a healthcare executive and innovator concentrating on the same problem. Think “Nightline” or “How I Built This” just for healthcare.

Recent guest have included Chuck Stokes, President & CEO, Memorial Hermann Health System, Paul Kusserow, President & CEO, Amedisys, Blake Marggraff, Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Epharmix, and Patrick J. Kennedy, former U.S. Representative (D - RI) and lead sponsor of the 2008 Mental Health Parity Act.  You can access, at no charge, these and other published interviews at www.BOHSeries.com.

The BOH audience of 19,000 senior executives come from across healthcare . . . health system, payer, provider practice, government, pharma, device, health tech, and so on.

Hanis frequently speaks on healthcare trends and innovation.  Recent programs were delivered at Duke University, Saint Louis University, the Association of University Programs in Health Administration, the American College of Healthcare Executives, the Urgent Care Association of America, Truven 100 Top Hospital Summit, Microsoft’s Windows World Tokyo, University of California San Diego School of Medicine, Executive Connections, and St. Louis Healthcare Leaders.

Previously, Hanis led commercialization for Mercy Virtual, thought to be the world’s first and largest “Hospital without Beds”.  He has held P&L leadership positions with Advanced Practice Strategies, the Healthcare business of Thomson Reuters (now IBM’s Truven Health Analytics), APACHE Medical Systems and NCR Corporation.  He has commercialized businesses serving health systems, physician practices, state hospital associations, commercial insurance carriers, Medicaid agencies, and the US Department of Health and Human Services.

Hanis earned undergraduate degrees in History & Economics (Tulane University) and Certificates in Internetworking Science (Washington University in St. Louis), Accounting & Statistics (University of Michigan), and Product Management (Pragmatic Marketing Institute).  He resides in Charlotte, NC with his wife and children.

He strongly believes in achieving the balance between Mission and Margin in healthcare.

Marlowe Greenberg, MPP

Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Foothold Technology

Marlowe has worked with nonprofit organizations and local governments as a consultant and educator, and is keenly aware of the philosophical and change-management issues that occur with the integration of new technology. He shapes many of the partnerships that help Foothold serve its client agencies.

Marlowe was previously a partner in the Flores Greenberg Consulting Group, where he directed projects for organizations such as Cisco Systems, Inc., the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, and the City of Detroit. He also taught Microeconomics and Education Policy as well as a project-based class for graduate students at the University of Michigan Ford School of Public Policy. Prior to that, Marlowe worked at the Democratic Leadership Council’s think tank and Jobs for the Future in Boston, MA.

Marlowe graduated from Vassar College with honors. He holds a BA in Sociology, and completed coursework in Philosophy. He received his Master’s of Public Policy degree from the University of Michigan. He is a member of the Association of Public Policy Analysis & Management as well as the American Political Science Association. Marlowe is also an adjunct professor at the Milano School of Business at the New School University in New York City.

Jim Stefansic, Ph.D., MBA

President and Chief Executive Officer, Raiven Healthcare

Jim Stefansic serves as President and Chief Executive Officer of Raiven Healthcare, a rapidly growing provider of healthcare artificial intelligence and data analytics solutions. An accomplished healthcare entrepreneur, Dr. Stefansic has years of experience launching and growing numerous healthcare technology businesses.

Dr. Stefansic was previously Co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of Pathfinder Therapeutics, Inc., where he helped bring two industry-leading image-guided surgical products to market. He was instrumental in raising more than $17 million in venture capital and SBIR funding to support Pathfinder’s growth, as well as in the eventual sale of the company to Analogic (NASDAQ: ALOG). Dr. Stefansic was involved in every facet of the business, from investor road shows, R&D, clinical trials and regulatory approval to business development, financial management, pricing and commercialization.

His experience includes serving as the Director of Commercialization at Launch Tennessee, where he led the statewide SBIR program and assisted numerous technology businesses in their growth and development. He was also a Research Professor at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, where he utilized functional magnetic resonance imaging techniques in image-guided neurosurgery, and was critical in the initiation of this technology within the Vanderbilt Vision Research Center. He has authored or co-authored more than a dozen peer reviewed scientific articles.

Dr. Stefansic received his BS degree in Biomedical Engineering from Johns Hopkins University and his MS and PhD from Vanderbilt University. His MBA is from Belmont University, where Mr. Stefansic was named the Distinguished Alumnus of the Year in 2011 and currently serves as an Adjunct Instructor of Business.

Paul Harris

Chief Executive Officer, VPAC Clinical

Peggy DeCarlis, MSSA, LCSW-C

SVP, Chief Operations and Innovation Officer, New Directions Behavioral Health

As Chief Operations and Innovation Officer, Peggy is responsible for clinical strategy, innovation and operations, as well as network operations. She started and leads new Direction’s PCBH program, providing population health-focused integrated behavioral health in customers’ PCMHs.  Additionally, she provides clinical oversight of the Employee Assistance Program (EAP), health plan account management teams. more >

With more than 30 years of experience in behavioral health, Peggy greatly shapes the company’s clinical innovations that help drive high quality, lower costs and better health outcomes for the more than 16 million individuals New Directions serves.

Peggy’s deep understanding of the rapidly changing health care industry and her unwavering focus on clients has been a key reason for New Directions’ swift growth. Since she joined the company in 2010, New Directions has tripled the number of people it serves through health plans and employers.

Prior to New Directions, Peggy was Regional Vice President of Operations for MCC, a behavioral health subsidiary of Cigna; Senior Vice President of Operations for Magellan Health; CEO of Hope Ridge Behavioral Health, a community mental health center in North Carolina; and Deputy Secretary for the Department of Human Resources for the State of Maryland.

Peggy received her bachelor’s degree from Allegheny College and an M.S.S.A from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. She holds a LCSW-C license for independent practice in Maryland and is a Board-approved supervisor for Licensed Graduate Social Workers (LGSW) seeking advanced licensure.

Ken Carr

Senior Associate, OPEN MINDS

Victor Armstrong

Vice President, Behavioral Health, Atrium Health

Stacy DiStefano

Chief Operating Officer, OPEN MINDS

Joseph P. Naughton-Travers, EdM

Senior Associate, OPEN MINDS

Joseph P. Naughton-Travers, Ed.M., 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.

Terry G. Fox

Licensed Battlefield Guide, Gettysburg

Terry Fox is a sixth-generation resident of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, and a battlefield guide emeritus with Gettysburg National Military Park. He taught American History in the public schools for 33 years, serving as department head and as a member of the Carnegie Foundation for teaching American History. Since his retirement he has taught as an adjunct professor at Gettysburg College and at the Johns Hopkins University School of Education. He has presented leadership seminars for U.S. Air Force chief master sergeants as well as employees of the U.S. Secret Service, Drug Enforcement Administration, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, in addition to teaching in Johns Hopkins’ Police Executive Leadership program. He earned his undergraduate and graduate degrees from Shippensburg College.

Stephen Holoviak, Ph.D.

Subject Matter Expert, OPEN MINDS

Michael J. Hayduk, MS, MGA

Retired Leader, Retired U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer 5, Defense Information Systems Agency

Mr. Hayduk is a retired leader from the Defense Information Systems Agency and retired as a U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer 5 with deployments to Viet Nam, Saudi Arabia, and Afghanistan.  Mike is certified to teach yoga, meditation, and qigong and teaches at Gaia Kosha Yogic Spa and the Chambersburg Memorial YMCA.  Mike has authored several published articles on the subjects of technology and training.  Mike spends his time reading and writing; painting, drawing, and sculpting; gardening; shooting photos; traveling and hiking.  He has raised two children and resides in Chambersburg with his wife, Elizabeth.

Annie Medina, MBA, ACNP-BC

Senior Associate, OPEN MINDS

Annie Medina, MBA, ACNP-BC, brings over ten years of experience in the health and human services industry to the OPEN MINDS team. Her expertise spans both clinical and operational functions and is focused in business operations, strategic planning, project management, training and curriculum development, and policy and procedure design. Ms. Medina currently serves as OPEN MINDS Executive Vice President of the Consulting Practice. In addition to her work with OPEN MINDS, Ms. Medina is a Hospice Nurse Practitioner for Crater Community Hospice.

Prior to joining the OPEN MINDS team, Ms. Medina was the Chief Operating Officer for Poplar Springs Hospital, a member of Universal Health Services, based in Petersburg, Virginia. In this role, she was responsible for performance improvement, policy and procedure creation, and strategy development and implementation for the hospital’s Joint Commission and CMS regulatory surveys. Prior to this role, Ms. Medina was a MBA intern for the Popular Springs CEO where she focused on business development, process improvement, training tool development and evaluation of newly offered programs.

Previously, Ms. Medina served as a Nurse Practitioner (NP) for both Hospitalist Consultants, Inc. and for VCU Health System. At Hospitalist Consultants, she was an Internal Medicine NP. As a hospitalist, she provided medical care to patients in Tucker’s Psychiatric Hospital and educated psychiatric nurses regarding the patients’ diagnoses and medical needs. At VCU, Ms. Medina was an Emergency Department NP, where she provided care to patients at a Level I Trauma Center. Additionally, she was a provider in the observation unit, a 10-bed patient unit attached to the Emergency Department, and coordinated clinical care for patients who would otherwise be medical inpatients.

Complementing her past experience, Ms. Medina remains highly involved in professional organizations and is currently a member of the Virginia Council of Nurse Practitioners, Sigma Theta Tau Honors Society of Nursing, and American College of Healthcare Executives. She was recognized in the 2011 cohort of “40 under 40” by the Virginia Nurses Foundation for activities that support her profession and community.

Ms. Medina earned her Master of Business Administration focused in Health Sector Management and Bachelor of Science in Psychology from College of William & Mary. She also earned a Master of Science in Nursing (Acute Care Advanced Practice) and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Virginia Commonwealth University, and later went on to teach both nursing students and medical students at the school. Ms. Medina is a registered nurse (RN) in Virginia with multistate authority and is a registered acute care nurse practitioner (ACNP-BC) in Virginia.

Linda Timmons

President & Chief Executive Officer, Mosaic

Linda's career began in high school working on the Bethphage campus at Axtell, Neb. Through the years she has held numerous positions in several states within the organization. When Mosaic was formed in 2003, Linda was named Senior Vice President of Program Services. In 2006, she was named President and Chief Operating Officer. She became Mosaic's President and Chief Executive Officer on July 1, 2008. She holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Nebraska at Kearney, and a Master of Arts from St. Edward's University in Austin, Texas.

Joseph P. Naughton-Travers, EdM

Senior Associate, OPEN MINDS

Joseph P. Naughton-Travers, Ed.M., 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.

John F. Talbot, Ph.D.

Chief Strategy Officer, Jefferson Center for Mental Health, & Advisory Board Member, OPEN MINDS

John F. Talbot, Ph.D., Advisory Board Member, has more than 30 years of experience in all aspects of healthcare, including upper management, consultation, education, direct clinical work, and serving as the president of a non-profit board. Dr. Talbot has provided consultation, training and operational assistance to behavioral health providers, nonprofit organizations, and managed care organizations across the country. His areas of focus for consultation and training include strategic planning, the development of successful strategic alliances, board development, organizational reengineering, operations management, management and leadership development, and change management. He is currently Vice President of Integration Development at Jefferson Center for Mental Health in Denver, Colorado.

Prior to his current position, Dr. Talbot served as the President of a network of agencies providing care to children and families. The innovative work of Colorado Care Management received national recognition, including participation in a Federal IV-E waiver study that demonstrated measurable superior clinical outcomes. In his role with Colorado Care Management, Dr. Talbot also led the development of a coalition of Colorado business executives to address the issues of providing care to abused and neglected children, and the establishment of a nationwide purchasing cooperative for non-profits. Dr. Talbot’s previous experience included serving as the Director of the Master of Health Systems Program, and Associate Dean of University College at the University of Denver. He also held senior management positions at Mount Airy Psychiatric Center in Denver, Colorado.

Dr. Talbot has been a featured speaker at a number of national and state venues including the National Council Community Behavioral Health, Mental Health Corporations of America, the American Association of Residential Treatment Centers, the Medical Group Management Association, the Colorado Behavioral Health Council, the Mental Health Council of Arkansas, the New Jersey Association of Mental Health Agencies, and the Florida Behavioral Health Council.

Dr. Talbot is the former publisher and editor of Today’s Healthcare Manager, a newsletter focusing on leadership and management skills for healthcare managers, and has written numerous articles, manuals, and book chapters. His volunteer work includes serving as the President of the Board of Human Services Inc. in Colorado.

Robert Prosperi

Licensed Battlefield Guide, Gettysburg

Robert H. Prosperi is one of the foremost experts on the Battle of Gettysburg and the Civil War. He is a graduate of Indiana University of Pennsylvania and a U.S. Army veteran. He served for 17 years as one of the two historians at the Gettysburg National Military Park. During this time he served as a personal tour guide and battlefield escort for numerous dignitaries and celebrities. He had the distinct privilege of providing a personal tour for Presidents Carter and Sadat and Prime Minister Begin during the Camp David Summit.

Richard Louis, III

Advisory Board Member, OPEN MINDS

Anthony Hassan, Ed.D, LCSW

Chief Executive Officer & President, Cohen Veterans Network

As the inaugural CEO of the Cohen Veterans Network, Dr. Hassan oversees the establishment of 25 mental health clinics nationwide. These clinics are designed to improve the mental health outcomes for post-9/11 veterans and their families, with a particular emphasis on post-traumatic stress, through high-quality, free, and accessible mental health care. In addition, he leads efforts to advance the field through funded research initiatives and training programs to improve care within the network and beyond.

Hassan is a veteran of the United States Army enlisted and Air Force officer with 30 years of experience in military behavioral health, serving as a military social work officer, leader, clinician, and academic. He served during Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2004 on the first-ever Air Force combat stress control and prevention team embedded with the Army. He also led the largest military substance abuse and family advocacy programs in the Pacific. These programs were recognized as benchmark programs and training sites for all other Pacific bases.

He most recently served as the inaugural Director and Clinical Professor of the Center for Innovation and Research on Veterans & Military Families (CIR) at the University of Southern California School of Social Work. During his tenure at CIR from 2009-2015, Hassan was instrumental in the exponential growth of the school’s military social work program and community-based research on veterans and military families. He has strong relationships with the most senior levels of leadership in the U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, and Washington, D.C.

Bob Vero, Ed.D.

Chief Executive Officer, Centerstone Tennessee

Sarah C. Threnhauser, MPA

Executive Vice President, OPEN MINDS

Ms. Threnhauser has experience in all areas of health and human service management, including strategic planning, market research, and financial management. As Executive Vice President, Ms. Threnhauser develops and manages content for all of OPEN MINDS publications, including the OPEN MINDS Circle, the Weekly News Wire, the RFP HotLine, RFP Contact Awards Announcements, and the Monthly Management Newsletter, as well as all of OPEN MINDS education events.

Prior to her current position, Ms. Threnhauser worked with the Pennsylvania Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (OMHSAS), in the Bureau of Financial Operations. In that role, Ms. Threnhauser served as the liaison between the state government and local service providers and county administrators. She also analyzed and assessed the effects of fiscal regulation and policy on OMHSAS’ budget and assisted in the development and allocation of state community mental health funds and federal grants/appropriations.

Ms. Threnhauser earned her Master’s degree in Public Administration from Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania and her Bachelor’s degree in English from York College of Pennsylvania.

Laurie Keenan McGarvey

Senior Consultant for Organization Effectiveness, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania

Laurie Keenan McGarvey is a well known practitioner in the fields of communication and organizational behavior. She serves as the Senior Consultant for Organization Effectiveness at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. She also founded The McGarvey Group in order that she work with individuals and organizations to become the best version of themselves.  This endeavor came as a result of over 15 years working within global organizations unable to become transparent and  authentic.  In that time she was able to impact individuals to let go of what they thought they  should be and become who they were actually called to be.  In addition to her executive  coaching and leadership training programs, she also devotes time to raising funds for addiction and recovery with The Herren Project as a marathon runner.

She holds advanced degrees from Kent State University in Adult Learning, Organizational Behavior, and Communications.  She is a certified professional coach and Master Trainer for Crucial Conversations and Influencer with VitalSmarts.

She is called to be a Keynote Speaker for the Society of Vascular Surgeons and the Association of Women Physicians.

Her joy can be easily found in her role as the “momager” to her two teenagers, Izzy and Jack.

Matthew M. Dorman

Co-Founder & CEO, Credible Behavioral Health Software

Ken Carr

Senior Associate, OPEN MINDS

John F. Talbot, Ph.D.

Chief Strategy Officer, Jefferson Center for Mental Health, & Advisory Board Member, OPEN MINDS

John F. Talbot, Ph.D., Advisory Board Member, has more than 30 years of experience in all aspects of healthcare, including upper management, consultation, education, direct clinical work, and serving as the president of a non-profit board. Dr. Talbot has provided consultation, training and operational assistance to behavioral health providers, nonprofit organizations, and managed care organizations across the country. His areas of focus for consultation and training include strategic planning, the development of successful strategic alliances, board development, organizational reengineering, operations management, management and leadership development, and change management. He is currently Vice President of Integration Development at Jefferson Center for Mental Health in Denver, Colorado.

Prior to his current position, Dr. Talbot served as the President of a network of agencies providing care to children and families. The innovative work of Colorado Care Management received national recognition, including participation in a Federal IV-E waiver study that demonstrated measurable superior clinical outcomes. In his role with Colorado Care Management, Dr. Talbot also led the development of a coalition of Colorado business executives to address the issues of providing care to abused and neglected children, and the establishment of a nationwide purchasing cooperative for non-profits. Dr. Talbot’s previous experience included serving as the Director of the Master of Health Systems Program, and Associate Dean of University College at the University of Denver. He also held senior management positions at Mount Airy Psychiatric Center in Denver, Colorado.

Dr. Talbot has been a featured speaker at a number of national and state venues including the National Council Community Behavioral Health, Mental Health Corporations of America, the American Association of Residential Treatment Centers, the Medical Group Management Association, the Colorado Behavioral Health Council, the Mental Health Council of Arkansas, the New Jersey Association of Mental Health Agencies, and the Florida Behavioral Health Council.

Dr. Talbot is the former publisher and editor of Today’s Healthcare Manager, a newsletter focusing on leadership and management skills for healthcare managers, and has written numerous articles, manuals, and book chapters. His volunteer work includes serving as the President of the Board of Human Services Inc. in Colorado.

Terry G. Fox

Licensed Battlefield Guide, Gettysburg

Terry Fox is a sixth-generation resident of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, and a battlefield guide emeritus with Gettysburg National Military Park. He taught American History in the public schools for 33 years, serving as department head and as a member of the Carnegie Foundation for teaching American History. Since his retirement he has taught as an adjunct professor at Gettysburg College and at the Johns Hopkins University School of Education. He has presented leadership seminars for U.S. Air Force chief master sergeants as well as employees of the U.S. Secret Service, Drug Enforcement Administration, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, in addition to teaching in Johns Hopkins’ Police Executive Leadership program. He earned his undergraduate and graduate degrees from Shippensburg College.

Monica E. Oss

Chief Executive Officer, OPEN MINDS

Monica E. Oss, M.S., Chief Executive Officer and Senior Associate, is the founder of OPEN MINDS. For the past two 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.

Joseph P. Naughton-Travers, EdM

Senior Associate, OPEN MINDS

Joseph P. Naughton-Travers, Ed.M., 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.