The Future of Long-Term Services & Supports: Centene’s Vision For Innovation, Access & Value
Demand for long-term services and supports is growing rapidly, and payers are playing an increasingly influential role in shaping how care is delivered, coordinated, and financed. In this keynote, Anna Keith, Vice President of LTSS Product and Strategy at Centene, will share insights from one of the nation’s largest Medicaid managed care organizations on the evolving LTSS landscape.
Drawing on Centene’s experience serving complex and vulnerable populations across multiple states, Keith will explore emerging strategies to improve care coordination, expand community-based services, and integrate behavioral health into LTSS models. Discover how innovation, data, and value-based approaches are helping payers and providers better meet the needs of aging adults and individuals with disabilities.
New Perspectives On Sustaining Your Top Professionals
Recently, behavioral health organizations have been acknowledging the effects of working with, feeling empathy for, and having responsibility for trauma survivors. Whether this effect is referred to as vicarious trauma (VT) or secondary traumatic stress, there is no doubt that the work can influence a provider’s worldview, their sense of safety, their own relationships, their sense of hope, and their energy and enthusiasm for their work.
This presentation will challenge some of the myths of vicarious trauma, such as that work is entirely depleting and that home life is entirely fulfilling, and that there is such a thing as work-life balance. Presenters will discuss specific techniques employers can use to help sustain their top employees by growing their hope and energy in the workplace, thereby reducing turnover. Case studies will share strategies for developing skills to enhance employees’ work lives, to help employees thrive through intensity, to develop radical compassion, and to recover from crisis.
During the session, attendees will:
- Identify three myths about vicarious trauma and their alternative truths.
- List eight skills to sustain top employees and discover organizational plans to teach and support these skills.
- Identify agency structures to support providers in recovering from crisis, reducing fatigue and burnout.
Peggy Kelly, LPC-S
Peggy Kelly, LPC-S, is Chief Executive Officer of Youth Home, Inc. in Little Rock, Arkansas, where she leads strategic growth—expanding service lines and widening the agency’s geographic reach—while maintaining a commitment to trauma-informed, evidence-based care. Previously as Chief Clinical Officer, she oversaw all clinical services, diversified funding streams, launched new programs, and led a cultural transformation using the Risking Connections trauma‑informed care model.
She served five years as Director of Clinical Services at Jewish Family & Career Services (JF&CS) in Atlanta before returning to Arkansas in 2014 to join Youth Home. Peggy holds a B.S. in Business and Finance from the University of Arkansas and an M.S. in Behavioral Studies from the University of South Alabama. She has practiced in Alabama, Georgia, Michigan, and Arkansas, providing individual, family, and group behavioral health services, and has worked as an Employee Assistance consultant for Fortune 500 companies and a large hospital system, advising on policy development and implementation. Her areas of expertise include employee wellness, workplace violence, substance abuse, and conflict resolution.
Peggy serves on the boards of the Arkansas Behavioral Health Council and the National Association of Children’s Behavioral Health. She and her husband, Donnie, enjoy Arkansas’s mountains and lakes and attend concerts and outdoor festivals whenever time permits.
Patricia Wilcox, LCSW
Patricia D. Wilcox, LCSW, is Klingberg’s Vice President of Strategic Development. She specializes in improving systems that treat traumatized children and their families. She created the Restorative Approach™, a trauma- and relationship-based treatment method. She is a trainer for Risking Connection® and a faculty member at the University of CT School of Social Work and the University of St. Joseph’s School of Social Work. She is the author of Trauma Informed Care: The Restorative Approach as well as several articles. She trains internationally on trauma-informed care, has presented at many national conferences, and has recently been offering training with her colleague, Aminah Ali, on topics supporting full inclusion in the workplace. She was the 2011 Connecticut Social Worker of the Year and, in 2022, was designated a Soroptimist Exceptional Woman.
AI & The 5-Year Plan: Building Productivity & Clinical Innovation Into Your Strategic Roadmap
Sponsored by: 
Most organizations are treating AI as a pilot project or a point solution. The leaders who will be ahead in five years are treating it as a strategic planning input — as fundamental to their roadmap as workforce or facilities decisions.
Join Ravi Ganesan, President & CEO of Core Solutions, as he lays out what behavioral health and human services executives need to understand about AI right now to build it into their next 5-year strategic plan — not as a side initiative, but as a driver of productivity, cost structure, and clinical care model design.
This session moves beyond the point-solution conversations to the level where CEOs and boards actually operate: how AI reshapes the strategic plan itself, from investment sequencing to the care delivery model to workforce structure over a multi-year horizon.
Attendees will leave with:
- A framework for where AI fits across a 5-year planning horizon — near-term productivity wins vs. longer-term care model transformation
- Real-world examples of AI driving both operational efficiency and clinical innovation
- Questions every strategic plan should answer about AI investment, governance, and workforce impact before it’s finalized
Ravi Ganesan
Ravi Ganesan is the founder and CEO of Core Solutions, where he leads the revolution in behavioral health through artificial intelligence and other leading-edge technologies. With over 25 years of dedication, Ravi has addressed the unique challenges of the health and human services industry by developing innovative EHR technology, significantly improving treatment outcomes. His deep expertise in healthcare and technology, combined with a strong commitment to customer satisfaction, has established Core Solutions as a leading software provider nationwide.
Under his leadership, Core Solutions has pioneered AI-driven solutions for clinical documentation, treatment planning, and care delivery optimization in behavioral health settings. As CEO, Ravi has successfully established partnerships with large providers, government agencies, and leading management consulting firms to improve treatment for behavioral health and intellectual and developmental disability services.
Ravi is a recognized thought leader and frequent speaker on AI implementation, data-driven decision-making, and digital transformation in healthcare. Ravi received his M.B.A. from St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia.
Building Leadership That Lasts: Designing Scalable Development Programs For A Multigenerational Workforce With Thresholds
Developing strong, sustainable leadership pipelines is a strategic imperative for behavioral health organizations facing workforce complexity and constant change. This session explores how one organization designed and implemented a comprehensive leadership development program that spans all supervisory levels, including senior leadership, ensuring alignment, consistency, and long-term impact.
Participants will learn how to move beyond one-time training events to build a structured, multi-year leadership strategy that includes ongoing support mechanisms such as coaching, check-ins, and onboarding pathways for emerging leaders. The session will also address one of today’s most pressing workforce dynamics: leading across four generations. Attendees will gain practical insights into tailoring leadership approaches to engage, motivate, and retain a diverse workforce with varying expectations and communication styles.
Key takeaways include:
- Actionable strategies to create a sustainable model for developing leaders at all levels in behavioral health
- Tools to strengthen leadership capacity and improve organizational culture
- Approaches to tailoring leadership training for different generations
Sterling Haukom Anderson, LPC
Sterling Haukom Anderson, LPC has worked in the mental health field for over 13 years and is currently the Vice President of Learning & Development at Thresholds. She has provided clinical and case management support to individuals living with severe mental illness and has developed and delivered trainings, eLearning, and consultations for both internal and external audiences on a range of topics. Sterling earned her Master’s in Counseling from DePaul University in 2012.
Built To Scale, Not To Break: A Growing Population Health Organization’s Guide To People + Finance Infrastructure
Sponsored by: 
This session tells the story of Alera Health’s growth from a startup-stage population health management organization to a scaling, multi-network well-oiled machine — and what it took on the people and financial sides to make that happen without losing the mission. It is designed for executive leaders who may be direct providers, administrators, or organizational leaders looking for practical frameworks they can apply to their own growth journeys.
Kye Gardner, SHRM-SCP
Jenna Emery
Build, Buy, or Both? A Decision Framework for Revenue Cycle Management
Behavioral health organizations are under mounting pressure as staffing shortages, rising denial rates, increasing reimbursement complexity, and shrinking margins force leadership teams to rethink how they manage the revenue cycle. Some are investing in internal teams. Others are outsourcing entirely. And a growing number are landing somewhere in between.
This session offers a practical decision framework for evaluating your RCM model through the lens of a real-world provider journey. Attendees will explore the costs, tradeoffs, staffing considerations, operational complexities, and outcomes that shaped one organization’s decision to build internal capabilities, partner strategically, and evolve toward a co-sourced approach. Participants will leave with actionable insights for evaluating their own revenue cycle strategy.
Tami Lewis-Ahrendt
Tami Lewis-Ahrendt is President and CEO of CenterPointe, where she has spent more than 18 years helping transform the organization’s culture and expand access to behavioral healthcare — from leading the acquisition of the Campus for Hope to launching CenterPointe’s Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic. She holds a master’s degree in Critical and Creative Thinking from the University of Nebraska Omaha and is a graduate of Leadership Lincoln’s Executive Class 30.
Sonia Lucas
Sonia Lucas is Vice President of Revenue Cycle Management Services (RCMS) at Qualifacts, where she leads strategic initiatives that help behavioral healthcare organizations optimize financial performance and operational efficiency. With more than 25 years of experience in healthcare technology, SaaS, customer operations, business development, and leadership, Sonia has held executive roles spanning customer support, analytics, sales, and partner services. Throughout her career, she has focused on helping healthcare organizations improve outcomes through technology, innovation, and service excellence.
Tammy Selleck
Tammy Selleck has a BS in Accounting and an MBA from Indiana University Kelley School of Business. She has accounting experience in both the public and private sectors. She is a former BH CFO with 11 years of service with Qualifacts in Revenue Cycle Management across multiple areas of focus. In addition, she is a specialist in assisting agencies in bridging the gap to success in the revenue cycle through evaluation of people, processes, and systems.
Leading Through Change By Creating Agile Teams
Behavioral health organizations are operating in a period of constant change—from new payment models and regulatory shifts to workforce shortages and evolving care delivery expectations. For today’s executives, the ability to lead organizations through change is no longer optional; it’s a core leadership competency.
This session will explore practical change management strategies tailored to behavioral health organizations. Leaders will learn how to align teams around a clear vision, communicate effectively during periods of transition, and build cultures that are resilient and adaptable. Speakers will share lessons learned from implementing major organizational changes—from restructuring services to adopting new technologies—and discuss how leaders can engage staff, reduce resistance, and sustain momentum in a rapidly evolving environment.
Jeffrey Ralph, Ed.D.
Jodi Harding, LPCC-S, LICDC
Transforming The Approach To Children With Complex Conditions
Children and their families with the most complex behavioral health conditions are often left navigating a fragmented system of care–moving between emergency departments, hospitals, residential programs, child welfare settings, foster homes, schools and other systems that were never designed to work seamlessly together. For health care leaders, the challenge is not simply how to provide more services, but how to fundamentally rethink the way these children and their families are supported.
This session will examine emerging approaches to serving children with complex behavioral health and developmental needs, with a focus on the system-level strategies leaders can use to build greater capacity and improve outcomes. The discussion will explore why traditional models often fall short for children with the highest levels of need and how organizations can leverage innovative models, community-based supports, and cross-system partnerships to create more effective pathways to care. For executives and strategic decision-makers, this conversation will provide a framework for moving from a reactive approach to complex care toward a more coordinated, proactive, and sustainable system of support.
Join this session to:
- Explore innovative care models and support strategies that can improve outcomes for children with significant complex care needs
- Examine how health care, behavioral health, child welfare, education, and community systems can collaborate more effectively
- Identify opportunities to build organizational capacity and reduce reliance on emergency, institutional, and other crisis-driven settings.
Nancy Thaler
Leadership Approaches To The Ethical Uses Of AI: An Interactive Discussion Session
Artificial intelligence is changing how organizations recruit, schedule, support, and manage their workforce. As these tools become part of everyday operations, executive leaders must ensure AI is used in ways that are ethical, transparent, and aligned with organizational values while maintaining employee trust and accountability.
In this interactive discussion session, attendees will examine real-world AI scenarios related to workforce management and organizational leadership. Through facilitated discussion, participants will explore the leadership decisions each scenario requires, discuss the legal and ethical considerations involved, and identify practical approaches for establishing responsible AI policies across their organizations.
Stuart Buttlaire, Ph.D., MBA
Stuart Buttlaire brings over 35 years of executive, clinical, and policy experience to OPEN MINDS. Dr. Buttlaire has experience in both the public and private sectors of healthcare providing leadership and direction in healthcare delivery. His career has focused on advancing integrated behavioral health and addiction medicine through strategic innovation, system redesign, quality improvement, and sustainable policy reform.
Previously, Dr. Buttlaire was the Regional Director of Behavioral Health and Addiction Medicine for Kaiser Permanente. In this role, Dr. oversaw a $200 million portfolio serving 4.6 million members across 23 emergency departments and 33 medical centers. He led development and operations across inpatient, ambulatory, emergency, call center, and contracted community services, supporting more than 2,500 mental health and substance use disorder providers. His leadership resulted in significant system transformation grounded in person-centered, measurement-based, and integrated care models. Dr. Buttlaire was also the lead Mental Health Representative for State Program Initiatives, including Medicaid (Medi-Cal) and Medicare. He pioneered the design and implementation of two psychiatric inpatient units, including a nationally recognized medical/psychiatric unit for individuals with complex co-morbidities. Additional innovations include integrated urgent services for youth and adults, intensive outpatient programs, multi-family group treatments for severe psychiatric conditions, and a mobile app for eating disorders that earned Kaiser’s Innovation Award.
Dr. Buttlaire is a widely respected advisor on behavioral health policy, legislation, and regulatory strategy. He has worked closely with state and federal agencies on issues of parity enforcement, financing reform, Medicaid redesign, and systems integration. He currently serves as Board President of the Institute for Behavioral Health Improvement, is a Board Member of NAMI California, and sits on the California Hospital Association Behavioral Health Advisory Board. He previously chaired the Behavioral Health Section of the American Hospital Association and was appointed to the AHA Regional Policy Board for the Western U.S.
As a frequent speaker and author, Dr. Buttlaire has published articles and research papers on behavioral health integration, suicide prevention, financing, and policy reform. His work continues to shape strategic direction for public and private behavioral health systems across the country.
Dr. Buttlaire holds a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the California Institute of Integral Studies, an MBA with a concentration in Health Care Management and Finance from UC Irvine’s Paul Merage School of Business, a Master’s in Counseling Psychology from Humboldt State, and a B.A. in Psychology and Political Science from the University of Colorado.
Whole Person Care In Action: Mercy Care’s Blueprint For The Future of Integrated Care
As health care leaders work to address increasingly complex patient needs, the shift towards whole person care is redefining how physical health, behavioral health, and social needs are addressed across the care continuum. In this keynote, Tad Gary, Chief Executive Officer of Mercy Care, will share how his organization is advancing a comprehensive model with a whole person approach to better serve vulnerable and specialty populations, including the child welfare population, SMI population, and more.
Drawing on Mercy Care’s experience serving Medicaid members and individuals with complex health and social needs, Mr. Gary will discuss the strategies driving improved outcomes, from stronger provider partnerships and care coordination to innovative approaches that address housing, social determinants of health, and community-based supports.
Tad Gary
Tad Gary is the CEO of Mercy Care, an Arizona-based managed care organization serving more than 475,000 Medicaid and Medicare members under six governmental contracts. These include AHCCCS Complete Care, Arizona Long Term Care System (ALTCS), Regional Behavioral Health Authority for Maricopa County, Developmentally Disabled, Department of Child Safety Comprehensive Health Plan (DCS CHP), and Medicare Dual SNP contracts.
As CEO, Tad is responsible for all health plan activities for all product lines. He also supports all Mercy Care business development and implementation efforts throughout Arizona.
Tad has held multiple leadership roles during his more than 20-year career in health care and social services. Tad is a member of the Greater Phoenix Chamber Board and a Trustee of the Vitalyst Health Foundation. He was also appointed to the State of Arizona Opioid Review Council and to the Phoenix Police Review and Implementation Ad Hoc Committee. Tad is the former president of the Arizona Counselors Association and former President of the Institute for Mental Health Research EpiCenter, serving adolescents experiencing their first episodes of psychosis.
He earned his master’s degrees in counseling and education and has completed executive education in finance and accounting from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
Doing More With Less: A CFOs Strategy For The AI-Enabled Revenue Cycle
Few pressures weigh on a behavioral health CFO like the workforce. Billing and finance roles are hard to fill, costly to keep, and stretched thinner as volume grows. Automation and AI offer a way through. They take on the repetitive, high-volume work that eats the team’s hours, which lets skilled staff move to higher-value analysis and the relationships that drive financial health.
This session frames the AI-enabled revenue cycle as the CFO’s answer to doing more with less. Using real-world examples, finance executives will see how intelligent automation absorbs manual claims work and cuts costly rework, building a revenue cycle that scales with the organization instead of against its budget.
Attendees will leave with:
- A read on where automation delivers the most capacity and cost relief across the revenue cycle
- Strategies to move finance talent toward higher-value work while improving accuracy and speed
- A roadmap for leading a learner, more resilient finance operation in a tight labor market
Mergers & Alliances: The Evolving Role of The CFO In Organizational Growth – M&A, Collaborations & Partnerships
As consolidation accelerates across the behavioral health landscape, CFOs are playing an increasingly strategic role in shaping the future of their organizations. This session examines how financial leaders can guide mergers, acquisitions, affiliations, and cross-sector partnerships that strengthen market position, expand service capacity, and advance mission-driven growth.
Participants will explore the full lifecycle of partnership development– from assessing organizational readiness and conducting rigorous financial and operational due diligence to structuring deals that balance risk, value, and long-term sustainability.
This session will provide:
- Emerging trends in collaborative models, including payer-provider partnerships, joint ventures and alliances that enhance care integration and access
- Practical tools to evaluate strategic fit, model financial impacts, lead negotiations, and communicate partnership value to internal and external stakeholders
- The insight needed to navigate complex decisions and drive successful, future-focused organizational strategy
Robert C. Dunne, CPA
Building High-Value Managed Care Partnerships: Key Approaches To Sustainable Relationship Development
Strong managed care partnerships have become essential to financial sustainability and strategic growth of behavioral health organizations. In this session, we’ll hear two executive perspectives on how to lead the development of resilient, mutually beneficial relationships with health plans that drive reimbursement strength, quality performance, and long-term sustainability.
The session will unpack the executive team’s role in shaping payer strategy – from preparing compelling organizational value propositions and negotiating contract terms to using data to demonstrate outcomes, reduce friction, and strengthen trust with managed care partners.
Attendees will explore:
- How to analyze payer mix, model contract impacts, and align financial operations with performance expectations
- Practical frameworks, negotiation insights, and communication strategies to enhance payer collaboration and secure favorable terms
- How to position organizations as high-value, reliable partners in a competitive and rapidly evolving managed care environment
Matt Kresic, MPA
Marti Taylor
Building The Trust Factor: Leadership In Turbulent Times
Today’s behavioral health leaders are navigating unprecedented disruption–from workforce shortages and shifting reimbursement models to evolving consumer expectations and the rapid emergence of artificial intelligence. In this closing keynote, Monica E. Oss, Chief Executive Officer of OPEN MINDS, explores how exceptional leaders build and sustain trust when uncertainty is the only constant. Drawing on current market trends and real-world leadership lessons, this session will examine the strategies executives need to lead with transparency, make confident decisions in complex environments, and embrace AI as a tool to augment–not replace–human leadership.
Monica E. Oss
Monica E. Oss, M.S. is the founder of OPEN MINDS and serves as its chief executive officer, executive editor of its publications and websites, and executive lead of its consulting engagements. For the past three decades, Ms. Oss has led the OPEN MINDS team and its research on health and human service market trends and its national consulting practice. She is well known for her numerous books and articles focused on the strategic and marketing implications of the evolving health and human service field – and its focus on the verticals of the field serving consumers with chronic conditions and complex support needs.
Ms. Oss has extensive experience in developing and implementing growth strategies for a wide array of organizations in the field. She has expertise in industry trend analysis, reimbursement and rate setting, and creating actionable plans for market success. In her role, she has led numerous engagements with state Medicaid plans, county governments, private insurers, and health plans, 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.
Prior to founding OPEN MINDS, Ms. Oss served as an executive with a nationally managed behavioral health organization, responsible for market development, actuarial analysis, and capitation-based rate setting. She also held a position as vice president of the U.S. risk management and underwriting division of an international insurance company.
Ms. Oss has been the keynote speaker at the conferences of dozens of national associations and has been published in a wide range of professional journals and trade publications. She has provided Congressional and state legislative testimony on issues as diverse as the financial impact of parity and payer medication access policies.
Ms. Oss has led a range of industry research and consultation initiatives, serving as principal investigator on research projects that include the examination of national managed care enrollment and service patterns, development of provider rate structures for government entities, creation of return-on-investment models for technology investments; design of performance-based compensation models within public and private health plans; and analysis of the economic impact of changes in benefit design, adoption of evidence-based practices, and new technologies.